'mmm^ 
 
 B ^ Mflb 521 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 BEQUEST OF 
 
 Alice R. Hilgard 
 
/ 
 
 J^/tA4^ 
 
 ■jcu Ky 
 
pVl!,,, 
 
 
 
SEA A^D SAIL 
 
 OR, 
 
 MARVELOUS ADVENTURES 
 
 ON THE 
 
 OCEAN. 
 
 INTERESTING, INSTRUCTIVE AND GRAPHIC ACCOUNTS OF THE 
 MOST POPULAR VOYAGES OX RECORD, REMARKABLE SHIP- 
 WRECKS, HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPES, NAVAL ADVENT- 
 URES, THE WHALE FISHERY, ETC., ETC., 
 
 Illustrating the Advantages of Deeisiofi of Charaetery 
 Perseverance and Unwavering Hope in Time of Peril. 
 
 -^^Oh 
 
 i3L.t^xjstratk:d. 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 WORLD PUBLISHING HOUSE, 
 
 139 EIGHTH STREET. 
 1876. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by 
 
 Leayitt & AiLEN Bko'b, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the SoutheM 
 
 District of New York. 
 
 GIFT 
 
f) 
 
 0,i^ 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Tde object of tlie present volume has been to afFord a 
 series of brief but graphic sketches, ihustrating the pleas- 
 ures, perils and beauties of the great highway of nations, 
 which might prove both interesting and instructive. It 
 was believed that a miscellany of the kind, which by its 
 variety might not readily tire, and wliich might lie laid 
 down and resumed at frequent intervals, without losing its 
 interest, would be acceptable to both yourfg and old alike. 
 
 It embraces nearly every subject of importance in the 
 history of navigation and nuiritime discoveries, while the 
 sketches of nautical manners and adventure are from the 
 most authentic sources. From the examples presented, it 
 will be seen of what astonishing advantage are the virtues 
 of decision, temperance, perseverance, and unwavering 
 hope, in moments of extreme peril and despair. It is the 
 coward only, v,'ho at such times deserts his post ; bids de- 
 fiance to orders, an:l surrenders himself to unmanlv fear. 
 
 iw85I}.52f> 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 E^ly Discove. ies _ - - . -13 
 
 Coluiiil)iis . _ - _ - 14 
 
 xMagellaii 17 
 
 Sir Francis Drake ... - '20 
 
 Tl.e Spanish Wreck 93 
 
 Datiij)i('r ..---- 26 
 
 A Man Overboai-d . - . - 27 
 
 CajUairi Woods Roiroi-s - - - - 21) 
 
 Story of Alexander Selkirk .... 31 
 
 A Scene ofF I'^rrmula .... - 34 
 
 Captain Jolin (Jlipperton . _ _ . 38 
 
 Ferocity of the Polar Bear - ... 40 
 
 Le Maire and Sehouteii . _ - 42 
 
 The Florida .--.-- 44 
 
 Commodore Anson . . _ - . 45 
 
 Fishing on the Grand Kaidt ... - 50 
 
 JJyron --•-..- SJ 
 
 A Tale of the Sea ----- 57 
 
 Wallis W 
 
 Voyage from Halifiuc to Bermuda - - - (>1 
 
 De l>oufrainville . . . . . C)8 
 
 History of the Buccaneers - - - - 71 
 
 Voyage of Captain James - - - • 78 
 
 The Pirate's Treasure ... - - 85 
 
 Missionaries in Greeidand .... (00 
 
 Dolphins and Flying Fish - . - - 102 
 
 Henry Hudson . _ - . - IC'5 
 
 Famine on Board the Le Jacques ... |05 
 
 Law of Arrest - - - - 110 
 
 Caplani Cook - - IW 
 
Captain Coi.k's Second Voyago 
 
 TliinI do. 
 Sufl'oriiifijs of Kplirairii llowc 
 An Kst-apo llN<yiigli tlie Cabin Windows 
 Tlic Fatal Rrpast 
 Captains I'ortlock and Dixorn 
 Cuiiosity Haflied 
 Sliipwreckt'd Mariners Saved Tin-ough a Dream 
 A Polite Sea-r«>l)l)er ... 
 
 F'eelings Excited by a long Voyage 
 Forty-five days' Sufferings 
 Monsieur do la i'eroiise 
 Midsbiptnan's Pranks 
 Tlie Loss of tbe Pbcenlx 
 Mutiny of tbe Bounty ... 
 Bird Catdiing in tlie Shetl:ind Islands 
 Dangers of a Nova Scotia Fog - 
 Tiie P'ddystonc Ligirt House 
 Jobn Paid Jones 
 
 James LawTence ... 
 
 Early American Heroism 
 Captain G. Vancouvtjr - 
 A Visit to Rockall 
 Captain Ingleficld's Narrative 
 A Monkey Trick 
 Captain K;'tuie(iy's Narrative 
 Tom Cringle's Log 
 Nelson ... 
 
 Tbe Cumberland Packet 
 Captain 0'Entreca«teaux 
 Captain Riley . . - 
 
 Ailventures of (Captain Woodward 
 Sbipwreck of ilie lilen<leniiall 
 Tbe ClilTs of Dover 
 An Account of tbe Wbale Fisbery 
 Tbe Loss of tbe Peggj' - 
 Tbe Medusa ... 
 Tbe Main Tnick, or a Leap for Life 
 The Harpooner Transport 
 Commodore Barney 
 
 118 
 124 
 
 r.is 
 
 140 
 144 
 
 KJO 
 171 
 173 
 17G 
 180 
 185 
 
 mi 
 
 212 
 223 
 235 
 2:38 
 243 
 240 
 249 
 25& 
 253 
 276 
 282 
 264 
 285 
 287 
 201 
 307 
 
 y(X> 
 
 315 
 319 
 325 
 328 
 a31 
 34G 
 352 
 350 
 304 
 367 
 
Naval Battles of the United States ... 371 
 
 Captain Parry's First Voyage of Discovery - - 38"^ 
 
 Second Voyage ..... 399 
 
 Third do. 409 
 
 Loss of the Alcesie - - - - - 411 
 
 Kotzebue 42n 
 
 Wreck of tlie Rothsay Steamer ... 428 
 
 Narrative of Captain W. L. Cazneau ... 432 
 
 New York 43fi 
 
 Narrative of Captain Lincoh .... 437 
 
 Greenwich Hospital - ... - 469 
 
 Loss of the Ship Boston _ - - 470 
 
 The Loss of the Kent .... - 472 
 
 Properties of the Sea, &c. . , _ 478 
 
 Classification of Clouds ... 480 
 
 Literary Pursuits of Sailors • - * 484 
 
 A tMtract of American Nautical Laws ... 489 
 
 POETRY. 
 
 The Beacon Light - - - «J 
 
 The Ocean ^ 
 
 Nautical Philosophy .... - 57 
 
 The Wreckers - - . - - - 77 
 
 The Dying Dolphin .... - 104 
 
 A Sea Song 113 
 
 Lament for Long Tom ... - - 144 
 
 The. Return of the Admiral - - - 170 
 
 Thp «ea Bird's Song - - - - 17C 
 
 The Grecian Manner's Song - - - - 184 
 
 The Sound of the Sea - - - - - 211 
 
 AStf Ballad 2:37 
 
 Address to the Ocean .... - 251 
 
 The Subterranean Stream _ - - - 281 
 
 As Fast and Far o'er Waves we fly - - - 287 
 
 Casablanca ...--. 306 
 
 The Mariner's Address to his Mistress - - - 314 
 
 The Mariner's Hymn ... - - 330 
 
 The American Flag - - - - - 381 
 
 Old Ironsides - - . - - - 435 
 
ENGRAVINGS 
 
 I'lir Lttlidiiij,' olCol imhud - - 16 
 
 Struiw ol'Mayeilaii. ... 18 
 
 IV-ak i.f Teiierifle . - - 30 
 
 Cu|)e Horn .... 43 
 
 Ht. lloK-iia 50 
 
 ririile's Tri'nsmo - . . ^ . tyj 
 
 Dt-atli of Captain Cook .... 1,'j:) 
 
 IJird Catrliiii-,' on the Sliellaiul I.slamJs - - - iK3<) 
 
 The KiUiystone Li<.'lit House ... - ti4i 
 
 Ilorkall '270 
 
 The Wreck of tli« Ciiniherland Packet - - 309 
 
 Dover Casllc -..--. y^) 
 
 Bout Ujjsei by a Wliale .... 344 
 
 View of Hoston ----- '.iSfJ 
 
 New York ...--- 43(] 
 
 Green widi He sjtal ... - 4oy 
 
 rkieificatiou ifCkouda - #>! 
 
SEA AND SAIL 
 
 EARLY MARITIME DISCOVERIES 
 
 The Portuguese were among the first to signalize themselves in 
 the career of geographical discovery. At the beginning of the 
 fifteenth century, Prince Henry, son of John I. was at the head 
 of the marine of Portugal. Under his immediate direction, sev 
 eral voyages were undertaken to the coast of Africa; ii: one of 
 which the voyagers were driven by a storm out of their usual 
 course along shore, and for the first time the terrified mariners 
 found themselves in the boundless ocean. When the storm abat- 
 ed, ihey were in sight of an island, to which, in their thankful- 
 ness to Heaven for the succor it afibrded, they gave the name of 
 Puerto Sancto, or the Holy Haven — the least of the Madeiras. 
 The voyages of the Portuguese now succeeded each other rapidly; 
 and other navigators of this nation, either grown bolder, or again 
 driven off the coast, discovered the Azores. In 1433, the Por 
 tuguese passed Cape Nun, hitherto the limit of their courses, and 
 arrived at a cape, which presenting a frightful barrier to the still 
 timid seamen, in the terrible surf that broke on the shoals near it, 
 they named Bojador, signifying its projection into the sea and the 
 consequent circuit it required to double it. 
 
 In succeeding expeditions, Cape Verd was reached, and the 
 Senegal arrived at, and Lisbon saw with astonishment a different 
 race from the Moors. Cape Mesurado was the limit of the Por- 
 tuguese discoveries at the death of Prince Henry in 1463, which 
 damping the ardor of discovery, it was not until 1471 that the 
 Equator M'as crossed, and the islands in the gulf of Guinea were 
 discovered. 
 
 The terrors of the burning zone, and the belief of the union oi 
 Africa and Asia being dissipated by these successive voyages, the 
 passage to India round Africa was no longer deemed impossible, 
 and a fleet was fitted out under Bartholomew Diaz for the express 
 purpose of attempting it. The captain coasted Africa to within 
 sight of its southern point, to which he gave the name of Cape of 
 all Torments from the violent storms he experienced off it, and 
 which, as well as the want of provisions, obliged him to return to 
 Lisbon, after an absence of sixteen months. The name of the 
 Cape cf all Torments was changed by the king to that of Good 
 Hope, from the prospect it afforded of accomplishing the passage 
 tu India 
 
 1 
 
Ten years liowever elapsed al"ter tlkc discovery of the Cnpe 
 berorctliis passage was aj^ain attempted; and Vasco do Gama had 
 tl»e honor of douhlin<:j the promontory the 20th of November, 
 1107. Sailing along the cast coast of Africa, he passed through 
 the IMosamhitpie Channel to JNIombaze and thence to Melinda, 
 where he procured j)ilots, and crossing the Arabian sea, arriv- 
 ed at Callicut the 22d of May, 1498, It is thought that the 
 ridiculous ceremony of ducking, &.c. on crossing the line was first 
 Dractised in this voyage. 
 
 COLUMBUS. 
 
 While the Portuguese were attempting to arrive at India by the 
 east, Columbus conceived the idea of reaching it by the west, 
 which produced a d'iscovery that was totally to alter the face of 
 Euro|)e by inundating it with the treasures of a new world. — 
 Christopher Columbus was a native of Genoa. He seems to have 
 been accustomed, in a degree, from his youth, to a sea-life, and 
 once commanded a ship in an engagenien,t with a Venitian galley, 
 when both vessels having grappled took fire, and he saved himself 
 by swimming near-ly two leagues to the shore. 
 
 Columbus had formed an opinion, after much reflection, thai 
 by sailing across the Atlantic towards the west, new countries, 
 probably t'orming a part of India, must be discovered. Fired with 
 this project, he iirst proposed his plans to the king of Portugal, 
 but that monarch not readily complying witli his terms, Columbus 
 concluded to resort to the court of Ferdinand and Isabella, who 
 then ruled the united kingdoms of Castile and Arragon. His 
 propf)<jals were listened to with respect, and an assembly of all 
 the learned men of the realm was called to listen to his reason- 
 ing, and weigh his arguments. He rose before this learned body, 
 and explained to them his project and the probabilities of its 
 success. But his propositions were rejected as absurd. One of 
 their assertions was, that if a man should sail away westward 
 as far as Columbus proposed, he would not be able to return on 
 account of the roundness of the globe. They said it would be 
 going down; and tiiat coming back would be like climbing a 
 hill, which a vessel could not do without the strongest gale! 
 
 But though ballled by these prejudiced men, hie finally found 
 an advocate in the Queen Isabella, who promised her assistance 
 to the undertaking. After much delay and difliculty, an expedi- 
 tion was fitted out, and Columbus appointed admiral. He sailed 
 with his companions from the bar of Saltes, a small is and in front 
 
COLUMBUS. 15 
 
 of the town of Huelva, on the morning of tr.e third of August, 
 1492. They steered their course in a S. W. direction for the 
 Canary Islands. The day after their departure, the rudder of one 
 cf the caravels was unshipped. This was supposed to have been 
 done through the contrivance of two men on board, who disliked 
 the voyage. Her captain however repaired the rudder by means 
 of ropes, so as to be able to keep on their course as far as the Grand 
 Cai.ary. Here three or four weeks were spent in repairing the 
 vessel, and in taking in supplies of wood and water; after which, 
 on the sixth of September, they departed in a westerly direction. 
 On the fifteenth of the same month, at night, they saw a wonderful 
 flash of fire fall into the sea. On the next day they fell in witli a 
 large quantity of green weeds, among which they found a live crab ; 
 and soon after great flocks of birds were seen flying towards the 
 west. The sailors watched, with the greatest anxiety, for every 
 sign of land. But being often disappointed they began to murmur 
 and grow afraid. 
 
 Towards the night of the 22d, two or three land-birds came 
 singing on board the vessels, and flew away at daybreak. One 
 thing that terrified the sailors was that the wind always blew direct- 
 ly in their st^.m. They believed that in tliose seas they should 
 never have a wind to carry them back again. It fortunately hap- 
 pened however, that about this time the wind started up freshly 
 from another quarter, with a rolling sea. The signs of land having 
 continually failed, the crews grew more incensed against the ad- 
 miral. Provisions were falling short, and the general wish seemed 
 to be to turn back. Some of tlicm even proposed to throw Colum- 
 bus into the sea, and give out on their return that he had fallen 
 overboard, while engaged in taking some observations. 
 
 On the eleventh of October they experienced signs of land, 
 which could not be mistaken. A cane and a log were picked 
 up, and a branch of thorn full of red berries was likewise found. 
 Convinced, by these tokens, of the vicinity of land, Columbus 
 after evening prayers, made an address to his crew, reminding 
 them of the mercy of God in bringing them so far, and encourag- 
 ing them to continue. About ten o' clock that evening, while 
 keeping an anxious look-out from the top of the cabin, the ad- 
 miral thought he beheld a light glimmering at a great distance; 
 and at two in the morning the signal of land was given by a sailor 
 named Rodrigo de Triana. When the day dawned they beheld 
 before them a large island, quite leve , full of green trees and 
 delicious sprinp;s, and apparently well inhabited. The ships im- 
 mediately came to anchor. The admiral went ashore ui his boat, 
 well-armed, and bearing the royal standard. After formally 
 taking possession of the island, he named it San Salvador. It 
 is now called Cat Island, and belongs to the group of the Baha- 
 mas. 
 
 He also dv-icovered Cuba, Hispaniola, and several other small 
 
IK coi.uMnus. 
 
 islaiwls, and having left a colony in a fort at Hispaniola relurired 
 »o Spain in March, 14!)3. In September following, he set out 
 on his second voyage, and sailed hy the l.ceward Islands to His- 
 paniola; in a third voyage undertaken m 1498, he discovered the 
 continent of America, but in consequence of some envious char- 
 ces made against him, was sent in fetters to Europe. He was 
 instantly liberated on his arrival, but so deeply did the injury sink 
 into his mind, that he always carried about him the chains he had 
 worn, and ordered that they should be buried with him. He sailed 
 from Cadiz, in May, 1502, on his fourth voyage. On arriving off 
 
 St. Domingo he found eighteen loaded ships preparing to depart 
 for Europe. As from certain tokens he discerned the approach 
 of a hurricane, he requested permission to enter the harbour, and 
 at the same time warned the fleet not to sail. Both his request 
 and warning were disregarded. The hurricane came on. By 
 proper precaut'ons he escaped its fury; hut it fell with such de- 
 Btructive violence on the fleet, that only two or three ships were 
 gavcd, :ind the rest perished with all their wealth, 
 
 Columbus proceeded on his voyage and traced all the coast 
 about the isthmus of Darien. Sailing homewards he was wreck- 
 ed on the island of Jamaica. Here he underwent great distress 
 from the mutiny and desertion of his men, and the suspicions of the 
 natives, who withheld their supjilies of provisions, till, by the pre- 
 diction of an eclipse, he obtained an irresistible authority over 
 their tninds At length he was delivered by a squadron sent from 
 Hispaniola; and afl:er a short stav at St. D(*mingo, he embarked 
 with two ships for Spain. One of these was obliged by storms 
 
MAGELLAN. 11 
 
 to return, and in the other with great difficulty and dangei, he 
 reached St Lucar in December, 1504, and thus finished his last 
 disastrous voyage. On his return he had the mortification of 
 finding his best friend, Isabella, dead. He was worn down by 
 anxiety and disease; his services were neglected, and his hopes 
 miserably disappointed. He finally died at Valladolid, on the 
 2nth of IMay, 1506, in the fifi^y-ninth year of his age; parsing 
 through the last scene with that piety and composure, which he 
 had displayed in all the trying emergencies of life. In loSi^, h'.-s 
 remains were removed to Hispaniola, and interred in the city of 
 St. Domingo. But in 1795, they were again disinterred and 
 conveyed to Havanna, in Cuba. 
 
 MAGELLAN. 
 
 Ferdinand INIagellan was by birth a Portuguese, descended 
 from a good family, and born towards the end of the fifteenth cen- 
 tury. In consequence of certain services in the Indian Seas, he 
 applied to the government for some recompense ; but being treated 
 with neglect, he left his own country to seek employment in a 
 foreign land. In company with Ruy Falero, an eminent astron- 
 omer, and one of his associates, he travelled into Spain, and ex- 
 pbiined to Charles V. the reigning monarch, his project of making 
 discoveries in distant seas. The court listened to the adventurers 
 with favor, and consented to fit out an exj^edition. 
 
 Magellan's little squadron consisted of five ships, manned with 
 2.S7 men, and supplied with provisions, ammunition and stores, for 
 two years. On the 1st of August, 1519, they left Seville, and 
 on the 27th of September sailed from Sanlucar, steering for the 
 Canaries. They refreshed at Tenerifie, and early in October 
 passed the Cape de Verd Islands. Holding on their course, 
 they bore along the coast of Africa, till they crossed the line, seven- 
 ty days after their departure. In the beginning of December they, 
 came to that part of Brazil which is now called the Bay of 
 St. Lucia. They subsequently anchored at the mouth of a largo 
 river, supposed to be the Rio Janerio, where they continued 
 a fortnight. On their first landing, the inhabitants flocked to the 
 beach in great numbers, beholding, as they imagined, five sea- 
 monsters approaching the shore. Wlven the boats put out from 
 the ships, the natives set up a great shout, conceiving them to be 
 young sea-monsters, the offspring of the others. 
 
 Proceeding along the South American Coast, the squadron 
 arrived in April, 1520, at a large bay, now :;alled by the name of 
 
18 MAGELLAN. 
 
 St. Julian. Here they saw a wild, rrigantic race, of great size and 
 rierceiicss who made a roaring not unlike that of bulls. One of 
 them came on hoard the admiral's ship, and was well pleased with 
 his reception; but happening to cast his eyes on a looking-glass, 
 ho was so terrilicd, that starting backwards, he beat to the ground 
 
 Straiu of Magellan, 
 
 two men who stood behind him. Others subsequently came on 
 board, and their behavior afforded great entertainment to the offi- 
 cers. One of these savages, ate a basket full of ship-biscuits, and 
 drank a cask of water at a meal. They wore sandals, or a kind 
 of shoes, made of skins, and this caused their feet to appear like 
 those of an animal. INIagellan named them Patagonians, from the 
 Spanish word pata, signilying a hoof, or paw. 
 
 Magellan determined to continue here till the return of spring, 
 as it is winter in the southern hemisphere dnring our summer. 
 He had ordered the allowance of provisions to be shortened, to 
 meet tiiis exigence, which caused much discontent among the 
 crews. A mutiny soon followed, which was not quelled till one 
 of the ofiicers was hanged, and some others were sent on shore 
 to be left among the Patagonians. Five dreary months were pas- 
 sed in the harbor of St. Julian, during which, every exertion 
 was made to insure the successful prosecution of the voyage. 
 On the 21th of August, the squadron again set sail, the weather 
 being fine, and proceeded southward, till a violent gale from the 
 east drove one of the vessels on shore, but the crew was happily 
 saved. Coasting soutli with the four remaining ships, they ap- 
 pioachcd a cape, near which an opening was discovered which 
 was found afterwards to be a strait. Upon this, Magellart gave 
 
MAGELLAN. 13 
 
 orders that all the other ships should carefully examine tho «tiait, 
 promising to Avait for them a certain number of days. While 
 the three vessels were employed in this expedition, one of them 
 was driven out of the strait by the reflux of the tide, when the 
 crew, dissatisfied with their situation, rose on their captain, made 
 him prisoner, and again set sail for Europe. Alter waiting seve- 
 ral days beyond the time he had fixed, JMagellan entered the strait 
 or arm of the sea, which has ever since retained his name. Tho 
 entrance lies in 52 degrees south latitude, and the strait, which is 
 about 110 leagues in length, is very wide in some places, and in 
 others not more than half a league from shore to shore. On both 
 sides the land was high, and the mountains were covered with 
 snow, on advancing about 50 leagues west from the entrance. 
 
 In about six weeks they found themselves again in an open sea, 
 the coast terminating westward in a cape, and the sliore of the 
 continent taking a northerly direction. The sight of the Pacific 
 Ocean gave Magellan the utmost joy, he being the first Europe- 
 an who sailed upon it. Proceeding W. N. W. he arrived at the 
 Ladrone Islands, to which he gave that name on account of the 
 thievish disposition of the natives. 
 
 They sailed from the Ladrones on the 10th of March, 1524, and 
 after visiting a number of islands, entered the port of Lebu on the 
 7th of April. From Lebu they sailed to the island of INIathan, 
 which being governed by two kings, and one of them refusing to 
 pay tribute to the king of Spain, Magellan prepared to reduce 
 him. He marched into the interior of the island accompanied 
 by sixty Europeans. Here he was attacked by three distinct 
 bodies of the islanders, whose united force amounted to upwards 
 of six thousand. The battle was for some time douI)tful, till Ma- 
 gellan's impetuosity carrying him too far, he was killed, by being 
 wounded in the leg with a poisoned arrow and stabbed through 
 the body by a spear. Eight or nine of the Spaniards and fifteen 
 of the Indians were also slam. After the death of the admiral, 
 new commanders were chosen from among the surviving officers, 
 and as the ships were now in a very bad condition, it was found 
 necessary to make use of one to repair the other two. 
 
 Sailing W. S. W. they came to the rich island of Borneo. 
 From this place they sailed to Cimbubon, where they were de- 
 tained forty days in repairing their ships and taking in wood and 
 water Bending their course hence S. E. for the Moluccas, thev 
 came to anchor in the port of Tidore on the 8th of November 
 After remaining here sometime, they set sail in one ship alone 
 and with fifty- nine persona on board, for Europe. To double tha 
 Cape of Good Hope with the greater safety, they sailed as low ag 
 42 degrees S. latitude, where they were obliged to wait seven 
 weeks for a wind On doubling the cape they were much dis- 
 tressed by hunger and sickness. For two months they held on their 
 course to the N. W. v/ithout touching at any port, during which 
 
iO SIR FIIANCI.S DRAKK 
 
 time thov lost twenty-one persons, and the rest were on the poini 
 of stiir\ in<j. 
 
 In lliis situation flicy arrived at St J.igo, one of the Cape de 
 Verd Islands. Finally on the 7th of September, they entered St. 
 Lucurin Spain, with their number reduced to about eighteen per- 
 sons According to their reckoning, they had sailed 14,000 leagues, 
 and crossed the equator six times, having been absent three years 
 wanting fourteen days. This was the first voyage round the 
 world that had ever been made 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 Mr. Drake was first apprenticed to the master of a small ves- 
 sel trading to France and Zealand; at the age of eighteen he went 
 purse."- of a ship to tiie Bay of Biscay, and at twenty made a voy- 
 age to the coast of Guinea. Having obtained Queen Elizabeth's 
 permission for an expedition against the Spaniards, five ships were 
 fitted out, having on board 1G4 able men and a large quantity of 
 provisions. This fleet sailed out of Plymouth Sound on the 5th 
 of November 1577; but meeting with a violent storm, they were 
 obliged to put back and refit. On the 13th of December they 
 sailed again, and on the 25th passed Cape Cantin, on the coast 
 of Barbary. After visiting numerous islands and meeting with 
 various adventures, having passed the line, they at length dis- 
 covered the coast of Brazil on the 5th of April, it being fitty-four 
 days since they saw land. As soon as the people on shore saw the 
 ships, they made large fires in different parts, and performed cere- 
 monies to prevail on the gods to sink the vessels, or at least to 
 prevent their landing. Sailing southward they anchored in fort 
 St. Julian, where the admiral going on shore with six men, some 
 of the natives slew the gunner, whose death was revenged by the 
 commander, who killed tlie murderer with his own hand. At 
 this place INIagellan having executed one of his company who 
 conspired against his life, Drake caused one of the crew named 
 Doughty to be tried for the same offence against himself; and 
 Xecutcd him on the same gibbet. 
 On the 20th of August, they fell in with the strait of Ma- 
 gellan, which they entered, but found so full of intricate windings, 
 that the same wind which was sometimes in their favor, was at 
 others against them. After several difficulties they entered the 
 South Sea on the Gth of September, and on the next day a vio- 
 lent storm drove them 200 leagues south of the strait, where .hey 
 anchored among some islands, abounding in herbs and water 
 
SIR FU.VNCIS DRAKE. 2i 
 
 Being now arrived at the other mouth of the strait, they steered 
 for the coast of 'Chi4i. On their course they met an Indian in a 
 canoe, who informed them that at St. Jago there was a large 
 ship laden for Peru. The admiral rewarded him for this informa- 
 tion, whereupon he conducted tliem to the place where the ship 
 lay at anchor. There were only eight Spaniards and three ne- 
 groes on board, who mistaking them for friends, welcomed them 
 and invited them to drink Chili wine. Drake accepted the invi- 
 tation, and going on board, put them under hatches; arriving 
 on shore he rilled the town and chapel, from which he took great 
 quantities of silver and gold. Proceeding to sea, they arrived 
 at the port of Tarapa.\a, where some of them going on shore 
 found a Spaniard asleep, with eighteen bars of silver laying by 
 his side, which they took without waking him. 
 
 Entering the port of Lima on the 13th of February, they found 
 ^•^elve sail of ships at anchor unguarded, the crews being all on 
 ihore. Examining these vessels they found much plate, together 
 with rich silks and linens, which they took away, but having 
 learned that a rich ship called the Cacafuego had lately sailed from 
 that harbor for Taila, the admiral determined to follow her. 
 Havmg come up with tiie chase, they gave her three shots, 
 which brought away the mizzen-mast, whereupon they boarded her, 
 ^nd found thirteen chests full of rials of plate, eighty pounds 
 weight of gold, a quantity of jewels, and twe-nty-six tons of silver 
 in bars. 
 
 They subsequently took several other rich prizes, and Drake 
 having now revenged himself on the Spaniards, began to think of 
 the best way of returning to England. To return by the strait 
 of Magellan would be to throw himself into the hands of the 
 Spaniards; he therefore determined to sail westward to the East 
 Indies, and return by the Cape of Good Hope. But wanting 
 wind, he sailed towards the north, and in 38 degrees N. latitude, 
 discovered a country, which from its white cliffs he called New 
 Albion, though it is now known by the name of California. Here 
 they were received with much hospitality by the natives, and the 
 king made Drake a solemn tender of his whole kingdom. Sail- 
 ing he«nce, they saw the Ladrones on the 13th of October. The 
 admiral held on his course without delay, and on the 4th of No- 
 vember, fell in with the Moluccas. Having arrived at a little island 
 south of Celebes, they staid twenty-six days, in order to repair the 
 ships. Setting sail hence, they ran among a number of small isl- 
 ands, and the wind shifting about suddenly, drove them upon a rock, 
 on the evening of the 9th of January, 1579, wh«re they stuck fast, 
 till four in the afternoon of the next day. In this extremity they 
 lightened the vessel, by taking out eight pieces of ordnance and 
 three tons of cloves. On the 18th of June, they doubled the Cape 
 of Good Hope, and on the 22nd of July arrived at Sierra Leone, 
 where they found a great number of elephants. They staid 
 
here ivro cla\s, nnd liuldiii;^' on (hrir course for Plymoutli, arrived 
 there cii Monday, the •2(H\\ of September, 1580; but according to 
 their own reckoning, on Sunchiy the iioth, having gone round the 
 workl in two years, ten months, and a few days. The honor of 
 kniglitliood was conferred on Drake, and a chair was made ftoin 
 his ship wliicU is still s^iown as a curiosity at Oxford 
 
 THE BEACON-LIGHT. 
 
 Darkness was deep'uing o'er the seas, 
 
 And still I'le hulk drove on; 
 No sail to answer to the breeze, 
 
 Her masts and cordage gone: 
 Gloomy and drear her course of fear, 
 
 Each looked but for a grave, 
 When full in sight, tiie 15eacon-light 
 
 Came streaming o'er the wave! 
 
 Then wildly rose thegladd'ning shout 
 
 Of all that hardy crew — 
 Boldly they put the helm about, 
 
 And through the surf they flew, 
 Storm was forgot, toil heeded not, 
 
 And loud the cheer they gave, 
 As full in sight, the Beacon-light 
 
 Came streaming o'er the wave! 
 
 And gaily oft the tale they told, 
 
 When they were safe on shore, 
 How hearts had sunk, and hope grown cold 
 
 Amid the billo\.'s' roar; 
 That not a star had shone afar, 
 
 By its pale beam to save. 
 When full in sight, the Beacon-light, 
 
 Came streaming o'er the wave! 
 
THE SPANISH WRECK. 3.1 
 
 THE SPANISH WRECK. 
 
 About the year 1683, Sir William Phips, afterwards celebrated 
 for his attempts to take Quebec, in 1690, applied to the English 
 Government for aid and permission to fit out a suitable vessel for 
 the purpose of searching for the wreck of a Spanish ship which 
 had been lost near one of the West India Islands, richly laden 
 with silver. His request, after some delay, was granted and a frig- 
 ate called Algier Rose, carrying eighteen guns and manned with 
 ninety five men, was placed under his command. He arrived m 
 New England the same year and proceeded forthwith to the place 
 where the treasure was reported to have been lost. He encoun- 
 tered many difficulties in his voyage and came nigh, more than once, 
 losing his life by the mutiny of his crew. It is reported of him ihat 
 while his ship lay by an island, for the purpose of enabling his men 
 to take on board a fresh supply of wood and water, they agreed 
 among themselves to take the ship into their own hands, and make 
 a piratical expedition into the South Seas. They were all on 
 the island with the exception of Captain Phips and eight or ten 
 of the crew. Among these was the carpenter, whose services 
 they could not well dispense with, and they accordingly sent to 
 the ship, requesting him to come to them, as they had sometlwng 
 for him to do. No sooner had he come among them, than they 
 disclosed to him the cruel project, which was to set the Captain, 
 and the above named eight or ten men upon the island, and then 
 leave them to perish, while they would take the ship. into their 
 own hands and perform the proposed voyage. They gave the 
 carpenter half an hour to consider of the subject, whether he 
 would join with them or not, and sent him back accompanied by 
 a seaman to prevent any interview between him and the Captain, 
 by which a disclosure could be made. While at work on the ship, 
 he suddenly feigned an attack of the cholic, and rushed into the 
 cabin for the purpose of obtaining relief, and while there, gave the 
 Captain an account of the determination of his crew. He direct- 
 ed the carpenter to return upon the island, and give his consent 
 to jom the conspiracy. 
 
 Wlien the carpenter had left the ship, the Captain ordered the 
 men on board, to prepare the pieces for action, removed the plank 
 by which a landing had been effected, and ordered them not to 
 permit any one of those, save the carpenter, to approach the ship. 
 A quantity of provisions had been carried on shore and covered 
 with a tent, and two or three guns placed near to protect them 
 from the Spaniards who might be passing that way: these guns 
 were all charged, ready to be made use of in the event of an at- 
 tack from the conspirators. The disaffected part of the crew now 
 ret«irned to the ship for the purpose of executing their plans 
 
:;i Tlir. bl'A.MMI WIUXIC. 
 
 No sDoiHM liud tlicy (.•(line in si;j;lit, tluin the captain orrlered tlienk 
 not to approacli, sayiiijf to tliiMii that their intentions had been 
 discoveird, and that tliey were to he left npon tlie island, there to 
 remain and [)erish. Seeing how hopeless tlieir condition wad 
 become, tliey gathered courage from despair, and resolved to 
 rescue the |)rovisions from the ship, and began to make a bold 
 push As soon as they began to approach, the captain in a res- 
 olute manner, cried out, "stand ofl', ye wretches, at your peril!" 
 — They quietly relinquished their determination to attack, and 
 fell upon their knees, imploring pardon, and offered to comply 
 with any disposal he might make of them, provided he would re- 
 ceive them on board. After having kept them on their knees 
 long enough, he granted their petition and received them into 
 the ship, and sailed immediately for the island of Jamaica, there 
 put them on shore, and employed other seamen in their place. 
 
 He now commenced an examination for the wreck, and after 
 spending a long time in an almost fruitless search, sailed for Eng- 
 land. By the advice, however, of an old Spaniard, he had satisfi- 
 ed himself of the prospect of succeeding in accomplishing his ob- 
 ject, and determined to return again and prosecute his plan. Hig 
 crew being composed of strangers, made him think it advisable to 
 change them for others in whom he could have greater confidence 
 in the event his labors should be crowned with success. 
 
 On his return to England, his conduct gained the royal appro- 
 bation, and the applause of the nobles, and many distinguished 
 men encouraged him to engage in a second expedition and under 
 more favorable and promising circumstances. 
 
 His project was opposed, however, by many powerful enemies, 
 but, promoted by the proverb, he who can rvctit, hath xvhat he de 
 sirrth, he overcame every obstacle and disappointment, and, under 
 the patronage of the Duke of Albemarle, had a new ship fitted 
 out with a more honest crew, furnished with instruments and con- 
 veniences suited to the nature of the expedition. Arriving at 
 Port de la Plata, he made a large canoe from the cotton tree suf- 
 ficient to carry eight men, and with the old Spaniard for a guide, 
 again commenced examination i'or the wreck. There ^hey float- 
 ed about, fishing for their treasure among dangerous reefs and 
 shoals for many weeks without success. So fruitless was the 
 search that more than once had he, as well as his men, determin- 
 ed to abandon the work. At length, when returning to the ship, 
 discouraged by repeated disappointment, and the hopelessness o' 
 a successful issue of the project, one of the men looking Into the 
 water discovered a feather, as he thought, growing out of a rock. 
 Thinking that they would not go back to the Captain without 
 something to present him, they ordered an Indian to dive down 
 and bring it up, which having done, he gave an account of many 
 large guns which he saw in his descent. The diver again went 
 down, and. to the joy and astonishment of the men, returned with 
 
TtiE Sl'AM.V.I WRECK. 26 
 
 a SdO or lump of silver, wnjcn turned out to be worth from ten to 
 twelve hundred dollars, 'i hey buoyed the place and returned to 
 the Captain overjoyed with their good lortune, as it was well known 
 that the wreck was one of the ships be onging to the king of Spain, 
 which had been lost on a returning voyage from South America 
 richly laden with silver bullion. The loss of the ship is supposed 
 »o have happened about the year 1637, and the immense treasures 
 which were reported to have been sunk with her were often made 
 ihe subject of ingenious speculation, and many had sunk their 
 own fortunes and efforts to find it. It was reserved, however, in 
 the silent depths, that Capt. Phips might be the fortunate finder of 
 it at so late a period after its loss. He now found in the bullion 
 brought to him full assurance that destiny had allotted to him to suck 
 of the abundance of the seas and of treasures hid in the sand. 
 
 Having prepared his instruments for fishing up the contents of 
 ♦ he wreck, all hands were now busily employed in the work, and 
 in a short time they succeeded in procuring the astonishing 
 amount of thirty-two tons of silver. In addition to this Captain 
 Adderly, an adventurer from Providence, and particular friend of 
 Captain Phips, obtained si.\ tons more from the same wreck at the 
 same time. If was by an agreement that Adderly met Phips at 
 the place of the wreck with a small vessel. He was so overjoyed 
 with the extent of his riches and so elated at such unlooked for 
 acquisitions, tkat he lived but a little while to enjoy them. It 
 is .said that he went to the island of Bermudas where he became 
 insane and died about two years after the six tons of silver came 
 into his hands. Phips, however, made a more profitable account 
 of the expedition, and lived to enjoy the proceeds of it without 
 prejudice to his health or destruction of his mind. In a few weeks 
 after leaving the wreck, he arrived safe in London, in 1687, with a 
 cargo valued at near fifteen hundred thous.^nd dollars. He 
 made an honest distribution of it among those who aided him in 
 fitting him oat with a vessel and proper conveniences, and receiv- 
 ed about seventy-five thousand dollars for his share of the profit*. 
 The Duke of Albemarle, out of respect to his honesty and fide'i- 
 ty, presented his wife, who was then in New England, a gold c jp 
 worth "near a thousand pounds." And King James as a reward 
 for his important services in bringing such amount of property 
 into the country conferred on him the honor of Knighthood. 
 
 Sir William Phips was born Febuary 2, 1650, at a despicable 
 
 Plantation on the river Kennebeck. He removed to Boston wlier* 
 e married a daughter of Roger Spencer, and pursued the husl 
 ness of a smith, which was the occupation of his father. It 's 
 Slid that he frequeutly promised his wife that he would one d^y 
 command a King's skip and be the owner of a fair brick house in 
 the Green lane of JVorth Boston, all which proved true, for after 
 the discovery of the wreck, he returned into New England, in 
 the summer of the year 1688, ''able after five year's absence, to 
 3 
 
26 r»,\>iff.i 
 
 cnlcrtnin his lad/ ^vi(h some nccnmplishnicnt of fiis pte(?icff''.lif 
 nnd then built iuniself a fair house in the very j lace which he 
 foretold.' 
 
 Sir >Villintn Phips was industrio'is, coura^eon9,and persevering: 
 his prmoi|)al fault was, occasionally iruiidging his temper. This 
 failiii": hf did not overcome until late in life. It is this day said by 
 the vcrv a^fod |)eople living at the north jiart of Boston, where he 
 ri'M<lcd, that when he was governor of Massachusetts, he had t- 
 (]uat rol with a truckman, at which time be was in so great a passionr, 
 that he threw off his coat and dared the man to fight. After this, 
 however, he became very serious and devout, when he joined the 
 Church, made a written acknowledgement of his past errors, and in 
 terms of dccj) humility, gave evidence of a pious mind. 
 
 Phips was made "Captain General and Commander-in-ChieJ 
 ofMassachusetts Bay," in IG90. 
 
 The Brick House which he built stands in Salem Street, and i. 
 improved as an asylum for orphan boys. 
 
 DAMPIER 
 
 William Dampier was born in Sonriersetshire, England, in tb , 
 year 1652. He lost both his parents when very young, and wa 
 bound apprentice to the master of a ship at Weymouth, witi 
 whom he made a voyage to France and another to New England 
 In 1673, he served in the Dutch war, and was afterwards an over 
 seer to a plantation in Jamaica. He next visited the bay of Cam 
 peachy as a logwood cutter, and, after once more visiting England 
 engaged in a band of Buccaneers, as they called themselves, a) 
 though in reality pirates, with whom he roved on the Peruviai 
 coasts. He next visited Virginia, and engaged in an expediiiop. 
 against tlie Spanish settlements in the South Seas. They accor- 
 dingly sailed in August, 1683, and, after taking several prizes oi: 
 the coasts of Peru and Chili, the party experienced various fortune 
 but no very signal success. Dampier, wishing to obtain somt 
 knowledge of the northen coast of Mexico, joined the crew of i 
 captain Swan, who cruised in the hopes of meeting the annua, 
 royal IManilla ship, which, however, escaped them. Swan and 
 Dampier were resolved to steer for the East Ind.es, and they 
 accordingly sailed to the Piscadores, to Bouton island, to INew 
 Holland and to Nicobar, where Dampier and others were 'eft 
 ashore lo recover their health. Tlieir numbers gave them hopes 
 of being al)Ie to navigate a canoe to Achin, in which they suc- 
 ceeded, after encountering a tremendous storm, which threatened 
 them with unavoidable destruction. After making several trading 
 
A MAN OVEREOARD/ 2T 
 
 voyages with a CH|>tain Weldon, Dampier entered, arf a gunnei ,the 
 £nglish factory at Bencoolen. Upon tliis coast !ip remained untiJ 
 1691, when he found means to return home, and, being in want 
 of money, sold his property in a curiously painted or tattoed Indian 
 prince, wno was shown as a curiosity, and who ultimately died 
 of the small pox at Oxford. Dampier is next heard of as a 
 commander, in the king's service, of a sloop of war of twelve guns 
 and fifty men, probably fitted out for a voyage of discovery. After 
 experiencing a variety of adventures with a discontented crew, 
 this vessel foundered ofi' the Isle of Ascension, his men with dif- 
 ficulty reaching land. They were released from this island by an 
 East India ship, in which Dampier came to England. He after- 
 wards commanded a ship in the South Seas, and accompanied 
 the expedition of Captain Woodes Rogers as pilot. 
 
 A MAN OVERBOARD. 
 
 Sailors are men of rough habits, but their feelings are not by 
 any means so coarse; if they possess little prudence or worldly 
 consideration, they are likewise very free from selfishness; gen- 
 erally speaking, too, they are much attached to one another, and 
 will make great sacrifices to their messmates or shipmates when 
 opportunities occur. 
 
 I remember once, when crusing off Terceira in the Endymion, 
 that a man fell overboard and was drowned. After the usual con- 
 fusion, and long search in vain, the boats were hoisted up, and 
 the hands called to make sail. I was officer of the forecastle and 
 on looking about to see if all the men were at their station, missed 
 one of the foretop men. Just at that moment I observed some 
 one curled up, and apparently hiding himself under the bow of 
 the barge, between the boat and the booms. 'Hillo!' I said, 
 'who are you? What are you doing there, you skulker.'' Why 
 are you not at your station.''' 
 
 ' I am not skulking, sir,' said the poor fellow, the furrows in 
 whfise bron/ed and weatherbcaten cheek were running down 
 with tears. The man we had just lost had been his messmate 
 and friend, he told tne, for ten years. I begged his pardon, in 
 full sincerity, for having used such harsh words to him at such a 
 moment, and bid him go below to his birth for the rest of the day. 
 — 'Never mind, sir, never mind,' said the kind hearted seaman, 
 'it can't be helped. You meant no harm, sir. I am as well on deck 
 as below. Bill's gone sir, but I must do my duty.' So saying, he 
 drew the sleeve of his jacket twice cr thrice across his eyes, and 
 
1.8 A MAN ()\i.i:f.(i.vi!H. 
 
 iniisttTiiif; liis priof within liis breast, walked to his j»tation as if 
 iKitliiin: had hiipinMicd. 
 
 Ill tiie same i*\u[) and nearly about the same time, the people 
 were batliing ahjiig side in a calm at sea. It is customary on such 
 occasions to spread a studding-sail on the water, by means of 
 lines from the fore and main yard arms, for the use of those who 
 either cannut swim, or wlio are not expert in this art, so very 
 injportant to all seafaring people. Half a dozen of the ship's boys 
 were lloundering about in the sails, and sometimes even venturing 
 beyond the leech rope. One of the least of these urciiins, but 
 not the least courageous of their number, when taunted by his 
 more skilful companions with being afraid, struck out boldly be- 
 yond the prescribed bounds. He had not gone much farther thar 
 his own length, however, along the surface of the fathomless sea, 
 when his heart failed him, poor little man; and long with his con- 
 fidence away also went his power of keeping his head above the 
 water. So down he sank rapidly, to the speechless horror of the 
 other boys, who of course, could lend the drowning child no help. 
 
 The captain of the forecastle, a tall, fine-looking, hard-a-weath- 
 er fellow, was standing on the shank of the sheet anchor with 
 his arms across, and his well varnished canvass hat drawn so 
 much over his eyes that it was ditTicult to tell whether he was 
 awake or merely dozing in the sun, as he leaned his back against 
 the fore-topmast backstay. The seaman, however, had been at- 
 tentively watching the young party all the time, and rather fear- 
 ing that mischief might ensue from their rashness, he had grunted 
 out a warning to them from time to time, to which they paid no 
 sort of attention. At last he desisted, saying they might drown 
 themselves if they had a mind, for never a bit would he help 
 tiiem; but no sooner did the sinking figure of the adventurous 
 little boy catch his eye, than, diver fashion, he joined the palrns of 
 his hands over his head, inverted his position in one instant, and 
 urging himself into .'•wifter motion by a smart push with his feet 
 against the anchor, shot head foremost into the water. The poor 
 lad sunk so- rapidly that he was at least a couple of fathoms under 
 »he surface before he was arrested by the grip of the sailor, whi 
 soon rose ap-ain, bearing the bewildered boy in his hand, and call- 
 ing to the other youngsters to take better care of their companion, 
 chucked him right into the belly of the sail in the midst of the 
 party The fore-sheet was hanging in the calm, nearly into the 
 water, ppd by it the dripping seaman scrambled up again t > his 
 old birth on tie anchor, shook himself like a great Newfoundland 
 dog, and then jumping on the deck, proceeded across the forecastle 
 to shift himself. 
 
 At the top of the ladder he was stopped by the marine officer, 
 who had witnessed the whole transaction, as he sat across the 
 gangway hp,mtnocks, watching the swimmers, and trying to gel 
 his own rrrjj^nt to undergo the labor of •jndr',s^sing. Said the soldiet 
 
CAPTAIN WOODES ROr.EIlS. 29 
 
 to the sailor " That was very well done of you, my man, and right 
 well deserves a glass of grog. Say so to the gun-room steward 
 as you pass; and tell him it is my orders to fill you out a stiff nor- 
 wester." The soldier's offer was kindly meant, but rather clumsily 
 timid, at least so thought Jack: for though he inclined his head in 
 acknowledgment of the attention, and instinctively touched his hal 
 when spoken to by an officer, he made no reply till out of the 
 marine's hearing, when he laughed, or rather chuckled out to the 
 people near him, "Does the good gentleman suppose I '11 take 
 a glass of grog foi saving a boy's life." — Capt. Hall 
 
 CAPTAIN WOODES ROGERS. 
 
 This voyage was undertaken chiefly by the merchants of Bristol. 
 Captain Woodes Rogers was appointed commander in chief, and 
 William Dampier first pilot of the expedition. They sailed from 
 King-road, Bristol, on the 1st of August, 1708, their force con- 
 sisting of the Duke, a ship of three hundred tons burden, thirty guns, 
 and one hundred and seventy men, commanded by Rogers; arvd the 
 Duchess of two hundred and seventy tons, twenty-six guns, and one 
 Hundred and fifty-one men, under the command of captain Courtney. 
 They entered the harbor of Cork on the 6th of August, where 
 they enlisted a number of seamen in the room of about forty fel- 
 lows who had ran away. They set sail on the 1st of September, 
 with a very mixed crew, and on the morning of the 10th discover- 
 ed a sail, to which they immediately gave chase. On coming up 
 with her she proved to be a Swedish ship, and was permitted to 
 proceed unmolested on her way. During the time the ship was 
 in custody, a design had been privately formed on board the Duke, 
 by four inferior officers, to make a prize of her; and when they 
 found she was given up, they began to mutiny; but the boatsman, 
 being displaced, and, with ten others, put in irons, and a severe 
 whipping given to some of the leaders of the disturbance, all was 
 quiet again. On the 14th, however, some of the ship's company, 
 headed by a daring fellow, came up to captain Rogers at the 
 steerage-door, and demanded the boatswain out of irons. The 
 captain gave them good words, and having taken the ringleader, as 
 if to speak with him on the quarter-dock, had him suddenly seized 
 by the help of the officers, and lashed by one of his own followers. 
 On the 16th the captain released the prisoners from irons on their 
 acknowledging their sorrow for what they had done. 
 
 On the 17th, gained sight of the peak of Teneriffe, and the 
 next day took a Spanish bark of twenty-five tons. On the 25th 
 of September passed the tropic, when about sixty of the crew, who 
 
90 OPTAIN UOODES ROGERS. 
 
 had never been tliis course before, were ducked three times, 
 by hoisting tlicin u|) halfway the main-yard, with a rope to which 
 they were made fast, and 'sousing them into the water. After 
 visitin-i the Cape de \'erd islands, where they took in water and 
 provisfons, tl»e sliips again set sail on the 8th of October, in the 
 evening. On the 14th, they came within sight of Brazil, and soon 
 after cmne to anchor before the island of Grande, in eleven fath- 
 oms water. While tiiey lay here another quarrel arose on board 
 the Duchess, and eight of the ringleaders were put in irons. On 
 the '2oth, two men deserted and made their escape into the woods; 
 but, in the night, were so terrilied by the noise made by the baboons 
 and monkeys, that they ran back, plunged into the water, and pray- 
 «d to be taken on board again 
 
 Peak 01" Teneriffe. 
 
 The ships sailed out of the bay of Grande on the first of De 
 cember, steering for .Juan Fernandez, and on the 5th of January, 
 encountered a violent storm, which drove such a quantity of 
 water into the Duchess, that they expected she would sink every 
 moment. As the men were going to supper about nine o'clock 
 at niglit, she shipped a sea at the poop, which boat in the bulk- 
 head and all the cabin windows. On deck the yawl was staved in 
 pieces and one or two of tne men severely hurt. On the 17th, 
 took an observation, by which they found they had got round 
 Cape Horn and were to the northward of Cape Victoria. About 
 this time the scurvy began to make great havoc among the crews. 
 They now bore away for the island of Juan Fernandez, which 
 appeared in sight on the last day of January. On going on shore 
 he''e thev discovered a man clothed in goat-skins, whose name 
 
STORY OF ALEXANDER SELKIRK 31 
 
 *fa. Alexander Selkirk. Kis story will be found at the end of 
 this narrative. They remained at this islarKJ till the 14th of 
 February having fully refreshed themselves, when they weighed 
 anchor, with a fair gaJe at south-east. 
 
 After taking a number of valuable prizes, on the 23d of April, 
 caucain Rogers with some of his men made a descent in boats and 
 barks upon tli^e town of Guiaquil, which they took with but little 
 resistance and plundered of great quantities of money, jewels, and 
 provisions. He then marched out of the town, and returned on 
 board liis own ship, where he was heartily greeted by those of his 
 people whom he had left behind. They afterwards obtained a 
 considerable sura as a ransom for the town, and bore away for the 
 t^iailapagos islands, with a strong gale at S. S. W. ; discovered land 
 •^■n the 17th of May, but found it barren and destitute of water. 
 €'oi)tinuing on their voyage, they took several rich prizes, visited 
 fjl.'-gona and the Gallapagos, and sailing for the East Indies ar- 
 rived at the islands of Ser[)ana and Guam. They left the latter 
 {(lace on the 2le.t of INIarch, and on the '25th of May, made Bou- 
 ton. They sailed from this island on the 8th of June, and on the 
 ^2.i<i df July, they hove down upon Horn Islatu! to careen their 
 vessels. Having supplied themselves with such necessaries as 
 tiii'v wanted, they left Butavia on the 12th of October, and sailed 
 for the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Tiiey came to anchor in the Cape harbor, on the 28th of De- 
 cember. The English saluted the Dutch fort with nine guns; 
 whicu compliment was returned with seven. At this' place they 
 waited for the convoy of the Dutch fleet till April, on the 5th of 
 whico month the Dutch admiral hoisted a blue flag, and loosed hia 
 fore-top-sail, as a signal to unmoor; and the next day the whole 
 fleet sailed with a fresh breeze at S. S. E. On the 23d of July 
 they arrived in the Texel, and sailing hence with seven prizes 
 came to the moorings in the Downs on the 2d of October, 1711 
 
 STORY OF ALEXANDER SELKIRK. 
 
 Mr. Selkirk, whose adventures gave rise to the celebrated storj* 
 of Robinson Crusoe, was a native of Scotland, and bred a sailor 
 from his youth. He was left on the island of Juan Fernandez, 
 on account of a difierence between him and his captain, which, 
 together with the ship's being leaky, made him at first willing to 
 fitay there; but afterwards wishini>- to go on board, the captpin 
 would not receive him. Selkirk had with him his clothes and 
 bedding, also a fir«lock, a little powdf •-, some bullets and tobacco; 
 a hatch u, a kettle, a knife, a bible, and a few nuUhomaticai ia- 
 
J\i ST! V OF AI.F.XANDEU sn.KIRIt 
 
 strumcnt.-^ and books. He diverted and provided for hinipolf as weK 
 as lie could, but for the first eigbt months lie was extremely melan 
 choly, and could hardly support the terror of being alone in such 
 a desolate place, lie built two huts with pimento trees, covered 
 them with long grass, and lined them with the skins of goats, which 
 he killed with his gun, as he wanted, so long as his powder, of 
 ■which there was but a pound, lasted. He procured fire, by rub- 
 bing two sticks of pimento wood upon his knee. 
 
 In the smaller hut, which was at some distance from the other, 
 he dressed his victuals; and in the larger he slept, and employed 
 hiuAsclf in reading and praying; so that he said he was a better 
 christian while in this solitude than he ever was before, or than, 
 he feared, he sliould ever be again. 
 
 The pimento wood, which burnt very clear, served him both 
 for tire and candle, and refreshed him with its fragrant smell. He 
 could have procured lish enough, but would not eat them for want 
 of salt; except a sort of cray-fish, which were very good, and as 
 large as our lobsters. Of the goat's-flesh he made excellent broth. 
 He kept an account of five hundred of these animals which he 
 had killed, and as many more which he caught; and, having mark. 
 ed them on the ear, let them go again. When his powder was 
 .gone, he took them by outrunning them. His agility in pursuing 
 a goat had once like to have cost him his life; he pursued it with 
 so much eagerness, that he caught hold of it on the brink of a 
 precipice, of which he was not aware, as the bushes concealed it 
 from his sight; so that he fell with the goat down the precipice, 
 a prodigious height, and was so stunned and bruised with the fall 
 that he lay there insensible about twenty-four hours, and when he 
 came to his senses, he found the goat dead under him. He wa? 
 so hurt that he was hardly able to crawl to his hut, which was 
 about a mile distant, nor was he abJe to go abroad again in less 
 than ten days. He came at length to relish his meat without salt 
 or bread, and found plenty of good turnips, which had been sov/ed 
 there by captain Dampicr's men, and had now overspread some 
 acres of ground. He soon wore out his shoes as well as his 
 clothes by running in the woods, and at length his feet became 
 so hard that he ran every where without difficulty. 
 
 After he had recovered his cheerfulness, he diverted himself 
 sometimes with cutting his name on the trees, together with the 
 time of his being left, and continuance there. He was at first 
 much postered with rats, which had bred in great numbers, from 
 some which had got on shore from sh.ips which put in there for 
 water. The rats gnawed his Caet and clothes while he sle)-,t, so 
 that he was obliged to cherish some cats, which had also bred 
 from some that had got ashore from diflcrent ships; these he fed 
 with goat's-flesh, by which many of them became so tame, that 
 they would lie aboiit him in hvmdreds, and soon delivered him from 
 the rats. He likewise tamed some kids; and, to divert himself 
 
STORY OF ALEXANDER SELKIRK. S3 
 
 would frequently sing and dam-e witii tliem and his cats, so that 
 he at length overcame all the weariness of Ins solitude, and be- 
 came quite easy. Wl'.en iiis clothes were worn out he made a 
 coat and a cap of goat's skin sewed together with little thongs of 
 the same, which he cut with his knife. He had no other needle 
 than a nail, and when his knife was worn out he made others as 
 well as he could of some iron hoops that w-ere loft ashore, which 
 he beat straight and thin and ground upon stones. Having some 
 linen cloth, he cut out some shirts, which he sewed with the 
 worsted of his old stockings; and he had his last shirt on when he 
 was found. 
 
 Selkirk had been on the island four years and four months, when 
 one day beholding a ship at a distance, he kindled a fire, and the 
 next morning saw a yawl containing eight men well-armed ap- 
 proach the shore. It proved to be from the Duke, under the com- 
 mand of captain Rogers, who had seen the fire and .supposed it to 
 be from the crew of some enemy's ships, who had landed on the 
 island. Next day, while still under apprehensions of an enemy, 
 they stood in for the shore, from which blew such sudden and 
 frequent gusts of wind, that they were forced to reef their top- 
 sail, and stand by the masts, lest they should go by tiie board. 
 Seeing no ships, they conjectured that some had been there and 
 left on seeing their approach. 
 
 At first going on board the Duke, Selkirk seemed much rejoic- 
 ed, but had so far forgot his native language, for want of use, that 
 he could not speak plainly or connectedly. A dram was offered 
 him but he would not taste it, having drank nothing but water for 
 so long a time, and it was a good while before he could relish the 
 victuals on board. 
 
 Selkirk saw no venomous creature on the island, nor any sort 
 of beast but goats, which had originally been put on shore by Juan 
 Fernando, who settled here with some families and gave name to 
 Lhe place. He afterwards left it, and it was entirely deserted 
 when Selkirk took up his abode there.* 
 
 ' The island of Juan Fernandez'is now used by the Cliihan goveiiinient as a place for 
 tne transportation of convicts, and a garrison is stationed there. About one hnndrec 
 of these criminals lately formed a plot, seized the garrison, took possession of an .Ameri- 
 can brig just arrived from New York, and sailed for Copiapo, in Chili, where thej 
 lauded. At the las. advices tliey had not yet been taken 
 
11. A SCENE OFF BERMUDA 
 
 THE OCEAN 
 
 The ocean hatii its silent caves, 
 
 Deep, quiet, and alone; 
 Thoucrii there he lury in the waves, 
 
 Jiencalh them there is none. 
 
 The awfijl spirits of the deep, 
 Hold their communion there; 
 
 And there are those for whom we weep,- 
 The young, the bright, the fair. 
 
 Calmly the weary seamen rest, 
 
 Beneath their own blue sea; 
 The ocean solitudes are blessed, 
 
 For there is purity. 
 
 The earth has guilt, the earth has care, 
 
 Unquiet are its graves; 
 But peaceful sleep is ever there, 
 
 Beneath its dark blue waves. 
 
 A SCENE OFF BERMUDA. 
 
 The evening was closing in dark and rainy, with every appearance 
 of a gale from the westward, and the weather had become so thick 
 and boisterous, that the lieutenant of the watch had ordered the 
 lookout at the mast-head down on the deck. The man on liis way 
 down, had gone into the main-top to bring away some things he 
 liad left in going aloft, and was in the act of leaving it, when he 
 Bung out, " A sail on the weather-bow!" " What does she look 
 like.-"' " Can 't rightly say, sir; she is in the middle of tlic thick 
 weather to windward." " Stay where you are a little. Jenkins, 
 jump forward, and see what you can make of her from the fore- 
 yard." Whilst the topman was obeying his instructions, the look- 
 out again hailed. " She is a ship, sir, close-hauled on the same 
 tack; the weather clears and I can see her now." 
 
 The wind ever since noon had been blowing in heavy squalls, 
 with appalling lulls between them. One of these gusts had been 
 so violent as to bury in the sea the lee-guns in the waist, although 
 the brig had nothing set but her close-reefed mam-topsail, and reef- 
 
K SCENE OFF BERMUDA. S» 
 
 cd foresail. It was now spend iajj its luiy, and she was beginning 
 t,o roll heavily, when, with a suddenness almost incredible to one 
 uiiac juainted v,'ith these latitudes, the veil of mist that had hung 
 ro tlie windward the whole day was rent and drawn aside, and the 
 red and level rays of the setting sun flashed at once, through a 
 long arch of glowing clouds, on the black hull and tall spars of 
 his Britanic majesty's sloop Torch. And, true enough, we were 
 not the only spectators of this gloomy splendor; for, j^ght in the 
 wake of the moonlike sun, now half sunk in the sea, at the distance 
 of a mile or more, lay a long warlike-looking craft, apparently a 
 frigate or heavy corvette, rolling heavily and silently in the trough 
 of the sea, with her masts, yards, and the scanty sail she had set, 
 in strong relief against the glorious horizon. 
 
 Jenkins now hailed from the foreyard, " The strange sail is 
 bearing up, sir." As bespoke, a flash was seen, followed, aftei 
 what seemed a long interval, by the deadened report of the gun, 
 as if it had been an echo, and the sharp half-ringing, half-hissing 
 sound of the shot. It fell short, but close to us, and was evidently 
 thrown from a heavy cannon, from the length of the range. Mr. 
 Splinter, tiie first lieutenant, jumped from the gun he stood on 
 *' Quartermaster, keep her away a bit," and dived into the cabin 
 to make his report. 
 
 Captain Deadeye was a staid, stiff'-rumped, wall-eyed, old first 
 Heutenantish-looking veteran, with his coat of a regular Rodney- 
 cut, broad skirts, long waist, and standing-up collar, over which 
 dangled either a queue, or a marlinspike with a tuft of oakum ui 
 the end of it, it would have puzzled Old Nick to say which. 
 His lower spars were cased in tight unmentionables, of what 
 had once been white kerseymere, and long boots, the coal scuttle 
 tops of which served as scuppers to carry off" the drainings 
 from his coat-flaps in bad weather; he was, in fact, the " last of 
 the sea-monsters," but like all his tribe, as brave as steel; when 
 put to it, as alert as a cat. He had no sooner heard Splinter's 
 report than he sprung up the ladder. " My glass, Wilson," to 
 his steward. 
 
 " She is close to, sir; you can see her plainly without it," said 
 Mr. Treenail, the second Lieutenant, from the weather nettings, 
 where he was reconnoitering. After a long look through his star 
 board blinker, (his other sky-light had been shut up ever since 
 Ahoukir,) Deadeye gave orders to " clear away the weather-bow 
 gun;" and as it was now getting too dark for flags to be seen 
 distinctly, he desired that three lanterns might be got ready for 
 hoisting vertically in the main ngging. 
 
 "All ready forward there?" " All ready, sir." " Then hoist 
 avv-ay the lights, and throw a shot across her forefoot — fire!" 
 Bang went our carronade, but our friend to windward paid no 
 regard to the private signal; he had shaken a reef out of his top- 
 sails, and was coming down fast upon us. 
 
36 A SCENE OFF HERMUDA. 
 
 The enemy, for sucli he cvidriUly was, now all at once /awed, 
 and indulged us with u sigl»t of lus teeth ; and there he was, 
 fifteen jxirts of a side on his main deck, with his due quantum of 
 carronades on his (luaiter drck and fi>iecast!e; whilst his short 
 lower masts, white canvass, and the tremendous hoiat in his topsail, 
 showed hiui to be a heavy American frigate; and it was equally 
 ertain that he had cleverly hooked us under his lee, within com- 
 fortable range of his long twenty-fours. To convince the most 
 unbelieving, three jets of flame, amidst wreaths of white smoke, 
 glanced from his main deck; but, in this instance, the sound of 
 the cannon was followed by a sharp crackle and a shower o-f 
 splinters from the foreyard. 
 
 It was clear that we had got an ugly customer; poor Jenkins 
 now called to Treenail, who was standing forward near the gun 
 which had been tired, " Och, sir, and its badly wounded we are 
 here." Tiie olTicer was a Patlander, as well as the seaman. 
 " Wiiich of you, my boy; you or the yard?" " Both of us, your 
 honor; but the yard badhest." " Come down, then, or get into 
 the top, and I will have you looked after presently." The poor 
 fellow crawled ofT the yard into the foretop, as he was ordered, 
 where he was found after the brush, badly wounded by a splinter 
 in the breast. 
 
 Jonathan, no doubt, " calculated," as well he might, that this 
 taste of his quality would be quite sufficient for a little eighteen- 
 gun ship close under his lee: but the fight was not to be so easi- 
 ly taken out of Deadeye, although even to his optic it was now 
 high time to be off. 
 
 " All hands make sail, Mr. Splinter; that chap is too heavy for 
 us. Mr. Kelson," to the carpenter, "jump up and see what the 
 loreyawl will carry. Keep her away my man," to the seamen 
 at the helm; " Crack on, Mr. Splinter; shake all the reefs out; 
 set the fore-topsail and loose top gallant sails; stand by a sheet 
 home, and see all clear to rig the booms out, if the breeze lulls. ' 
 
 In less than a minute we were bowling along before il ; but the 
 wind was breezing up again, and no one could say how long the 
 wounded foreyard wo-uld carry the weight and drag the sails. 
 To mend the matter, Jonathan was coming up, hand over hand, 
 with the freshening breeze under a press of canvass; it was clear 
 that escape was next to impossible. 
 
 " Clear away the larboard guns!" I absolutely jumped ofT the 
 deck with astonishment; who could have spoken it.' It appeared 
 su(?h downright madness to show fight under the very muzzles of 
 the guns of an enemy, half of whose broadside was sufficient to 
 sink us. It was the captain, however, acd there was nothing 
 for it. 
 
 In an instant was heard, through the whistling of the breeze, the 
 creaking and screaming of the carronade slides, the rattling of 
 the carriage of the long twelve pounder amidships, the thumping 
 
A SCENE OFF BER.-MUDA. 3T 
 
 and punching of handspikes, and the dancing and jumping of Jack 
 himself, as the guns were being shot and run out. In a few sec- 
 onds all was still again, but the rushing sound of the vessel going 
 through the water and of the rising gale amongst the rigging. 
 The men stood clustered at their quarters; their cutlasses buck- 
 led round their waists, all without jackets and waistcoats, hva. 
 many with nothing but their trousers on. 
 
 "Now, men, mind your aim; our only chance is to wing hiir.. 
 I will yaw the ship, and, as your guns come to bear, slap it righi 
 into his bows. Starboard your helm, my man, and bring her to 
 the wind." As she came round, blaze went our carronades and 
 long guns in succession, with good will and good aim, and down 
 came his foretop-sail on the cap, with all the superincumbent spars 
 and gear; the head of the topmast had been shot away The men 
 instinctively cheered. " That will do; now knock off, my boys, 
 and let us run for it. Keep her away again; make all sail." 
 
 Jonathan was for an instant paralysed by our impudence; but 
 just as we were getting before the wind, he yawed, and let drive 
 his whole broadside; and fearfully did it transmogrify us. Half 
 an hour before we were as gay a little sloop as ever floated, with 
 a crew of one hundred and twenty as fine fellows as ever manned 
 a British man-of-war. 'j'he iron shower sped: ten of the hun- 
 dred and tvventy never saw the sun rise again; seventeen more 
 wjre wounded, three mortally; we had eight shot between wind 
 and water, our main-top-n>ast shot away as clean as a carrot, and 
 our hull and rigging otherwise regularly cut to pieces. Another 
 oroadside succeeded; but, by this time, we had bore up, thanks 
 'o the loss of our after sail, we could do nothing else; and, what 
 (vas better luck still, whilst th*; loss of our main-top-mast paid the 
 !jris off on the one hand, the lo«s of the head-sail in the frigate 
 )rought her as quickly to the wind on the other; thus most of her 
 shot fell astern of us; and before pbe could bear up again in chase, 
 the squall struck her and carried he niain-top-mast overboard. 
 
 This gave us a start, crippled anA bf^devilled though we were; 
 and, as the night fell, we contrived to >osr sight of our large friend, 
 With breathless anxiety did we carry on through tbot n'ght, ex- 
 pecting every lurch to send our remaining; top-mast by the board; 
 but the weather moderated, and next morninf^ thp f"i»n shone ot. 
 our blood-stained decks, at anchor off the ex^ir?rt^ t-o 8r. G<S'>»'gJ*» 
 harbor. — Scoltish Mao-azine. 
 
58 CAPTAIN JOHN" CMPPERTOX. 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN CLIPPERTON. 
 
 A.bout the beginning of the year 1718, some English merchantJi, 
 A "esceing war between England and Spain, resolved to fit out 
 two ships lor the South Seas. Two ships were accordingly pra« 
 vided, one called the Success, the other the Speedwell. Tiie 
 ( nniiiiand of the former was given to captain Clipperton and 
 captain Shelvock was appointed to command the latter. They 
 sailed from Plymouth on the 13th of February, 1719, with a fair 
 wind ; but the whole stock of wine, brandy and other liquors, lot 
 the use of both ships, was still on board the Speedwell. On tho 
 loth, had squally weather with rain; in the evening, unbent the 
 best and small bowers in the Success, stowed their anchors, and 
 found themselves often obliged to shorten sail for the Speedwell. 
 Captain Shelvock came this day under the lee of the Success, 
 and complained to Clipperton of the crankness of his ship, which 
 proceeded from having too much weight aloft; and, therefore, de- 
 sired him to send for his wine and brandy, which would give hirr> 
 an opportunity of striking down some of his guns into the hold 
 This was never done. 
 
 About ten o'clock at night on the 19th, there arose a fresli 
 breeze, so as to oblige both shi^ps to take in their topsails. T.iO 
 gale increasing, the Success made a signal for the Speedwell to 
 bring to, and by seven o'clock both ships were under bare poles, 
 nor able to bear a rag of canvass during the night. On the 20th, 
 the storm abated, when Clipperton made sail, steering S. and by 
 E., whereas Shelvock stood away to the N. W., so that from this 
 day they never saw each other till they met by accident in the 
 South Seas. 
 
 The Canaries being the first place appointed for a rendezvous, 
 Clipperton sailed thither with such expedition as to arrive on the 
 5th of IVIarch. After waiting ten days he determined to continue 
 his voyage, lest he should miss his consort at the next place of 
 rendezvous, which was the Cape de Veid Islands. On the 21st, 
 ihcy saw St. Vincent, and next morning anchored in the bay 
 They remained here ten days, but not meeting with their consort., 
 proceeded on their voyage. 
 
 On the 29thof JMay, iound themselves off the north point of the 
 entrance flf the straits of Magellan, and the next day entered the, 
 straits. They arrived in the South Seas on the 18th of August, 
 and on the 7th of September cast anchor off the island of Juan 
 Fernandez. They left this island on the 8th of October, leaving 
 behind two deserters whom they had not been able to find. After 
 taking a number of valuable prizes, the Success bore away for 
 the (iallapagfs, in order to refresh; and anchored in York Road 
 on the 9th o/ January, 1720. On the 11th of August anchored 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN CLIPPERTON. 39 
 
 H'ilh a prize tliey had tiilicn, iit tlie island of Lobos dc la IMar. 
 While here a conspiracy among the crew was discovered and 
 punished. 
 
 On he 1st of November, sailed for the Bay of Conception; 
 and in the passage took a ship, laden with tobacco, sugar and 
 cloth They made the Bay on the 6th in the afternoon, where 
 they saw tliree mcn-of-v.ar lying, with their topsails loose, whc 
 no sooner discovered thorn than they cut their cables, and stood 
 in chase. At this time captain Clipperton had one prize with 
 him, which, as well as the Success, hauled close upon a wind; oa 
 which the best sailer among the Spanish men-of-war, gave chase 
 to the prize, which she s-oon came up with and took. The other 
 ships crowded all the sail they could for sometime, till the largest, 
 having her raizen-top-mast carried away, fired a gun, tacked, 
 and stood in for the shore; which gave the Success an opportunity 
 of making her escape. In the Spanish prize, Clipperton lost 
 his third lieutenant and twelve of his men. 
 
 They continued cruising to the northward, and on the 4th of 
 December found themselves very near the Gallapagos. On the 
 17th saw the island of Cocos, and most of the crew went on shore. 
 On the 19th of January, 1721, sailed from this place, and on the 
 26th arrived on the coast of Mexico, where, discovering a sail, 
 they sent their pinnace to give chase, to whom he struck. On 
 the return of the pinnace they had the surprising account, that 
 this was a Spanish ship, called the Jesu Maria, now commanded 
 by cuDtain Shelvock, who had lost his ship and most of his men, 
 and taken this prize. These ships again parted, and on the 31th 
 of May, Clipperton anchored in the road of Guam. On the 5th 
 of July entered the port of Amoy, where the crew demanded 
 .hat the prize-money should be shared. Clipperton not comply- 
 ing they applied to the chief mandarin of the place, requesting 
 that he would do them justice against the captain. Clipperton 
 wa.1 therefore summoned before him; and on the mandarin's de- 
 maiidmg a reason why he refused to comply with the desires of the 
 crew, he produced the articles, by which it appearecPthat the 
 prize-money was not to be shared till their return to London. 'The 
 mandarin decided that the shares should be settled, and this dis- 
 tribution was accordingly made on the 16lh of September; 7,000/. 
 sterling being set aside as belonging to the owners. This sum 
 was immediately put on board a Portuguese East India man, 
 which ship was afterwards burnt and the greater part of the 
 monev lost. 
 
 Chpperton afterwards took passage for England in a Ditch 
 ship, and arrived there a bankrupt in health and fortune, after a 
 long and disastrous voyage. 
 
40 /EROCITY OF THE POLAR BEAR. 
 
 FEROCITY OF THE POLAR BEAR. 
 
 The annals of the north are filled with accounts of the most 
 perilous and fatal conflicts with the Polar Bear The first and one 
 of the most tragical, was sustained by Bareutz and Heemskerke, 
 in l59o, during their voyage for the discovery of the north-east 
 passage. Having anchored at an island near the strait of Way- 
 gatz, two of the sailors landed and were walking on shore, when 
 one of them felt himself closely hugged from behind. Tliinking 
 this a frolic of one of his companions, he called out in a corres- 
 ponding tone, "Who's there.'' pray stand off." His comrade 
 looked, and screamed out, "A bear! A bear!" then running to 
 the ship, alarmed tiie crew with loud cries. The sailors ran to 
 the spot armed with spikes and muskets. On their approach the 
 bear very cooly quitted the mangled corpse, sprang upon another 
 sailor, carried him oif, and plunging his teeth into his body, began 
 drinking his blood at long draughts. Hereupon the whole of 
 that stout crew, struck with terror, turned their backs, and fled 
 precipitately to the ship. On arriving there they began to look 
 at each other, unable to feel much satisfaction with their own 
 prowess. Thrae then stood forth, and undertook to avenge the 
 fate of their countrymen, and to secure for them the rights of 
 burial. They advanced, and fired at first from so respectful a 
 distance that they all missed. The purser then courageously pro- 
 ceeded in front of his companions, and taking closer aim, pierced 
 the monster's skull immediately below the eye. The bear, how- 
 ever, merely lifted up his head, and advanced upon them, holding 
 still in his mouth the victim whom he was devouring; but seeing him 
 soon stagger, the three rushed on with sabre and bayonet, and 
 soon despatched him. They collected and bestowed decent se- 
 pulture on the mangled limbs of their comrades, while the skin of 
 the animal, thirteen feet long, becaine the prize of the sailor who 
 had fireathe successful shot. 
 
 The history of the whale-fishers records a number of remarltable 
 escapes from the bear. A Dutch captain, Jonge Kees, in 1663, 
 undertook with two canoes to attack one, and with a lance gave 
 him so dreadful a wound in the belly, that his immediate death 
 seemed inevitable. Anxious, therefore, not to injure the skin, 
 Kees merely followed the animal close, till he should drop down 
 dead. The bear, however, having climbed a little rock, made f 
 spring from the distance of twenty-four feet upon the captain, who, 
 taken comjjletely by surprise, lost hold of the lance, and fell be- 
 neath the assailant, who, placing both paws on his breast, opened 
 Iwo rows of tremendous teeth, and paused for a moment, as if to 
 enow him all the horrors of his situation. At this critical instant, a 
 sailor rushed forward, and with only a scoot succeeded n alarming 
 
FEROCITY OF THE POLAR BEAR. 41 
 
 the monster, mIio made off, leaving the captain without the sliglit- 
 est injury, 
 
 ■ In 1788, Captain Cook of the Archangel, when near the coast 
 of Spitzbergen, found himself suddenly between the paws ot" a 
 baar. He instantly called on the surgeon, who accompanied him, 
 tu fire, which the latter did with such admirable promptitude and 
 precision, that he shot the beast through the head, and delivered 
 the captain. Mr. Hawkins of Evcrthorpe, in july 1818, having 
 ))ursued and twice struck a large bear, had raised his lance for a 
 tliird blow, when the animal sprang forward, seized him by the 
 thigh, and threw him over its head into the water. Fortunately, 
 it used this advantage only to effect its own escape. — Captain 
 Scoresby mentions a boat's crew which attacked a bear in the 
 Spitzbergen sea; but the animal having succeeded in climbing 
 the sides of the boat, all the sailors threw themselves for safety, 
 into t!ie water, where they hung bv the gunwale. The victor 
 entered triumphantly, and took possession of the barge, where it 
 sat quietly till it was shot by another party. The same writer 
 mentions the ingenious contrivance of a -sailor, who being [)ursued 
 by one of these creatures, threw down succe.s'-ively his hat, jacket, 
 handkerchief, and every other article in hi.«j possesion, when the 
 brute pausing at each, gave the sailor always » nertain advanta<^e, 
 and enabled him finally to regain the vessel. 
 
 Though the voracity of the bear is such, thit he has been known 
 to feed on his own species, yet maternal tenderness is as con- 
 spicuous in the female as in any other inhabitant.^ nf the frozen 
 regions. There is no exertion which she will not niake for the 
 supply of her progeny. A she bear, with her two cubs, being 
 pursued by some sailors across a field of ice, and finding that, 
 neither by example, nor by a peculiar voice and action she could 
 urge them to the requisite speed, applied her pawa anrt n>tched 
 them alternately forward. The little creatures themselvf"' *" she 
 came up, threw themselves before her to receive the imp>»*M« -nd 
 thus both she and they effected their escape. 
 4* 
 
42 I.E M.VlllE AND SCIIOUTEX 
 
 LE ISIAIUE AND SCHOUTEN. 
 
 FIRST VOVAGR ROUND CAPE HORN. 
 
 A '^clief that to the south of the strait of Magellan there wou^ ' 
 DO fomid an open sea, or some other passa<^e leading to the South 
 Sea, had many years been gaining ground, when a company of 
 Dutch merchants determined to make the experiment, which, if 
 successful, would o])en to them, as they believed, the trade to 
 India, by a new, instead of an interdicted passage, which the 
 strait of Magellan then was. 
 
 Jacob le Maire was appointed principal merchant, and presi- 
 dent of the ships; and Wilhchu Schouten, an able seaman, re- 
 ceived the charge of patron or master mariner. The vessels 
 fitted out were the Eendracht, a ship of three hundred and sixty 
 tons, nineteen guns, and sixty five men, and a galliot, named the 
 Horno, of one hundred and ten tons, eight guns and twenty two 
 men. The president, Le Maire, and Patron Schouten, sailed ia 
 the former; the latter was commanded by Jan Schouten, brother 
 to the patron, with Adrian Claesz as merchant. 
 
 June the 4th, 1615, they quitted the Texel, and in three daya 
 anchored in the Downs, wliere an English gunner was hired. 0« 
 the 30th of August, dropped anchor in the road of Sierra Leone, 
 where a stock of twenty five thousand lemons was purchased from 
 the natives, for a few beads. On the 5th of October, were in 
 latitude four degrees seventeen Hiinutes N. when a great noise was 
 heard on board the Eendracht, and immediately after the sea 
 around it became red with blood. Afterwards a piece of the horn 
 of some sea animal was found sticking in the bottom of the ship, 
 seven feet below the water line, having penetrated through the 
 plairking, and into one of the ribs: about the same length remained 
 without; it was similar in shape and size to the end of an ele- 
 phant's tooth. 
 
 Having passed the line, they struck soundings in seventy-five 
 fathoms depth, on the 4th of December, and two days after saw 
 the American coast. On the 8th, anchored in Port Desire, 
 where they took a large supply of birds, Stc. On the 19th, the 
 Home caught fire, and was totally consumed. On the 13th of 
 January, 1616, the Eendracht quitted Port Desire, and on tlx'; 
 20th, passed the latitude of the entrance of the straits t)f IMageilan 
 On the i24th saw Terra del Fuego to the right, not more than n 
 league off, and on the !29th passed to the north of some rocky 
 islets: Terra del Fuego appeared to the W.N. W. an i W., all 
 hilly land covered with snow, with a sharp point which they called 
 Cape Home, in honour of the vessel which they had lost. On 
 t>*SOth, having passed to the south o'' the Cape, steered west 
 
LE MAIRE AND SCIIOUTEX 
 
 43 
 
 e'»<'ountering great waves with a current to the westward; and 
 afterwards steered north. The ship continued to advance north- 
 ward, and on the 1st of March, made the island of Juan Fernandez 
 and caught two tons offish, but could find no anchorage. Steerinj; 
 for the East Indies they visited a number of small islands, £:jd oQ 
 the 5th of August came to the Isle of Goley, subject to the Kin>^ 
 of Tidore. Sailed again next day; and, after being much delayed 
 by calms, met, September the 7th, with a ship of their own conn- 
 try anchoring the same day at the Island of Ternate. They 
 were kindly received by the people in power: the Eendracht had 
 
 not lost one of her crew in her long cruisings, and they had dis- 
 covered a new passage to the South Sea; yet these merits did 
 not avail them, for on the arrival of the ship at Batavia, she was 
 seized and condemned, on a supposed infringement of the rights 
 of the Dutch East India Company, the officers and crew being 
 put on board other ships to be conveyed to Europe 
 
 On the 31st of December, during the passage home, died the 
 president, Jacob Le Maire, a victim to the unworthy treatmen. 
 he had received — a worthy man and a skilful navigator; and on the 
 1st of July 1617, his companions arrived in Hollsnd, by the wa> 
 of Good Hope, having been aL ent two years and seventeen davs 
 
44 "HE FLOUIDA 
 
 TilE FLORIDA 
 
 jNIany of ..le vessels which formed the Spanish Armada, inten 
 ded for the conquest of England, perished on the north and west 
 coasts of Scotland. The ship Florida appeared to have been 
 more fortunate than any of her consorts; she found her way to the 
 bay of Tobermory, on the sound of JNIull, one of the finest harbors 
 in the world. Scotland being then i neutral country under 
 James the Sixth, of that name, the Spaniards considered them- 
 selves perfectly secure, and remained long in that station, repair- 
 ing the damages they had sustained, and refreshing the crew and 
 troops. 
 
 The Florida was, no doubt, an object of great interest and 
 curiosity in that remote situation, and all the principal families m 
 the neighboring country and islands were received on board aa 
 visiters, where, tradition says, they were hospitably and splendidly 
 entertained. Elizabeth, the ever watchful and well-informed 
 Queen of England, had intelligence of the Florida through Let 
 ambassador at the Scotch court, and it was ascertained that this 
 ship was extremely valuable: she had on board a largf sum cC 
 money intended for the pay of the army; she contained besides, 
 a great quantity of costly stores. The law of nations should have 
 protected the Florida from injury; but Elizabeth resolved on her 
 destruction; and it was accompanied by one of the most atrocious 
 acts, perhaps, ever recorded of any civilized government. The 
 English ambassador soon found an instrument suited to his pur- 
 pose, and his name was Smollet. We regret to state, that he was 
 an ance&for of the celebrated writer of that name, who himself 
 alludes to this circumstance in one of his novels, apparently un- 
 conscious of the inference which followed. This agent of the 
 English Queen spoke the Gaelic language, and wore the High- 
 land dress. He went to Mull as a dealer in cattle, and easily 
 found his way on board the Florida, where he formed an intimacy, 
 and, along with other strangers, had frequent opportunities of 
 seeiRg every part of the ship. He at length found a convenient 
 time for his diabolical object, and placed some combustible sub- 
 stance in a situation where it was likely to produce the desired 
 effect. He immediately got ashore, and made the best of his way 
 southward. 
 
 He had travelled to a distance of six or eight miles, when he 
 heard the explosion of ihe Florida; and the spot where he stood 
 IS still marked for the execration of mankind. The ship was 
 blown up, and nearly all on board perished. Together with the 
 crew and troops, many of the first men in the country were des- 
 troyed by this perfidious and bloody act, which reflects eternal 
 
COMMODORK, ANSO.V. 4> 
 
 disgrace on the planners, and iufany on tlie perpetrator. Tradi 
 tion states, that the poop of the ship was blown to a great distance 
 with six men, whose lives were saved. 
 
 Some Spanish mares and horses had been landed, to pasture, 
 and these remained in the island of Mull. The breed of horses 
 in Mull has ever since been superior, and it still continues so, 
 probably from this cause. 
 
 The English ambassador at Madrid having procured information 
 of the precise amount of the treasure which had been on board 
 the Florida, a ship of war was sent by the English Government 
 to Tobermory in the beginning of th-e eighteenth century with 
 divers, for the purpose of recovering the specie. The wreck was 
 soon found, and many articles were raised, but no money was 
 acknowledged. The ship, however, never returned to England, 
 and it was suspected that she had taken refuge in France, for 
 evident reasons. 
 
 In the year 1787, the celebrated diver, Spalding, made an 
 attempt to recover this treasure, but he failed entirely as might 
 have been expected, the remains of the ship having sunk into the 
 clay, and totally disappeared. 
 
 COMMODORE ANSON. 
 
 The expedition under Commodore Anson was fitted out by the 
 English government in the year 1740, to attack the Spanish set- 
 tlements in America. The squadron consisted of six vessels of 
 war and two victuallers. These were the 
 
 Ships. Commanders. 
 
 Centurion George Anson 
 
 Gloucester Richard Norris 
 
 Severn Edward Legge 
 
 Pearl Matt Mitchell 
 
 Wager Dandy Kidd 
 
 Trial Sloop John Murray 
 
 On the 18th of September, seventeen hundred and forty^ vhe 
 squadron weighed from St. Helens, and reached Maderia the '2.5th 
 of October. Having sailed hence, they discovered the land of 
 Brazil, on the IGth of December, and on the evening of the 19th 
 cast anchor at the island of St Catharine's. Having repaired 
 their vessels, they quitted this place on the 18th of January, and 
 on the same day of the following month came to anchor in the bay 
 of St. Julian. The squadron again stood to sea on the 28th of 
 February, when the Gloucester not being able to purchase her 
 *r.chor, was obliged to cut her cable, and leave her best bower 
 
 Guns. 
 
 Men. 
 
 60 
 
 400 
 
 50 
 
 300 
 
 50 
 
 300 
 
 40 
 
 250 
 
 28 
 
 160 
 
 8 
 
 100 
 
40 :r.:.\y.o:)i-j'M: anso.i. 
 
 behind. Having rcv.cnrd the soiitlicrn cxtrcniity of the straifr 
 Le JM aire, the wiiui sliilted and hicw in vi(»leiil sijualls, and the 
 tide tnrned furiously ajiaiiMst tlicni, drivii)<>- to the eastward 
 with such rapidity, that tlie two sternmost vessels, the \Vo<rcr, 
 and the Anna Pink, with tiie utmost diflnuiUy escaped being dash- 
 ed in pieces on the shore of Staten Island. 
 
 For above three months, they struggh'd with severe gales and 
 tcrrilic waves, and on the 1st of April, tlie weather, after having 
 been a little more moderate, returned to its brnier viidence; the 
 sky looked dark and gloomy, and the Avind began to freshen and 
 blow in squalls; and there were all the appearances of an 
 approaching tempest. Accordingly, on the .3d, there came on a 
 storm, which exceeded in violence and duration all they had 
 hitherto encountered. On the 14th, in tlie morning, the weather 
 clearing up a little and the moon shining out on a sudden, the Anna 
 Pink made a signal for seeing land right a-head; and it being then 
 only two miles distant, they were under great apprehensions of 
 running on shore; and had not the wind suddenly shifted, or the 
 moon shone out, every shi|) must have perished. They found 
 this land, to their disappointment, to be Cape Noir, though they 
 imagined they were ten degrees more to the west. On the even- 
 ing of the 24th of April, the wind increased to a prodigious storm, 
 and, about midnight, the weather became so thick that the whole 
 squadron separated, nor met again till they reached the island of 
 Juan Fernandez. To add to their misfortunes, the scurvy began 
 to make such havoc, that on board the Centurion only, it carried 
 off forty-three men in the month of April, and twice that number 
 in IVIay. 
 
 On the 22d of May the Centurion encountered the severest storm 
 it had yet experienced. Almost all the sails were split; the rig- 
 ging was destroyed, and a mountainous wave breaking over them 
 on the starboard quarter, gave the vessel such a shock, that seve 
 ral of the shrouds were broke, and the ballast and stores so strange- 
 ly shifted, that she lay on her larboard side. The wind at length 
 abating a little, they began to exert themselves to stirrup the 
 shrouds, reeve new lanyards, and mend the sails; during which 
 they ran great risk of being driven on the island of Ciiiloe. After 
 many difficulties they at length reached the island of Juan Fer- 
 nandez, in a most desponding condition. Here many of the crew 
 d ed of weariness and disease. 
 
 A few days after the Centurion had arrived, the Trial sloop 
 appeared in sight, and on the 21st of June the Gloucester was 
 discovered to leeward. The Anna Pink arrived about the middle 
 of August, which, with the Trial and Gloucester, mentioned above, 
 were the only vessels that ever joined the squadron; for the 
 Severn and Pearl, having parted irom the commodore off Cape 
 Horn, with dilliculty reached Brazil, whence they made the best 
 of their way back to Europe; while the Wager was wrecked on the 
 
COMiMODOKE AS'^Ol^ 41 
 
 coast. The Anna Pink being jufiged unfit for service, wag 
 taken for the use of the squadron, and her men were sent on boar<f 
 the GloBcester. 
 
 About eleven in the morning of the 8th of September, they dis- 
 covered a sail; when the Centurion, being in the greatest for- 
 wardness, made after her as fast as possible. Night coming or 
 they lost sight of the chase. About three in the morning of ihe 
 I -2th, a brisk gale springing up at W. S. W. obliged them to li« 
 upon aN. W tack, which, at break of day, brought ihem wiilitn 
 sight of a sail, at about five leagues distant. She appeared to 
 be a large vessel, and upon hoisting Spanish colors, and bearing 
 towards the Centurion, the commodore ordered every thing ready 
 for an engagement; but upon coming nearer, she appeared to be 
 a mercliantman, without a single tier of guns, and had mistaken 
 the Centurion for her consort. She soon surrendered, and wai? 
 found to be a valuable prize. 
 
 It appearing from letters on board the prize, that several other 
 merchantmen were at sea, between Callao and Valparaiso, the 
 commodore sent the Trial sloop, to cruise off the latter port; and 
 ordered the Gloucester to cruise off the island of Paita, till she 
 should be joined by the Centurion, The Centurion and her prize 
 weigh in'-' from the bay of Juan Fernandez, on the 19th of Septem- 
 ber, took her course to the eastward, proposing to join the Trial off 
 Valparaiso. 
 
 On the 24th, in the evening, they came up with the latter, having 
 taken a prize of six hundred tons burden, laden with a rich cargo. 
 On the 27th, the captain of the Trial came on board the Centurion, 
 bringing with him an instrument, subscribed by himself and all 
 his officers, setting foith that the vessel was so leaky and defec- 
 tive, that it was at the hazard of their lives they staid on board; 
 upon which, the commodore having ordered the crew and every 
 thing of value to be put on board the prize, the Trial was scut- 
 tled and sunk. It was now resolved to join the Gloucester 
 off Paita. With this view they stood to the northward, and, on 
 me 10th of November discovered a sail, which Lieutenant Brett 
 was ordered to chase, with the Trial's pinnace and barge. Thoy 
 found her to be a Spanish vessel of two hundred and seventy 
 tons burden. From the prisoners they learned that, a few days 
 before, a vessel had entered Paita, the master of which told the 
 governer he had been chased by a very large ship, which he 
 imagined to be one of the English squadron, and that the govern- 
 or had immediately sent an express to Lima, to carry the news 
 f.o the viceroy, while the royal officer residing at Paita had been 
 busily employed in removing both the king's treasure and his own 
 to Piuza, a town fourteen leagues within land. It was at once 
 conjectured that the ship which had chased the vessel into Paita 
 was the Gloucester; and, as they were now discov3red, and the 
 coast would soon be alarmed, so as to prevent or lizing to any 
 
48 COMMODORE ANSO.V. 
 
 Q'Jvanl.ige, ihc commodore resolved to endeavor to surprise tho 
 place that very iright. 
 
 When the sliips were within five leagues of Paita, about ten 
 o'clock at night, Lieutenant Brett, with the boats under his com- 
 mand, put oir, and arrived without being discovered, at the mouth 
 of the bay; though he had no sooner entered it, than some of the 
 people on board a vessel riding at anchor there, perceived him, 
 i.ixd immediately getting into their boat, rowed towards the sliore, 
 eying out 'the English, the English dogs,' &.c. by which the 
 linvn was alarmed and the attack disovered. The town was, 
 however, taken in less than a quarter of an hour from the first 
 landing of the boats; with the loss of one man killed and two 
 wounded. 
 
 They weighed anchor from the coast of Paita on the IGth of 
 November, the squadron being increased to six sail by the prizes 
 On the morning of tiie 18th, they discovered the Gloucester witli 
 a small vessel in tow, which joined them about three in the after- 
 noon, when they learned that captain Mitchell had taken two 
 prizes, one of which had a cargo consisting of wine, brandy and 
 olives, and about seven thousand pounds in specie; and the other 
 was a launch, the peo])le on board which, when taken, were eatinj 
 their dinner from silver dishes. Notwithstanding this circum 
 stance, the prisoners alleged that they were very poor: having 
 nothing on board, but cotton made up in jars, which, being re- 
 moved on board the Gloucester, were examined, when the whole 
 appeared to be an extraordinary piece of false package; there 
 being concealed among the cotton, doubloons and dollars, to the 
 amount of twelve thousand pounds. 
 
 The cargo and crews of the several vessels were afterwards 
 divided between the Centurion and Gloucester. Quitting the 
 coast of America, they stood for China, the 6th of May, 1742. 
 The Gloucester, which had become decayed, was cleared of every 
 thing by the loth of August, and then set on fire. On the 27th 
 they arrived at the island of Tmian, where they remained some 
 time. On the night of the 22d of September, when it was exces- 
 sively dark, the wind blew from the eastward with such fury, 
 that those on board despaired of riding out the storm. At this 
 (ime Mr. Anson, was ill of the scurvy, and most of the hands 
 were on shore, and all the hopes of safety of those on board seemed 
 to depend on immediately putting to sea; all communication be- 
 u\een the ship and the island being destroyed. 
 
 About one o'clock a strong gust, attended with rain and light- 
 ning, drove them to sea, where, being unprepared to struggle 
 with the fAry of the winds and waves, they expected each moment 
 to be their last. When at day-break, it was perceived by those 
 on shore that the ship was missing, they concluded her lost, and 
 many of them begged the commodore to send the boat round the 
 island to look for the wreck. In the midst of their gloomy reflec- 
 
tions, the commodore formed a plan for extric&ting them from 
 their ])resent situation; wliich was by hauling the Spanish bark on 
 shore, sawing her asunder, and lengthening her twelve feet; which 
 would enlarge her to near forty tons burden, and enable her to 
 carry them all to China. 
 
 But a discouraging circumstance now occnred, which was, that 
 Chey had neither compass nor quadrant on the island. At length, 
 OH rummaging a chest belonging to the Spanish bark, they found 
 a small compass, which though not much superior t'j those made 
 for tiie amusement of school-boys, was to them of the utnsost im- 
 portance. 
 
 When this obstacle was removed, and all things were ready for 
 sailing, it happened on the afternoon of the 1 1th of October, that 
 one of the Gloucester's men being upon a hill, saw th-e Centurif»n 
 at a distance. Siic was soon visible to all, and the n€.\t day cast 
 anchor in the road. On the Mth, a sudden gust of wind drove 
 her to sea a second time, but in about five days, they returned 
 again to anchor. On the 20th of October, they set fire to the 
 bark and proa, hoisted in their boats, and got under sail, steering 
 away towards the south end ofthfi island of Macao. 
 
 About midnight, on the .5th of November, they made the main- 
 land of China, and on the morning of the 9th, a Chinese pilot 
 carne on board, and told fbem that he would carry the ship into 
 Macao for thirty dollars, which being paid him they proceeded, 
 and on the I'ith entered the harbor of Macao. 
 
 On the 6th of April, the Centurion again stood out to sea. On 
 the last day of May they came in sight of Cape Espiritu Santo, 
 where they continued to cruize till the 20th of .June, when about 
 sunrise the great Manilla ship came in sight, having the standard 
 of Spain flying at the- top-gallant-mast head, and to the commo- 
 dore's surprise, bore down upon him. The engagement soon 
 began, and lasted aa hour and a half, when the galleon struck to the 
 Centurion, after having had sixty-seven men killed and eighty-fout 
 wounded. The Centurion had only two men killed and seventeen 
 wo'inded The prize carried five hundred men and thirty-six guns, 
 ana her catgo was worth 400,000/. sterling. It is impossible to 
 describe the transports on board, when, after all tiieir reiterated 
 disappointments, they at length, saw their wishes accomplished. 
 But their joy was very near being suddenly damped by a very 
 alarming accident; for no sooner had the galleon struck, than one 
 of the lieutenants coming to Mr. Anson, whispered him, that 
 the Centurion was dangerously on fire near the powder-room. 
 The commodore received this shocking intelligence without any 
 apparent emotion, and taking care not to alarm his people, gave 
 the necessary orders for extinguishing the fire, which was done, 
 though its first appearance threatened the ship w4th destruction. 
 
 On the 14th, the.Centmion cast anchor off Bocca Tigris, for 
 ming the mouth of that river; and having got under sail on the 16th 
 3 
 
50 
 
 FISHING ON Tilt. GKAND TiASii 
 
 of October, 1743, came to anchor in iho straits ofSunda on ihe "^d 
 of January, and continued tlicre till the eij^hth, taking in wood 
 and water, when she weighed and stood lor the Cape of Good 
 Ho])e, wiiere, on the 1 Ith of March, she came to anchor in Table 
 
 
 
 St. Helena. 
 
 Bay. Mr. Anson continued here till the 3d of April, 1744, when 
 he put to sea, and on the 19th of the month, was in sigh*, of St, 
 Helena, but did not touch ai it. 
 
 On the 12th of June they got sight of the lizard, and on the 
 evening of the 15th, to their great joy, came jafe to anchoi at 
 Spithead. On his arrival Mr. Anson learned, that under cover of 
 a thick fog, he had run through a French fleet, which was at thai 
 time cruizing in the chops of the channel. 
 
 FISHING ON THE GRAND BAISK 
 
 On crossing the banks of Newfoundland, the ship was hove to, 
 for the purpose of sounding; and the quarter-master having tied a 
 baited hook to the deep-sea lead, a noble cod was drawn to the 
 surface, from the depth of nmety fathoms. Upon this hint, the 
 captain, very considerately, agreed to lie by for anhour or two, and 
 8ome> fifty lines being put over, the decks were soon covereo, fore 
 
FISHING o?. THE GRAND BANK. 5) 
 
 and aft. with such a display of fish as Billingppate has rarely wit 
 nessed. 
 
 People who know nothing of a sea life fancy that fish is not a 
 rarity with us; but there is nothing of which we taste so little; so 
 that tlie greatest treat by far, when we come into port, is a dish 
 of fresh soles or mackerel; and even the commonest fish that 
 swims is looked upon as a treasure. It is only in soundings that 
 any are to be met with; for, in the open and bottomless ocean, 
 we meet nothing but whales, p( rpoises, dolphins, sharks, bonitaM 
 and flying fish. 
 
 I never could conceive, or even form a probable conjecture, 
 how it is that some persons manage to catch fish, and others none 
 It is easy to understand, that in angling, a certain degree of skill, 
 or choice of situation, may determine the probable amount of 
 success. But when a line is let down to the depth of eighty or a 
 hundred fathoms, or even to twenty or thirty feet, quite out of 
 sight, what has skill to do there.'' And yet, in a ship, on the 
 banks of Newfoundland, or in a boat on the Thrumcap shoals in 
 Halifax harbor, I have seen one man hauling in cods or haddocks 
 as fast as he could bait his hooks; while others, similarly circum- 
 stanced in all apparent respects, might fret and fidget for half a 
 day without getting more than a nibble. 
 
 There can be no doubt, of course, that intellectual power must 
 be in operation at one end of the line, otherwise no fish will come 
 to the other; but the puzzle is, by what mysterious process can 
 human intelligence manage to find its way, like electricity, down 
 the line to the bottom of the sea? I have often asked successful 
 fishermen what they did to make the fish bite; but they could sel- 
 dom give any available answer. Sometimes they said it depended 
 on the bait. "Well, then," I have answered, "let me take yourg 
 and do you take mine." But in two minutes after we had chang- 
 ed places, my companion was pulling in his fish as fast as before 
 while not a twitch was given to my new line, though, just before, 
 the fish appeared to be jostling one another for the honor of my 
 friend's hook, to the total neglect of that which had been mine, 
 now in high vogue amongst them. 
 
 There is some trick, or sleight of hand, I suppose, by which a 
 certain kind of motion is given to the bait, so as to assimilate it 
 to that of the worms which the fishes most affect in their ordinary 
 researches for food. But, probably, this art is no more to be 
 taught by description, or to be learned without the drudgery of 
 j)ractice, than the dexterity with which an artist represents nature, 
 or a dancer performs pirouettes, Uninstructed persons, therefoie. 
 who, like myself, lose patience because they cannot catch fish at 
 the first cast of the line, had better turn their attention to aome- 
 thin-g else. 
 
 Almost the only one I ever caught was during my first voyage 
 across the Atlantic, when, after my line had been down a whole 
 
52 T?vnor^. 
 
 uoary hour, i drew it up in dc-spair. If lelt so lighf, that I tniag- 
 iiK'd the line must have been accidentally broken; bnt presently, 
 and greatly to my astoni.shnient, 1 beheld a hngw cod float to ; iie 
 to|). swollen to twice the usual dimensions by the expansion of 
 its sound, as the air-bag is called, which lies along the back-bone 
 At the depth of eighty or ninety I'athoms, this singular apparatus 
 IS compressed by the enormous addition of fil'teen or sixteen atmos- 
 pheres. But when the air is relieved of this weight, by apjjroach- 
 ing the surface, the strength of the muscles proves inadequate lo 
 retain it in its condensed form; and its consequent expansion not 
 only kills the fish, but often bursts it open as completely as if it had 
 been blown up with gunpowder. 
 
 BYRON. 
 
 In the year 1764, the Dolphin and Tamar ships-of-war, were 
 fitted out for the purpose of prosecuting discoveries in the South 
 Seas. Mr. Byron was commander-in-chief, and Captain Mouat 
 commanded under him. 
 
 On the .3d of. July, the commodore hoisted his broad-pendant, and 
 they sailed in prosecution of the voyage. On the 13th of Septem- 
 ber they came to an anchor in the road of Rio de Janeiro, on the 
 coast of Brazil, when the connnodore paid a visit to the governor, 
 who received him in state. They weighed anchor on the 16th of 
 October, steering for Cape Blanco, and on the 21st of Novem- 
 ber, entered the harbor of Port Desire, and the commodore in his 
 boat, attended by two other boats, went to sound it. He landed, 
 and they had a sight of four beasts, near thirteen hands high, and 
 in shape like a deer, which they took to be granicoes. 
 
 On the fifth of December the ships got under sail, and on the 
 20th, ran close in-shore to Cape Virgin Mary, and came to an an- 
 chor. The commodore observed a number of men on horseback 
 riding to and fro, opposite the ship, ^^^ waving something white 
 u hicli he took to be an invitation to land ; and as he was anxious to 
 know what peortle thcic were, he went in one boat with a party of 
 men well armed; the first lieutenant, with a fce|)aiate parly, foHow- 
 itip in anotlier. When they came near the shore, the whole ap- 
 peared to amount to five hundred persons, drawn up on a stony point 
 of land that ran far into the sea. Byron tiow advanced alone, but 
 as he approached, the Indi.nnc in*i-on«ed; he therefore, made signa 
 that cue of them should come forward, which was complied with. 
 -'., advanced appeared to be chief, and was very 
 height ; round one of his eyes was a circle of 
 
BYRON 53 
 
 black paint, und a white circle round the other, the rest of hig 
 face was paintec jn streaks o-f various colors. He had the skin 
 of a beast, with the hair inwards, thrown over his shoulders. The 
 commodore and the Indian having complimented each other, in 
 language equally unintelligible to either, they walked togethei 
 towards the main body of the Indians, few of whom were shortet 
 than the height abovementioned, and the women were large ic 
 proportion. 
 
 On the 21st of December they began sailing up the Strait of 
 Magellan, with a view to take in a stock of wood and water. 
 On the 26th, came to an anchor at Port Famine. In this place, 
 they found drift-wood enough to have supplied a thousand vessels. 
 The quantity of fish that was daily taken was equal to the supply 
 of both the crews: and the commodore shot as many geese and 
 ducks as furnished several tables besides his own. On the 4th of 
 January 1765, they sailed in quest of Falkland's Islands. 
 
 On the 12th they saw land, and on the 14th a flat island, cover- 
 ed with tufts of grass as large as bushes. Soon after this they 
 entered another harbor, to which Byron gave the name of Port 
 Egmont. This harbor is represented to be the finest in the world, 
 and capacious enough to contain the whole navy of England, in 
 full security; there is plenty of fresh water in every part of it, and 
 geese, ducks, snipes, and other edible birds, abound in such num- 
 bers, that the sailors were tired with eating them. The commo- 
 dore was once unexpectedly attacked by a sea-lion, and extricated 
 himself from the impending danger with great diiHculty; they had 
 many battles with this animal, the killing of one of which was 
 frequently an hour's work for six men; one of them almost tore to 
 pieces the commodore's mastiff-dog, by a single bite. The com- 
 modore took possession of the harbor, and all adjacent islands, 
 by the nam6 of Falkland's lslands. 
 
 On Sunday, January the 27th, they left Port Egmont. Next 
 day the commodore gave the name of Berkley's Sound to a deep 
 inlet between the islands. On the 6th of February stood in for 
 Port Desire, at the mouth of which they came to an anchor, and 
 had the pleasure of seeing the Florida, a store-ship, which they 
 had expected from England. On the 20th, at Port Famine re- 
 ceived orders to sail lor England. 
 
 Having narrowly escaped the dread fid effects of a storm on the 
 3d of March, at length the Do'phin was moored in a little bay op- 
 posite Cape Quod; and the Tamar, about six miles to the east- 
 ward of it. On the 28th the Tamar narrowly escaped being dash- 
 ed to pieces against the rocks, by the parting of the cable to her 
 best bower-anchor. The Dolphin, therefore, stood again into the 
 bay, and sent her proper assistance, after which they bcth an- 
 chored for the night; a night the most dreadful they had known 
 The winds were so violent as perfectly to tear up the sea, anc 
 carry it higher than the heads of the masts: a dreadful sea roUca 
 5* 
 
64 nvRox. 
 
 over them, and broke atraiiist tlie rocks, with a noise as loud as 
 thunder. Happily they did not part their cables, or they must 
 have been dashed in pirces against these rocks. 
 
 The ships came to anchor on the 4th of Ajjril, in a bay which 
 had been discovered, proposing to take in wood and water. While 
 they were here, several of the natives made a fire opposite the 
 ship, on whicli signals were made for them to come on board, but 
 as they would not, the commodore went on shore, and distributed 
 some trifles which gave great pleasure. Four were at length pre- 
 vailed on to goon board; and the commodore, with a view to their 
 diversion, directed one of the midshipmen to play on the violin, 
 while some of the seamen danced; the poor Indians were extrava- 
 gantly delighted; and one of them to testify his gratitude, took 
 his canoe, and fetching some red paint, rubbed it over the face of 
 the musician; nor could the commodore, but with the utmost dif- 
 ficulty, escape the like compliment. 
 
 They sailed from this bay on the 7th, and next day the wind 
 blew a hurricane. On the 9th, passed some dangerous rocks, 
 which in Narborough's Voyage are called the Judges. This day 
 a steady gale at south-west carried tiiem at the rate of nine miles 
 an hour, so that by eight in the evening they were twenty leagues 
 from the coast. On the 26th, they sailed westward, and bore 
 away for the island of Massaluero and anchored at seven o'clock 
 on Sunday morning. 
 
 On the 30th of April they sailed, and on the 7th of June discover- 
 ed land, being then in fourteen degrees five minutes south latitude, 
 and one hundred forty four degrees fifty eight minutes west longi- 
 tude. The commodore steered for a small island, the appearance 
 of which was pleasing beyond expression. Several natives ran 
 along the beach, with long spears in their hands. The sailors 
 made every possible sign of friendship — but they retired to the 
 woods, dragging their canoes afler them. The commodore pro- 
 ceeded to the other island, and brought to, at three-quarters of a 
 mile from the shore. The natives again ran to the beach, armed 
 with club.s and spears, using threatening gestures. The commo- 
 dore fired a cannon-shot over their heads, on which they retreated 
 to the woods. This paradise in appearance, was named the 
 
 ISI.WD OF DISAPPOINTMENT. 
 
 Quitting these on the 8th of June, they discovered an island on 
 ,he day following, low, and cove, ed with various kinds of tr(^eg 
 among which was the cocoa-nut, and surrounded with a rock of 
 red coral. They now sailed to the westward, and soon discovered 
 another island, distant four leagues. The natives pursued them 
 in two large double canoes, in each of which were about thirty 
 armed men. At this time the boats were at a considerable way 
 to leeward of the ships, and were chased by the canoes; on which 
 the commodore making a signal, me boats turned towaras me 
 Indians who instantly pulled dowo their sails and rowed away 
 
CYROX. 59 
 
 mth great rapidity. On the 12th of June, sailed to another 
 tsland, and as they coasted along it, the natives, armed as those 
 oi^ the other islands, kept even with the ship for some leagues. 
 This island is situated in fourteen degrees and torty-one minutes 
 South Latitude, and one hundred and forty-nine degrees fifteen 
 iniiiutes west Longitude; and both the islands the commodore called 
 King George's Islands. The boats having returned on board, they 
 sancd westward the same day; and the ne.xt afternom descried 
 an"»hei tsland, towards which they immediately sailed, and found 
 that I', was well inhabited, a;nd had a fine appearance of verdure; 
 bi;'. *hai a violent surf broke all along the coast, it lies in fifteen 
 degree? south, and one hundred fifty-one degrees fifty-three min- 
 utc.r '^^-est, and received the name of the Prince of Wales's Island. 
 On the 24th they discovered another island, which was named 
 the Duke oi' York's Island. A terrible sea breaks round the 
 const, uut tl>e place itsell" had a pleasing appearance. On the 
 29tli sailed northward, witli a view to cross the equinoctial line, 
 i\P'^ then sail for the Ladrone Islands. On the 2d of July they 
 discovrired a low flat island, abounding with the cocoa-nut and 
 othe*' trees, and aflbrxiing a most agreeable prospect. A great 
 numbe- of the natives were seen on the beach, many of whom, 
 in about si.xty canoes or proas, sailed, and formed a circle round 
 the snips ; which having surveyed lor a considerable tinve, one 
 of ine Indians jumped out of his boat, swai.M to the ship, ran up 
 its side in a moment, sat down on the deck, and began laughing 
 nios. violently: he then ran about the ship, pillering whatever he 
 co'dr* lity hands on, which was taken from him as fast as stolen. 
 Tnis 'lan having as many antic tricks as a monkey, was dressed 
 in a jacket and trowsers, and afTorded exquisite diversion. He 
 devoured some biscuit with great eagerness, and having played 
 tho buffoon some time, made prize of his new dress, by jumping 
 over the side ofthe ship, and swimming to his companions. These 
 •Indians are of a bright copper, with regular and cheerful features, 
 and are call and well made. One of them, who seemed to be of 
 some rank, wore a string of human teeth round his waist. Some 
 carried a long spear, the sides of which, for the length of three feet 
 weie stuck with the teeth of the shark, which are as keen as a 
 a/or. The officers named this place Byron's island, in honor 
 of the <'.omraodore. It lies in one degree eigliteen minutes south 
 ia^'^ude, and one hundred and seventy-three degrees and forty-six 
 minutcfc east longitude. They sailed hence on the 3d of July, 
 an'' on the 28th had sight of the islands Saypan, Tinian, and 
 Aiguigan, which lie between two and three leagues from each 
 oti.er. At noon, on the 31st, anchored at the south-west end of 
 Tinian. The water is so wonderfully clear at this place, that, 
 ihoagh one hundred and forty four feet deep, they could see the 
 ground. The commodore went on shore where he saw many huts 
 which had beeoi left the preceding year by the Sjaniards. Tb« 
 
56 BYRON. 
 
 commodore remainfcd at Tiniun till the 30th of September, h^r 
 which time the sick being tolerably well lecovercd, he weighed 
 anchor and stood to the nortiuvard. 
 
 On the 5th of November they came to an anchor ofTthe island of 
 Timoan on whicli Byrcn landed the day following. The inhab- 
 itants, who arc IMalays, no sooner saw the boat approaching' the 
 shore, than many of them came to the beach, each having a dag 
 ger by his side, a spear in one hand, and a long knife in the 
 other. The boat's crew, however, made no hesitation to land, 
 and bartered a few handkerchiefs for a goat, a kid, and a dozen 
 of fowls. 
 
 jVothing worth notice happened till the 14th, when a sloop 
 being seen at anchor in the harbor of an island, named Piilo 
 Toupoa, Byron, having anchored in the same harbor, and obser- 
 ved that the vessel hoisted Dutch colors, sent an officer on board, 
 who was received with great politeness. The commodore sailed 
 the following day, and held his course till the 19th, when he spoke 
 with an English snow, bound from Bencoolen to Malacca and 
 Bengal, in the East India Company's service. At this time their 
 biscuit was illled with worms, and rotten, ?nd their beef and pork 
 were unfit to eat. The master of the snow being apprized of tile 
 circumstance, sent Byron tvvo gallons of arrack, a turtle, twelve 
 fowls and a sheep. During their run hence to Prince's Island, 
 in the Strait of Sunda, they were so abundantly supplied with 
 turtle, by boats from the Java shore, that the common sailors sub- 
 sisted wholly on that fish. They staid at Prince's island till t.,e 
 1 9th, when they sailed for the Cape of Good Hope. On the I3tb 
 of February they came to anchor, and were treated with great 
 politeness by the governor. 
 
 They sailed on the 7th of March, and, on the 2.5th, crossed the 
 equinoctial line. About this time an accident happening to tho 
 rudder of the Tamar, and it being impossible to make a perfect 
 repair of it at sea, the captain was ordered to bear away for 
 Antigua; in consequence of which they parted company on the 
 1st of April; and the Dolphin, without meeting with any other ma- 
 terial occurrence; came to an anchor in the Downs, on the 9th 
 of iNIay 1766, after having been rather above twenty-two monthi 
 13 the circumnavigation of the globe. 
 
A TALE OF THE SEA 51 
 
 NAUTICAL PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 One night came on a hurricane — 
 
 The sea was mountains roiling- — 
 When Barney Buntline turned his quid, 
 
 And cried "to Billy Bowline— 
 " There 's a sou'-wester coming Billy, 
 
 Don't ye hear it roar now ? 
 Lord help 'em, how I pitiss them 
 
 Unhappy folks on shore now. 
 
 Fool-hardy chaps as lives in towns. 
 
 What dangers they are all in — 
 At night lie quaking in their beds, 
 
 For fear the roof will fall in — 
 Poor creatures, how they envies ub, 
 
 And wishes, 1 've a notion, 
 For our good luck in such a storm, 
 
 To be upon the ocean. 
 
 Now, as to them that 's out all day 
 
 On business from their houses, 
 And late at night are walking home. 
 
 To cheer their babes and spouses, 
 While you and I, upon the deck. 
 
 Are comfortably lying, 
 My eyes ! what tiles and chimney tops, 
 
 About their heads are flying ! 
 
 You and I, Bill, have often heard. 
 
 How folks are ruined and undone. 
 By overturns in canlages, 
 
 By thieves and fires m London — 
 We've heard what risks all landsmen run, 
 
 From noblemen to tailors, 
 Then Billy, let 's bless Providence 
 
 That you and I are sailors." 
 
 A TALE OF THE SEA. 
 
 It was a bright moonlight evening, and so warm that our men 
 ay about the deck and in groups with hardly any covering; I 
 thnik I never saw so perfectly clear and brilliant a night. Some of 
 the oihcers were reading, and with ease, by the light of the moon, 
 and the ocear as far as the sight could sketch was a glitte -ing 
 mirror without a single ruffle or wave: we lay like a log on the 
 water, with all sails set. but not a breath of air to move tlem. 
 
68 A TAl.E or THE SEA. 
 
 Tlie crew were collected in small jtiutics abovit the forecastle and 
 main deck listening to the " long yarns" of some gray-headed 
 seaman, about the " Fiying Dutchman" of the " Black River of 
 Gatand," w'.ulo now and then some iavorite sea song was bawled 
 forth from the laughing crowd. The officers were walking about 
 the quarter deck smoking and conversing, and occasionally extend- 
 ing their walk so fur as to listen to the stories of the forecastle. 
 This was my first voyage on the " wide, wide sea," and as I was 
 the youngest of the mids I found particular favor with several of 
 the oldest seamen, with whom by-the-by I liked to associate better 
 than with my brother middys — I always loved to listen to their tales 
 of murder and battles, and would sit for hours on the coils of rope, 
 and hear old " Jack Transom" our second mate, an old man of 
 sixty years relate his adventures and " hairbreadth escapes." 
 We had left Port Royal on the south side of Jamaica the day be- 
 fore on our way to the mouth of the Amazon, and were at the 
 time of this writing passing between the small islands of Monts- 
 Krrat and Guadaloupe: in the distance you could see the white 
 moon beams playing on the fort and beach, and glistening on the 
 low roofs and white walls of the little capital of Guadaloupe. I 
 was standing on the capstan with a small night glass in my hand, 
 looking at the opposite shore with its long low beach with here 
 and there a smaH slave hut or mound of loose stones piled up 
 as a covering over the grave of some drowned sailor whose body 
 had been washed on shore. I dropped my glass and was getting 
 down from my station when Jack Transom stepped up and asked 
 for a squint, I handed the glass to him and after looking through 
 it a moment he handed it back saying, "Ay, ay, there it stands 
 with its creaking chains and dry bones rattling in the still air as 
 if a ten knot breeze was ripping over it." " What 's that .'"said I, 
 eagerly catching the glass and pointing it where ' old starboard' 
 as he was familiarly called, directed me. It was some time be- 
 fore I saw what he meant. When I did, I was at no loss for his 
 abrupt speech. A little north of the town on the white beach, 
 Btood a tall gibbet with its chains, and even as old Jack said, its 
 white bones, for I plainly saw them even at that distance glimmer- 
 ing in the rays of the bright moon, and I almost fancied 1 heard 
 them rattling and shaking against each other, although as I said 
 before, there was not a breath of air, not enough to move a feath- 
 er; I shuddered at the sight, for I was young and easily affected 
 by any thing terrible or gloomy — we all knew that ' old starboard' 
 was on one of his ' long yarn tacks,' and in a short time a group 
 was formed around the old fellow, as anxious as the crowds of 
 coffee drinkers in the saloons of Constantinople to listen to the 
 wonderful adventures of the Caliph Ilaroun Alraschid or Sindbad 
 the Sailor. " It 's now forty years ago or thereabout," began 
 'old starboard,' stuffing a huge quid of the true Virginia into his left 
 oheekj " since I first laid eyes on that same death telling gallowh 
 
A. TiT-E OF THE SEA. OS 
 
 I was then a mere fore-mwsi-man and perhaps rather green, see- 
 ing as how that was my first tack this way, and only the third 
 X'lmk I had ever smelt salt water. It was a dark stormy night 
 with a strong northwester blowing at the rate of ten knots an 
 Uour, and we were beating across this very channel under a 
 loavy press with the hopes of clearing the shoals before morning; 
 all Hands were on deck clearing oft" and taking in some of our 
 tigb^ canvass, for the gale kept on increasing and our main-mast 
 creaked heavily with its load. When the watch ahead bav.ded 
 oui, helm-a-lee! sail a head! but before the. words were scarcely 
 out of his mouth we were upon the vessel; we struck her about 
 mio ship, carrying away our bowsprit and dashing in the forecas- 
 tle sails and knuckle timbers as if they had been glass; but it fared 
 worse with the vessel we met; she was small, being about seven 
 fee* in the water, whereas we drew nearer fifteen — we passed 
 slicK over her as if she had been a mere boy's plaything. You 
 may be sure there was no standing still, every thing was hauled 
 tip and we were before the wind in less than half a shake, the boats 
 were lowered although there was such a sea running that it was 
 almost impossible to live in a small boat — logs of wood and hen 
 coo^s, were thrown overboard so that if any were alive they 
 niieht save themselves — our first mate was standing on the quar- 
 ter listening, when he declared that he heard a shout — we listened 
 anf' then it came again and again, but fainter every time — at 
 length our captain ordered a boat out, with directions to put in to 
 the «hore, and come off in the morning, as we should lay too. That 
 ni^ht there was not an eye closed in the ship. We were all waiting 
 foi ^he morning, for many thought it sheer madness in our cap- 
 tain to send off a boat in such a sea, and so dark a night, and 
 pro,.hesied that she would be swamped in less than ten minutes. 
 Though no one said so to the captain, for he was in one of his 
 gloo' ."' moods, and walked the deck nearly the whole night with- 
 out oi?'ung his mouth. We stood off and on till morning, and by 
 this til.. e the wind had lulled considerably, and we had a moder- 
 ate breeze — as soon as it was light we bore down to the little bay 
 you see off yonder to the nor'-east, and having anchored, sent off 
 a beat to the shore; I was in her, and I shall never forget my joy 
 when I first saw out men standing on the beach and hallooing to 
 us — -we were soon among them and asking questions enough to sink 
 a iiiihter. After leaving the ship they steered as near as they could 
 tell, £o where the cries came fVoui; after running about ten minutes, 
 thev could hear them plainer, and at last got so near as to speak to 
 the person — it was a man who was clinging to a large board, and 
 wa° nearly exhausted — after a time they got him in, and finally 
 reached the shore — the poor fellow was nearly gone, and could not 
 spo'^k a word, so they took him to a house, and after awhile by 
 rolling and warmmg him, brought him to — it so happened that the 
 houae be] jn^ed to the governor or whatever they call him — and as 
 
60 WALL'S 
 
 »oon as lie clapt his eyes on the man he knew hii.i, and had hirf) 
 taken to prison — and it turned out that allcr all our trouhle we 
 hajl only saved the poor wretch from being drowned tliat lie miglit 
 l>e hung — for as it was proved by many who knew him, having 
 seen the feUow before, and by pieces of the wreck whicli floated 
 asliore, that he was nothing better titan a real pirate, (whose mur- 
 ders were so numerous they could 'nt be counted) he had been taken 
 twice before, but had escaped each time — the governor, to be sure 
 ofhim now, ordered the execution to take place that day: — we had 
 leave to stay on shore and see it — he looked pale and half dead 
 when they brought him out, and for the soul of me I could'nt help 
 l>ityiug him, he ste|)t s-) firm, and went so willingly to meet his death 
 — he was led out to the gallows between two files of soldiers, our 
 parson talked to him all the way, but he paid no attention and seem- 
 ed to be thinking of something else. Mayhap the fine vessel he had 
 lost, and all that — we saw the poor fellow swung off, and then went 
 back to our ship, but here was no laughing or joking that day nor 
 the next either — for we all felt as if we had some hand in it, and 
 wished the poor devil had been food for the fishes, rather than to 
 have fallen a prey to land-sharks. The body was taken down 
 and then hung up in chains, and on our homeward voyage we saw 
 them there rattling in the sea breeze and bleaching in the sun 
 1 have passed here often, but I have never forgotten to look fo • 
 the gallows and the Pirate's remains, and I shall never forget that 
 night while I live." All hands ahoy! shouted the boatswain, and 
 in a moment I was left alone. Before I went to my birth I took 
 one more look at the dreaded object, and determined if ever I 
 fourd leisure to commit the story to paper 
 
 WALLIS. 
 
 In 1766, Capt. Wallis having been appointed to command the 
 ship Dolphin, destined for a voyage round the world, received or- 
 ders to take under his command the Swallow sloop, and Prince 
 Frederick store-ship. They sailed on the iSd of August, and, 
 on fne 7th of September, came to anr hor in the road of Ma'deira. 
 
 On the I'ith, they sailed thence, a id by the 12th of November, 
 were in thirty degrees of south la'itude, when they found the 
 weather so cold as to have recourse to their thick jackets. On the 
 16th of December, being very near Cape Virgin oNIary, they sow 
 several men riding on the shore. The captain went ashore, and 
 give them combs, buttons, knivej, scissors, beads. &tc, and ple^e- 
 
wal:is. 61 
 
 ed the women greatly by the distribution of some ribbands. The 
 tallest among these people v.as six feet seven inches; but the 
 general height was from five feet ten to six feet. They were 
 muscular and well made, but their hands and feet very small, in 
 proportion to the rest of their bodies. The captain took eight of 
 them into the boats: when they came into the ship, they expressed 
 no surprise at the novelties tliey beheld, till a looking glass being 
 observed, they acted many antic gestures before it. The marinea 
 being exercised before them, thoy were terrified at the firing ol'tho 
 muskets, and one of them falling down, shut his eyes, and lay with- 
 out mcjtion, as if to intimate that he knew the destructive nature 
 of these weapons. 
 
 On the 21st, they turned into the Strait of Magellan, and on the 
 26th, anchored in Port Famine Bay; and the sick were sent on 
 shore. On the 28th, the empty water-casks were landed. When 
 they arrived here, many of the people were very sick with the 
 scurvy; but, by the plentiful use of vegetables, and bathing in the 
 sea, they all recovered in a short time. 
 
 They sailed on the 18th and on the 3d of February, came to an- 
 chor in York Road. Tlic next day, Captain Wallis, with a party, 
 went on shore near Bachelor's River. There is a cataract near 
 this river, the noise of which is tremendous, as it falls more than 
 four hundred yards, partlv over a very steep descent, and partly 
 in a perpendicular line. ()n the 1st of March sailed again, and an- 
 chored in a place called Swallow harbor, whence they sailed the 
 next morning; and, on the following day, the Swallow, being dri- 
 ven among breakers, made signals of distress; but was happily 
 relieved by a breeze from the shore. On the 10th of April the 
 two ships sailed in company; and, on the 11th, lost sight erf each 
 other, and did not meet again during the whole voyage. 
 
 This day the Dolphin cleared the Strait of Magellan, in which 
 she had labored with innumerable difficulties, and escaped most 
 imminent dangers, in a passage of almost four months, viz. from 
 December the 17th, 1776, to the 11th of April following. Tire 
 Spaniards, it seems, built a town here in 1581, which they named 
 Phillipville, and left in it a coh.ny of four hundred persons. They 
 were all starved to death except twenty-four; and the place was 
 called Port Famine, from the melancholy fate of these unfortu- 
 nate men. 
 
 The long wished for relief waj now fast approaching, for on 
 Saturday, the 6th, the man at the mast-head cried. "Land in the 
 west-north-west." As no anchorage was to be found, the captam 
 steered for the other island, giving the name of Whitsun Island 
 to this, because it was discovered on the eve of VVnitsunday. 
 Having approached the second, the lieutenant was sent on sliore, 
 with two boats, to take possession of the island and to call it 
 Qu Jen Charlotte's Island. The boats returned loaded with cocoa- 
 nuts and scurvv-grass, after having found two wells of excelleni 
 6 
 
Wiitei. Provisions for a week were now allotted for an ofTicei ana 
 twenty men, wlio were left on shore to take in water; the sick were 
 landed for the benefit of the air; and a number of hands were ap- 
 pointed ti. climb tile cocoa-trees, and gather the nuts. 
 
 An adjoining island, lying in nineteen degrees twenty minutes 
 Bouth latitude, and one hundred thirty-eight degrees thirty minutea 
 west longitude, received the name of Egmont Island. On the 
 1 1th, they observed ai)out sixteen persons on an island, wnich was 
 called Gloucester Island. This day they likewise discovered an- 
 other, wiiich was called Cumberland Island ; and on the day follow- 
 ing, a third, which received the name of Prince William Henry's 
 Island. On the 17th, again discovered land, but couid find no 
 
 flace in which the ship might anchor. This was named Osnaburgh 
 sland, and having soon discoverer! high land, they came to anchor 
 because the weather was foggy; but it no sooner cleared away, than 
 hey found the ship encompassed by hundreds of people. They 
 sailed along the shore, while the canoes made towards the land 
 On the iJlst, the ship came to anchor. 
 
 The boats having been sent to sound along the coast, were fol- 
 lowed by large double canoes, three of which ran at the cutter, 
 Slaved in her quarter, and otherwise damaged her; the Indians, 
 at the same time, armed with clubs, endeavoring to board her 
 The crew now fired; and wounding one man dangerously, and 
 killing another, they both fell into the sea. The ship made sail 
 the following day, and was piloted round a reef, into a harbor, 
 where she was moored. On the 24th, she sailed further up the 
 harbor, followed by many canoes. In the evening, a number of 
 very large canoes advanced, laden with stones; on which the cap- 
 tain ordered the strictest watch to be kept. Soon after a large 
 canoe advanced, in which was an awning, on the top of which sat 
 one of the natives, holding some yellow and red feathers in his 
 hand. He delivered the feathers; and, while a present was pre- 
 paring, he put back from the ship, and threw the branch of a cocoa- 
 nut tree ii ^he air. This appeared the signal for an onset, for the 
 canoes, approaching the ship threw vollies of stones into every 
 part of her. On this two guns, loaded with small shot, were fired, 
 md the people on guard discharged their muskets. The number 
 of Indians now round the ship was full two thousand; and though 
 tliey were at first disconcerted, they soon recovered their spirits, 
 and renewed the attack. Thojsands were observed on shore, 
 snibarking as fast as the canoes could bring them off; orders were 
 therefore given for firing the cannon, some of which were brought 
 to bear upon the shore. The scattered canoes soon got together 
 again, and threw stones of two pounds weight from slings by whic."* 
 a number of seamen were wounded. At this time several canoes 
 aproached the bow of the ship, in one of which was an Indian, who 
 appeared to have an authority over the rest; a gun was therefore 
 levelled at his canoe, the shot of which split it in two pieces, which 
 
•WAi.Lrs. 63 
 
 put an end to the contest; the canoes rowed ofT with the utmost 
 speed, and the people on shore ran and concealed themselves be- 
 hind the hills. Next day a lieutenant was despatched, with all 
 the boats manned and armed, and having hoisted a pendant on a 
 staff, he took possession of the place by the name of King George 
 the Third's Island. Tiiree days after this, the gunner conductof' 
 to the ship a lad}^ of a portly figure and agreeable face, whose age 
 seemed to be upwards of forty. Her whole behavior indicated 
 the woman of superior rank. The captain presented her with a 
 looking-glass and some toys, and gave her a handsome blue man- 
 tle, which he tied round her with ribbands. Having intimated 
 that she would be glad to see the Captain on shore, on Sunday, 
 the 12th, he landed, and was met by his fair friend, who was at- 
 tended by a numerous retinue. As they advanced, great numbers 
 of Indians crowded to meet them. JNIany persons of both sexes 
 advanced to meet her, whom she caused to kiss the captain's hand, 
 while she signified that they were related to her. Her house was 
 above three hundred and twenty feet in length, and about forty 
 in breadth. The captain, lieutenant, and purser, who had been 
 ill, being seated, the lady helped four of her female attendants to 
 pull off their coats, shoes and stockings; which being performed, 
 the girls smoothed down the skin, and rubbed it lightly with their 
 hands for more than half an hour; and the gentlemen received 
 great benefi! from the operation. Orders had been given that 
 the captain should be carried; but as he chose to walk, she took 
 hold of his arm, and when they came near any wet or dirty place, 
 she lifted him over, with as much ease as a man would a child. On 
 the 15th, a large party in all the boats rowed round the island. 
 The island was found to be every where very pleasant, and to 
 abound with various necessaries of life. On the 17th, Captain 
 Wallis received another visit from the lady whom he called his 
 queen. On the 21st, she repeated the visit, and presented him 
 with some hogs. The captain having sent a party on shore on the 
 25ih, to examine the country minutely, caused a tent to be erect- 
 ed to observe an eclipse of the sun, and when it was ended, took 
 his telescope to the queen's house to show her the use of it; and 
 her surprise is not to be expressed, on her beholding several objects 
 which she was very familiar with, but which were too distant to 
 be seen by the naked eye. She made signs to be informed if he 
 held his resolution as to the time of his departure, and being an- 
 Bwercd in the affirmative, her tears witnessed the agitation of her 
 inind. The captain presented her with several articles of use and 
 ornament, which she received in silent sorrow. After some time 
 a breeze springing up, the queen and her attendants took thri.r 
 final leave, with many tears. 
 
 The place where the ship had lain was called Port Royal Har- 
 bor, and is situated in 17 degrees 30 minutes south latitude, and 
 150 degrees west longitude. The Dolphin sailed from Otaheiie 
 
b4 VOVAGE FROM HALIFAX TO BERMUDA, 
 
 on the 27th 'bf July, 17G7, and passed the Duke of York's Island 
 On tlie 28th, they discovered land, which was called Sir Charles 
 Sauiidcr's Island. On the 30th again made land, which received 
 tlie natne of Lord Howe's Island, on which smoke was seen, but 
 no inlialtilants. Tlieir next discovery was some dangerous shoals, 
 to which Captain \Vallis gave the name of the Scilly Isiands 
 They now steered westward till the 13th of August, when they 
 saw two small islands, one of which was named Keppel's Isle, 
 and the other Boscawcn's Island. On the I6th they again dis- 
 covered land, to which the officers gave the name of Wallis'a 
 Island. 
 
 On the 18th of September they discovered the island of Saypan, 
 and soon afterwards that of Tinian, off which they anchored on 
 the day following. Tents were erected for the sick, who were 
 sent on shore with all expedition. By the 15th of October the 
 fruit and water were carried on board, and all the sick being re- 
 covered, on the next day they left the bay, and sailed to the west. 
 
 On the 3d of November they discovered three islands, which 
 were named Sandy Isle, Small Key, and Long Island; which 
 islands are in 10 degrees 20 minutes north latitude, and 247 deg- 
 rees 30 minutes west longitude. They now altered their course, 
 and, on the I3th, saw the island of Timuun, Aros, and Pesang. 
 On the 16th they crossed the equinoctial line, and came again 
 into south latitude. The next day they saw the islands of Pulo 
 Tote, and Pulo Weste, and the seven islands. On the 22d saw 
 the coast of Sumatra; and came to an anchor in the road of Bata- 
 via, on the 30th of November, 1767. From this place they sailed 
 on the 8th of December, without losing a single man, and having 
 only two on the sick list. 
 
 On the 24th of January they encountered a dreadful storm, 
 which tore the sails to pieces, broke a rudder-chain, and carried 
 several of the booms overboard; yet during this storm they ob- 
 served a number of birds and butterflies. On the 30th they saw 
 land ; and came to anchor in Table Bay, at the Cape of Good Hope, 
 on the 4th of February. Sailed on the 25th, and on the 17th ot 
 JMarch, anchored in the bay of St. Helena. On the 28th crossed 
 the equinoctial line, and on the 24th of next month saw the Cape 
 of Pico. No material incident happened from this time to the 
 end of the voyage; and on the 20th of May, 1768, the DolpLin 
 came to anchor in the Downs. 
 
 VOYAGE FROM HALIFAX TO BERINTUDA. 
 
 On the 6th of December, we sailed from Halifax, with u fresh 
 north-westerly wind, on a bitter cold day, so that the harbor was 
 tovered with a vapor called " the barber," a sort of low fog, which 
 
VOYAGE FROM HALIFAX TO BERMUDA. 615 
 
 clings to the surface of the water, and sweeps along with these 
 biting winter blasts, in such a manner as to cut one to the very 
 bone. 
 
 As we shot past one of the lower wharfs of the town of Holi 
 fax, just before coming to the narrow passage between (leorge'a 
 Island and the main land, on the south side of this magnificent 
 harbor, a boat put off with a gentleman, who, by some accident, 
 had missed his passage. Tliey succeeded in getting alongside 
 the ship; but, in seizing hold of a rope which was thrown to them 
 from the mainchains, the boatmen, in their hurry, caught a turn 
 with it round the ai'teithwart, instead of making it fast somewhere 
 in the bow of the boat. The inevitable consequence of this pro- 
 ceeding was, to raise the stern of the boat out of the water, and. 
 of course, to plunge her nose under the surface. Even a lands 
 man will comprehend how this happened, when it is mentioned 
 that the ship was running past at tlie rate of ten knots. In the 
 twinkling of an eye, the w!nde party, officer, boatmen, and all, 
 were seen floating about, grasping at the oars or striking out for 
 the land, distant, tbrtunately, only a few yards from them; fjr the 
 water thereabouts is so deep, that a ship, in sailing out or in, may 
 safely graze the shore 
 
 As the intensity of the cold was groat, we were quite astonished 
 to see the people swimming away so easily; but we afterwards 
 learned from one of the party, that, owing to the water being 
 between forty and fifty degrees warmer than the air, he felt, when 
 plunged into it, as if he had been soused into a hot bath. The 
 instant, however, he readied the pier, and was lugged out, like a 
 half-drowned rat, he was htcrally enclosed in a firm case of ice 
 from head to foot! This very awkward coat of mail was not re- 
 moved without considerable diihculty; nor was it till he had been 
 laid for some hours in a well-warmed bed, between two other 
 persons, that he could move at all, and, for several months after- 
 wards, he was not well enough to leave his room. 
 
 For us to stop, at such a time and place, was impossible; so 
 away we shot like a spear— past Chebucto Head, Cape Sambro, 
 and sundry other fierce-looking black capes of naked rock. The 
 breeze rapidly rose to a hard gale, which split our main-topsail 
 to threads, and sent the fragments thundering to leeward in the 
 storm, in such grand style, that, to this hour, I can almost fancy 
 I hear the noise in my ears. I know lew things more impressive 
 than the deep-toned sounds caused by the flapping of a wet sail, 
 in such a fierce squall as this, when the sheets are carried away, 
 and the unconfined sail is tugsing and tearing to get clear of the 
 yard, which bends and cracks so fearfully, that even t!ie lower 
 mast sometimes wags abimt like a reed. I certainly" have heard 
 thunder far louder than tlu! rounds alluded to; but have seldom 
 known it more efl^ective or startling^than those of a sail going to 
 pieces in such a tempest'of wind and rain 
 
66 VOTAGE rnoM MAI.IFAX to nERMUDA. 
 
 1 was standing, where I had no business to be, on the weather 
 sideof tiic quarler-dccii, holding on stoutly by one of tlie belaying 
 piix-^, and wondering where this novel scene was to end, but hav- 
 ing an obscure idea tiiat the ship was going to the bottom. Tlie 
 admiral was looking up at tlic splitting sail as composedly as pos- 
 sible, alter desiring that the main-top-men, whose exertions were 
 qaite useless, should be called down, out of the way of the ropes, 
 which were cracking about their heads. Every now and then 1 
 -.ould see the weatlier-wise glance of the veteran's eye directed 
 to windward, in hopes that matters would mend. But they only 
 became worse; and at last, when the fore-mast seemed to be 
 really in danger, for it was bending like a cane, though the fore- 
 sail had been reefed, he waited not to run through the usual round 
 of etiquettes by which an admiral's commands generally reach 
 the executive on board ship, but exclaimed with a voice so loud, 
 that it made me start over to the lee side of the deck: — 
 
 " Man the fore-clue garnets!" 
 
 In the next minute the sail rose gradually to the yard, and the 
 groaning old ship, by this time sorely strained to her innermost 
 timber, seemed to be at once relieved from the pressure of the 
 canvass which had borne her headlong, right into the seas, and 
 made her tremble from stem to stern, almost as if she were going 
 to pieces. 
 
 The next thing to be done was to get in the jib-boom, in order 
 to ease the bowsprit. In effecting this rather troublesome opera- 
 tion, one of the primest seamen we had fell overboard. He was 
 second captain of the forecastle, the steadiness of whose admirable 
 skill as a steersman bad, one day, elicited the complimentary re- 
 mark from the captain, that he must surely have nailed the com- 
 pass card to the binnacle. On this, and other accounts, he was 
 so much esteemed in the ship, that more than the usual degree of 
 regret was felt for his melancholy fate. I saw the poor fellow 
 pitch into the water, and watched him as he floated past, buoyant 
 as a cork, and breasting the waves most gallantly, with an im- 
 ploring look towards us, which I shall never forget. In less than 
 a minute he was out of sight. A boat could hardly have lived in 
 sucl weather, and no further attempt was made, or could have 
 been made, to save him, than to throw over ropes, which all fell 
 short of their mark. Although we soon lost all traces of him, it 
 8 probable he may have kept sight of us, as we drifted quickly to 
 eeward under our bare poles, long after we had ceased to distin 
 guish his figure in the yest of waves. 
 
 This gale, the first lever saw, was also, lean recollect, one of 
 the fierc*t. It lasted for three days, totally dispersed oiir little 
 squadron, well nigh foundered one of them, the Cambrian, and 
 sent her hobb.ing into Bermuda some days after us, with the loss 
 •f her main-mast and all three top-masfs. 
 
 The rock of the islands of Bermuda is of a very soft coarse 
 
VOYAGE FROM HALIFAX TO BERMUDA. 
 
 freestone, full of pores; so soft, indeed, that if it be required to 
 make an additional window in a house, there is nothing to be 
 done, we were told, but to hire a black fellow, who, with a saw, 
 could speedily cut an opening in any part of the wall. 
 
 There is nothing more remarkable in this singular cluster of 
 islands than the extensive coral reefs which fend off the sea oa 
 the northern side, and stretch out in a semi-circular belt, at the 
 distance of two or three leagues from the land. On these treach- 
 erous reefs we saw many a poor vessel bilged, at moments when, 
 from seeing the land at such a distance, they fancied themselves 
 in perfect security. 
 
 They tell a story of a boatman who, it was said, lived by these 
 disasters, once going off to an unlucky vessel, fairly caught among 
 the coral reefs, like a fly in a cobweb, not far from the North 
 Jiock. The wrecker, as he was called, having boarded the be- 
 wildered ship, said to the master, 
 
 " What will you give me, now, to get you out of this place.'"' 
 
 " Oh, any thing you like — name your sum." 
 
 "Five hundred dollars?" 
 
 "Agreed! agreed!" cried tlie other. Upon which this treach- 
 erous pilot ' kept his promise trulv to the ear, but broke it to the 
 nope,' by taking the vessel out of an abominably bad place, only 
 10 fix her in one a great deal more intricate artd perilous. 
 
 "Now," said the wrecker to the perplexed and doubly- 
 cheated stranger, " there never was a vessel in this scrape, that 
 was known to get out again; and, indeed, there is but one man 
 alive who knows the passage, or could, by any possibility, extri- 
 cate you — and that's me!" 
 
 "I suppose," drily remarked the captain, "that 'for a con- 
 sideration' you would be the man to do me that good service 
 What say you to another five hundred dollars to put me into 
 clear water, beyond your infernal reefs?" 
 
 This hard bargain was soon made; and a v. inding passage, 
 unseen before, being found, just wide enough, and barely deep 
 enough, for the vessel to pass through, with only six inches to 
 spare under her keel, in half an hour she was once more in blue 
 water, out of soundings, and out of danger. 
 
 " Now, master rascallion of a wrecker," cried the disentangled 
 mariner, " tit for tat is fair play all the world over; and, unless 
 you hand me back again my thousand dollars, I'll cut the tow 
 rope of your thievisii-looking boat, and then, instead of returning 
 evil for evil, as I ought bv rights to do, I'll be more of a Christ- 
 ian, and do you a very great service, by carrying you away from 
 one of the most infamous places in the world, to the finest country 
 imaginable — I mean America. And as you seem to have a certain 
 touch of black blood in your veins, I may ch.ince to get good in- 
 terest for my loan of these thousand dollars, by selling you .is a slave 
 •n the Charicsti)n negro market! What say you, my gay Mudian?" 
 
68 DE COLGAI.WII.i,^. 
 
 DE BOUGAINVILLE. 
 
 A settlement having been cominenccu by the French on Falk- 
 land's Islands, in the month of February, 1761, the Spaniards de- 
 manded them as an appendage to the continent of Soutli America; 
 and France having allowed the propriety of the demand, Mons. de 
 IJimgainviile was ordered to yield possession of the islands to tht 
 Spaniards. 
 
 On the 5th of December he sailed from the harbor of Brest, 
 in the frigate La Boudetise; having on board the Prince of Nas 
 tjau Seighen, tiiree gentlemen who went as volunteers, eleven 
 oliicers in commission, and warrant-officers, seamen, soldiers, 
 servants and boys, to the number of two hundred. On the even- 
 ing of the !29th of January, they had sight of Rio-de-la- Plata, 
 and on the morning of the 31st came to anchor in tlie Bay of 
 Montevideo, where the two Spanish ships, which were to take 
 possession of Falkland's Islands, had been at anchor for some 
 weeks. They sailed with these ships on the 28th of February 
 1767; and, on the 1st of April, Bougainville, in the name of the 
 French king, surrendered the islands to Don Puente, the Spanish 
 governor, who received them for his most Catholic majesty, with 
 the ceremony of hoisting the Spanish colors, and the firing of 
 guns from the ships and on shore. 
 
 Falkland's Islands lie in about 52 deg. south latitude, and 
 60 deg. west longitude. From the entrance of the Straits of 
 Magellan, and from the coast of Patagonia, their distance is 
 about two hundred and fifty miles. The harbors are large, 
 and well defended by small islands most happily disposed; 
 and even the smallest vessels may ride in safety in the creeks, 
 while fresh water is easily to be obtained. After waiting at these 
 islands till the 2d of June, P<37, in expectation of the Etoile 
 store-ship from Europe, Bougainville steered for Rio-Janeiro, at 
 which place he had appointed the Etoille to join him. They had 
 fine weather from the 2d till the 20th of June, on which day they 
 had sight of the mountains on the main land of Brazil, and enter- 
 ed Rio-Janeiro the day following. At the same time a canoe was 
 despatched from the captain of the Etoile, with information of 
 the safe arrival of that vessel, which now lay in the port; and 
 on the 14th July, both vessels sailed, and on the 31st came to an- 
 chor in the Bay of Montevideo. As it was necessary that Bougain- 
 ville should remain in his present station till the equinox was pass- 
 ed, his first care was to build a hospital for the sick, and to take 
 lodginirs at Montevioeo. 
 
 On the Mth of November, 1767, they sailed from Montevideo, 
 with a fine gale of wind at north. On the 16th, and the five fol- 
 lowing days, the sea ran high, and the wind was contrary. The 
 2d of December they had sight of Cape Virgins, with a fair wind 
 
DE BOUGAINVILLE 6^ 
 
 They now saw a number of albatrosses and petrels, the last of 
 which are said to be a sign of bad weather, whenever they are 
 seen. They made their best efforts to reach the entrance of the 
 Straits of Magellan; and Bougainville was seven weeks and three 
 days in passing through it, the whole length of which, from Cape 
 Virgin Mary to Cape Pillar, he computes at about three hund- 
 red and forty miles. 
 
 On the 2Jd of March, land was discovered, and when they had 
 coasted one of the islands for about two miles, they had sight of 
 three men, who advanced hastily towards the shore. Thoy at 
 first imagined that these were part of the crew of some European 
 ship, which had been wrecked on the coast, but discovered their 
 conjecture ill-founded, for the people retired to the woods, from 
 which, in a short time, issued a number of them, supposed to be 
 near twenty, with long staves in their hands, which tney htld up 
 with an air of defiance. This done, they retreated to the woods. 
 These islanders were of a copper complexion and very tall. 
 
 During the night between the 22d and '-23d they had much rain 
 accompanied with violent thunder, while the wind blew almost 
 a tempest. At day-break land was discovered, which was called 
 Harp Island, and in the evening a cluster of islands, eleven o-f 
 which were seen, received the name of the Dangerous Archipel- 
 ago. A steep mountain, which appeared to be encompassed by 
 the sea, was discovered on the '2d of April, and received the 
 name of Boudoir, or Boudeuse Peak, from Bougainville's ship. 
 Bearing to the northward of this peak they had sight of land, 
 which extended farther than the eye could reach. 
 
 As Bougainville coasted the island, he was charmed with the 
 appearance of a noble cascade, which, falling immediately from 
 the summit of a mountain into the sea, produced a most elegant 
 effect. On the shores very near to the fall of this cascade, was 
 a little town, and the coast appeared to be free from breakers. 
 It was the wish of our adventurers to hav^ cast their anchor with- 
 m view of such an enchanting prospect; but, after repeated sound- 
 ings, they found that the bottom consisted on4y of rocks, and they 
 were, therefore, under a necessity of seeking another anchoring 
 place, where the ships were safely moored. 
 
 They remained at Otaheite, until the 16th of April, when they 
 departed, and in the beginning of May three islands were discov- 
 ♦^red. On the following day another island was seen to the west 
 ward of the ship's course. To the islands the commodore gave 
 ihe general name of the Archipelago of the Navigators. On the 
 morning of the 1 1th, another island was discovered, which re- 
 ceived the name of the Forlorn Hope. 
 
 The ships now steered a westerly course, and early on the 
 morning of the 22d two islands were discovered, one of which re- 
 ceived the name Aurora, from the early hour on which it was first 
 «een, and the other that of Whitsuntide Isle, t'rom the day which 
 
70 Dr, coui^AiWi i.i.F, 
 
 gave l)irtl) to its being so named. In the aflcrnoon, mountainous 
 lands, at thirty miles distance, were seen, appearing, as it were, 
 over and heyond the Ishmd of Aurora. On the '236 it was discover- 
 ed that this was a separate island, the appearance being lofty, its 
 descent steep, and the whole clothed with trees. From this time 
 to the '27th, they passed many islands, on one of which they ob- 
 served a tine plantation of trees, between which there were reg- 
 ular walks, resembling those of an European garden. They now 
 quitted this great cluster of islands, which received the general 
 name of Archipelago of the great Cyclades, which, it is conjectur- 
 ed, occupies no less than three degrees of latitude, and five of 
 longitude. 
 
 From the 14th to the 18th of June, they discovered a numbe; 
 of islands. On July the 2d a cape was discovered, which was 
 called Cape I'Averdi, on which were mountains of an astonishing 
 height. Two more islands were seen on the 5th, and, as the wood 
 and water were expended, and disease reigning aboard, the com- 
 modore resolved to land here, and, on the following afternoon, 
 the ships came to anchor. 
 
 In the afternoon of the 24th a favorable breeze enabled the ships 
 to get out to sea. On the 31st a number of Indian boats attacked 
 the Etoile with a volley of stones and arrows; but a single discharge 
 of the musketry got rid of these troublesome companions. On the 
 4th of August two islands were seen. On the .5th a third island 
 was seen, and then the northern point of New Britain, which lies 
 only forty one minutes south of tlie land. On the 7th a flat island 
 was seen, covered with trees, abounding with cocoa-nuts. Fish- 
 ing-boats in multitudes surrounding the island; but the fishermen 
 took no notice of the shi])s. This received the name of the Island 
 of Anchorets. From this time till the end of the month innumera- 
 ble small islands were observed every day. 
 
 Early in the morning of the 31st our voyagers had sight of the 
 island of Cerani, which runs in a parallel east and west, abounds in 
 lofty mountains, and is partly cleared, and partly in its original 
 state. At midnight a number of fires attracted their attention to 
 the island of Boero, where there is a Dutch factory, at the en- 
 trance of the Gulf of Cagei, which the French had sight of at 
 day-break. Their joy on this occasion is not to be expressed, for 
 at this time not half of the seamen were able to perform any 
 duty, and the scurvy had raged so violently, that no man on boarcl 
 was perfectly clear of it. 
 
 They sailed on the 7th September and on the 13th the ships were 
 surrounded with Indian boats, bringing parroquets, cockatoos, 
 fowls, egcs, and bananas, which the natives sold for Dutch money, 
 or exchanged for knives. By day-light on the 19th they were 
 within about a league of the Coast of Celibes, which in this part 
 iij described as one of the finest countries in the world. On the 
 morning of the 26th the coast of Java appear«jd with the rising 
 
HISTORY OF THE BUCCANEERS. 71 
 
 iun. Having come to an anchor for tlie night, the s^ips sailed 
 early in the morning of the 27th and on the next day came to 
 anchor in the port of Batavia. 
 
 The shipa sailed thence on the 16th of October, 1768, and 
 cleared the straits of Sunda on the 19th in the afternoon. By 
 this tin:e the crew were all perfectly recovered of the scurvy, but 
 a few remained ill of the bloody flux. On the !20th the ships were 
 in sight of the Isle of France, and, on the 8th of November, the 
 Boudeuse anchored in the port of that island; the Etoile, which 
 had been unavoidably left behind, anchoring in the same port on 
 the following day. 
 
 They sailed from this the 12th of December, 1768, leaving the 
 £toile behind them to undergo some necessary repairs. Without 
 encountering any singular accident they had sight of the Cape 
 of Good Hope on the 1 8th of January, and came to anchor in Table 
 Buy on the following morning. Bougainville quitted this on the 
 17th, anchored off St. Helena on the 4th of February, and on the 
 2.5th, joined the Swallow, commanded by Captain Cartert. Noth- 
 ing material happened from this time till they had sight of the Isle 
 of Ushant, where a violent squall of wind had nearly blasted the 
 hopes of the voyage. On the 15th the commodore bore away for 
 St. Maloes, which he entered on the following day, after an ab- 
 sence of two years and four months from his native country; 
 during all which time he had buried only seven of his crew, a 
 circumstance that will be deemed truly astonishing, when we re- 
 flect on the variety of dangers they had encountered and the 
 amazing changes of climate they had experienced. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE BUCCANEERS 
 
 The name Buccaneer, Avhich originally signified one who dried 
 or smoked flesh in the manner of the Indians, was given to the 
 first French settlers of St. Domingo, who hunted wild boars and 
 cattle, in order to sell the hides and flesh to their more settled 
 neighbors. They lived in huts built on patches of cleared groi-.nd, 
 just sufficiently large to admit of drying the skins. These spots 
 were named Boucans, and the huts, which were commonly only 
 temporary, Ajoupas, terms borrowed from the native Indiana. 
 With the more regular Spanish settlers of the same island they 
 were continual'.y at war, and therefore concealment was, in some 
 degree, necessary: the motives of the Spaniards for this persecu- 
 tion being jealousy of the presence of all other Europeans. 
 
 The tenants of the Boucans, having neither women nor chiidren, 
 congregated in parties, each keeping a servant, who, being some 
 
IS insTouv or thi: iiucca.neeus. 
 
 adventurer from Euro])c, was obliged to bind himself for three 
 years to an older Buccaneer, in order to gain a footing in the 
 community; more a compaiiio!i, however, than a servant, tlie fruit? 
 of their labors were enjoyed in coininon; and, in cases of death, 
 the domestic regularly succeeded to tlie property of his master. 
 In process of time, some, tired of this occupation, settled as plant- 
 ers in the little island of Tortuga, situated at a short distance 
 from the nortii side of St. Domingo, to which they were, l)y de- 
 grees, driven by the repeated massacres of the Spaniards. Otliera 
 commenced frec-booters by sea, amply revenging upon that nation 
 tlie injuries sustained by (i;eir companions on land. Success con- 
 tinually added to their confidence and to their numbers. They 
 seldom at lirst, acted together; but in parties of from fifty to two 
 hundred men each, eiiibarked in small boats, ill adajjted either to 
 war or security f;om the elements, luid would attack the largest 
 vessels, overpowering them by a desjierate bravery which nothing 
 could withstand. Thus they fought their way to riches and power 
 Every additional prize atlbrded increased means of capturing 
 others; till, at length, the Spaniards, afraid of proceeding to sea, 
 had their intercourse with the mother-country nearl^v annihilated. 
 
 Although their vengeance was directed against this, theii 
 wealthiest and bitterest enemy, other nations were not exempted 
 from their depredations. When distressed for men, money, or 
 ships, almost every stranger became an enemy. Thus far they 
 were pirates. The booty was regularly divided into as many 
 shares as there were men. None had a preference. The leader 
 of an enterprise, commonly elected only for the occasion, among 
 the most distinguished for skill and courage, enjoyed more hon- 
 ors, but had no claim to greater emoluments than his associates, 
 except what the general voice chose to award when an enterprise 
 proved profitable, and had been able conducted. 
 
 No fixed laws guided their proceedings. These were made 
 upon the spur of the occasion. But offences against the general 
 good, such as peculation or treachery, were severely and summa- 
 rily punished, either by death, or by leaving the culprit upon a de- 
 sert island. Such was the certainty of punishment, or the sense 
 of just'ice to each other, that few instances of this kind occurred. 
 Their behavior verified the adage of — "Honesty among thieves;" 
 for though robbers by profession, none were ever more equitable 
 among themselves. Every share was chosen by lot. The woun- 
 ded were provided for by a certain sum, and an allowance during 
 cure. The companion, or servant of a member killed, received 
 his share. If he had none, it was transmitted to his relations; or^ 
 if these were unknown, given to the p, or, or to churches, to apo- 
 logize for misdeeds neither repented of nor discontinued. They 
 seldom went to sea except when in want of money, and, when' gain- 
 ed, it was as quickly spent. Jamaica commonly formed the resort 
 of the English, and St. Domingo of tlie French, where the fruits 
 
IIIi^TO-.iY OF THE ErcC ANEEF.S. 73 
 
 of their cruizes being soon dissipated in rioting and debauchery-j 
 necessity drove them to tiie same desperate undertakings for further 
 supplies. 
 
 These associations continued, with but few intermissions, for 
 nearly 150 years, peace or Avar in Europe being of no import in 
 the eves of their leaders. The principal of these were Morgan, 
 SammT Wilner, Towley, and others, among the English; Mont- 
 bur, L'Olonois, Grognier, Picard, Le Sage, and Grammont, 
 among the FrencJi; Van Horn, a Dutchman, and De Basco, a 
 Portuguese. 
 
 Morgan, the most renowned of the English freebooters, al'ter a 
 \ariety of minor exploits, conceived the bold [)roject of subduing 
 Porto-Bello, which he accomplished with great skill and no loss 
 gaining a large booty from its plunder and ransom. Panama, 
 nowever, a large town, situated across the isthmus of Darien, on the 
 shore of the South Seas, promised still more wealth. Having re- 
 duced the island of St. Catharine's by a secret understanding with 
 the Spanish governor, who wished to have the honor, though 
 not the danger, of resisting the adventurers, he proceeded to the 
 mouth of the river Chagres, leading part of the way to his ulti 
 mate destination. Here was a fort situated upon a rock ; against 
 which beat the waves of the sea; and defended by an officer and 
 a garrison, worthy of the trust committed to their courage. The 
 buccaneers attacked it with desperation, and were as vigorously 
 resisted, but this resistance only stimulated the energy of men ac- 
 customed, not merely to expect, but almost to command success. 
 For some time the contest continued doubtful, till a lucky shot 
 killed the commander of the fort, while, at the same time, it took 
 fire, when tiie besieged, losing courage, surrendered. 
 
 Morgan leaving his vessels at anchor under a guard, proceeded 
 in canoes up the river, thirty-five miles, where, being no longer 
 navigable, he disembarked, and marched towards Panama, about 
 thirty miles distant. On a plain, without the town, a considerable 
 army appeared drawn up to oppose his progress. This was no 
 sooner attacked than dispersed. In the city, in boats, and in the 
 neighboring forests, were found vast treasures concealed in caves 
 and cellars, the inhabitants having had time to retire themselves, 
 but no' to carry off their wealth; added to these were immense 
 quantities of valuable articles of commerce, which, being unable 
 to remove, were, as well as the town, according to the barbaroi s 
 practice of that age, set on fire by the adventurers, who regained 
 their ships with a prodigious booty. 
 
 Among the French, who distinguished themselves as much for 
 cruelty as bravery, was Montbar, a native of Languedoc. He 
 had, in early life, conceived a strong prejudice against the Span- 
 iards, on account of their cruelties to the Indians; this spirit in- 
 creasing with his years, he embarked from Europe to join the 
 buccaneers. In the passage out, a Spanish vessel being met with, 
 7 
 
14 iti.sTiVRV c/v TiiT, rrvccxsLcns. 
 
 was aMackrd, boardi'd, and talcm, Montbar lca<rnif:j tfic ira} to 
 the dejltsdf tlje onciny, along uhicb he carried \vo»iiid& and deatls, 
 nothing being able to resist his desperate lury ; arxl when submis- 
 sion terminated the engagement, iiis only pleasure seemed to be 
 to contemplate, not the tre^asvrcs of the vessel, but the numbe? 
 of dead and dying Spaniards, against whom be had vowed a dead- 
 ly and eternal hatred. This inveterate enmity never subsided 
 Ilia opponents sulFered so much and so frequently from it, during 
 the whole of his life, that he acquired from them the name of live 
 Exterminator. 
 
 Another of the same nation, named L'Olonofs, "rom the situa 
 tion of bondsman, had raised himself to the commarKl of two boats 
 and twenty-two men, with which he was bold enough to attack, 
 and fortur.ate enough to capture a small Spanish frigate on the 
 coast of Cuba. With this vessel he succeeded in taking four ships 
 fitted out at Port-au-Prince to destroy him; but cruelly threw their 
 crews overboard, excepting one man, sent back to the governor 
 of the Havannah, with a message that all Spaniards who might 
 fall into his hands, not excepting even his excellency himself, 
 should experience a similar fate. At Tortuga be met with Michae] 
 de Basco, already celebrated for having taken a ship under the 
 guns of Porto Bello, valued at ,£'220,000, and a variety of other 
 enterp'ises both daring and profitable. Between them a new ex- 
 pedition was planned, supported by 450 men; in the bay of 
 Venezuela they reduced a fort, .sinking the guns, and cruelly put- 
 ting the garrison of 250 men to death. Re-embarking, they 
 reached Maracaybo, built on the western shore of the lake of that 
 name, a city which had acquired wealth by its trade in skins^ 
 cocoa, and tobacco. The inhabitants, at the first alarm, fled with 
 their principal effects ; enough, however, remained to keep the buc- 
 caneers in drunkenness and debauchery for some time; in the 
 mean while works were thrown up to impede their progress, which 
 they reduced at t'lie expense of blood and labor, but without any 
 profit. Maracaybo itself was ransomed; Gibraltar, situated near 
 the extremity of the lake, was burned, owing to the exasperation 
 of the adventurers .it missing the expected plunder; and, at length 
 they retired laden with crosses, pictures, and bells, more than 
 with wealth. 
 
 Van Ilorne, in 1603, formed the design of an expedition, which 
 promised a rich harvest to his followers. He himself was at once 
 their admiration and terror, being not only remarkable for intre- 
 pidity but for punishing the smallest want of it in others, often go- 
 ing round the decks during the heat of an engagement, and instant- 
 ly shooting those who, in the smallest degree, flinched from their 
 guns. In other respects he was equitable and generou;?, sharing 
 equally with his crew the produce of their courage, though sail- 
 ing in a ship wholly his private property. 
 
 To aid in the prescn* scheme, he took Gramont, Godfrey, Jon- 
 
lifSTOR? or ran nuccAXEEns. 75 
 
 que, and De Graff, all commanders of approved skill b.Ad courage, 
 with 1200 men, the largest tbrce wiiich had yet been mustered, 
 and in six vessels sailed for Vera Cruz. iNight, and ignorance 
 of the armament, favoring their design, the buccaneers landed 
 eight miles from the town, entered it undiscovered, and, before 
 day-break, secured the governor, forts, barracks, and all the sgl- 
 diers capable of making opposition. The inhabitants sought r^ 
 fuge in the churches, at the doors of which were placed barrels ot" 
 gunpowder, guarded by the invaders with lighted matches, in or- 
 der to destroy the whole in case of insurrection or tumult. The 
 work of pillage, in the meantime, proceeded without interruption, 
 nothing being left which it was possible or desirable to carry away. 
 A proposal was likewise made to the imprisoned people, who had 
 not tasted food for three days, to ransom their lives and freedom 
 for a sum of £430,000. This, whether able or not, they were 
 compelled to accede to, half the money being paid immediately, 
 and the other half promised in a few days. Suddenly, however, 
 a large armed force appeared before the town, and a fleet of seven- 
 een ships from Europe before the port, which though sufficient 
 to intimidate a regular army, if not to desert their plunder, had 
 no other effect on the buccaneers than to induce them to retreat 
 quietly with 1500 slaves, as an indemnification for the remaining 
 half of the expected ransom, and to push deliberately through the 
 Spanish fleet, which, instead of intercepting, was itself happy to 
 escape from such terrible assailants. 
 
 For a long series of years these depredations continued 
 Scarcely a town escaped, except such as were situated very far 
 in the interior; forts and soldiers were of little use on the coast, 
 for the former were soon reduced, and the latter, whenever they 
 attempted a fair contest in the field, always conquered. Towards 
 the decline of this predatory warfare, Gramont embarked with a 
 considerable force for Campeachy, and landing without opposition, 
 found 800 Spaniards drawn up to dispute the approach of the town, 
 who were attacked, beaten, and pursued into it, with the invaders 
 close behind, till stopped by the citadel. Against this all the can- 
 non they could find was directed in vain. Fear, however, effect- 
 ed what force could not. The garrison dreading the name of the 
 buccaneers, evacuated the place during the night, leaving only an 
 Englishman in it, (a gunner,) who, with the spirit of a soldier, 
 disdained to desert that which he had sworn to defend, and which, 
 it appeared, was capable of being obstinately defended; and so 
 highly did this principle of honor and courage operate upon the 
 assailants, who were held together solely by the same feelings, 
 that they received him with distinction, and rewarded him, not 
 only with praises and liberty, but likewise with wealth. 
 
 For two months the conquerors kept possession of the city, 
 searching not only every nook and corner in it for plunder, bu'. 
 the country, for thirty or forty miles rounl discovering what had 
 
TG iiisio.iv or 7iir. nLccANF.uu.T 
 
 hrcn nidden in the earth or in th(^ wonds, to the great loss of tlio 
 inlmbitanfs, who vainly i)("lievcd tliey had, by this means, secured 
 part of their property. Tiie plundei;, as soon as collected, waa 
 deposited on ship-board. The governor of the province kept the 
 field with nearly a thotisand men, but dared not interrupt men 
 who seemed as desperate, wherever booty was to be procured, 
 as they were insensible to danger and regardless of death, llig 
 refusal to ransom the city caused its immediate destruction by 
 tire. The citadel, likewise, was levelled to the ground. A more 
 extraordinary sacrifice on the part of the free-booters was by a bon- 
 fire, made of logwood, valued at ,£1,000,000 and forming part of the 
 plunder, which, in celebrating the festival of St. 1-ouis, on tho 
 anniversary of the French king, whose subjects they principally 
 were, was given to the flames in the intoxication of folly rather 
 than of loyalty. 
 
 The last memorable attempt of the buccaneers, on a large scale, 
 m this part of the world, took place in 1697, when twelve hun- 
 dred men joined a squadron of seven ships from Europe, in order 
 to attack the city of Carthagena. Their commander was named 
 Pointis, a man of little honor or generosity, but intent on aggran- 
 dizing himself. The enterprise was arduous; the place the strong- 
 est in the new world; the port difficult of approach to enemies; 
 and, if not immediately reduced, the climate so bad, that were the 
 Spaniards even to do nothing more than to contrive delays, it would 
 soon destroy the invaders. This, however, the latter knew. They, 
 therefore, proceeded vigorously to work, seconded by that zeal 
 accustomed to contend with and to conquer next to impossibilities; 
 of guns they had no \vant, and their men were prodigal of their 
 olood; each fought as if his individual honor a'nd interest were 
 at stake, which, indeed, formed the life of these associations; and 
 iheir good fortune, as usual, prevailing, the city yielded to their 
 arms with a booty calculated at £1,750,030. 
 
 Of a great part of this they were deprived by the knavish ra- 
 pacity of their commander. Exasperated at his tricks, a party 
 proceeded toward his ship, determined to inflict summary punish- 
 ment on the offender, but recollecting this could be of no imme- 
 diate service, cried out, "Brethren, why should we pollute 
 ourselves with the blood of this knave .^ He is unworthy the in- 
 dignation of honorable men! Let him live to be despised and 
 liooted, rather than die lamented by any one who may hear of his 
 fate, without knowing his crimes. Our share of the booty is still 
 at Carthagena, and there alone must we look for it." 
 
 Returning to the city, which was re-entered without opposition, 
 the inhabitants were shut up in the churches till the sum of £220, 
 000 should be paid, the amount of the sum of which they believed 
 themselves defrauded. Possessed of this, they promised to retire 
 without molestation to property or person; without it they threat- 
 ened the most frightful destruction to both. Unable, or unwilling 
 
THE WRECKERS. 71 
 
 to satisfy men v hose wanls were as boundless as their conduct 
 was daiing and unprincipled, the poor people knew not whal 
 to do. A venerable priest, at length, mounted the pulpit, to aid, 
 by the force of religious eloquence, the exactions of that rapacity 
 which it was probably useless to refuse, and impossible to prevent, 
 and which if ungratihed, would terminate in more terrible and 
 destructive consequences. This appeal not producing the sum 
 expected, the city was ordered to be plundered. Sated, at length, 
 with rioting and plunder; with niyney, merchandi.-e, and move- 
 ables of all kinds, they quitted this unfortunate place; but, soon 
 at'terwards, falling in with an English and Dutch squadron, then 
 in alliance with Spain, tliey were attacked and nearly destroyed ; part 
 being taken, part sunk, and part escaping to St. Domingo, a piece 
 of due retributive justice for their extorti )nate and illegal deeds, 
 which had now becouie, on many occasions, quite piratical, and 
 unsanctioned by the practices of fair and honorable w arfare. 
 
 From this titne buccaneering rapidly declined, tb'; i.-.r.jority be- 
 coming settlers in the ditferent West Indian islands, to which 
 they were induced by the European powers, sending out ships-of- 
 rt'ar to clear those seas and establish perfect security in commerce, 
 which had been, for a century, much interrupted, and so far aa 
 regarded Spain, often, for years together, quite destroyed. Those 
 who persisted in illegal practices were executed as pirates; while 
 others, more disposed to acquire wealth by honest means, received 
 encouragement from the local governments in grants of land. 
 The renewal of war with Spain occasionally drew forth some of 
 the more turbulent spirits from their peaceful occupations, but 
 the greater portion had acquired settled habits; and, in time, the 
 name of buccaneer, as well as his practices, became gradually 
 obliterated among all but the Spaniards, by whom they will never 
 be forgotten. 
 
 It must also be admitted, that, these adventurers acted, in 
 some measure, from principle. Many conscientiously detested 
 the Spanish people on account of real or alleged cruelties towards 
 the Indians. In plundering them, they believed they were only 
 despoiling robbers of that to which they had no legal claim; and 
 far from considering their actions as crimes, esteemed them not 
 merely honorable but just. 
 
 THE WRECKERS. 
 
 " A storm ! A storm !" the Wreckers cry. 
 As they look from the shore — yet no storm seems mjh ; 
 But w id and billow, wreck aiid ship, 
 Along he main seem all asleep : 
 
W VOVAflE OK CAPTAIN JAMES 
 
 But whort' is llip day ? — ' Tis £rono ! Not a traco 
 Of the suti ! The cloud has tal^en his place, 
 And moves not — breaks not — hanjring there, 
 As 't were fixed in the sultry, thickning air' 
 
 A flash ! — Another! — sky and main 
 
 Bejrjn to move ! — a flash atrain ! 
 
 Thunder — wind — the storm is come, 
 
 The sea 's a smoking sheet of foam ! 
 
 Rain I — it pours in floods, as though 
 
 The clouds did mock the floods below! 
 
 And the Vessel, from her anchors torn. 
 
 Towards the shore by the raging billows is borce 
 
 Hurra ! — Hurra ! — a wreck — Hurra ! 
 She strikes — by the board her tall masts go ; 
 She reels — recoils, and strikes again ! 
 They hoist the bmg-boat out — In vain — 
 'Tis swampt ! She now beats broadside on — 
 Another sea — she sinks! she's gone ! 
 Masts, cordage, planks, the breakers strew ! 
 •lay heaven have mercy on her crew • 
 
 VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN JAMES, 
 
 ?0R THE DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 
 
 fii the year 1630, several wealthy merchants of Bristol u'litea 
 ii fitting out a vessol for the purp:)se of accurately examining" the 
 « ole nnrthen coast of America. The command of this vessel 
 w :ch was small, only of seventy tons burden, but one of the 
 stionjrest ships of her size (hat had ever l)een built, was given to 
 Captain James. She was provisioned for eighteen months, and 
 manned with only twenty-two seamen, but these were all e.xcellent 
 sailors. 
 
 His stores having been all shipped, and the men on board, Cap- 
 tain James left Bristol in the month of April, 163!. After pass- 
 ing the southern coast of Ireland, he sailed in a west-north-west- 
 . erly direction, and on the fourth of June discovered the coast of 
 Greenland. Two days subsequently to this, his vessel was 
 encompassed with ice, many immense pieces of which beat so 
 vi<'lently against her that the ca[)tain was tearful she would have 
 oecn staved and sunk. The boat that accompanied her was crush- 
 ed to atoms. I:i one instance he was obliged to order the ship 
 to be made fast to a great ])ieep. of the ice, and during a day and 
 night to employ men incessantly m pushing off such masses of ice 
 as Hoated against hgr; but in this labor all their poles were bro- 
 'ten. The wind at fength blew a perfect hurricane, and, though 
 
VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN JAMES. IS 
 
 t'ne broken ice on almost all sides rose higher than the decks, 
 and the vessel was beaten about in a most alarming manner, she 
 suffered no injury. 
 
 On the morning of the tenth of June, these hardy adventurers 
 passed some masses of ice that were as high as the topmnst of 
 their vessel, and left Cape Desolation, ii. Greenland, to the east- 
 ward. The weather was now so cold that at one time the sails and 
 rigging were all frozen. On the twentieth, the ship reached the 
 southern point of the island of Resolution, at the entrance of 
 Hudson's Strait, but she was several tin>es carried round by the 
 current, and floating ice, and was in imminent danger of being 
 cruslied to pieces before she could be brought to anchor. It now 
 began to snow heavily, and the wind blew a storm from jhe west- 
 ward. This drove the ice from the sea into the harbor where the 
 vessel was stationed, until it was choked up. For some time the 
 ice .seemed to be perfectly firm and immoveable, but it floated 
 out again ait the ebb of the tide. The various dangers to which 
 the vessel was exposed in this harbor, of being thrown against the 
 rocks, crushed to pieces in the ice, and sunk, were so great that 
 the captain almost gave up all hope of being able to save her 
 He describes the thundering noise of the masses of ice beating 
 against each other, the rushing of the water, aini the fury of the 
 current to have been tremendous. After nruch difficulty and the 
 most persevering exertions, however, she was navigated into a little 
 cove or harbor, where, being made fast to the rocks, she was at 
 length rendered tolerably secure. 
 
 Captain James landed on the island, but foimd th^, although th« 
 summer was far advanced, the ponds were yet frozen. The ground 
 was rocky and barren, and no traces of animals were visible 
 in the snow, though it was evident from some hearths and remains 
 of fire-wood which were seen, trhat human beings had not long 
 before visited the place. Captain James continued here two days, 
 and then sailed westward; but the masses of ice were still almost 
 impenetrable. They grated the sides of the vessel with such vio- 
 lence that it was feared they would burst through the planks. On 
 looking out from the mast-head scarcely an acre of open sea was 
 visible: nothing was to be seen but a continue<i and irregular 
 range of ice, towering in different places to an immense height. 
 The ship was thus surrounded till the twenty-seventh of June, 
 when, by a gale from the south-east, the ice opened, and she was 
 enabled to make some wav. 
 
 Though exposed to incessant danger by the immense masses 
 of ice which boated on the surface of the ocean. Captain Jamea 
 and his associates proceeded still westward, and entered Hud- 
 son's Strait about the beginnhig of Jtily. On the fifteenth of that 
 month, they arrived betwixt Digg's Island and Nottingham Island, 
 but the summer was so cold and unfavoral ie that it was now 
 evident tl)e»-e wovdd he no possibi ity of proceeding much further 
 
80 \()VA(Ji: Ol- CAPTAIN JAMKS. 
 
 I orthward tliis year. About a fortnight afterwards, they were so 
 fast enclosed in the ice, that, notwithstanding the sliip iiad all hef 
 rails set, and it blow a strong brpcze, she was immoveable and 
 as tirmly fixed, as if she had been in a dry dock. On this, the cap- 
 tain and many of the men walked out of her to amuse themselves 
 upon the ice. Several of the crew now began to murmur, and to 
 e\j)ress great alarm, lest they should not be able either to proceed 
 or return; and lest their provisions, which were beginning to fall 
 short, would soon wholly foil. The captain encouraged them as 
 well as he was able, and though he was aware their murmuring 
 was not without reason, he afiected to ridicule their fears. Among 
 other cf^ntrivanccs to amuse them, he took a quantity of spirits up- 
 on the ice, and there drank the king's health, although there was 
 not a single man in the ship, and tho\igh she was at that time under 
 all her sails. This was the twenty-eighth of July. On the .hir- 
 tieth, they made some little way through the i(.e, part of the crew 
 Leaving the vessel along with their shoulders, whilst others, at 
 ihe same time, broke off the corners of the ice with mallets and 
 i'on crows, to clear the way. This labor was continued on the 
 fallowing day, and after much fatigue, they got the ship into thirty- 
 live fathom water. All this time they were in latitude 58 deg. 
 45 minutes north, and a few days afterwards they were in an open 
 sea free from ice. The captain and his crew now joined in 
 devout thanksgiving for their deliverance from the dangers to 
 which they had been exposed. 
 
 A few days subsequently to this, whilst the ship was under sail, * 
 she struck upon some rocks that were concealed by the water, 
 and received three such terrible blows, that the captain was fear- 
 ful her masts would have been shivered to pieces, and he had no 
 doubt that a hole had been beaten through her sides. But such 
 was the strength of her timbers that she received little injury, and 
 in a short time, was again out of danger. 
 
 On the twentieth of August, and in latitude 57 deg. north, the) 
 came within sight of land, part of the continent of North America, 
 which the captain named New South Wales, in honor of Charles, 
 Prince of Wales, afterwards King Charles the se*ond: and on the 
 third of September they passed a cape, to which he gave the name 
 of Cape Hervrietta Maria, after the Queen. In the ensuing even- 
 ing, they encountered such a tempest of thunder, snow, rain, and 
 wind, as none of the crew had ever before been exposed to. The 
 .^ea washed completely over the decks, and the vessel rolled to 
 tremendously, that it was not without great difficulty all thing* 
 could be kept fast in the hold, and betwixt the decks. 
 
 As the winter was now approaching. Captain James began to 
 look out for some haii)or, where he and his companions could 
 pass that cheerless season, with as little discomfort, and in as much 
 security, as possible. I>anding, on the third of October, upon 
 an island, in the bav that has since been called James's Bay, ko 
 
VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN JAMES. 81 
 
 found the tracks of deer, and sa'.v some v.iW fowl ; but not being 
 able to discover a safe anchorage, he proceeded onward with the 
 vessel, and two days afterwards moored the ship, in a place of 
 tolerable security near the same island. It now snowed without 
 intermission, and was so cold that the sails were frozen quite hard 
 and the cable was as thick with ice as a man's body. 
 
 Several men were sent ashore to cut wood for fuel, and they 
 collected as much as, it was estimated, would last two or three 
 months. It was found inconvenient, particularly for some of the 
 crew who were sick, to continue entirely in the vessel; a kind 
 of house was, therefore, erected on shore, under the direction of 
 the carpenter. In the meantime the captain and some of the men 
 went into the woods to see whether they could discover any traces 
 of human beings, that, in case they found such, they might be on 
 their guard against attack. None were found. The top-sails 
 were now taken down from the vessel, thawed, and dried by great 
 fires, and then folded up and secured from wet between the decks. 
 The main-sail was carried on shore, to be used as a covering for 
 the house. In about four days, the house was ready, and a por- 
 tion of the crew slept in it every night, armed with muskets to de- 
 fend themselves in case of attack, and guarded by two buck- 
 hounds, which had beenjirought from England, for the hunting of 
 deer. Such of the other rigging of the vessel as could be taken 
 down, was now removed, and placed under the decks. 
 
 On the fourteenth of October, si.x of the men set out with the 
 dogs, in the hope of killing some deer, the tracks of which they had 
 previously seen. They wandered more than twenty miles over 
 the snow, and returned the next day with one small and lean an- 
 imal; having passed a cold and miserable night in the woods. 
 Others went out a few days afterwards, and to a still greater dis- 
 tance; these were not only unsuccessful, but they lost one of their 
 companions, who, on attempting to cross a small frozen lake, fell 
 in and was drowned. The captain consequently gave directions 
 that hunting to such distances should be no more attempted. 
 
 The crew at first brought beer ashore from the ship; but this, 
 even in their house, and close by the fire, was frozen and spoiled 
 in one night. After this they drank water, which they obtained 
 from a well that they sunk near the house. Their time was 
 chiefly passed in setting traps and hunting for foxes and other 
 animals, and in such occupations as were requisite for their own 
 preservation. 
 
 The winter was now so far advanced, that the ship appeared, 
 from the shore, like a piece of ice in the form of a ship. The 
 snow was frozen on every part, and her decks and sides were cov- 
 ered with ice. The captain began to despair of ever again get- 
 ting her off". Every day the men were employed in beating the 
 !ce fiom the cables, and digging it out of th ' .lawsers with a 
 
82 VOYAr.E OF CAPTAIN JAMES. 
 
 calking iron; and in llicsc operations the water would freeze «n 
 ♦heir clothes and hands, so as very soon to render them unequal to 
 almost any exertion. 
 
 The ship was found to beat so much, that the captain could 
 devise no other means of preventing her from being shattered to 
 pieces and destroyed, than by directing holes to be bored through 
 her sides, and sinking lier in shallow water; where, in the ensu- 
 ing spring, lie might have a chance of again raising her. This 
 was a fearful expedient; but, after all the provisions and things re- 
 quisite tor use on shore had been taken out of her, it was adopted ; al- 
 though it was the general opinion of the crew that she could never 
 be floated again. They, however, had so strong an attachment 
 for their captain, and so much confidence in him, that, even m the 
 midst of despair, they obeyed implicitly all his commands. With 
 true christian confidence, he exhorted them not to be dismayed. 
 " If," said he, " we end our days here, we are as near heaven 
 as in England; and we are much bound to God Almighty, for 
 having given us so large a time for repentance, and having thus, 
 as it were, daily called upon us to prepare our souls for a better 
 life in heaven. He does not, in the meantime deny that we 
 may use all proper means to save and prolong our lives; and in 
 my judgment, we are not so far past hofle of returning to our na- 
 tive country, but that I see a fair way by which we may effect it." 
 He then said that there was timber enough in the island for them 
 to build a pinnace or large boat, by which they might endeavor to 
 efTect their escape, in case their vessel should be destroyed. This 
 was on the thirtieth of November. 
 
 The sufferings and the hardships which these brave men en- 
 countered for many successive months, it is impossible to describe. 
 Happily, they had a tolerable store of provisions from their ship, 
 and had not to depend upon the precarious subsistence to be ob- 
 tained by hunting. Their liquids of every kind, wine, vinegar, 
 oil, &.C. were all frozen so hard, that they were obliged to cut 
 them with hatchets, and then melt them over the fire for use. 
 
 In fehe beginning of January, the whole surface of the adjacent 
 sea was so entirely frozen, that no water whatever was to be seen. 
 Some of the men were obliged to be out of doors a considerable 
 part of the day, in fetching timber, and in other necessary em- 
 ployments. Their shoes were all destroyed, except some that 
 had been sunk in the ship, and which were now, of course in- 
 accessible. They were, consequently, reduced to the necessity 
 of binding up their feet, as well as they could, in pieces of cloth. 
 Their noses, cheeks, and hands were sometimes frozen in blisters, 
 which were as white as paper; and blisters as large as wainuta 
 rose on different parts of their skin. Their mouths became sore, 
 one tneir teeth loose. 
 
 Timber was cii. down, according to the direction of the captain. 
 
VOYAGE OF CIPTAIN JAMES. 83 
 
 Itnd the carpenter and crew worked hard at the pinnace, till nearly 
 the end of Mardi. when the carpenter became so weak and ill, 
 that it was necessary, to lead him to his labor. 
 
 Though they were in the midst of a wood, yet when their fuel 
 began to fail, they had great difficulty in obtaining more. Al- 
 most all the axes had been broken in felling timber for the pin- 
 nace, and it. was peculiarly requisite, that care should be taken of 
 such cutting implements as remained, lest there would be none left 
 for finishing it. And, in felling the timber now, the trees were 
 so hard frozen, that it was first requisite ♦o light large fires round 
 such as were to be cut, in order to thaw he wood before the axes 
 could make any impression upon them. 
 
 During all this season of distress, Captain James and his crew 
 never omitted to perform their religious duties. They particular- 
 ly solemnized Easter day, the twenty-sixth of April, 1632; and it 
 was on this day, whilst they were sitting round their fire, that the 
 captain proposed to attempt, on the first opening of the warm 
 weather, to clear the sliip of ice. This was considered by some 
 of the crew impossible; because they believed her to be filled 
 with one solid mass of ice. The attempt, however, was resolved 
 upon; and the question was as to the implements with which it 
 was to be made. The»e were brought into review, and were only 
 two iron bars (one of which was broken), and four broken shovels, 
 apparently very fheffectual instruments for guch a labor. 
 
 The time passed miserably and slowly on, till the sixteenth of 
 May, when they had a comfortable and sunny day. Some efforts 
 were this day mad*" to clear the decks of snow. From this period 
 the vessel began to occupy much of the attention of the captain 
 and his crew. The great cabin was found to be free both from ice 
 and water, and a fire was lighted both to clear and dry it. One 
 of the anchors, which was supposed to have been lost, they found 
 under the ice, and recovered. The rudder, which had been torn 
 ofl' by the ice, they were not able to find. By the twenty-fourth 
 of May, they had labored so hard in clearing the vessel, that 
 they came to a cask, and could perceive that there wa's some wa- 
 ter in the hold. They pierced the cask, and found it full of good 
 beer; which was a cause of great joy to them. 
 
 Their ne.xt object was to dig through the ice on tiie outside of 
 the vessel, to the holes that had been cut for the purpose of sink- 
 ing her. They succeeded in this operation; and, through the 
 lowest of these, a considerable quantity of water flowed out. 
 The holes were then prevented from admitting any more water, by 
 having strong boards nailed on the outside. Five days afterwards 
 the weather became much warmer than it had been. The water 
 in th(! hold of the vessel tended to thaw the ice; and, by means 
 of pjnips, it was gradually cleared. Several butts of beer, one 
 of cider and another of wine, were found perfectly sound and 
 
84 VOYAGE 02' CAPTAIN J_IME9. 
 
 good; as well as many bands of salt beef and pork. A consid- 
 erable store of shoes and clothing was now also found. These, 
 when dried, were peculiarly acceptable. JJut it was a subject oi 
 sincere rejoicing, that, on examination of the vessel, no defect 
 could be perceived in her; and sanguine hopes began to be en- 
 t<!rtained that she might still prove capable of performing the re- 
 mainder of the voyage. Not long after this, the rudder was 
 discovered and got up from beneath the ice. 
 
 The carj)enter now died. He had been a man beloved by the 
 whole crew, and, with the most exemplary patience, had endured 
 a long illness, in the course of which, with great exertion, he had 
 completed all the most difficult parts of the pinnace. Thus, al- 
 though he was deeply lamented by his comrades, the loss of him 
 was not so severely felt as it might otherwise have been. At this 
 time nearly the whole of the crew were disabled, by illness, from 
 working; nor did any of them recover until after the commence- 
 ment of the warm weather. 
 
 From the elevated parts of the land, the open water was first 
 seen on the nineteenth of June. Four days afterwards the pro- 
 visions and other articles that were ashore, were carried on board. 
 A cross was next erected: the king and queen's picture were 
 tied to the top of it; and the island was named Charlton Island. 
 The rigging of the ship was nov/ set. On the thirteenth, the sea 
 was clear of ice; and on the second of July, after the captain and 
 his crew had all devdutly paid thanksgiving to the Almighty for 
 their providential deliverance, they weighed anchor, and pro- 
 ceeded on their voyage. 
 
 Still, however, though in the open sea, they suffered great in- 
 convenience from the beating of the floating ice against the ship. 
 On the twenty-second of July, they again passed Cape Henrietta 
 Maria. The ship had now become so leaky, that, for some time, 
 it was found difficult to keep her clear of water by the pumps. 
 After almost incredible exertions, they made their way northward, 
 according to their estimate, as far as 69 deg. 35 minutes, when at 
 length they came to an impenetrable mass of ice. It was the 
 opinion of the whole crew, that in the present condition of the ship, 
 the autumn now fast approaching, it would not only be imprudent, 
 but wholly impracticable, to make any further attempt to discover 
 the hoped for passage of the sea to the north-west. The captain, 
 therefore, with a sorrowful heart, consented to relinquish his ob- 
 ject : and, on the twenty-sixth of August, determined on returning 
 to England. In his passage homeward, the vessel encountered 
 many difficidties from contrary winds and stormy weather; but, at 
 length, safelv arrived at the mouth of the Severn, on the twenty 
 Bfcond October, 1632. 
 
THE PIRATE S TREASURE. 
 
 THE PIRATE'S TREASURE. 
 
 After many months of anxious and painful expectancy;, I aJ 
 length succeeded in obtaining my appointment to the situation 1 
 had so ardently wished for. Despairing at my apparent want of 
 success, I had given up all hopes, and had engaged to go servant 
 in the Clydesdale to the East Indies, when the favorable result 
 of my friend's exertions changed the aspect of my aflairs. My 
 instructions set forth the necessity of my being at Surinam by a 
 certain day, otherwise I should be too late to join the corps to whn-h 
 I was appointed, which, on the ceding up of the place to the 
 Dutch, was to proceed to Canada. As it wanted only two months 
 of that period, it became necessary to inquire for some vessel 
 without loss of time. Giving up my engagement with the Clydes- 
 dale, I proceeded to the harbor, and atler a toilsome search, suc- 
 ceeded in discovering a ship chartered by a Glasgow company 
 lying ready at the west quay, and to sail with that evening's tide. 
 VVhile I stood examining the vessel from the pier, two sailors, who 
 seemed to be roaming idly about, stopped, and began to converse 
 by my side. 
 
 "Has the old Dart got all her hands, Tom!" said the one, "that 
 she has her ensign up for sailing? They say she is sold to the 
 lubberly Dutchmen now — what cheer to lend her a hand out, and 
 get our sailing-penny for a gidss of grog?" "No, no; bad cheer!" 
 replied the other; "mayhap I didn't tell you that I made a trip in 
 her four years ago; and a cleaner or livelier thing is not on the 
 water! But there is a limb of the big devil in her that is enough 
 to cause her to sink to the bottom. It was in our voyage out 
 that he did for Bill Burnet with the pump sounding-rod, because 
 the little fellow snivelled a bit, and was not handy to jump when 
 he was ordered aloft to set the fore-royal. It was his first voyage, 
 and the boy was mortal afraid to venture; but the Captain swore 
 he would make him, and in his passion took him a rap with the 
 iron-rod, and killed him. When he saw what he had done, he 
 lifted, and hove him over the side; and many a long day the men 
 wondered what had become of little Bill, for they were all below 
 at diimer, and none but myself saw the transaction. It was need- 
 less for me to complain, and get him overhauled, as there were 
 no witnesses; but I left the ship, and births would be scarce before 
 1 would sail with him again." 
 
 Knowing what tyrants shipmasters are in general, and how 
 much their passengers' comfort depends on them, I was somewhat 
 Btariled by this niece of information respecting the temper of the 
 man I proposed to sail with. But necessity has no law! The cir- 
 cun.sitance probably was much misrepresented, and, from a simple 
 
Bu ri',\ pirate's treasure. 
 
 act of discipUne exiiggoratcd to an act of wanton cruelty. But ba 
 that as it might — my affairs were urgent. There was no other 
 vessel for tlie same port — I must either take my passage, or run 
 the risk of being superseded. The thing was not to be thought 
 of; so I went and secured my birth. As my preparations were 
 tew and tritling, 1 had every thing arranged, and on board, just as 
 the vessel was unmooring from the quay. During the night we 
 got down to the Clock ligiit-house, and stood off and on, waiting 
 for the Captain, who had remained behind to get the ship cleared 
 out at the Custom house. Soon afterwards he joined us, and the 
 pilot leaving us in the return-boat, we stood down the Forth under 
 all our canvass. 
 
 For four weeks we had a quick and pleasant passage. The 
 Dart did not belie her name; for, being American-built, and origi- 
 nally a privateer, she sailed uncommonly fast, generally running 
 at the rate of twelve knots an hour. 
 
 As I had expected. Captain Mahone proved to be, in point of 
 acquirements, not at all above the common run of shipmasters. 
 He was haughty and overbearing, domineered over the crew with 
 a high hand; in return for which, he was evidently feared and de- 
 tested by them all. He had been many years in the West Indies; 
 part of which time he had ranged as commander of a privateer, and 
 had, between the fervid suns of such high latitudes and the copious 
 use of grog, become of a rich mahogany color, or something be- 
 tween Vermillion and the tint of a sheet of new copper. He was 
 a middle-sized man; square built, with a powerful muscular frame. 
 His aspect naturally harsh and forbidding, was rendered more so 
 by the sinister expression of his left eye, which had been nearly 
 forced out by some accident — and the lineaments of his countenance 
 expressed plainly that he was passionate and furious in the ex- 
 treme. In consequence of this, I kept rather distant and aloof; 
 and, except at meals, we seldom exchanged more than ordinary 
 civilities. 
 
 By our reckoning, our ship had now got into the latitude of the 
 Bermudas, when one evening, at sun-set, the wind, which had 
 hitherto been favorable, fell at once into a dead calm. The day 
 had been clear and bright; but now, huge masses of dark and 
 conical-shaped clouds began to tower over each other in the west- 
 ern horizon, which, being tinged with the rays of the sun, dis- 
 played that lurid and deep brassy tint so well known to mariners 
 us the token of an approaching storm. All the sailors were of 
 opinion that we should have a coarse night; and every precaution 
 that good seamanship could suggest was taken to make the vessel 
 Boug before the gale came on. The oldest boys were sent up to 
 hand and send down the royal and top-gallant sails, and strike the 
 masts, while the top-sai-ls and stays were close-reefed. These 
 preparations were hardly accomplished, when the wind shifted, 
 end took us a-back with such violence as nearly to capsize the 
 
THE pirate's treasure. 87 
 
 vessel. The ship was i-ut round as soon as possible, and broughv, 
 too till the gale should fall: while all hands remained on deck in 
 case of any emergency. About ten, in the interval of a squall, we 
 heard a gun fired as a signal of distress. The night was as black as 
 pitch: but the flash showed us that the stranger was not far to 
 leeward: so, to avoid drifting on the wreck during the darkness, 
 the main-top-sril was braced round, and filled, and the ship haul- 
 ed to windward. In this manner we kept alternately beati.ng and 
 heaving-to as the gale rose or fell till the morning broke, when, 
 through the haze, we perceived a small vessel with her masts car- 
 ried away. As the wind had taken off, the Captain had gi lie to 
 bed: so it wis the mate's watch on deck. The steersman, an old 
 gray-headed seaman, nanied James Gemmel, proposed to bear 
 down and save the people, saying he had been twice wrecked 
 himself, and knew what it was to be in such a situation. As the 
 Captain was below, the mate was irresolute what to do; being 
 aware that the success of the speculation depended on their get- 
 ting to Surinam before it was given up: however, he was at length 
 persuaded — the helm was put up, and the ship bore away. 
 
 As we neared the wreck, and were standing by the mizzen 
 shrouds with our glasses, the Captain came up from the cabin. 
 He looked uo with astonishment to the sails, and the direction of 
 the vessel's head, and, in a voice of suppressed passion, said, as 
 he turned to the mate, "What is the meaning of this, Mr. Wyllie.' 
 Who has dared to alter the ship's course without my leave — when 
 you know very well that we shall hardly be in time for the market, 
 use what expedition we may.^" The young man was confused 
 by this unexpected challenge, and stammered out something about 
 Gemmel having persuaded him. "It was me, sir!" respectfully 
 interfered the old sailor, wishing to avert the storm from the mate; 
 "I thought you wouldn't have the heart to leave the wreck and 
 these people to perish, without lending a hand to save them. We 
 should be neither Christians nor true seamen to desert her, and 
 
 " "Damn you and the wreck, you old canting rascal! do you 
 
 pretend to stand there and preach to me?" thundered the Captain, 
 his fury breaking out, "I'll teach you to disobey my orders! — 
 I'll give you something to think of!" and seizing a capstan-spar 
 which lay near him, he hurled it at the steersman with all his 
 might. The blow was effectual — one end of it struck him across 
 the head with such force as to sweep him in an instant from his 
 station at the wheel, and to dash him with violence against the 
 lee-bulwarks, where he lay bleeding, and motionless. " Take that, 
 and be damned!" exclaimed the wretch, as he took the helm, and 
 sang out to the men, — "Stand by sheets, and braces — hard a-lee 
 — let go!" In a twinkling the yards were braced round, ana 
 the Dart, laid within six points of the wind, was flying through 
 the water. 
 
 Meanwhile Gemme! was lying without any one daring to assisi 
 
88 THE tirate's treasure 
 
 him; for the crew were so confounded ih.A they seemed quite un 
 determined how to act. I stepped to liim, therefore, and the mate 
 following my example, we lifted him up. As there was no ap- 
 pearance of respiration, I placed my hand on his heart — but pul- 
 sation had entirely ceased — the old man was dead. The bar had 
 struck him directly on the temporal bone, and had completely frac- 
 tured that part of the skull. 
 
 " He is a murdered man, Captain Mahone!" said I, laying dowQ 
 the body, "murdered without cause or provocation." " None of 
 your remarks, Sir!" he retorted; "what the devil have you to do 
 with it.'' Do you mean to stir up my men to mutiny? Or do you 
 call disobeying my orders no provocation? I'll answer it ^o those 
 who have a right to ask; but till then, let me see the man who 
 dare open his mouth to me in this ship." "I promise you," re- 
 turned I, "that though you rule and tyrannise here at present, your 
 power shall have a termination, and you shall be called to account 
 for your conduct in this day's *vork — rest assured that this blood 
 shall be reqi..red at your hands, though you have hitherto escaped 
 punishment for what has stained them already." This allusion to 
 the murder of little Bill Bnrnet seemed to stagger him considera- 
 bly — he stopped short before me, and, while his face grew black 
 with suppressed wrath and fury, whispered, "I warn you again, 
 young man! to busy yourself with your own matters — meddle not 
 with what does not concern you; and belay your slack jaw, or, by 
 
 ! Rink Mahone will hnd a way to make it fast for you!" 
 
 He then turned round, and walked forward to the forecastle. 
 
 During this affray no attention had been paid to the wreck, 
 though the crew had set up a yell of despair on seeing us leave 
 them. Signals and shouts were still repeated, and a voice, loud- 
 er in agony than the rest, implored our help for the love of the 
 blessed Virgin; and offered riches and absolution to the whole 
 ship's company if they would but come back. The Captain was 
 pacing fore and aft without appearing to mind them, when, as if 
 struck with some sudden thought, he lifted his glass to his eye — 
 seemed to hesitate — walked on — and then, all at once changing 
 bis mind, he ordered the vessel again before the wind. 
 
 On speaking the wreck, she proved to be a Spanish felucca 
 from the island of Cuba, bound for Curacoa, on the coast of the 
 Caraccas. As they had lost their boats in the storm, and could 
 not leave their vessel, our Captain lowered and manned our jolly- 
 boat, and went off to them. 
 
 After an absence of some hours he returned with the passengers, 
 consisting of an elderly person in the garb of a catholic priest, a sick 
 gentleman, a young lady, apparently daughter of the latter, and a 
 female black slave. With the utmost difficulty, and writhing under 
 som ! excruciating | ain, the invalid was got on board and carried 
 down to the cabin, where he was laid on a bed on the floor. To 
 the tender of my professional serviced the invalid returned bin 
 
THE pirate's treasure. 83 
 
 ihanks, and ^\ould have declined them, expressing his conviction 
 of being past human aid, but the young lady, eagerly catching at 
 even a remote hope of success, implored him with tears to accept 
 my offer. On examination I found his fears were but too well 
 grounded. In his endeavors to assist the crew during the gale 
 he had been standing near the mast, part of which, or the rigging, 
 having fallen on him, had dislocated several of his ribs, and injur- 
 ed his spine beyond remedy. All that could now be done was 
 to afford a little temporary relief from pain, which I did; and 
 leaving him to the care of the young lady and the priest, I left 
 the cabin. 
 
 On deck I found all bustle and confusion. The ship was still 
 lying to, and the boats employed in bringing the goods out of the 
 felucca, both of which were the property of the wounded gentle- 
 man. The body of the old man, Gemmel, had been removed sonje- 
 Avhere out of sight; no trace of blood was visible, and Captain 
 Mahone seemed desirous to banish all recollections both of our 
 quarrel and its origin. 
 
 As the invalid was lying in the cabin, and my state-room was oc- 
 cupied by the lady and her female attendant, I got a temporary birth 
 in the steerage made up for myself for the night. I had not long 
 thrown myself down on my cot, which was only di\ided from the 
 main-cabin by a bulk-head, when I was awakened by the deep 
 groans of the Spaniard. The violence of his pain had again re- 
 turned, and between the spasms I heard the weeping and gentle 
 voice of the lady soothing his agony, and trying to impart hopes 
 and prospects to him, which her own hysterical sobs told plainly 
 she did not herself feel. The priest also frequently joined, and 
 urged him to confess. To this advice he remained silent for 
 awhile; but at length he addressed the lady: "The Padre says true, 
 Isabella! Time wears apace, and I feel that I shall soon be be- 
 yond its limits, and above its concerns! But ere I go, I would 
 say that which it would im[)art peace to my mind to disclose — I 
 would seek to leave you at least one human being to befriend and 
 protect you in your utter helplessness. Alas! that Diego di Mon- 
 taldo's daughter should ever be thus destitute! Go! my love! I 
 would be alone a little while with the father." An agony of tears 
 and sobs was the only return made by the poor girl, while tlie 
 priest with gentle violence led her into the state-room. 
 
 "Now," continued the dying man, "listen to me while I have 
 girength. You have only known me as a merchant m Cuba; but 
 •!uch I have not been always. Mine is an ancient and noble 
 family m Catalonia; though I unhappily disgraced it, and have 
 been estranged froni it long. I had the misfortune to have weak 
 and indulgent parents, who idolized me as the heir of their house, 
 and did not possess resolution enough to thwart me in anv of my 
 wishes or desires, however unreasonable. I\Tv boyhood being 
 hus spoiled, it is no matter of wonder that my youth should hava 
 
50 THE PUlATF.'s TREASURE. 
 
 proved wilt and dissolute. My companions were as dissipated 
 Hs myself, and much of our time was spent in gambling and other 
 extravagances. One evening at play, I quarrelled with a young 
 oubleman of high rank and inlluence; we were both of us hot and 
 passiotiate, so we drew on the spot and fought, and I had the 
 misfortune to run him through the hc^art and leave him dead. Not 
 daring to remain longer at home, I fled in disguise to Barcelona, 
 where I procured a passage in a vessel for the Spanish Main. 
 On our voyage we were taken by buccaneers; and, the roving 
 and venturous mode of life of these bold and daring men suiting 
 both my inclination and finances, I agreed to make one of their 
 number. For many months we were successful in our enterprises: 
 we ranged the whole of these seas, and made a number of prizes, 
 some of which were rich ships of our own colonies. In course 
 of time we amassed such a quantity of specie as to make us un- 
 willing to venture it in one bottom; so we agreed to hide it ashore 
 and divide i> on our return from our next expedition. But our 
 good fortune forsook us this time. During a calm the boats of 
 the Guarda-josta came on us, overpowered the ship, and made 
 all the crew, except myself and two others, prisoners. We es- 
 caped with our boat, and succeeded in gaining the island of Cuba, 
 where both of my comrades died of their wounds. Subsequent 
 events induced me to settle at St. Juan de Buenavista, where I 
 married, and, as a merchant, prospered and became a rich man. 
 But my happiness lasted not! My wife caught the yellow fever and 
 died, leaving me only this one child. I now loathed the scene 
 of my departed happiness, and felt all the longings of an exile to 
 revisit my native country. For this purpose I converted all my 
 effects into money; and am thus far on my way to the hidden 
 treasure, with which I intended to return to Spain. But the 
 green hills of Catalonia will never more gladden mine eyes! My 
 hopes and wishes were only for my poor girl. Holy father! you 
 know not a parent's feelings — its anxieties and its fears! The 
 thoughts of leaving my child to the mercy of strangers; or, it may 
 be, to their barbarities, in this lawless country, is far more dread- 
 ful than the anguish of my personal sufferings. With you rests 
 my only hope. Promise me yo'ir protection towards her, and the 
 half of hU my wealth is yours." 
 
 "Earthly treasures," replied the priest, "avail not with one 
 whose desires are fixed beyond the little handful of dust which 
 perisKeth — my life is devoted to the service of my Creator; and 
 the conversion of ignorant men, men who have never heard of his 
 salvation. On an errand of mercy came I to this land; and if 
 the heathen receive it, how much more a daughter of our most 
 holy church? I, therefore, in behalf of our community, accept 
 of your offer, and swear on this blessed emblem to fulfil all your 
 wishes to the best of my poor abilities." 
 
 "Enough, enough !"said Montaldo, "I am satisfied' Among that 
 
THE pirate's TREASURf. 91 
 
 archipelago of desert islands, known by the name of the Roccas, 
 situated on the coast of the province of Venezuela, in New Gra- 
 nada, there is one called the Wolf-rock: it is the longest and 
 most northern of the group, and lies the most to seaward. At 
 the eastern point, which runs a little way into the sea, there stands 
 an old vanilia, blasted and withered, and retaining but a single 
 solitary branch. On the eve of the festival of St. Jago the moon 
 will be at her lull in the west. At twenty minutes past midnight 
 she will attain to her highest latitude in the heavens, and then (he 
 shadow of the tree will be thrown due cast. Watch till the branch 
 and stem unite and form only one line of shade — mark its extrem- 
 ity — for there, ten feet below the surface, the cask containing the 
 gold is buried. That gold, father, was sinfully got; but fasts and 
 penances have been done, masses without number have been said, 
 and I trust tiiat the blessed Virgin has interceded for the forgive- 
 ness of that great wickedness! I have now confessed all, and 
 confide in your promise; and as vou perform your oath, so will 
 the blessing or curse of a dying man abide with you. I feel faint, 
 dying Oh! let me clasp my child once more to my heart before 
 I ' 
 
 Here the rest of the sentence became indistinct from the death- 
 rattle in his throat. I leaped off my cot, and sprang up thejiatch- 
 way, and had my foot on the top of the companion-ladder, when a 
 piercing shriek from below making me quicken mv steps, I missed 
 my hold, and fell on some person stationed on the outside of the 
 cabin door. The person, without uttering a single word, rose 
 and ascended the steps; but as he emerged into tlie faint light 
 which still lingered in the horizon, I fancied that I could distin- 
 guish him to be the Cai)tain. On my entering, I found the Span- 
 iard dead, and his daughter lying in a state of insensibility by his 
 side; while the female slave was howling and tearing her hair like 
 one in a frenzy. The priest was entirely absorbed in his de- 
 votions; so, without disturbing him, I lifted the 'ady and bore her 
 into the state-room. The greater part of the night was passed in 
 trying to restore her to sensation. Fit after tit followed each 
 othi-r in such quick su. .cession that I began to apprehend the re- 
 suit; but at length the hysterical paroxysm subsided, and teara 
 coming to her relief, she became somewhat composed, when 1 left 
 her in char, e of her attendant. 
 
 The next day was spent in taking out the remainder of the 
 felucca's cargo. There seemed now no anxiety on the captain's 
 part to proceed on his voyage — he appeared to have forgot the 
 necessity, expressed on a former occasion, of being in port within 
 a limited time. He was often in a state of inebriety ; for the wine 
 and spirits of the Spaniards were lavishly served out to the whole 
 ship's company, with whom he also mixed more; and banished 
 hat haughtiness of bearing which had marked his conduct hith 
 erto 
 
92 Tiir, ri:;\T;:'s vueasure. 
 
 In the evening the body ofOrfn Diego was brought upon deck^ 
 where iiis crew, under the superintendence ofthe prieat, prepared 
 it for its connnitinnnt to the deep. The corpse was, as is usual 
 in such cases, wrapped up in the blankets and sheets in which it 
 had lain, and a white napkin was tied over the face and head In 
 its right hand, which was crossed over the Wreast, wa-s placed a 
 gold doubloon. Its left held a small bag containing a book, 
 a hammer, and a candle, while on the bosom was laid the little 
 crucifix worn by the deceased. It was next enveloped in a ham- 
 mock, with a couple of eight-pound shots, and a bag of ballast at 
 the feet to sink it. At midnight the vessel was hove-to, and all 
 the ship's company assembled at the lee-gangway. The Span- 
 iards and negroes bore each a burning torch in his hand; the 
 blaze of which, as they held them elevated above their heads, cast 
 a strange and fearful light through the deep darkness, and illum- 
 ined the ocean far and wide with a supernatural reful^oncy 
 When all was ready, the priest, accompanied by Isabella, came 
 up from the cabin, and the Spaniards lifting up the body, carried 
 it forward to the waist, where one of the ship's gratings had 
 been put projecting over the side, and on this the corpse was 
 laid, and its feet to the water. Around this the torch-bearers 
 formed a circle, and the priest, standing at the head, began the 
 funeral service for the dead at sea. The wind had now subsided 
 into a gentle breeze; and nothing disturbed the profound silence 
 ofthe crew during mass, save the slight splashing of the waves 
 against the windward side of the ship, and the deep drawn, con- 
 vulsive sobs of the young lady as she stood, enveloped in the 
 mantillo, in the obscurity of the main-rigging. Mass being con- 
 cluded, the priest solemnly chanted the iuneral anthem: — "May 
 the angels conduct thee into Paradise; may the martyrs receive 
 thee at thy coming; and mayest thou have eternal rest with L;iz- 
 arus, who was formerly poor!" He then sprinkled the body 
 with holy water and continued: — " As it hath pleased God to take 
 the soul of our dear brother l.ere departed unto himself, we 
 therefore, commit his body to the deep, in the sure ^nd certain 
 hope of a joyful resurrection on that day when the sea shall give 
 up its dead. L( t him rest in peace!" The Spaniards responded 
 " Amen!" and tlie priest repeating, "May his soul, and the souls 
 of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest ia 
 peace — Amen!" made the sign ofthe cross; and the bow-chaser, 
 which had been loaded and made ready for the occasion, firing, 
 the end ofthe grating was gently elevated, and the corpse heavily 
 plunged into the water. 'J'he waves parted, heaving and foaming 
 round the body as it disappeared, — when to our horror and aston- 
 ishment we beheld it, the next minute, slowly return to the surface, 
 deprived of the canvass covering in which it had been sewed 
 The dead man came up as he had gone down, in an upright posi- 
 Lion, and floated a little time with his back to the vessel: but the 
 
THE pirate's treasure. 93 
 
 motion of the water turned him round by degrees till we cJistincfly 
 saw his tace. The head was thrown "back, and the eyes wide 
 open; and under the strong stream of light poured on them from 
 the torches, they seemed to glare ghastly and fearfully upwards 
 H/«^ gray hairs, long and dishevelled, floated about his face, a\ 
 times partially obscuring it; and one arm, stretched forth, anc 
 agitated by the action of the waves, appeared as if in the aci of 
 threatening us. When the lirst burst of horror had subsided, 1 
 caught hold of Isabella to prevent her seeing the body, aitd was 
 leading her off, when some of the men, lowering their torches 
 from the main-chains, whispered that it was the murdered man, 
 old James Gemmel. The Captain had been hitherto looking on 
 with the rest without having apparently recognised him; but wheu 
 the name struck his ear, he shrunk back and involun'arily ex- 
 claimed, "it's a lie — it's an infamous lie! Who dares to say he 
 was murdered? He went overboard two days ago? Bu dun't 
 let him come on board: for God's sake keep him down, or he'll 
 ta^.ie us all with him to the bottom. Will nobody keep him down? 
 Will nobody shove him off? Helm a-lee !" he bawled out, waving 
 to the steersman; but the man had deserted his post, eager to 
 see what was going on; he, therefore, ran to the wheel himself, 
 and again issued his commands, " Let go the main top-sail weath- 
 er braces, and bring round the yard! Let them go, I say!" 
 His orders were speedily executed. The vessel gathered way, 
 and we quickly shot past the body of the old man. 
 
 For several days after this, we pursued our course with a fa- 
 v^orable wind, which drove us swiftly forward on our voyage. 
 The Captain now kept himself constantly intoxicated, seldom 
 made his appearance in the cabin, but left us altogether to the 
 care of the steward. All subordination was now at an end — his 
 whole time was spent among the seamen, with whom he mixed 
 familiarly, and was addressed by them without the slightest portion 
 of that respect or deference commonly paid to the Ca])tain of the 
 vessel. The appearance of the men, also, was much altered. 
 From the careless mirth and gaiety and the characteristic good 
 humor of sailors, there was now a suUenness and gloom only vis- 
 ible. A constant whispering — a constant caballing was going on 
 — a perpetual discussion, as if some design of moment was in 
 agitation, or some step of deep importance was about to be taken. 
 Al! sociality and confidence towards each other were banished. 
 In place of conversing together in a body, as formerly, they now 
 walked about in detached parties, and among them the boatswain 
 and carpenter seemed to take an active lead. Yet, in the midst 
 of all this disorder, a few of our own crew kept themselves sepa- 
 rate, taking no share in the general consultation; but from the 
 anxiety expressed in their countenances, as well as in that of the 
 mate, I foresaw some storm was brooding, and about to burst on 
 pur heads. 
 
?4 Tiir. niiATn s tiu^ascke. 
 
 Since Montaldo's death, Isabella had been in the hnbit oricav- 
 ing her cabin alter sun-set, to enjoy the coolness of the evening 
 breeze; and in this she was sometimes joined by the priest, b\it 
 more frequently was only attended by her slave. One evening 
 she came up as usual, and after walking back and forward on 
 deck till the dews began to fall, she turned to go below: but just 
 as we approached the companion-way, one of the negroes, who 
 now, in the absence of all discipline, lounged about the quarter' 
 dock without rebuke, shut down the head, and throwing himself 
 on it, declared that none should make him rise without the reward 
 of a kiss. This piece of insolence was received with an encour- 
 aging laugh by his fellows, and several slang expressions of wil 
 were uttered, which were loudly applauded by those around. 
 Without a word of remonstrance, Isabella timidly stooped, and 
 would have attempted getting down the ladder without disturbing 
 the slave; when, burning with indignation, I siezed the rascal by 
 the collar, and pitched him head foremast along the deck. In 
 an instant he got on his legs, and pulling a long clasp-knife out 
 of his pocket, with a loud imprecation he made towards me. All 
 the otlier negroes likewise made a motion to assist him, and I 
 expected to be assailed on all hands, when the mate interfered, 
 and laying hold of the marlin-spike, which I had caught up to 
 defend myself, pushed me back, as he wliispered, "Are you mad, 
 that you interfere.^ For heaven's sake, keep quiet, for I have no 
 authority over the crew now!" And he spoke the truth; for the 
 negro, brandishing his knife, and supported by his comrades, waa 
 again advancing, when the hoarse voice of the boatswain, as he 
 ran to the scene of action, arrested liis progress. 
 
 " Hallo! you there, what's the squall for? Avast, avast, Mingo 
 off hands is fair play — ship that blade of yours, or I'll send my fist 
 through your ribs, and make day-light shine through them in a 
 minute." I related the behavior of the negro, and was request- 
 ing him to order the slaves forward, when I was cut short with — - 
 " There are no slaves here, young man! we are all alike free in a 
 
 British ship. J3ut damn his eyes for an insolent son of a ; 
 
 he pretend to kiss the pretty girl! I'll let him know she belongs to 
 his betters! The black wench is good enough for him any day. 
 Come, my dear!" he continued, ..urning to Isabella, "give me the 
 same hire, and I'll undertake to clear the way for you myself." 
 Ife made as if he meant to approach her, when, careless of what 
 the consequences might be to myself, I hastily stepped forward, 
 and lifting up the head of the companion, Isabella in an instant 
 darted below. " This lady is no fit subject either for wit or inso- 
 lence," said I, shutting the doors, "and he is less than man who 
 would insult an unprotected female." For a little while he stood 
 eyeing me as if hesitating whether he would resent my interfer- 
 ence, or remain passive; at length he turned slowly and dogged- 
 y away as he uttered — " you ruffle big, and crow with a brisk note, 
 
THE pirate's treasure, 9A 
 
 my lad I But I've seen me do as wondorful a thing as twist four 
 windpipe and send you over the side to cool yourselt'a bit; and so 
 I would serve you in the turning of a wave, if it wasn't that we 
 may have use for you yet! I see in what quarter the wind sets; 
 but mind your eye! for sink me if I dout keep a sharp look out 
 ahead over you." 
 
 1 now saw that things had come to a crisis — tba^ he crew 
 meant to turn pirates; and I was to be detained among them for 
 tlie sake of my professional services. I could not, without a shud- 
 der, reflect on what must be the fate of Isabella among such a gang 
 of reckless villains: but I firmly resolved that, come what might, 
 my protection and care over her should cease but with my life. 
 
 To be prepared for the worst, I immediately went below, load- 
 ed my pistols, and concealed them in my breast, securing at the 
 same time all my money and papers about my person. While 
 thus employed, one of the cabin-boys came down for a spy-glass, 
 saying that a sail had hove in sight to windward. Upon this I fol- 
 lowed him up, and found the crew collected together in clamor- 
 ous consultation as to the course they should follow. Some were 
 for lying-to till she came down, and taking her, if a merchantman; 
 and if not, they could easily sheer off — but this motion was over- 
 ruled by the majority, who judged it best to keep clear for fear 
 of accidents: accordingly all the spare canvas was set, and we were 
 soon gaining large before the wind. But the Dart, though reckon- 
 ed the first sailor out of Clyde when close hauled on a wind, wag 
 oy no means so fleet when squared away and going free: she had 
 now met with her match, for the stranger was evidently gaining 
 rapidly on us, and in two hours we saw it was impossible for us 
 to escape. The priest and I were ordered down with a threat of 
 instant death if we offered to come on deck, or make any attempt 
 to attract observation. 
 
 I now communicated to Isabella my apprehensions with respect 
 to the crew, along wiih my resolution to leave the vessel if the 
 other proved a man-of-war, and earnestly advised both her and 
 the priest to take advantage of it also. She thanked me with a 
 look and smile that told me how sensible she was of the interest 
 I felt in her welfare, and expressed her willingness to be guided 
 by me whatever way I thought best. 
 
 Shortly afler this we heard a gun fired to bring us to, and the 
 Dart hailed and questioned as to her port and destination. The 
 answers, it appeared, were thought evasive and unsatisfactory, for 
 we were ordered to come close under the lee-quarter of his Ma- 
 jesty's sloop of war Tartar, while they sent to examine our papers. 
 This was now our only chance, and I resolved, that if the officer 
 should not come below, I would force the companion-door ana 
 claim his protection. But I was not put to this alternative. As 
 soon as he arrived, I heard him desire the hatches to be taken off, 
 and order b's men to examine the hold. The inspection did not 
 
96 TllF, nUATK'S TREASURK. 
 
 satisfy him; for he hailod tho sloop, and reported that ther< were 
 Spanish goods on board wliich did not appear in the manifest: — 
 "Then remain on board, and keep your stern lights burning ail 
 night, and take charge of the ship!" was the reply. In a state of 
 irksome suspense we remained nearly two hours, expecting every 
 minute to hear the officer descending. At length, to our relief, 
 the companion-doors were unlocked, and a young man, attended by 
 our ca])tain, entered the cabin. He looked surprised on seeing 
 u^, and bowing to Isabella, apologized for intruding at such r.ii 
 u.Teasontible hour. " But I was not given to understand," he ad- 
 ded, "that there were passengers in the ship — prisoners I should 
 rather pronounce it, Mr Mahone, for you seem to have had them 
 under lock and key, which is rather an unusual mode of treating 
 ladies at least. No wine, sir I" he continued, motioning away the 
 bottles which the Cajjtain was hastily placing on the table — " .10 
 wine, but be pleased to show me your register and bill of lading." 
 
 He had not been long seated to inspect them when a shuffling 
 and hurried sound of feet was heard overhead, and a voice calling 
 on INIr. DulV for assistance, showed thj.t some scuffle had taken 
 place above. Instantaneously we all started to our feet, and the 
 lieutenant was in the act of drawing his sword, when, accidentally 
 looking round, I observed Mahone presenting a pistol behind. 
 With a cry of warning, I threw myself forward, and had just tiin'j 
 to strike the weapon slightly aside, when it went off. The b.ili 
 narrowly missed the head of Duff, for whom it had been aimed, 
 but struck the priest immediately over the right eye, who, making 
 one desperate and convulsive leap as high as the ceiling, sunk 
 down dead, and before the Captain could pull out another, I 
 discharged the contents of mine into his breast. We then rushed 
 upon deck;- but it was only to find the boat's crew had been mas- 
 tered, and to behold the last of the men tumbled overboard. The 
 pirates then dispersed, and exerted themselves to get the ship 
 speedily under-way: while the boatswain sang out to extinguish 
 tl)e lanterns, that the Tartar might not be guided by the lights. 
 
 " It's all over with us!" exclaimed my companion; " but follow 
 me — we have one chance for our lives yet. Our boat is still tow- 
 ing astern; do you throw yourself over, and swim till I slide down 
 the painter, and cut her adrift. Come, bear a hand, and jump! 
 don't you see them hastening aft?" And in an instant he pitched 
 himself off the taffrel, slid down the rope which held the boat, and 
 cast her loose. But this advice however judicious, it was impos- 
 sible for me to follow — for, at the moment, repeated shrieks from 
 Isabella put to flight all thoughts for my own individual safety; I, 
 therefore, hurried back to the cabin, determined, that if I couid 
 not rescue her along with myself, to remain, and protect her with 
 my life. And in a happy time I arrived! The candles were 
 Btill burning on the fable; and through the smoke of the pistols, 
 wnich still filled the cabin, I beheld her struggling in the arms of 
 
THE riRATE's TREASURE 91 
 
 m negro — the identical slave who had displayed such insolence in 
 the early part of the evening. With one stroke of the butend of 
 my pistol I fractured the cursed villain's scull — caught up Isabella 
 in my arms — ran up the ladder, and had nearly gained the side 
 when the boatswain, attracted by her white garments, left the 
 helm to intercept me — and I saw the gleam of his uplifted cutlass 
 on the point of descending, when he was suddenly struck down 
 by some person from behind. I did not stop to discover who had 
 done me this good office, but hailing Duff, and clasping Isabella 
 firmly to my heart, I plunged into the water, followed by my un- 
 known ally. With the aid of my companion, whom I now found 
 lO be John Wyllie, the mate, we easily managed to support our 
 charge till the boat reached us; when we found that the greater 
 part of the men had been rescued in a similar manner. 
 
 When the morning dawned, we perceived the Dart, like a speck 
 in the horizon, and the sloop of war in close chase. Our atten- 
 tion was next turned to our own situation, which was by no means 
 enviable: we had escaped, it is true, with our lives, for the present; 
 but without a morsel of food, or a single drop of fresh water, with 
 us in the boat; we could, at best, only expect to protract existence 
 for a few days longer, and then yield it up ultimately in horror 
 and misery. By an observation taken the day before, on board of 
 the Tartar, Mr. Duff informed us we were to the north-east of the 
 Bahamas; and distant about one hundred and seventy miles from 
 Walling's Island, which was the nearest land. This was a long 
 distance; but, as despair never enters the breast of a British 
 sailor, even in situations of the utmost extremity, we cheered up 
 each other; and, as no other resource was left us, we manned our 
 oars, and pulled away with life, trusting in the chance of meeting 
 with some vessel, of which there was a strong probability, as this 
 was the common course of the leewarti traders. And our hopes 
 were not disappointed! for next day we fortunately fell in with a 
 brig from the Azores, bound for Porto Rico, on board of which we 
 were received with much kindness; and, in five days, we found 
 ourselves safe moored in Porto-real harbor. 
 
 My first step on landing was to inquire for a boarding-house for 
 Isabella, and I had the good luck to be directed to one kept by a 
 respectable Scotch family, in Orange Terrace, and to this I con- 
 ducted her. My next transaction was to charter a small cutter; 
 and to communicate to Duff the secret of the hidden treasure; at 
 the same time asking him to adventure himself and his men on its 
 recovery. I also gave him to understand the probability of a 
 renconter with the pirates, in the event of their having escaped 
 the sloop, for I was aware that Mahone had overheard the whole 
 confession, from my finding him listening at the cabin door. 
 Without hesitation, the lieutenant at once agreed to accompany 
 me, and engaging some hands out of a vessel newly arrired, we 
 8f>on mustered a party of fourteen men. As it wanted only six 
 9 
 
yS IHF, r:RAT£'S TuI^ASLRE. 
 
 days of the festival of St. Jago, aiul the distance across fhe Cairb* 
 bean sea was <rieat enough lo leqiiire all our exertions to he there 
 in time, we en)barkcd and sailed that very ni^ht. 
 
 Our cutter |»roved a prime sailer — and though the winds were 
 liglit and variable, hy the help ol\our sweeps we made the Roccaa 
 on the evening of the sixth day. As the Spaniard had foretold, 
 the moon was climbing the western sky, and pouring the fulness 
 of her splendor witii a mild and beautiful efiulgence on the un- 
 troubled deep, as we slowly drifted with the current between the 
 Wolf-rock and the adjacent isle. All was silent and calm over the 
 whole desert of the Archipelago and the vast surrounding waters, 
 save now and then the sudden flight of a sea-fowl awakening 
 ironi its slumbers as we passed; or the occasional roar of the 
 jaguar faintly wafted from the main land. We ran the cutter into 
 a deep and narrow creek; moored her safe, and proceeded, well 
 armed, to the eastern extremity. There we found the projecting 
 point of land, and the old vanilla tree exactly in the situation des- 
 cribed — its huge, twisted trunk was still entire; and from the end 
 of its s.)litary branch, which was graced by a few scattered leaves, 
 the body of a man in the garb of a sailor hung suspended in irons. 
 The clothes had preserved the body from the birds of prey, but the 
 head was picked clean and bare, leaving the eyeless and bleached 
 skull to glitter white in the moonlight. In perfect silence, and 
 with something of awe in our spirits impressed by the solitude, and 
 dreariness of the scene, we seated ourselves on the rocks, and, 
 with my timepiece in my hand, I began to mark the progress of 
 the shadow. For nearly three hours we watched in this manner, 
 listening attentively for the slightest sound from sea-ward; but 
 every thing continued hushed and still, except the creaking of the 
 chain as the dead manswang to and fro in the breeze. Midnight 
 was now drawing near — the moon, radiant and full, was careermg 
 high through the deep blue of heaven, and the shadows of the 
 branch and stem were approaching each other, and towards 'he 
 desired point. At length the hand of my timepiece pointed to 
 within one minute of the time. It passed over. The branch and 
 stem now merged into one, and threw their shadow due east; and 
 the first spade-full of earth had been throv/n out, when the mar 
 who had been stationed to keep a look out came running to infornr> 
 us tliat a boat was rapidly approaching from the east. We un 
 mediately concluded that they must be a part of the Dart's c.t-w; 
 and their long and vigorous strokes, as thev stretched out to tne 
 full extent of their oars, showed that they knew the importance of 
 every minute that elapsed. Our implements for digging were 
 hastily laid aside, and we concealed ourselves amrng the rocka 
 till they should come within reach. In a short time the boat waa 
 seen ashore, and eight armed men came forward, partly Spaniarda 
 and partly the ship's crew; among whom I recognised the boat 
 awain, and, to my surprise, Mahone, whom I had shot and left for 
 
Tiir. nilATE J5 TREASURE. 
 
 9ti 
 
 dead in the cabin. Without giving the.m time to prepare for the 
 assault, we quitted our shelter, and sprung ainoor Mieiii at once, 
 laying abou with our cutlasses. 
 
 For a little space the skirmish wastoughly and hotly contested; 
 for the pirates were resolute and reckless, and fought witii the 
 desperation of men who knew that the only chance for their lives 
 lay in their own exertions. In the confusion of the fray I had 
 lost sight of Duff", and was closely engaged with one of the Span- 
 iards, when the voice of the boatswain shouting forth a horrible 
 imprecation sounded immediately behind me. I turned round, 
 and sprung aside from the sweep of his cutlass, and, as my pistols 
 were both empty, retreated, acting on the defensive; when he 
 pulled out his, fired, and hurled the weapon at my head. The shot 
 passed without injuring me — but the pistol, aimed with better ef- 
 fect, struck me full in the forehead. A thousand sparks of light 
 flashed from my eyes — I felt myself reeling, and on the point of 
 falling, when a cut across the shoulder stretched me at once on the 
 ground. When I recovered from my stupor, and opened my eyes, 
 the morning was far advanced — the sun was shining bright over 
 head; and I found myself at sea, Iving on the deck of the cutier; 
 and Duff busily engaged in examining mv wounds. From him 1 
 learned that the pirates had been mastered after a severe conflict 
 — in which four had been slain, and left on the island; two had 
 escaped unobserved during the fight, and made off with their boat; 
 and two had been wounded, and were prisoners on board, one of 
 whom was Mai. one. On our arrival at Porto Rico, we delivered 
 them over to the uvij power; and, soon afterwards, Mahone waa 
 
lOO MIS*!0.\AItlE9 IN OUF.EM.AM). 
 
 fried foe the mmclor of the priest, when he was convicted on O'V 
 evidence, rondoinned, and executed. Und(-r good nursing, aru. 
 care, 1 gradually recovered. 
 
 Isabella is not now that destitute and unprotected orphan whom 
 I first saw on the middle of the western ocean — but the happ) 
 mistress of a happy home, diffusing life and gladness on all around 
 her. My friend Duff has lately been placed on the list ol'post 
 captains, and is anxiously waiting for more bustling times, when 
 there will be more knocking about, and more hard blows got, 
 than what our present peace establishment admits of John 
 Wyllie, too, has had advancement in his line, being now master 
 of one of the finest ships from Clyde; and I had the additional 
 satisfaction of knowing that none of the crew had reason tc 
 regret their having jeopardized their lives in fighting for the 
 "Pirate's Treasure." 
 
 MISSIONARIES IN GREENLAND. 
 
 The hardships encountered by the early missionaries in Green- 
 land were many and severe. The missionary Rudolph, in attempt- 
 ing to return to Europe after devoting twenty-six years of his life 
 to the cause of God in Greenland, experienced a very remarkable 
 and merciful deliverance. On the 18th of June, he quitted lAch- 
 tenau, in company with his wife, and in the evening embarked 
 on a vessel which was lying off the Danish factory of Julianenhaab. 
 The bay being nearly blocked up by drift-ice, they were detained 
 here for several weeks; but, some Greenlanders having stated that 
 the sea was open at a short distance, the captain weighed anchor 
 on the 22d of August, though the wind was contrary, and vast 
 bodies of ice were still within sight. For some time they advanced 
 with a roaring noise and a most uneasy motion, through immense 
 fields of ice; but, on the 25th, a storm arose from the south-west, 
 which drove the mountains of ice close upon the ship, and appeared 
 to menace immediate destruction. The scene was now truly tie- 
 mendous, and it appeared that the vessel, with her sails closely 
 reefed,' and driving before the wind must inevitably be dashed to 
 atoms. At one time she struck upon a small rock; but was got 
 off without receiving any particular damage; but soon afterwards, 
 ehe struck with such violence against an immense field of ice, that 
 several planks started at once, the water rushed in, and the vessel 
 filled so rapidly that the captain and the sailors had scarcely es- 
 caped with their boats to an adjacent field of ice, when nothing 
 moie appeared above the surface of the water than the larboard 
 gunwale. Our missio^i^ry and his wife were the la^st who were 
 
MISSIONARIES IN GREENLAND. 101 
 
 taken from the wreck; and, just before they quitted it, they were 
 above their knees in vrater, and clinging firmly to the shrouds. 
 
 The mariners were now anxious to make toward the shore, which 
 v/as only about a league distant; but the large boat was so heavily 
 laden, and the wind was s) high, that it was deemed more advisable 
 to steer for the nearest island they could reach. This proved to 
 be a rough pointed rock, and destitute of vegetation, except one 
 small plot at a considerable height which was covered with short 
 grass. — Here they attempted to land the provisions which had been 
 saved from the wreck; but the waves beat with such fury against 
 the rock, that the boats, with eight of the sailors on board, were 
 driven to the opposite shore and appeared to be crushed in pieces. 
 "All our hopes of being saved," says INIr. Rudolph, " now van- 
 ished; and the whole company gave vent to their feelings in loud 
 and general cries and lamentations. In the evening we lay down 
 to rest, close to each other, without either tent or covering, and, 
 as it continued to rain heavily during the whole of the night, tlie 
 water rushed down upon us in torrents from the summit of the rock, 
 and we were completely soaked in wet, lying as it were, in the 
 midst of a pool." 
 
 On the "27th the captain and most of the sailors determined to 
 attempt to reach the shore, by walking across the ice; though, as 
 it was frequently necessary to leap from one mass to another, and 
 a fall into any of the intermediate chasms would have been instant- 
 ly faZ-aJ, tliis undertaking was extremely dangerous. Rudolph and 
 the ^ artner of his atiections would willingly have joined them, but 
 they were too much weakened by fatigue and want of food to allow 
 of such an exertion. They were, therefore, compelled to remain, 
 together with the ship's cook, who was in the same enfeebled sit- 
 uation. The crew, however, promised that if they succeeded 
 in reaching the shore, a boat should be sent to rescue them from 
 their painful and perilous situation. 
 
 Time now passed heavily indeed, with our missionary and his 
 companions, who, when the sun shone, employed themselves in 
 drying the kw articles which they had been enabled to save from 
 the wreck; but they were, at last, so enfeebled by cold and hun- 
 ger, that even this little exertion proved too much for their ex- 
 hausted strength. Day atler day they looked with inexpressible 
 anxiety towards the land, with the hope of discovering some Green- 
 lander hastening to their relief 
 
 On the 2d of September, as they were lying down to sleep, the 
 wife of Rudolph happened to raise herself, and discovered some 
 Greenlanders, who had been rowing about in their kajaks the 
 whole of the day without seeing any persons on the rock, and who 
 were now proposing to return. From them the sufTsi ers obtained 
 a few herrings, but were obliged to remain on the rock another 
 night, as the Greenlanders had no boat for their accommodation 
 The following venin<T however, they were safely conveyed to the 
 
102 DOI.PMINS AND FI.VING FISH. 
 
 colony of Julianenliaaf, where they learned that the, whole shtp^s 
 company, with the exception of one man, had been providentially 
 preserved; and on the 11th they proceeded to the settlement at 
 Liciitenau, where tiicir miraculous deliverance afforded inexpres- 
 pihle pleasure to their fellow laborers and to the whole congre^ra- 
 tion. — Here they passed the winter; and in the course of the 
 following year they removed to Lichtenfels, whence they sailed 
 .11 one of the Danish vessels, to Copenhagen 
 
 DOLPHINS AND FLYING FISH. 
 
 Perhaps there is not any more characteristic evidence of our 
 being within the tropical regions, — one, I mean, which strikes the 
 imagination more forcibly, — than the company of those pictur- 
 es(]ue little animals, the llving-fish. It is true, that a stray one 
 or two may sometimes be seen far north, making a few short skips 
 out of the water; and I even remember seeing several close to 
 the cd^e of the banks of Newfoundland, in latitude 45^. These, 
 however, hud been swept out of their natural position by the huge 
 gulf-stream, an ocean in itself, which retains much >»f its tempera- 
 ture far into the northern regions, and possibly helps to modify 
 the climate over the Atlantic. But it is not until the voyager has 
 fairlv reached the heart of the torrid zone that he sees the flying- 
 fish in perfection. No familiarity with the sight can ever render 
 us indifferent to the graceful flight of these most interesting of all 
 the finny, or, rather, winged tribe. On the contrarv, like a bright 
 day, or a smiling countenance, or good company of anv kind, the 
 more we see of them, the more we learn to value rheir presence. 
 1 have, indeed, hardly ever observed a person so d ill, or unimag- 
 inative, that his eye did not glisten as he watched a shoal, or, it 
 may well be called, a covey of flying-fish rise from the sea, and 
 skim along for several hundred yards. There is something in it 
 •io very peculiar, so totally dissimilar to every thing else in other 
 parts of the world, that our wonder goes on increasing every time 
 we see even a single one take its flight. The incredulity, indeed, 
 ftf the old Sc(3lch wife on this head is suflliciently excusable. 
 "You may hae seen rivers o' milk, and mountains o' sugar," 
 said she to her son, returned from a voyage; " but you'll ne'er 
 jrar me believe you hae seen a fish that could fl< f !" 
 
 We were once stealing along under the genial influence ot a 
 light breeze, which was as yet confined to the upper sails, and 
 every one was looking ope -mouthed to the eastward to catch a 
 gulp of o)ol air. when abo t a dozen flying-fish rose out of the 
 
DOLPHINS AND FLYING FISH. 103 
 
 water just under the fore-chains, and skimmed away to windward 
 at the height of ten or twelve feet above the surface. 
 
 A large dolphin, which had been keeping company with us 
 abreast of the weather gangway, at the depth of two or three fath- 
 oms, and, as usual, glistening most beautifully in the sun, no 
 sooner detected them 'ake wing, than he turned his head towards 
 them, and, darting to t!ie surface, leaped from the water with a 
 velocity little short, as i* seemed, of a cannon bill. But although 
 ihe impetus with which he shot himself into the air gave him ar. 
 initial velocity greatly exceeding that of the fiying-fish, the start 
 wJiich his fated prey hnxJ got, enabled them to keep ahead of him 
 for a considerable time The length of the dolphin's first spring 
 could not be less than ten yards; and after he fell, we could see 
 him gliding like lightni'.g through the water for a moment, when 
 he again rose and shot "brwards with considerably greater velocity 
 than at first, and, of course, to a still greater distance. In this 
 manner the merciless f u-suer seemed to stride along the sea with 
 feariul rapidity, while his brilliant coat sparkled and flashed in the 
 sun quite splendidly. As he fell headlong on the water at the end 
 of each huge leap, a series of circles were sent far over the still 
 surface, which lay as smooth as a mirror; for the breeze, although 
 enough to set the royals and top-gallant studding-sails asleep, 
 was hardly as yet felt b'Jlow. The group of wretched flying-fish, 
 thus hotly pursued, at '.ength dropped into the sea; out we were 
 rejoiced to observe tha* ,hey merely touched the top of the swell, 
 and "carcely sunk in it,- -at least they instantly set oft' again in a 
 fresh und even more vifjurous flight. It was particularly interest- 
 ing t'^ observe that the direction they now took was quite different 
 from me one in which they had set out, implying but too obviously 
 that they had detected their fierce enemy, who was following them 
 with giant steps along the waves, and now gaining ra[)idly upon 
 them. His terrific pace^ indeed, was two or three times as swift 
 as theirs — poor little things! and whenever they varied their flight 
 in the smallest degree, he lost not the tenth part of a second in 
 shaping a new course, d'^ as to cut off" the chase, while they, in a 
 manner really not unlike that of the hare, doubled more than once 
 upon their pursuer. But it was soon too plainly to be seen that 
 their strength and confidence were fast ebbing. Their flights 
 became shorter and shorter, and their course more fluttering and 
 uncertain, while the erormous leaps of the dolphin appeared to 
 grow only more vigorous at each bound. Eventually, indeed, we 
 could see, or fancied we could see, that this skilful sea-sportsman 
 arranged all his springs with such an assurance of success, that 
 he c()ntri\ed to fall, at the end of each, just under the very spot 
 on which the exhausted flying-fish were about to drop! Sometimes 
 this catastrophe took place at too great a distance for us to see 
 from the deck exactly what happened; but on our mounting high 
 nto the rigging, we may be said ti have been in at the death; foi 
 
104 THE nVlNG DOLPHIN' 
 
 then wo could discover that the unfortunate little creatures^ on© 
 after another, cither popped riglit into the dolphin's jaws as they 
 lighted on the water, or were snapped up instantly afterwards 
 It was impossible not to take an active part with our pretty little 
 friends of the weaker side, and accordingly we very speedily had 
 our revenge. The middies and the sailors, delighted with the 
 chance, rigged out a dozen or twenty lines from the jib-boom-end 
 and spritsail yard-arms, with hooks baited merely with bits of tin, 
 the glitter of which resembled so much that of the body and 
 wings of the flying iish, that many a proud dolphin, making sure 
 of a delicious morsel, leaped in rapture at the deceitful prize, and 
 in his turn became the prey of a successful enemy. 
 
 THE DYING DOLPHIN 
 
 The truth and beauty of the following description of a dying Do'phin by 
 Falconer, will be attested by those of our readers who may have witnessed ■ 
 eimilar scenf . 
 
 And now, approaching near the lofty stem, 
 A shoal of sportive dolphins they discern. 
 From burnish'd scales tliey beam refulgent rays 
 Till all the glowing ocean seems to blaze. 
 Soon to the sport of death the crew repair. 
 Dart the long*lance, or spread the baited snare. 
 One, in redoubling mazes, wheels along. 
 And glides, unliappy! near the triple prong. 
 RoDMOND unerring o'er his head suspends 
 The barbed steel, and every turn attends. 
 Unerring aim'd, the missile weapon flew, 
 And, plunging, struck the fated victim through 
 Th' uptur.ning points his ponderous bulk sustain. 
 On deck he struggles with convulsive pain — 
 But while his heart the fatal javelin thrills, 
 And flitting life escapes in sanguine rills. 
 What radiant changes strike th' astonish 'd sight ! 
 What glowing hues of mingled shade and light ! 
 Not equal beauties gild the lucid west, 
 With parting beams all o'er profusely drest. 
 Not lovelier colors paint the vernal dawn, 
 When orient dews impearl th' enamel'd lawn, 
 Than from his sides in bright suffusion flow, 
 That now with gold imperial seem to glow : 
 Now in pellucid sapphires meet the view. 
 And emulate the sotl celestial hue : 
 Now beam a flaming crimson on the eye ; 
 And now assume the purple's deeper dye. 
 But here descrijition clouds each sliming ray. 
 What l?rms of art can nature's powers displaf > 
 
FAMINE ON BOARD THE IE JACQ.UES. 105 
 
 HENRY HUDSON. 
 
 The distinguished English naval discoverer, Henry Hudson, 
 sailed fnom London in the year 1607, in a small vessel, for the 
 purpose of discovering a north-east passage to China and Japan; 
 with a crew of only ten men and a boy besides himselt", and, pro- 
 ceeding beyond the 80th degree of latitude, returned to England 
 in September. In a second voyage, the next year, he landed at 
 Nova Zembla, but could proceed no farther eastward. In 1609, 
 he undertook a third voyage, under the patronage of the Dutch 
 East India Company. Being unsuccessful in his attempt to find 
 a north-east passage, he sailed for Davis's straits, but struck the 
 continent of America in 44° N. lat., and holding a southerly 
 course, discovered the mouth of the river Hudson, which he as- 
 cended about fifty leagues in a boat. His last voyage was un- 
 dertaken in 1610. He sailed, April 17th, in a bark named the 
 Discovery, with a crew of twenty-three men, and came within 
 sight of Greenland, June 4th. Proceeding westward he reached, 
 in latitude 60*^, the strait bearing his name. Through this he 
 advanced along the coast of Labrador, to which he gave the name 
 of Nova Brittaunia, until it issued into the vast bay, which is also 
 called after him. He resolved to winter in the most southern 
 part of it, and the crew drew up the ship in a small creek, and 
 endeavored to sustain the severity of that dismal climate, in which 
 attempt they endured severe privations. Hudson, however, fitted 
 up his shallop for farther discoveries; but, not being able to es- 
 tablish any communication with the natives, or to revictual his 
 ship, with tears in his eyes he distributed his little remaining 
 bread to his men, and prepared to return. Having a dissatisfied 
 and mutinous crew, he imprudently uttered some threats of setting 
 some of them on shore; upon which a body of them entered his 
 cabin at night, tied his arms behind him, and put him in his own 
 shallop, at the west end of the straits, with his son, John Hudson, 
 and seven of the most infirm of the crew. They were then 
 turned adrift, and were never more heard of. A small part of the 
 crew, after enduring incredible hardships, arrived at Plymouth, 
 in September, 1611. 
 
 FAMINE ON BOARD THE FRENCH SHIP 
 LE JACQUES. 
 
 Of all the disasters to which mariners are subject, the want of 
 orovisions is doubtless one of the most dreadful. In the history 
 
!06 FA^Il.NE ON ROAUD TIIF, I.E JACQUES. 
 
 of the return of the Frcncli ship Lo Jacciucs from Brazil to Fiance. 
 Jean do Lory gives an account of an extraordinary famine on 
 board that vessel, attended with the most appalling circumstances. 
 
 This ship, called St. Le Jacques, having completed her cargo 
 of dying-wood, pepper, cotton, monkeys, parrots, &.c. at Brazil, 
 weighed anchor on the fourth of January, 1558. The whole 
 crew, seamen and passengers, consisted of forty-five men, exclu- 
 sive of the captain. They had sailed seven or eight days, when 
 a leak in the hold was discovered, which induced five of the pas- 
 sengers to return in a hark offered them by the captain, in pre- 
 ference to continuing on the course to France. 
 
 We shall give in Lery's own words, the narrative of the re- 
 maining part of the voyage. 
 
 " On the third of February we found, that, in seven weeks, we 
 had not made more than one third of our way. As our provisions 
 diminished very fast, it was proposed to bear away for Cape St, 
 lloch, where some old seamen assured us that we should be able 
 to procure refreshments. But the majority advised that we should 
 eat the parrots and other birds, of which we had brought away 
 great numbers; and their opinion prevailed. 
 
 " Our misfortunes began with a quarrel between the mate and 
 the pilot; who, to aggravate each other, then went so far as to 
 neglect their duty. On the twenty-sixth of March, the pilot being 
 at the helm, in his turn, for three hours he kept all the sails set, 
 when a violent squall assailed the vessel with such force that she 
 was ^nmoletely thrown on one side, so that the tops of the masts 
 were immerseu !r the water. The cables, the hen-coops, and all 
 the boxes which were no. hashed fast, were swept overboard, and 
 the vessel was on the point of upsetting. The rigging, however, 
 being instantly cut away she righted again by degrees. The 
 danger, though extreme, tended so little to produce a reconcilia- 
 tion between the two enemies, that the moment it was past, they 
 attacked each other and fought with the most savage ferocity, 
 notwithstanding all the endeavors that were made to pacifv them. 
 
 " This was only the beginning of a horrid series of calamities. 
 A few days afterwards, in a calm sea, the carpenter, and other 
 artisans, in the attempt to relieve those who were laboring at the 
 pumps, were so unfortunate as to remove, among others, a large 
 piece of wood in the ship's hold; upon which the water rushed in 
 with such impetuosity, that the affrighted workmen hurried breath- 
 less upon deck, unable to give an account of the danger. Ai 
 length they cried, in a lamentable voice: ' We are lost! We are 
 lost!' Upon this the captain, master, and pilot, not doubting of the 
 magnitude of the danger, and determined instantly to put the ship 
 about, ordered a great quantity of Brazil wood and other articles 
 to be thrown overboard, and concluding to abandon the vessel, 
 they first provided for their own safety. The pilot fearing lest 
 the boat should be overloaded by the numbers who demanded a 
 
KAMIXK OX BOAUL> THE LE JACQUES 107 
 
 place in her, took his ?<ation, with a cutlass in his hand, and de- 
 clared he would despatch the tirst who should endeavor to enter. 
 vSeeing ourselves thus left to the mercy of the sea, we who re- 
 mained fell to work with all our strength, to pump out the water, 
 and if possible to keep the ship from sinking. We had the satis- 
 faction to find that the water did not gain upon us. 
 
 " But the most happy consequence of our resolution was, that 
 it caused us to hear the voice of our carpenter, who, though small 
 in stature, was a young man of great spirit, and had not, like tho 
 others, quitted the ship's hold. On the contrary, taking oif hi«i 
 jacket he spread it ove. the largest leak, and stood upon it with 
 both feet to prevent the entrance of the water, the violence of 
 which, as he afterwards informed us, lifted him up several times. 
 In this situation he shouted with all his might, desiring us to bring 
 him clothes, cotton, and other things, to stop the leak, till he 
 should be able to do it more effectually. I need not say that this 
 demand was instantly cc/mplied with, and thus we were preserved 
 from this danger. 
 
 " We continued stee»-ing, sometimes to the east and sometimes 
 to the west, which was aot our way; for our pilot, who did not 
 perfectly understand hu business, was no longer able to observe 
 his route. In this uncertainty we proceeded till we came to the 
 tropic of Cancer, where we sailed a fortnight on a sea covered 
 with grass and marine plants. These were so thick and close 
 that we were obliged to »pen a passage through them for the ship. 
 Here we were near pej-shing by another accident. Our gunner 
 being employed in drying some powder in an iron pot, left it so 
 long upon the fire that the po-wder exploded, and the fire spread 
 so rapidly from one end of the ship to the other that the sails and 
 rigging were instantly in flames. 
 
 " They had nearly communicated to the wood, which being 
 covered with pitch, would soon have taken fire, and have burned 
 us alive in the midst of the ocenn. Four men were much injured 
 by the fire, and one of them died a few days afterwards. I should 
 have experienced the same fate had I not covered my face with 
 my hat, which defended me from its effects; so that I escaped 
 with only the tips of my ears and my hair scorched." 
 
 This misfortune Lery reckons only among those which he calls 
 the prelude. 
 
 '*' It was now, (he continues) the fifteenth of April, and we had 
 still a run o'five hundred leagues before us. Our provisions fell 
 so short, thai notwithstanding the retrenchment we had already 
 made, it was resolved I'.idt we should be confined to only half of 
 this reduced allowance. This measure, however, did not prevent 
 our provisions from being exhausted by the end of the month. 
 Our misfortune was occasioned by the ignorance of the pilot, who 
 imagined that we were near Cape Finisterre, in Spain, while we 
 were in the latitude of the Azores, at least three hundred leagues 
 
l08 FAMINE O.N IIOAIU) THE I.E JACQUlTS, 
 
 distant from it. This cruel error suddenly reduced us to the lasl 
 resource, which waa, to sweep the storeroom where the biscuit 
 was kept. These sweepings were distributed by spoonfuls, and 
 made a soup as black and more bitter than soot Those who had 
 any parrots left (for most had eaten their's long before this time,) 
 resorted to this kind of food, at the beginning of May, when the 
 ordinar} provisions failed. Two seamen, who died of hunger, 
 weie thrown overboard; and to prove the miserable state to which 
 we were reduced, one of our sailors, called Nargue, standing 
 reclined against the main-mast, after swallowing their eyes, which 
 he could not digest, I reproached him for not assisting the others 
 to set the sails; the poor man, in a low and lamentable voice, re- 
 plied: ' alas, I cannot,' and instantly dropped down dead. 
 
 "The horrors of this situation were augmented by the rough- 
 ness of the sea, so that, either from want of skill, or strength to 
 manage the sails, they were obliged to reef the sails, and even to 
 lash the rudder fast. Thus the vessel was left to the mercy of 
 the wind and waves. The unfiivorable weather likewise deprived 
 them of the only hope they had left, that of taking some fish. 
 
 "Thus (continues Lery,) all on board were reduced to the 
 lowest degree of weakness and debility. Necessity obliged us to 
 consider and contrive in what manner to appease our hunger. 
 Some cut in pieces the skins of an animal called Tapirous sou, 
 and boiled them in water, but this method was not approved of. 
 Others laid them on tlie coals, and when they were a little broil- 
 ed, scraped them with a knife and eat them: this expedient prov- 
 ed so successful that we imagined it to be broiled sward of bacon. 
 After this experiment, those who had any of these skins, preserved 
 them with the greatest care; and being as hard as dried ox-hide, 
 they required to be cut with hatchets, and other iron instruments 
 Some even eat their leather stocks, and their shoes. The cabin- 
 boys, pressed with hunger, devoured all the horn of the lanterns, 
 and as many candles as they could get at. But notwithstanding 
 o\ir feebleness and hunger, we were obliged, for fear of founder- 
 ing, to stick to the pumps night and day. 
 
 " About the twelfth of P.Iay our gunner, whom I had seen eat- 
 ing the intestines of a parrot quite raw, died of hunger. We were 
 not much affected by this circumstance, for we were so far from 
 thinking L.f defending ourselves, if we were attacked, that we 
 rather wished to be taken by some pirate who would have given 
 us something to eat. But we saw, on our return, only a single 
 vessel, which it was impossible for us to approach. 
 
 " After devouring all the leather on boa.d, even to the coverings 
 of the boxes, we imagined that our last moments were at hand. 
 Necessity, however, inspired some one with the idea of catching 
 the rats and mice, and we hoped to be able to take them the more 
 easily as thev no longer had any crumbs to subsist on, and ran 
 about the ship in great numbers, dying with hunger They wero 
 
FAMINE ON BOARD THE LE JACQUES. 109 
 
 pursued with such assiduity, and so many kinds of snares were 
 laid for them, that very few were left. Even &t night the mea 
 watched for them like cats. A rat was of greater importance 
 tnan a bullock on shore, and the common price of one was four 
 crowns. They were boiled in water, with all their intestines, 
 which were eaten wit'h the rest of the body. Neither the paws 
 nor any of the bones that could possibly be made soft, were thrown 
 away. 
 
 '• Our water likewise failed; we had nothing left to drink but a 
 small barrel of cider, of which the captain and officers were ex- 
 tremely sparing. Whenever it rained, cloths were spread, with 
 a bullet in the middle, to catch the water. They even caught 
 that which ran off through the drains of the ship, though me-'^ 
 muddy than the water in the kennels. 
 
 " We were at last reduced to such extremity that we had noth- 
 ing left but Brazil wood; which, though more dry than any other, 
 many, however, in their despair, gnawed between their teeth 
 Our leader, Corguilleray Dupont, one day holding a piece in his 
 mouth, said to me with a profound sigh: Alas! my friend Lery! 
 the sum of four thousand francs is owing me in France, to which 
 1 would gladly resign my claim for a halfpenny roll and a single 
 glass of wine. 
 
 " At length the Almighty, taking compassion on so many mise- 
 rable wretches, extended almost motionless upon the deck, brought 
 us on the twenty-fourth of May, 1558, within sight of the coast 
 of Bretagne. We had been deceived so often by the pilot that 
 we durst scarcely give credit to the first cries announcing this 
 happy intelligence. We were, however, soon convinced, that 
 we were within view of our native land. After returning thanks 
 to heaven, the master of the ship publicly declared, *hat had our 
 situation continued but another day, he had taken the resolution, 
 not to draw lots as has sometimes been done in such cases, but, 
 without informing any person of his design, to kill one of us for 
 the rest to subsist upon. 
 
 " We found that we were very near Rochelle, where our sea- 
 men had wished to unload the ship and dispose of their Brazil 
 wood. The master, after coming to an anchor two or three 
 leagues from the shore, went in the boat, accompanied by Dupont 
 and some others to purchase provisions at Hodierne, from which 
 we were not far distant. Two of our companion* who were of 
 the party, no sooner set their feet on shore, than, impelled by the 
 recollection of their distresses and the fear of being again involv- 
 ed in them, they betook thp.iselves to flight without waiting for 
 their baggage, at the same time protesting they would never re- 
 turn to the ship. The others immediately returned with all kinds 
 of provisions recommending to their famished comrades to use 
 them at first with moderation. 
 
 " We were now solicitous only to repair to Rochelle, when 
 10 
 
I iO Tili.' I.VW OK ARREST. 
 
 Ficncli vf>s;;(I p '>iiT ^^itiiin li^il, infuincl us t!iat the whole 
 coast was infested by pirate.^. On account of our feeble state 
 which would have rendered it impossible for us to make any de- 
 ience, we unanimously ai^reed to follow the vessel from which 
 we had receivtid this iuielligence. Thus, without losing sight of 
 her we came to an anchor on the twenty-sixth in the port of 
 Biavet." 
 
 Many of the sailors on landing gorged themselves to such m 
 excess as to produce sudden death. A.11 the passengers survived, 
 and after some suffering, were restored to health by adhering tc 
 8 temperate and regular course of diet. 
 
 THE LAW OF ARREST. 
 
 A TALE FROM FACTS. 
 
 Once upon a time there lived at Hamburgh, a certain merchant 
 of the name of Meyer. He was a good little man: charitable to 
 the poor, hospitable to his friends, and so rich that he was ex- 
 tremely respected, in spite of his good nature. Among that part 
 of his property vested in other people's hands, and called debts, 
 was the sum of £500, owed him by the captain of an English 
 vessel. This debt had been so long contracted, that the worthy 
 Meyer began to wish for a new investment of his property. He 
 accordingly resolved to talce a trip to Portsmouth, in which town 
 Captair ^^.cs was then residing, and take that liberty which, in 
 my opinion, should never be permitted in a free country, viz: that 
 of applying for his money. 
 
 Our worthy merchant one bright morning found himself at 
 Portsmouth. He was a stranger to that town, but not wholly 
 unacquainted with the English language. He lost no time in 
 calling on Captain .Tones. 
 
 " And vat," said he to a man whom he asked to show him to the 
 Captain's house, "vat is dat fine veshell yondare." 
 
 " Sbe is the Royal Sally," replied the man, "bound for Calcutta 
 — sails to-morrow: but here 's Capt. Jones's house, sir, and he'll 
 tell you all about it." 
 
 The merchant bowed, and knocked at the door of a red brick 
 house — green door with a brass knocker. Capt. Gregory Jones 
 was a tall man. He wore a blue coat without skirts. He had 
 nigii cheek bones, small eyes, and his whole appearance was 
 eloiiuent of what is generally termed the bluff honesty of the sea- 
 man. 
 
 Captain Gregory seemed somewhat disconcerted at seeing his 
 
THE LAW OF ARREST, 111 
 
 friend He begged for a little further time. The merchant looked 
 grave — three years had a-lready elapsed. The captain demurred 
 — the merchant pressed — the captain blustered — and the merchant 
 growing angry, began to threaten. Suddenly Captain Jones's 
 manner changed — he seemed to recollect himself, and begged 
 piirdon — said he could easily procure the money, desired the mer- 
 chant to go back to his inn, and promised to call on him in the 
 course of the day. Mynheer Meyer went home, and ordered an 
 excellent dinner. Time passed, and his friend came not. Meyer 
 grew impatient. He had just put on his hat, and was walking out, 
 when the waiter threw open the door and announced two gentle- 
 men. 
 
 "Ah, dere comes de monish," thought Mynheer Meyer. The 
 gentleman approached — the taller one whiped out what seemed to 
 Meyer a receipt. "Ah, ver well — I will sign — ver well." 
 
 "Signing, sir, is useless — you will be kind enough to accom- 
 pany us. This is a warrant for debt, sir. JMy house is extremely 
 comfortable — gentlemen of the first fashion go there — quite mod- 
 erate, too, only a guinea a day — find your own wine." 
 
 "I do — no — understand, sare," said the merchant, smiling 
 amiably. " I am ver veil off here, thank you." 
 
 " Come, come," said the other gentleman, speaking for the first 
 time, " no parlavoo Monsoo, you are our prisoner — this is a war- 
 rant for the sum of £10,030, due to Capt. Gregory Jones." 
 
 The merchant stared — the merchant frowned — but so it was. 
 Captain Gregory Jones, who owed Mynheer Meyer j£500, had 
 arrested Mynheer Meyer for j£lO,000; for, as every one know.s, 
 any man may arrest us, who has conscience enough to swear that 
 we owe him money. Where was Mynheer Meyer in a strange 
 town to procure bail? Mynheer Meyer went to prison. 
 
 " Dis be a strange vay of paying a man his monish!" said 
 Mynheer Meyer. 
 
 In order to while away the time, our merchant, who was won- 
 derfully social, scraped an acquaintance with some of his fellow 
 prisoners. " Vat you be in prison for.'"' said he to a stout, res- 
 pectable looking man, who seemed to be in a violent passion — 
 " for vat crime?" 
 
 "I, sir — crime!" quoth the prisoner; "Sir, I was going to 
 Liverpool to vote at the election, when a friend of the opposing 
 candidate had me arrested for £2000; before I can get bail the 
 cle<;tion will be over." 
 
 " Vat's that you tell me? Arrest you to prevent your giving 
 an honest vote? Is that justice?" 
 
 " Justice, no !" cried our friend, " it's the Law of Arrest." 
 
 " And vat be you in prishon for?" said the merchant pityingly, 
 to a thin, cadaverous looking object, who ever and anon applied a 
 handkerchief to eyes that were worn with weeping. 
 
 " An attorney offered a friend of mine to discount a bill, if he 
 
112 THE LAW OF AKIIEST. 
 
 could obtain a few names to endorse it. I, sir, endorsed it. 1 '• a 
 Dili became due — the next day the attorney arrested all whoge 
 names were on the bill, eight in number. The law allows him to 
 charge two guineas each — there are sixteen guineas for the lawyer 
 — but I, sir, alas! my family will starve before I shall be released 
 Sir, there are a set of men called discounting attorneys, who liv? 
 upon the profits of entrapping and arresting us poor folks." 
 " Mine Got! but is dat justice?" 
 
 " Alas! no, sir, it is the Law of Arrest." 
 
 " But," said the merchant turning round to a lawyer, whom the 
 Devil had deserted, and who was now with the victims of hi.«i 
 profession, " dey tell me dat in Englant a man be called innoshent 
 till he be proved guilty; but here am I, who, because von carrioD 
 of a shailor, who owesh me five hundred pounts, takes an oath 
 that 1 owe him ten thousand — here am I, on that schoundrel's 
 single oath, clapped up in a prishon. Is this a man's being in- 
 noshent till he is proved guilty, sare.'" 
 
 " Sir," said the lawyer primly, " you are thinking of criminal 
 cases. But if a man be unfortunate enough to get into debt that 
 is quite a different thing — we are harder to poverty than we are to 
 crime." 
 
 " But, mine Got! is that justice?" 
 
 "Justice! pooh! it's the Law of Arrest," said the lawyer, 
 turning on his heel. 
 
 Our merchant was liberated: no one appeared to prove the debt. 
 He flew to a magistrate — he told his case — he implored justice 
 against Capt. Jones. 
 
 " Capt. Jones," said the magistrate taking snuff; " Capt Greg, 
 ory Jones, you mean!" 
 
 " Ay, mine goot sare — yesh!" 
 
 " He set sail for Calcutta yesterday. He commands the Roy- 
 al Sally. He must evidently have sworn this debt against you for 
 the purpose of getting rid of your claim, and silencing your mouth 
 till you could catch him no longer. He's a clever fellow this 
 Gregory Jones!" 
 
 " De teufel! but, sare, ish dare no remedy for de poor raer- 
 .••hant?" 
 
 " Remedy! oh yes — indictment for perjury." 
 
 " But vat use is dat? You say he be gone — ten thousand miles 
 cfT-to Calcutta!" 
 
 • That's certainly against your 'indictment." 
 
 " And cannot I get my monish?" 
 
 " Not as I see." 
 
 " An I have been arreshted instead of him!" 
 
 " You have." 
 
 " Sare, I have only von vord to say — is dat justice?" 
 
 " That I can't say, Mynheer Meyer — but it is certainly the 
 I^aw of Arrest," answered the magistrate — and he bowed the 
 merchant out of the room 
 
CAPTAI.N COOK 19 
 
 A SEA SONG 
 
 A wet sheet and a flowing sea, 
 
 A wind that follows fast 
 And fills the white and rustling sai«, 
 
 And bends the gallant mast! 
 And bends the gallant mast, my boy8_ 
 
 While like the eagle free, 
 Away the good ship flies, and leavea 
 
 Columbia on the lea. 
 
 O for a soft and gentle wind ! 
 
 I heard a fair one cry ; 
 But give to me the swelling breeze. 
 
 And white waves heaving high ; 
 And white waves heaving high, my lads, 
 
 The good ship tight and free ; 
 The world of waters is our home, 
 
 And merry men are we. 
 
 There 's tempest in yon horned moon, 
 
 And lightning in yon cloud ; 
 And hark, the music, mariners ! 
 
 The wind is wakening loud ; 
 The wind is wakening loud, my boy», 
 
 Tiie lightning flashes free ; 
 The hollow oak our palace is, 
 
 Our heritage the sea. 
 
 CAPTAIN COOK. 
 
 Mr. Banks, a gentleman of considerable fortune in Lincolnshire 
 England, was induced to undertake this voyage from curiosity, 
 and an invincible desire of attaining knowledge. He engaged 
 his friend Dr. Solander, a Swede, to accompany him in this voyage. 
 Mr. Banks also took with him two draftsmen, and had besides 
 a secretary and four servants. Lieutenant James Cook was to 
 command the expedition. 
 
 On the 26th of August, 1768, the Endeavour sailed from Plym 
 outi; the islands of Puerto Santo and JNIadeira were discovered 
 on the 12th of September, and the next day they anchored in 
 Fonchial Road. The Endeavour sailed thence on the 19th. On 
 the 22d, they saw the Islands of vSalvages, northward of the Ca- 
 naries The 23d saw the Peak of Tenerifie, bearing v/est by 
 south This mountain is near 15,400 feet high. On the 29th 
 perceived Bona Vista, one of tlie Cape de Verd Islands. On 
 the I3th of November made sail for the harbor of R"o de Janeiro 
 10* 
 
114 CAPTAIN COOK. 
 
 Caplitiii Cook went on shore on the 14th, and obtained leave to 
 purchase provisions, and having requested that the gentlemen on 
 board might remain on shore whilst they sojourned, and that Mr. 
 H;inks might go up the country to collect plants, these requests 
 rt-ere peremptorily refused. 
 
 Deceiuher the 8th, having procured all necessary supplies, 
 Ihey left Rio dc Ja eiro. On the the 14th of January entered 
 fhe Strait of Le Maire; but the tide being against them, were 
 driven out witii great violence; at length, however, they got an- 
 chorage at the entrance of a little cove, which Captain Cook called 
 St. Vincent's Bay. 
 
 IMr. Banks and Dr. Solander set out from the ship on the 16th, 
 with the design of going into the country, and returning in the 
 evening. Having entered a wood, they ascended the hill through 
 a pathless wilderness till the afternoon. The morning had been 
 very tine, but the weather now became cold and disagreeable: the 
 blasts of wind were very piercing, and a shower of snow fell. 
 Mr. Buchan, one of the draughtsmen, fell into a fit. It was abso- 
 lutely necessary to stop and kindle a fire, and such as were most 
 fatigued remained to assist him; but Messrs. Banks, Solander, 
 Green and Monkhouse, proceeded and attained the spot they had 
 in view. Upon returning, they found Mr. Buchan much recov- 
 ered. They had previously sent Mr. Monkhouse and Mr. Green 
 back to him and the others, in order to bring them to a hill, which 
 was conjectured to lie in a better track for returaing to the wood. 
 The whole party met there at eight in the evening. Dr. Solander 
 having often passed mountains in cold countries, was sensible that 
 extreme cold, when joined with fatigue, occasions a drowsiness, 
 that is not easily resisted; he accordingly entreated his friends to 
 keep in motion, however disagreeable it might be to them; his 
 words were, " Whoever sits down, will sleep; and whoever sleeps, 
 will wake no more." Every one seemed accordingly armed with 
 resolution; but on a sudden the cold became so very intense, as 
 to threaten the most direful efTects. It was very remarkable thai 
 Dr. Solander himself, who had so forcibly admonished his party, 
 should be the first who insisted upon being suffered to repose. 
 In spite of the most earnest entreaties, he lay down amidst the 
 snow, and it was with great difficulty they kept him awake. When 
 a black servant was informed, that if he remained there he would 
 be frozen to death; he replied, that he was so exhausted with 
 fatigue, that death would be a relief to him. Dc.tor Solander 
 said he was not Mnwilling to go, but that he must '. rst take some 
 sleep, notwithstanding what he had before declared to the com- 
 pany. Thus resolved, they both sat' down, supported oy bushes, 
 and in a short time fell fast asleep. Intelligence now came from 
 .he advanced party, that a lire was kindled about a quarter of a 
 mile farther on the way. Mr. Banks then waked (he doctor, who 
 had almost lost the use of his limbs already, though it was but a 
 
CAPTAIN COOS.. 115 
 
 few minutes since he sat dov/n. Every measure taken to relieve 
 the black proved ineffectual; he remained motionless, and they 
 were obliged to leave him to the care of the other black servant 
 and a sailor, who appeared to have been the least hurt by the cold. 
 Mr Banks and four others went forth at twelve o'clock and met 
 the sailor, with just strength enough to walk; he was immediately 
 sent to the fire, and they proceeded to seek for the two others. 
 Thev found Kichmond, one black servant, upon his legs, but in- 
 capable of moving them; the other black was lying senseless upon 
 the ground. All endeavors to bring them to the fire were useless, 
 nor was it j)j.5;;ii)le to kindle one upon the si)ot, on account of the 
 snow that had fallen, and was still falling, jo that there was no 
 alternative, but to leave the two unfortunate aegroes to their fate, 
 making them a bed of boughs of trees, and covering them very 
 thick with the same. On the i7th in the morning, at day-break, 
 nothing presented itself i)ut snow. Howe\cr, about si.\ in the 
 morning they were flattered with a dawn of hope of being deliv- 
 ered, by discovering the sun tlirough the clouds, which gradually 
 diminished. Previous to setting out, messengers were despatched 
 to the unhappy negroes, who returned with the melancholy news 
 of their death. In about three hours, to their great satisfaction, 
 found themselves upon the shore, much nearer to the ship than 
 their most sanguine expectation could have llattered them. 
 
 January the 26th, Captain Cook sailed from Cape Horn. The 
 farthest southern latitude he made was 60 deg. 10 min. by 74 deg. 
 30 min. west. April the 4th, a servant to Mr. Banks discovered 
 land. Captain Cook came within a mile on the north-side, but 
 found no bottom nor anchorage. There appeared along the boacb 
 some of the inhabitants, with pikes or poles in their hands, twice 
 the height of themselves. This Island was in latitude 18 deg 
 south, longitude 139 deg. 28 min. west, and was named Lagoon 
 Island. They saw another island in the afternoon, which was 
 named Thrumb Cap. The 5th, continued their course, and dis- 
 covered Bow Island. 
 
 From the 6th to the 10th, they passed several islands, and on 
 the 1.3th, entered Port Royal Harbour, Otaheite, anchoring 
 within half a mile of the shore. When the ship was pro[)crly se- 
 cured, the captain went on shore with ]Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, 
 a party under arms, and an old Indian. They were received by 
 oome hundreds of the natives, who were struck with such awe, 
 that the first who approached crept almost upon his hands and 
 knees. He presented them brand es of trees, the usual symptom 
 of peace. 
 
 On the 15th, the captain, attended by IMr. Banks and others, 
 went on shore to fix or. a proper spot to erect a small fort for their 
 defence. Before this party had gone much further, they were 
 alarmed by the discharge of two pieces, fired by the tent-guard 
 LTpon their return, it appeared that an Indian had taken an oc 
 
IIG CAPTAIN COOK 
 
 |)ortunity to snatch away one of tlic sentinel's muskets; whcrcui>)n 
 a young nudshi|)inan, ordered the marines to fire, whicli they did, 
 when several Indians were wounded, but as the criminal did no. 
 fall, they pursued and shot him dead. 
 
 The fort began to be erected on the 18th. Mr. Banks's tent 
 being got up, h(^, for the first time, slept on shore. On tiie 24tli, 
 Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander made an excursion into the country 
 On the 2oth, Mr. Molineux, master of the Endeavour, seeing a 
 woman, whose name was Oberea, he declared she was the [lerson 
 he judged to be the queen of the island, when he came there in 
 the J)oli)hin. She was soon conducted to the ship, and went on 
 board, accompanied by some of her family. Many presents were 
 made her, particularly a child's doll, which seemed the most to 
 engross her attention. On the 5th, Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander 
 set out in the pinnace and soon reached Eparre. Some Indians 
 from a neighboring island, to which Captain VVallis gave the 
 name of Duke of York's Island, informed them of more than twen- 
 ty islands in the neighborhood of Otaheite. 
 
 They now began to make the necessary preparations for the 
 transit of Venus, and on the first of June, the next Saturday^ 
 being the day of the transit, they sent the long-boat to Ermayo, 
 having on board Mr. Gore, Mr. Monkhouse, and Mr. Sporing, i 
 friend of Mr. Banks; each furnished with necessary instruments 
 They were visited on the 21st at the fort by many of the natives, 
 and among the rest Oamo, a chief of several districts on the 
 island, who was very inquisitive with respect to the English, and 
 by his questions appeared a man of understanding and penetration. 
 June 26th, the Captain set out in the pinnace, accompanied by Mr. 
 Banks, to circumnavigate the island. July 1st, returned to the 
 fort at Port Royal Harbour; liaving discovered the island, both 
 peninsulas included, to be about one hundred miles in circumfer- 
 ence. They now began to make preparations for their departuie. 
 On the 10th, two marines being missing, an inquiry was made after 
 them, when the Indians declared they did not propose returning, 
 having each taken a wife. Mr. H^cks was immediately despatclied 
 in the long-boat, with several men, for them, and this party re- 
 covered the men without opposition. 
 
 July the 13th, after leaving the island of Otaheite, they sailed 
 with a gentle breeze, and, on the 15th, discovered Huaheine. 
 They found the people here nearly similar to those of Otaheite in 
 almost every circumstance. This island is situated in the latitude 
 of 16 deg. 43 min. south, longitude 150 deg. 52 min. we't, distant 
 from Otaheite about thirty leagues, and is about twenty miles in 
 circumference. From Huaheine thev sailed to Ulieta. Captain 
 Cook took possession of this and the adjacent islands in the name 
 of the king of Great Britain. On the 25th they were within a 
 league or two of Otaha. On the i'^th made sail to the northward, 
 and at eight o'clock next morning were close under the high 
 
CAPTAIN COOK. Ill 
 
 traggy peak of Bolabola; but, after giving the general rame o: 
 Che Society Islands to the Island of Huaheiae, Ulietea, Bolabola, 
 Otaha, and Maurua, which lie between the latitude of 16 deg 
 1? mir, and 16 deg. 55 min. south, they pursued their course. 
 
 The Endeavour now passed a small island, white and high, and, 
 as it appeared quite barren, was named Bare Island. On the 
 17th Captain Cook gave the name of Cape Turn-Again to a 
 head-land, in latitude 40 deg. 34 min. south, longitude 182 deg 
 55 min. west. Before the Endeavour touched at New Zealand, 
 A'hich this was, it was not certainly known whether it was an 
 sland, or part of the continent. On the 20th anchored in a bay, 
 about two leagues north of Gable End Foreland. Sailing to the 
 northward, they fell in with a small island named East Island. 
 In* the evening of the 30th, Lieutenant Hicks discovered a bay, 
 to which his name was given. On the 18th, the Endeavour steered 
 between the main and an island which seemed very fertile, and as 
 extensive as Ulietea. 
 
 The 26th, Captain Cook continued his course along shore to the 
 north. On the 29th, having weathered Cape Bret, they bore 
 away to leeward, and got into a large bay, where they anchored 
 on the south-vvest side of several islands. On the 5th they weigh- 
 ed anchor. The Bay which they had left was called the Bay of 
 Islands. On the 13th of March discovered a bay, which Captain 
 Cook called Dusky-bay ; aud it is rem^-rkable for having five high, 
 peaked rocks, lying off it, which look like the thumb and four 
 fingers of a man's hand; whence it was denominated Point Five 
 Fingers. It was now resolved to return by the East Indies, and 
 with that view to steer for the east coast of New Holland, and 
 then follow the direction of that coast to the northward. They 
 sailed March 31st and taking their departure from an eastern 
 point, called it Cape Farewell. The bay from which they sailed 
 was named Admiralty Bay, and the two capes thereof Cape 
 Stephens and Cape Jackson. 
 
 They sailed from Cape Farewell on the 31st of March, 1770. 
 On the 1 9th, they discovered land four or five leagues distant. 
 The name of Botany Bay was given to this place, from the large 
 number of plants collected by Messrs. Banks and Solander. They 
 saileu hence tiie 6th of May, 1770; at noon were off a harbor 
 which was called Port Jackson. Coasting this shore till the 1 0th 
 of June, an accident had nearly terminated their voyage fatally 
 The ship struck on a rock in the night, at some distance from the 
 land, and made so much water as to threaten to sink every mo- 
 ment, which was only prevente-d by great exertions. After sonr»', 
 I'l'ile examination, they found a small harbor to look at the ship 
 bottom, and there found, that the only thing which prevented her 
 from sinking, was a large piece of a rock, broken off and sticking 
 n the largest hole, which impeded the entrance of the water 
 Here they procured some refreshments, landed the sick and stores, 
 
18 CAT I A I. \ COO If, 
 
 made a variety of excursions by land and ater to the neigboiing 
 places, and, ibr the first time, saw the animal now known as the 
 Kangaroo. 
 
 They sailed hence on the 13th of August, 1770, and got througb 
 one of the channels in the reef; happy to be once more in an 
 open sea, after having been surrounded by dreadful shoals and 
 rocks for near three months, during all which run they had been 
 obliged to keep sounding without the internussion of a single 
 minute; a circumstance which, it is supposed, never happened to 
 any ship but the Endeavour. Previous to their leaving, Captain 
 Cook, took possession of all the eastern coast of the country, from 
 the 38th degree of south latitude to the present spot, by the name 
 of New South Wales. They were now at the northern extremity 
 of New Holland. The northeast entrance of the passage is form- 
 ed by the mainland of New Holland, and by a number of islands, 
 which took the name of the Prince of Wales's Islands. 
 
 They now held a northward course, within sight of land, till the 
 3d of September. On the 6th, passed two small islands, on the 
 9th, they saw what had the appearance of land, and the next 
 morning were convinced it was Timor Lavet. On the 16th, they 
 had sight of the little island called Rotte; and the same day sav/ 
 the island of Savu, at a distance to the southward of Timor. The 
 Endeavour sailed the 21st of September, 1770, and bent her coursi 
 westward. In the afternoon of this day a little flat island wat 
 discovered in 10 deg. 47 niin. south latitude, and 238 deg. 28 min, 
 west longitude. They made considerable way, till at length, by 
 the assistance of the sea-breezes, they came to anchor in the 
 road of Batavia. The town of Batavia is situated in 6 deg. IC 
 min. south latitude, and 106 deg. 50 min. east longitude. On the 
 27th of December, 1770, the Endeavour left the road of Batavia, 
 and on the 5tli, came to anchor near Prince's Island. After a pas- 
 sage in wl kh they lost twenty-three more officers and men, the 
 ship was b. ought to anchor ofl" the Cape of Good Hope, on the 
 15th of March, 1771. Quitting the Cape, they came to anchor 
 off the island of St. Helena, on the 1st of May, from which place 
 they sailed on the 4th, and arrived in the'Downs, on the 12th of 
 June following. 
 
 CAPTAIN COOK'S SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 A second voyage being resolved upon, Captain Cook was ap 
 pointed to the Resolution, and Captain Furneaux, to the Adventure, 
 «nd on the 13th of July, 1772, the two ships sailed from Plymoutlr 
 Sound; and, on the evening of the 29th, anchored in Funchia 
 Road, in the Island of Madeira. 
 
CAPTAIN COOK. I 19 
 
 On the 9lh of August they made the Island of Bonavista, and 
 
 01 the 29th of October the land of the Cape of Good Hope. 
 The 10th of December, saw an island of ice to the westward, 
 being then in the latitude of 50 deg. 40 min. south, and longitude 
 
 2 deg. east of the Cape of Good Hope. On the 9th of February, 
 found that the Adventure was not within the limits of the r hori- 
 zon. At ten o'clock of the 25th of March, the land of New 
 Zealand was seen from the mast-head. On Friday, the 26th, 
 came to anchor, at three in the afternoon, after having been one 
 hundred and seventeen days at sea, in which time they had sailed 
 36G0 leagues, without having once sight of land. 
 
 On the 11th of April, weighed with a light breeze at south- 
 east, and stood out to sea. After leaving^ Dusky Bay they direct- 
 ed their course along shore for Queen Charlotte's Sound, wtier© 
 they expected to find the Adventure. On the 18th, they appear- 
 ed off the harbor, and discovered their consort the Adventure, 
 by the signals she made. On the 7th of June, weighed and put 
 to sea, with the Adventure in company, and on the 11th of Au- 
 gust, land was seen to the south, which upon a nearer approach 
 was found to be an island of about two leagues m extent. It lie? 
 in the latitude of 17 deg. 24 min. longitude 141 deg. 39 min. west, 
 and was called Resolution Island. Steering the same course, 
 they discovered several of these low or half-drowned islands, or 
 rather a large coral shoal of about twenty leagues in circuit, 
 which 31. de Bourgainville very properly calls the cluster of low 
 overflowed isles the Dangerous Archipelago. On the 15th, at 
 five o'clock in the morning, saw Osnaburgh Island, or Maitea, 
 discovered Wy Captain Wallis. At day-break found themselves 
 not more than hall a league from the reef of Otaheite. 
 
 Several of the inhabitants came off in canoes, most of whom 
 knew Captain Cook again, and many inquired for Mr. Banks and 
 others who were there before. On the 17th, they anchored in 
 Ouiti-f^iha Bay, about two cable's length from the shore. On the 
 1st of September the ships unmoored, and made sale for Ulieta 
 Arriving off the harbor of Ohamaneno, at the close of the day, 
 they spent the night in making short tacks. Captain Furneaux 
 agreed to receive on board his ship a young man named Omai, a 
 native of Ulieta, where he had some property, of which he had 
 been dispossessed by the people of Bolabola. After leaving Ulieta, 
 they steered to the west, inclining to the south, to get clear of 
 tne tracts of former navigators, and to get into the latitude of the 
 islands of Middleburgh and Amsterdam. At two o'clock p. m 
 on the 1st of October, made Middleburgh, bearing west -south- 
 west; and then made sail down to Amsterdam. These islands 
 were first discovered by Captain Tasrnan, in January, 1642 — 3, 
 and by him called Amsterdam and Middleburgh. But the former 
 is called by the natives Ton-ga-ta-bu, and the latter Ea-vo-wee 
 Middleburgh or Eavowee, which is the southernmost, is abou 
 
120 CAPTAIN COOK. 
 
 ten leagues in circuit, and of a height sufficient to be seen twelve 
 leagues. Tlie anchorage, named English Road, is on the north- 
 west side, in latitude ^1 deg. !20 min. 39 sec. south. The island 
 is shaped something like an isosceles triangle, the longest sides 
 whereof are seven leagues each, and the shortest four. 
 
 On the 8th of October, made the Island of Pilstart. This 
 island, which was also discovered by Tasman, is situated in the 
 latitude of 22 deg. 2G min. south, longitude 175 deg. 59 min. 
 west. On the 21st, made the land of New Zealand; atnoon Table 
 Cape bore west, distant eight or ten leagues. On the 25th, early 
 in the morning, they weighed, with a small breeze, out of the cove. 
 On the 2fc;th, took their departure from Cape Palliser, and steered 
 to the south, inclining to the east, having a favorable gale irom 
 the north-west and south-west. At 4 o'clock, 12th of Dec. being in 
 the latitude of 62 deg. 10 min. south, longitude 172 deg. west, saw 
 the first ice Island, 11| deg. farther south than the first ice seen 
 the preceding year, after leaving the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 On the 30th, at four o'clock in the morning, perceived the 
 clouds, over the horizon to the south, to be of an unusual snow- 
 white brightness, which they knew announced their approach to 
 field-ice. Being at this time in the latitude of 71 deg. 10 min. 
 south, longitude lOG deg. 54 min. west, they steered north froraj 
 this time, and on the 1 Itii of March, land was seen from the mast-j 
 head, bearing west. They made no doubt that this was Davis'aj 
 Land-, or Easter Island. After leaving Easter Island, they steer 
 ed north-west-by-north and north-north-west, with a fine easterly! 
 gale, intending to touch at the Marquesas. They continued tof 
 steer to the west till the 6th of April, at four in the afternoon, atj 
 which time, being in the latitude of 9 deg. 20 min. longitude 133| 
 deg. 14 min. west, they discovered an Island, bearing west by] 
 south, distant about nine leagues. Two hours after saw another, 
 bearing south-west-by-south, which appeared more extensive than 
 the former. By this time, they were well assured that these were 
 the Marquesas, discovered by Mendana in 1595. 
 
 The Marquesas are five in number, viz. La Magdalena, St.] 
 Pedro, La Dominica, Santa Christina, and Hood's Island, which 
 is the northernmost, situated in latitude 9 deg. 26 min. south, and 
 13 deg. west, five leagues and a half distant from the east point 
 of La Dominica, which is the largest of all the isles, extending] 
 east and west six leagues. 
 
 Fiom the Marquesas, Captain Cook once more steered hiaj 
 course for Otaheite; and reached his former place of anchorage,! 
 Matavai Bay, on the twenty-second of April. During their resi- 
 dence here, on this occasion, the voyagers were entertained with 
 various exhibitions. One of these was a grand naval review. 
 The vessels of war consisted of a hundred and sixty large double! 
 canoes, well equipped, manned and armed. They were decorated 
 with flags and streamers; and the chiefs, together with all those | 
 
CAPTA!.\ COOK. 121 
 
 who were on the fighting stages, were dressed in their war habits 
 The whole fleet made a nobie appearance; such as our voyagers 
 had never seen before. Besides the vessels of war, there were 
 a hundred and seventy smaller double canoes, which seemed to 
 be designed for transports and victuallers. Upon each of theso 
 was a small house ; and they were each rigged with a mast and 
 sail, which was not the case with the war canoes. Captain Cook 
 conjectured that there were no fewer than seven thousand seven 
 hundred and sixty men in the whole fleet. He was not able to 
 obtain full information concerning the design of this armament. 
 
 The refreshments that were obtained at Otaheite during this 
 visit were of great importance to the ship's company, for nearly 
 all the bread they had left was decayed and scarcely eatable; and 
 even of this, bad as it was, the quantity was so small that they 
 were reduced to a very scanty allowance. 
 
 After leaving Otalieite, the voyagers proceeded again to 
 Huaheine. During Captain Cook's stay at Huaheine, bread- 
 fruit, cocoa-nuts, and other vegetable productions, were procured 
 in abundance, but not a sufficiency of hogs to supply the daily 
 consumption of the ship's company. At Ulieta, to which the 
 captain next directed his course, the inhabitants expressed the 
 deepest concern at his departure, and anxiously importuned him 
 to return 
 
 Afl;er passing several other islands, he arrived, on the twentieth 
 of June, at an island which appeared to have a numerous popula- 
 tion. The captain, with the other gentlemen went ashore; but 
 the natives were found to be fierce and untractable. All en- 
 deavors to bring them to a parley were to no purpose. They 
 approached with the ferocity of wild beasts, and instantly threw 
 their darts. Two or three muskets discharged in the air did not 
 prevent one of them from advancing still further, and ihrowing 
 another dart, which passed close over Captain Cook's shoulder. 
 The courage of this man had nearly cost him his life. vVhen he 
 threw his dart, he was not five paces from the captain, who had 
 resolved to shoot him for his own preservation, it happened, 
 however, that his musket missed fire; a circumstance on whicn 
 he afterwards reflected with pleasure. 
 
 This island, f'om the disposition and behavior of the inhabi- 
 tants, was called oy our Commander Savage Island. It is about 
 eleven leagues in circuit; is of around form and good height, 
 Rnd has deep waters close to its shores. Among its other disad- 
 vantages, it is not furnished with a harbor. 
 
 In pursuing his course toward the west-south-west, Captain 
 Cook passed a number of small islands, and, on the twenty-sixtft. 
 anchored on the north side of Anamooka, or Rotterdam. Here, 
 as in many former cases, the captain was put to some trouble, on 
 account of the thievish disposition of the people. It is one of a 
 numerous group to which Captain Cook gave the name of the 
 11 
 
122 cAr"rAi5 coorr 
 
 Friendly Isles, in consequence of tlie firm alliance and friendship! 
 which seemed to subsist ainon<i; tlie inhabitants, and of their kind 
 and hospitable behavior to strangers. 
 
 Pursuing their course westward, the navigators, on the sixteenth 
 of July, discovered land, which they believed to be the same that 
 M. dc Bougainville, the French navigator, had named the Grea: 
 Cyclades. After having explored the coast of this island for soma 
 days, they came to an anchor, in a harbor of the island of Mal.'- 
 colo The inhabitants of this island were in general t' 3 mo , 
 ugly and ill-proportioned people that the voyagers had seen 
 Tliey were dark-colored, somewhat diminutive in stature, and had 
 long heads, Hat faces, and countenances not much dissimilar to 
 those of apes. 
 
 Proceeding hence in a south-westerly direction the Resolution 
 passed several small islands. The harbor in one of them caHed 
 Tanna, in which the ship was anchored, was only a little creek 
 about three quarters of a mile in length, but no place could ex- 
 ceed it in convenience for obtaining both wood and water. After 
 Captain Cook had tinished his survey of the whole Archipelago, 
 and had gained a knowledge of it infinitely superior to what he 
 had attained before, he bestowed upon it the appellation of the 
 New Hebrides. 
 
 Our voyagers sailed on the 1st of September, and on the 4th, 
 land was discovered; in a harbor belonging to which the Resolu 
 tion came to anchor the next day. As Captain Cook was unable 
 to learn what the Island was called by the natives, he gave to it 
 the name of New Caledonia. Excepting New Zealand, this is 
 perhaps the largest island in the South Pacific Ocean. The in- 
 habitants were strong, robust, active, and well made; and in 
 their dispositions were courteous and obliging. They did not 
 appear in the least addicted to pilfering. 
 
 On the 13th, the Resolution weighed anchor, and land was 
 discovered, which was named Norfolk Isle. From this place our 
 commander steered for New Zealand, in Queen Charlotte's 
 Sound, where he shortly afterwards arrived. Several days elapsed 
 before any of the natives made their appearance; but when they 
 did so, and recognised Captain Cook and his friends, joy succeed- 
 ed to fear. They hurried in numbers out of the woods, and em- 
 braced the English over and over again, leaping and skipping 
 about like madmen. The whole intercourse with the New 
 Zealanders, during this third visit, was peaceable and friendly 
 
 In the prosecution of his voyage, our commander, on the 17th 
 of December, reached the west coast of Terra del Fuego, and 
 came to anchor in a place which he called Christmas Sound. 
 Through the whole course of his various navigations, he had 
 never seen so desolate a coast. But barren and dreary as the 
 land was, it was not wholly destitute of accommodations. The 
 cour.try abounded with Wild fowl, and particularly with geese; 
 
CAPTAir< CCOK. I2d 
 
 which afforded a refreshment to the whole ship's crew, that was 
 the more acceptable on account ot'the approaching festival. Had 
 they not thus been happily provided for, their Christmas cheer 
 must have been salt beef and pork. Some 3[adeira wine, the 
 only article of provision that was mended by keeping, was still 
 left. This, in conjunction with the geese, which were cooked in 
 every variety of method, enabled -the navigators to celebrate 
 Christmas as cheerfully as perhaps was done by their friends in 
 England. 
 
 Our commander soon afterwards proceeded through the Strait of 
 Le JMaire to Staten Island. About the end of February he cross- 
 ed ihe line of the route he had taken when he left the Cape of 
 Good Hope; having now made the circuit of the southern ocean 
 in a high latitude, and traversed it in such a manner as to leave 
 no room for the possibility of their being any continent in that part, 
 of the hemisphere, unless near the pole, and out of the reach o/" 
 navigation. By twice visiting the tropical sea, he had not only 
 ascertained the situation of some old discoveries, but had made 
 many new ones; and, indeed, even in that part, had left little 
 more to be accomplished. The intention of the voyage had in 
 every respect been answered, and the southern hemisphere suffi- 
 ciently explored. A complete termination was hereby put to the 
 searching after a southern continent. 
 
 The great purpose of the navigation of Captain Cook round 
 the globe being thus completed, he at length directed his views 
 towards England, and determined to steer for the Cape of Good 
 Hope; and on Wednesday, the twenty-second of March, accor- 
 ding to his reckoning (who had sailed round the world), but on 
 Tuesday, the twenty-first at the Cape, he anchored his ship in 
 Table Bay. During the circumnavigation of the globe, from the 
 period of our commander's leaving the Cape of Good Hope to his 
 return to it again, he had sailed no less a distance than twenty 
 thousand leagues. This was an extent of voyage nearly equal to 
 three times the equatorial circumference of the earth, and such 
 as had never been accomplished before, by any ship in the same 
 compass of duration. 
 
 On the remainder of the voyage it is not necessary to enlarge. 
 The repairs of the ship having been completed, and the necessary 
 stores carried on board, together with afresh supply of provisions 
 and water, Captain Cook left the Cape of Good Hope on the 
 27th of April, and reached the island of St. Helena o» the 15th 
 of JNIay. Here he remained till the 21st, when he sailed, and 
 arrived in safety at Portsmouth, having been absent from Eng- 
 land three years and eighteen days; in which time, and under all 
 changes of climate, he had lost but four men, and only one of 
 Ihese by sickness. 
 
IS4 CAPTAIN* COOK. 
 
 CAPTAIN COOK'S THIRD VOYAGE 
 
 Although the Resolution and the Discovery were d(,stinec[ fof 
 the same service, they did not leare England at the same t,'ne 
 Captain Cook, in the former, sailed from Plymouth on the 
 twclllh of July; and Captain Clcrke, in the latter, on the 1st of 
 August, 1776. The two ships joined at the Cape of Good Hope, 
 aliout the beginning of November. Here Captain Cook made 
 an addition to his stock of animals, by the purchase of cattle, 
 hoises, sheep, goats, rabbits, and poultry. All these, as well aa 
 most of the animals then on board the vessels, were intended for 
 Otaheite, New Zealand, and other islands. 
 
 The ships sailed from the Cape about the beginning of De- 
 cember; and the navigators, pursuing their course towards the 
 south-east, the weather soon became so cold that several of the 
 goats and some of the sheep died. On the 12th, two islands 
 were seen, the larger of which appeared to be about fifteen 
 leagues in circuit. As no names had hitherto been assigned ^o 
 these islands, our commander called them Prince Edward's 
 Islands. 
 
 Though it was now the middle of summer in this hemisphere, 
 the weather was not less severe than what is generally experi- 
 enced in England in the very depth of winter. Instead, however, 
 of being discouraged by this circumstance, the captain directed 
 his course still further south, and on the 24th, reached the island 
 called Kerguelen's Land; and the ne.xt day landed upon it. The 
 weather was foggy during the whole time that the ships contin- 
 ued here. The island was so excessively barren, that perhaps 
 no place, hitherto discovered, under the same parallel of latitude, 
 affords so scanty a field for a natural historian as this. If our 
 commander had not been tinwilling to deprive M. de Kerguelen 
 of the honor of this island bearing his name, he would have call- 
 ed it the island of Desolation. 
 
 Captain Cook next directed his course towards New Zealand, 
 that he might obtain a further supply of water, take in wood, and 
 make hay for his cattle. Nothing very remarkable occurred to 
 the voyagers till the 24th of January, 1777, when they discover- 
 ed the coast of Van Dieman's Land, and in two days after came 
 to anchor One day they were agreeably surprised by a visit 
 from some of the natives. Every present which Captain Cook 
 made them they received without the least appeararce of satis- 
 faction. During the few days that Captain Cook cor inued here, 
 he neglected nothing that could promote the krowledge of 
 science or navigation. 
 
 He sailed from Van Dieman's land en the 30th of January, 
 1777, and about a fortnijrht afterwards came to anchor at his 
 
CAPTAIN COOK 125 
 
 old station of Queen Charlotte's Sound, in New Zealand. Ope- 
 rations for refitting the ships, and for obtaining provisions, were 
 carried on with great vigor. So healthy were the crews, that at 
 this time there were only two invalids upon the sick lists of both 
 ships. Captain Cook, in tliis his last visit to New Zealand, 
 gave to one chief two goats, a male and female, with a kid; and 
 to another two pigs, a boar and a sow. It had been his intention 
 to have left other animals than these; but he was unable to find 
 a chief who was powerful enough to protect them, and he there- 
 fore gav^ up all thought of it. 
 
 On the i24th of February Captain Cook proceeded on his 
 voyage, in a north-easterly direction and, about five weeks after- 
 wards, arrived at an island situated in about twenty degrees of 
 south latitude, and called by the natives Wateeop. This island, 
 which is about six leagues in circuit, is a very beautiful spot, 
 having a surface composed of hills and plains, covered with a 
 verdure rendered extremely pleasant by the diversity of its lines. 
 Its inhabitants were very numerous, and many of them were ele- 
 gantly formed. Their whole behavior, whilst on board, showed 
 that they were perfectly at ease, and that they felt no apprehen- 
 sion, either that they should be detained or ill used. 
 
 It has been stated that it was a principal object of this voyage 
 to examine the Pacific Ocean in the high northern latitudes. 
 Bat, hitherto, the progress of the vessels had been so unavoidably 
 retarded by unfavorab-le winds, and other adverse circumstances, 
 that it was become impossible for the commander, this year, to 
 think of proceeding towards those latitudes. The rainy season 
 soon afterwards commenced; and the united heat and moisture 
 of the weather, in addition to the impossibility of keeping the 
 ships dry, threatened to be very injurious to the health of his 
 people. So great, and so judicious, however, were the attentions 
 which he paid to their health, that there was not as yet one sick 
 man on board either ship. 
 
 On the 1st of May, the vessels arrived at Anamooka. A 
 frierdly intercourse was immediately opened with the natives. 
 Tlie inly interruption to the friendship which had been established, 
 arose from the thievish disposition of the inhabitants of Anamooka. 
 Numerous opportunities were liere afforded, of reniarkincr how 
 expert these people were in the business of stealing. Even some 
 of the chiefs did not think the profession unbecoming their dignity. 
 One of them was detected in carrying a bolt out of the ship, con- 
 cealed under his ch'thes. For this offence Captain Cook sen- 
 tenced him to receive a dozen lashes, and kept him confined till 
 he had paid a hog for his liberty; and afterwards the navigators 
 v/ere no longer troubled with thieves of rank. Their servants, at 
 slaves, however, w(M-e still employed; and upon them a flogging 
 seemed to make no greater im!)ression, than it would have done 
 upon the mainmast. At length. Captain Clerke invented a mode 
 11* 
 
126 CAPTAIN COOK. 
 
 of treatment, which was thoui^lit to be of good eflect. He put 
 the thieves into the hands of the barber, and completely shaved 
 their heads. In consequence of this operation, they became 
 objects of ridicule to their own countrymen; and our people, by 
 immediately knowing them, and keeping them at a distance, wcr« 
 enabled to deprive them of future opportunities for a repetition of 
 their rogueries. 
 
 Captain Cook now proceeded to the Friendly Islands, and was 
 received in the most friendly manner imaginable by the inhabitants. 
 Besides the immediate benefits that were derived by the ships 
 from the friendly intercourse which had been established, so exten- 
 sive an additi.jn was now made to the geographical knowledge of 
 this part of the Pacific Ocean, as may render no small service to 
 future navigators. From the information which our commander 
 received, tiiis Archipelago is very extensive. More than one 
 hundred and fifty islands were reckoned by the natives, who made 
 use of bits of leaves of different size for designating their number, 
 and their relative dimensions. 
 
 On the 17th of July, our commander took his final leave of the 
 Friendly Islands; and in about three weeks, he reached Otaheite. 
 Omai's first reception among his countrymen was not entirely of 
 n flattering nature. Captain Cook found that since he was last at 
 Otaheite, in 1774, two Spanish vessels had been there, and had 
 left some hogs, dogs, goats, one bull, and a ram. The ofiiccrg 
 and crews of tliese vessels had behaved so well, that the inhabi- 
 tants spoke of them in the strongest expressions of esteem and 
 veneration. On the present visit, the navigators had undeniable 
 proof that the ofiering of human sacrifices formed a part of the 
 religious institutions of Otaheite. 
 
 One dav while the navigators were in Matavia Bay, Captain 
 Couk, and Captain Clerke, mounted on horseback, and rode into 
 the country. The Otaheitans, who had never seen such animala 
 before, were utterly astonished, and gazed upon the gentlemen 
 with as much amazement, as if they had been Centaurs. Not 
 all the novelties, put together, which European visiters had car- 
 ried amongst them, inspired them with so high an opinion of the 
 greatness of distant nations as this. 
 
 During this visit to Otaheite, so cordial a friendship and confi 
 dence were established betwixt the voyagers and the natives, that 
 it was not once interrupted by any unpleasant incident. From 
 Otaheite Captain Cook sailed on th6 13th to the adjacent island 
 of Eimeo. At this island the transactions were, for the most part, 
 unpleasant. On the 1 1th of October the ships arrived wa a harbor 
 on the west side of the island of Huahcine. 
 
 The grand business of Captain Cook at Huaheine was to settle 
 Ornai there, on the very spot from which he liad been taken. 
 On the 2nd of November 177'7, Omai took his final leave ot the 
 English in a very aflTectionate manner, but at the same time with 
 
CAPTAIN COOK. 121 
 
 manly resolution, and the vessels sailed for Ulieta, where they 
 arrived on the following day. The last of the Society Islands 
 which Captain Cook visited was Bolabola. Captain Cook con- 
 tiiiueci to the last his zeal for furnrshing the natives of the South 
 feea with useful animals. The navigators finally departed from 
 tlie Society Islands on the 12th of December. 
 
 Frequently as these islands had been visited, it might have been 
 imagined that their religious, political, and domestic regulations, 
 fiiunners, and customs, must, by this time, have been thoroughly 
 understood. A great accession of knowledge was undoubtedly 
 gained in the present voyage; and yet it was confessed by Captain 
 Cook, that his account of these was, in various respects, still 
 imperfect; and that he still continued a stranger to many of the 
 Kjost important institutions which prevailed there. 
 
 In the night between the "22(1 and 23d of December, 1777, 
 thti ships crossed the equator, in the longitude of two hundred and 
 thiee degrees fifteen minutes west. The navigators stiii proceed- 
 ed northward; and towards the end of January, 1778, they ap- 
 proached a cluster of islands, which Captain Cook afterwards 
 named the Sandwich Islands. 
 
 One of the officers was sent with the boat to search for water 
 at an island called by the natives Atooi. On attempting to land 
 here the inhabitants came down in such numbers, and were so 
 violent in their endeavors to seize the oars, muskets, and, in short, 
 every thing they could lay hold of, that he was compelled to fire 
 unon them, and one man was killed. The rapacious disposition 
 they ^t first displayed, was entirely corrected by their conviction 
 that '•i oould not be exercised with impunity. During the short 
 stay of the vessels at this island, it was ascertained that the in- 
 habitants were eaters of human flesh. It was, however, under- 
 stood that their enemies slain in battle were the sole objects of so 
 a'bominable a custom. This people, when Captain Cook became 
 better acquainted with them, appeared, in general, to possess a 
 frank and cheerful disposition, equally removed from the fickle 
 I?vity wh'tch distinguishes the natives of Otaheite, and the sedate 
 ciaracier which is discernible among many of those of the othei 
 islands of the South Sea. 
 
 Of the Archipelago, which was denominated bv Captain Cook 
 fht Sandwich Islands, there were five only with which, at this 
 time, he became acquainted. Their names, as given by the 
 motives, were Woahoo, Atooi, Oneeheow, Oreehoua, and Ta- 
 hoora Had the Sandwich Islands been discovered bv the Spau- 
 iaids at an early period, that people would undoubtedly have 
 takci; advantage of so excellent a situation, and have made use 
 of them as refreshing places to t'leir ships, which sail annually 
 froni Acapuico for Manilla. Happy too would it have beer for 
 Anson, if he had known that there existed a group of islands half 
 *ay between Arnerica and Tiniun, v/here ail his wants could 
 
128 CAPTAIN COOK. 
 
 effectually have been supplied, and the different haidships Id which 
 he was exposed have been avoided. 
 
 On the 2d of February, tiie navigators pursued their course 
 northward; in doing which the incidents they met with were al- 
 most entirely of a nautical kind. The coast of New Albion wa-s 
 seen on the Tth of March, the ships being then in the latitude of 
 44 deg. 83 min. north, and in the longitude of 235 deg. 20 min. 
 east. As the vessels ranged along the west side of America, 
 Captaui Cook gave names to several capes and headlands, which 
 appeared in sight. At length, on the 29th, he came to anchor in 
 a bay which was called by the natives Nootka, and was thence 
 named by Captain Cook Ncotka Sound. Some of the natives 
 came off* to the ships in canoes, but they could not be prevailed 
 with to venture on board. Shortly after this a regular trade wag 
 commenced. The articles which the inhabitants offered for sale 
 were the skins of various animals, such as bears, wolves, foxes, 
 deer, raccoons, pole-cats, martins; and, in particular, of the sea- 
 otters. To these were added garments made of skins; another 
 sort of clothing, formed from the bark of a tree; and various 
 pieces of workmanship. The articles, which the natives took in 
 exchange for their commodities, were knives, chisels, pieces of 
 iron and tin, nails, looking-glasses, buttons, or any kind of 
 metal. Though commerce, in general, was carried on with mu- 
 t lal honesty, there were some among these people, who were as 
 much inclined to thievery as the islanders in the Southern Ocean 
 
 In the present abstract the time will not allow of an insertion of 
 n ore than a short account of the inhabitants. Their persons are 
 described to have been generally under the common stature 
 stmewhat full or plump, though without being muscular. They 
 were undoubtedly eaters of human flesh, yet they had no appear- 
 ance of inhumanity of character. To our navigators they seemed 
 a docile, courteous, and well-disposed people. The chief employ- 
 ments of the men were fishing and killing land or sea animals, for 
 the sustenance of their families; while the women were occupied 
 in manufacturing fla.xen or woollen garments, or in other domestic 
 offices. 
 
 On the 26th, the repairs of the ships having been completed, 
 Captain Cook sailed from Nontka Sound. In the prosecution of 
 his voyage northward, and back again to the Sandwich Islands, 
 tiie facts that occurred were chiefly of a nautical kind. 
 
 At an inlet where the ships came to anchor on the 12th >f May, 
 and to which Captain Cook gave the appellation of Prince AVil- 
 liam's Sound, he had an opportunity not only of prosecuting his 
 nautical and geographical discoveries, but of making considerable 
 additions to his knowledge of the inhabitants of the American 
 roast. The natives of this part of the coast had a near resem- 
 blance to the Esquimaux and GrcenlandeVs. It is remarkable 
 toncerning this people, that there were found amongst them botb 
 
CAPTAIN COOK. 129 
 
 beads and iron; which nuist have come from some civilized na- 
 tion, though there was reason to suppose that our navigators were 
 the first Europeans with whom they had ever held a direct com- 
 munication. 
 
 Some days after leaving this sound, the navigators came to an 
 inlet, from which hopes were strongly entertained, that it would 
 be found to communicate either with the sea to the north, or with 
 Buffin's Bay to the east; and, accordingly, it became the object 
 ')f very accurate and serious examination. The Captain was soon 
 persuaded that the expectations formed from it were groundless, 
 vet it was requisite that this should be perfectly ascertained. A 
 complete investigation of the iniet consequently took place, to the 
 distance of seventy leagues from its entrance, and indubitable 
 marks occurred of its being a river, but one of the most considera- 
 ble ones that are known. It was called Cook's River. 
 
 The navigators cleared Cook's river on the 6th of June. In 
 the prosecution of the voyage, on the 26th, there was so thick a 
 fog, that the navigators could not see a hundred yards before 
 them; notwithstanding which, as the weather was moderate, the 
 Captain did not intermit his course. At length, however, being 
 alarmed at the sound of breakers on one side of the ship, he im- 
 mediately brought her to, and came to anchor; and the Discov- 
 ery, by his order, did the same. A few hours afterwards, the 
 fog having in some degree cleared away, it appeared, that both 
 the vessels had escaped a very imminent danger. Providence, 
 in the dark, had conducted them between rocks which the com- 
 mander would not have ventured to pass through even in a clear 
 day, and had conveyed them to an anchoring-place, as good as he 
 could possibly have fixed upon, had the choice been entirely at 
 his option. 
 
 On the 27th, the vessels reached an island called Oonalaska, 
 the inhabitants of which behaved with a degree of politeness and 
 courtesy very unusual with savage tribes. About the 10th of 
 August Captain Cook came to anchor under a point of land, to 
 which he gave the name of Cape Prince of Wales, and which is 
 remarkable by being the most western extremity of America 
 hitherto explored. This extremity is distant from the eastern 
 Cape of Siberia only thirteen leagues: and thus our Commander 
 had the glory of ascertaining the vicinity of the two continents, 
 which before had only been conjectured from the reports of the 
 neighboring Asiatic inhabitants, and the imperfect obs^rvationa 
 of the Russian navigators. 
 
 Resuming his course he crossed over to the opposite Asiatic 
 coast, and anchored in a bay which he named the Bay of St. 
 Lawrence, belonging to the country of the Tschutski. After this, 
 again approaching the shore of America, he proceeded towards 
 the north, and on the 18th, he reached the latitude of 70 deg. 44 
 min. The ships were now close to the edge of the ice, aiid un 
 
130 CAI'TAIN COOK. 
 
 able to go any further. The ice, was as compact as a wall, and 
 was judged to be ten or twelve feet in height. Farther to the 
 north, it appeared much higher. Its surface was extremely 
 rugged, and in dilferent places there were seen upon it pools of 
 water. A prodigious number of sea-horses lay upon the ice; and 
 some of them, on the 19tii, were procured for food, there being 
 at this time a want of fresh provisions. They were bad eating, 
 hut tlie voyagers live<t upon them as long as they lasted; and 
 most of the seamen preferred them to salt meat. 
 
 Captain Cook continued until the 29th, to traverse the Icy Sea 
 beyond Behring's Strait, in various directions, and through num- 
 berless obstructions and difficulties. Every day the ice increased, 
 so as to preclude all hope of attaining, at least during the present 
 year, the grand object of the voyage, the discovery of a passage 
 northward into the Atlantic. Before Captain Cook proceeded 
 far to tlie south, he employed a considerable time in examining 
 the sea and coasts in the neighborhood of Behring's Strait, both 
 on the side of Asia and America; and on the 3d of October he 
 retu<ned to the island of Oonalaska. The navigators had not 
 been here many days, when Captain Cook and Captain Clerke 
 each received a very singular present, of a rye loaf, or rather 
 a pie in the form of a loaf, for it inclosed some salmon highly sea- 
 soned with pepper. And with each loaf was a note written in a 
 language, which no one was able to read. It was imagined that 
 the presents came from some Russians in the neighborhood, and 
 therefore a few bottles of rum, wine, and porter, were sent to 
 these unknown friends in return; it being rightly judged that such 
 articles would be more acceptable than any thing besides, which 
 it was in the power of the navigators to bestow. An intelligent 
 man was sent with the bearer of the presents, for the purpose 
 of obtaining further information. Two days afterwards this per- 
 son returned with three Russian seamen. They had been station- 
 ed here to collect furs; and had on the island a dwelling-house, 
 some store-houses, and a sloop of about thirty tons burden. One 
 of them was the master or mate of the vessel, and they all ap- 
 peared to be sensible and well-behaved persons. From a very 
 intelligent Russian, who landed at Oonalaska on the 14th, Cap- 
 tain Cook obtained the sight of two manuscript charts of these 
 seas, and was permitted to copy them. 
 
 All things being ready for his departure, Captain Cook l;>lt 
 Oonalaska on the 26th, and sailed for the Sandwich Islands. On 
 tkijSOth of November, he arrived at Owhyee, one of the Sandwich 
 Jf^ands; and one which appeared to him of greater extent and 
 it iportance than any of the islands that had yet been visited in 
 t .is pari of tne world. He occupied nearly seven weeks in sailing 
 r)und, and examining its coast. On the 16th of January, 1779. 
 « anoes arrived in such numbers from aJl parts, that there were not 
 iiwei than a thousand a'>out the two ships, most of them crowded 
 
r-APTVl.V tOOK 131 
 
 with people. Among sucli niuititude.s, as, at times, were on boaro 
 it will not be deemed surprising, that some should have betrayea 
 a thievish disposition. One of them took out of the Resolution a 
 boa';'.>=' rudder; and made off with it so speedily, that it could not 
 bf "ecovered. Captain Cook directed two or three muskets, and 
 as mav-f four pounders, to be fired over the canoe in which the 
 rudikr iiad been carried off, but, at the report of these, the sur- 
 rounding muliitude of the natives appeared to be more surprised 
 (ban terrified. 
 
 The ships were anchored on the 17th, in a bay which was called 
 by the inhabitants Karakakooa. In the whole course of his voy- 
 ages Captain Cook had never seen so many people assembled 
 in one place as he saw on this occasion; for, besides the multitudes 
 that jamc off in canoes, all the shore of the bay was covered with 
 sps-ctators, and many hundreds were swimming round the ships 
 like oiioajs of fish. In the progress of the intercourse which was 
 rn^ itfiined between the voyagers and tlie natives, the quiet and 
 inuKciisive behavior of the latter, took away every apprehension 
 of langer; so that the Fnglish trusted themselves among them at 
 all times, and in all situations. 
 
 But the satisfaction lat was derived from the generosity and 
 hospitality of the inhabitants, was frequently interrupted by the 
 pop'^rsity of many of them to stealing; and this circumstance was 
 the iiiore distressing, a? it sometimes obliged the commander and 
 the other oflicers to hav«i recourse to acts of severity, which they 
 would willingly have av ided, if the necessity of the case had not 
 absolutely called for them. 
 
 Early the next day, the ships sailed out of Karakakoua bay. It 
 was the captain's design, before he visited the other Sandwich 
 islands, to finish the survey of Owhyee, that he had begun. His 
 object in this was, if possible, to find a harbor better slieltered 
 fr-^m the weatlier tlian the bay he had ju-t left. Two days after- 
 wards a gale of wind sprung up, in which the Resolution had the 
 misfortune of injuring her foremast in so dangerous a manner, 
 tiiat he was obliged to return to Karakakooa. On the return of the 
 sihips several canoes approached, in which were many of the for- 
 mer acquaintance of the navigators. 
 
 The next day, February the 1.3th, the Resolution's foremast 
 wns landed, to be repaired, and tents were erected in their former 
 Bituation on the shore An Indian was this day detected iu 
 stealing the s^rmcrer's tongs from the forge, for which he receiv- 
 ed a severe flogging, and was sent out of tiie ship. Notwithstand- 
 ing the exaniple made of this man, in the afternoon another had 
 the audacity to snatch the tongs and a chisel from the same place, 
 w'th which he jumped overboard, and swam for the shore. Tiie 
 master and a niidshipman were distantly despatched alU.'r him, in 
 tl -i small cuttt-r. The Indian seeing himself pursued, made for 
 & canoe; his r.ountrymen took him on board, and paddled as swiftly 
 
132 CAPTAIN COOK. 
 
 as they could towaiJs tlio sliorc. Several muskets were fired al 
 them, but without effect, for they soon got out of the reach of the 
 shots. 
 
 'J'his was the commencement of a very fatal misunderstanding 
 with the natives. In the night, one of the boats belonging to the 
 Discovery was carried off; and many hostile indications on the 
 part of the natives were remarked. These determined Captain 
 Cook to secure, if possible, tlie person of the king as the most 
 effectual step that could be taken for the recovery of the boat, 
 and restoring amity betwixt the English and the inhabitants. 
 Accompanied by the lieutenant of marines, a serjeant, corporal, 
 and seven private men; having at the same time armed several 
 men in the ship's launch and pinnace, he undauntedly proceeded 
 to the residence of the king. At an inte. view with the king, the 
 captain took him by the hand, in a friendly raanner, and asked 
 him to go on board the Resolution, to which he readily consented. 
 A short time after this, several of the Indians were observed to be 
 arming themselves with long spears, clubs, and daggers, and 
 putting on thick mats which they used as armor. This hostile 
 appearance increased, and became the more alarming, on the ar- 
 rival of two men, with news that a chief called Kareemoo had 
 been killed by the men in one of the Discovery's boats. Captain 
 Cook being at this time surrounded by a great crowd, thought his 
 situation somewhat hazardous. He therefore ordered the lieu- 
 tenant of marines to march his small party to the water-side, where 
 the boats lay, within a few yards of the shore: the Indians readily 
 made a lane for them to pass, and did not offer to interrupt them. 
 The distance they had to go might be about fifty or sixty yards. 
 Captain Cook followed, having hold of the king's hand, who ac- 
 companied him very willingly: he was attended by his wife, two 
 sons and several chiefs. His younger son went immediately into 
 the pinnance, expecting his father to follow; but the latter had no 
 sooner arrived at the water-side, than his wife threw her arms 
 about his neck, and, with the assistance of two chiefs, forced him 
 to sit down by the side of a double canoe. Captain Cook expostu- 
 lated with them, but to no purpose, they would not suffer the king 
 lo proceed, telling him that he would be put to death if he went 
 on board the sliip. 
 
 While the king was in this situation, another of the chiefs was 
 observed lurking near, with an iron dagger partly concealed undc 
 Lis cloak His attention, apparently, was to stab either Captain 
 Cook, Or the lieutenant of marines. The latter proposed to fire 
 ftt him, but the captain would not permit it. The chief closed 
 upor them, on which the officer struck him with his musket, and 
 compi-Jlcd him to retire. Captain Cook seeing the tumult in- 
 p.rease, and that the Indians grew more daring and resolute, found 
 ' /ii it would be impossible to carr'y off the king by force, without 
 Micrificing many of his people. He therefore paused a little, ano 
 
CAPTAIN COOff. ISS 
 
 was on the point of giving orders to reimbark, when a man threw 
 a stone at him. This Captain Cook returned by a discharge of 
 small shot. The man brandished his spear, and was about to dart 
 it at the captain, when the latter knocked him down wi.h his 
 musket. He expostulated strongly with the most forward of the 
 crowd upon their turbulent behavior; and now only sought to 
 secure a safe embarkation for his small party, which wag 
 closel} pressed by a body of several thousand people. One man 
 was observed behind a double canoe, in the action of darting his 
 spear at Captain Cook. He therefore was forced to tire at hitn 
 in his own defence, but he happened to kill another close to him, 
 equally forward in the tumult. The serjeant observing that the 
 captain had missed the man he aimed at, received orders to fire at 
 him, which he did, and killed him. By this time the impetuosity 
 of the ndians was somewhat repressed. They fell back in a 
 body, and seemed staggered; but being pushed on by those be- 
 hind, they returned to the charge, and poured a volley of stones 
 among the marines, who without waiting for orders, returned it 
 with a general discharge of musketry. This was instantly follow- 
 ed by a fire from the boats. Captain Cook waved his hand to the 
 boats, and called to them to cease firing, and to come nearer in 
 to receive the marines. The officer in the pinnace immediately 
 brought that vessel as close to the shore as he could, notwith- 
 standing the showers of stones that fell among his people; but 
 the lieutenant who commanded in the launch, instead of pulling 
 in to the assistance of Captain Cook, withdrew his boat fartiier 
 off, at the very moment that every thing seems to have depended 
 upon the timely exertions of those in the boats. By his own ac- 
 count, he mistook the signal: but be that as it may, this circum- 
 stance appears to have decided the fatal turn of the affair, and to 
 have removed every chance which remained with Captain Cook 
 of escaping with his life. The marines several times fired upon 
 the crowd, but to little purpose, for the Indians soon rushed 
 among them, and forced them into the water where four of them 
 were killed. Captain Cook was now the only Englishman re- 
 maining on shore. He was observed to be making towards the 
 pinnace, holding his left hand against the back of his head, to 
 guard it from the stones which were thrown at him, and carrying 
 his musket under his other arm. An Indian was seen following 
 him, but with caution and timidity; for he stopped once or twice, 
 as if undetermined to proceed. At last he advanced upon him 
 unawares, and with a large club, or common stake, gave him a 
 b 5w on the back of the head, and then precipitately retreated. 
 Tne stroke seemed to have stunned Captain Cook: he staggared 
 a few paces, then fell on his hand and one knee, and dropped his 
 musket. As he was rising, and before he could recover his feet. 
 another Indian stabbed him in the back of the neck with an iron 
 dagger He then fell into the water, in ? place where it waa 
 12 
 
J94 
 
 CAPTAIN COOK 
 
 about knee deep; and ol'iicis i'linuuliatcly crowded upon him, an<i 
 endeavored to keep him under; but, strugghng very stongly with 
 them, he got his liead up, and casting his look towards the pin- 
 nance, seemed to solicit assistance. Though the boat was not 
 above five or six yards distant from him, yet from the crowled 
 and confused state of the crew, it seems it was not in their pcA-er 
 to save him The Indians got him under again, but in deeper 
 water. He was, Jiowever, able to get his head up once more; 
 and, being almost spent in the struggle, he naturally turned to the 
 rock, and was endeavoring to support himself by it, when a sav 
 aie gave him a blow with a club, and he was seen alive no more. 
 They hauled him up lifeless on the rocks, where they seemed to 
 taJie a savage pleasure in using every possible barbarity to his dead 
 h:)dy, snatching the daggers out of each other's hands, to have the 
 * orrid satisfaction of piercing the fallen victim of their barbarous 
 
 Death of Captain Cook. 
 
 rage; and after they had thus glutted their revenge, they carried 
 it off in triumph. Captain Gierke, who succeeded to the com- 
 mand of the expedition, made every effort to recover the remains 
 of Captain Cook; but his bones only could be obtained, and these 
 were committed to the deep, amidst the heartfelt grief of all who 
 had served with him. 
 
 In his manners. Captain Cook was plain, simple, and manly. 
 He was an excellent husband and father, a sincere and steady 
 iriend The benevoience and humanity of his disposition were 
 peculiar.y remarkable. They were apparent from his treatment 
 of his men, through all his voyages; and from his conduct towards 
 
CAPTAIN COOK. 13 
 
 Ihe natives of all the countries \\hich were discovered by him. 
 The health, the convenience, and, as far as it could be admitted, 
 the enjoyment of those under his command, were the constant 
 objects of his attention: and he was invariably anxious to amelior- 
 ate the condition of the inhabitants of the several islands and 
 places which he visited. With regard to their thieveries, he can- 
 didly apologized for, and overlooked many offences which otliers 
 would have pi;*iished; and when he felt impelled to proceed to any 
 acts of severity, he never exerted them without reluctance and 
 concern. 
 
 With re.>pect to his talents, they were undeniably of the most 
 useful kind. He had a capacious and penetrating mind; and all 
 his designs were accordingly bold and extensive. When these 
 were formed, he never expressed a doubt respecting their execu- 
 tion; for the same perspicuity and orderly arrangement of thought 
 which enabled him to form the designs, also enabled him to devise 
 the most simple and effectual modes of executing them. In the 
 execution he was equally distinguished; no difficulty perplexed, 
 no danger appalled him. The talents and k*nowledge which he 
 possessed were always completely at his command, when they 
 were most needed. And for great designs he was also qualified 
 by the constitution of his body, which was inured to labor, and 
 capable of supporting the greatest fatigue and hardships. In 
 addition to a consummate acquaintance with navigation, Captain 
 Cook possessed a knowledge of other sciences. In this respect, 
 the ardor of his mind rose above the disadvantages of a very 
 confined education. His progress in the dilTerent branches of 
 mathematics, and particularly in astronomy, became so eminent, 
 that, at length, he was able to take the lead in making the neces- 
 sary observations of this kind, in the course of his voyages. He 
 attained, likewise, to such a degree of proficiency in general 
 learnin'g, and in the art of composition, as to be able to express 
 himself with a manly clearness and propriety, and to become re- 
 spectable as the narrator, as well as the performer, of great ac- 
 tions. Another trait, which was peculiarly conspicuous in the 
 character of Captain Cook, was the perseverance with which he 
 pursued tl e noble objects to which his life was devoted. In this 
 he scarcely ever had an equal, and never a superior. Nothing 
 could divert him from the points he aimed at; and he persisted in 
 /ho prosecution of thein, through difficulties and obstructions, 
 «vhich would have deterred minds even of considerable strength 
 and firmness. In stature he is described to have been somewh.it 
 above the common size; and, though a good looking man, lie v.as 
 plain both in address and appearance. His head was small: his 
 hair, which v/as a dark brown, he wore tied behind. His ftce 
 was full of expression; his nose exceedingly well shaped; his 
 eyes, which were small, and of a brown cast, were quick and 
 piercing, and his eyebrows prominent; which gave to his counte 
 
136 CAPTAIN COOK. 
 
 nance altogetlicr an air of austerity. In the year 1762 he hacS 
 married an amiable and deserving woman. He had by her six 
 r;lii!dron, but of those three sons only survived him. They were 
 all brought up in the naval service. One of them was lost in a 
 hurricane at sea, and the other two fell honorably in the cause of 
 thi ir country. On the widow a pension of two hundred pounds 
 a yrar for her life, and on each of the sons a pension of twenty* 
 fivo pounds a year was settled by the British government. 
 
 NARRATIVE OF EVENTS WHICH OCCURRED SUBSE 
 QUENTLY TO THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN COOK. 
 
 After Captain Gierke, upon whom tl»e command of the expedi- 
 tion devolved, had left the fatal island of Owhyhee, he considered 
 it his duty to endeavor to execute the plans of /discovery that had 
 been laid down by his lamented predecessor. He consequently 
 coasted several others of the Sandwich Islands; and finally left 
 them on the 15fh of March, 1779. The ships now proceeded 
 towards Kamtschatka; and, in their course, the Resolution sprung 
 a leak so bad, that at one time the whole space between the decks 
 was deluged with water. On the twenty-third the mountains of 
 Kamtschatka, covered with snow, were within view. The weath- 
 er was now so severe, that the ship appeared like a complete mass 
 of ice, and the rigging was so incrusted with it, that the different 
 ropes were more than double their usual thickness. 
 
 Two days after the discovery of Kamtschatka, when off the en- 
 trance of Awatska Bay, the liesokition lost sight of the Discov- 
 ery. The Resolution entered the bay, and soon afterwards the 
 town of Petropaulowski was within view. It consisted of a few 
 miserable log-houses, and some conical huts raised on poles, 
 amounting in all to about thirty; yet here the voyagers were re- 
 ceived and treated with feelings of humanity, joined to a great- 
 ness of mind and elevation of sentiment which would have done 
 honor to any naa^n. On the 1st of May the Discovery also 
 enlered the harboi On the oth of July the navigators passed 
 through Behring's Straits. They first sailed along the Asiatic 
 coast, and then stretched over to that of America, with a view of 
 exploring tlie sea between the latitudes of sixty-eight and sixty- 
 nine degrees. But in this attempt they were disappointed; on the 
 7th fiicir farther progress was stopped by a large and compact field 
 of ice connected with the land. 
 
 At one time, in attempting to penetrate towards the north-west, 
 *lic Discovery was in a very dangerous situation. She becam« 
 
CAPTAIN COOK. 137 
 
 BO entangled by several large pieces of ice, that her way was 
 stopped, and she suffered much injury. A change of wind, how 
 ever taking place in the afternoon, the ice began to separate^ 
 and the navigators, setting all their sails, forced a passage through 
 it. 
 
 On the 31st they repassed Behring's Straits Captain Gierke's 
 health now rapidly declined. On the 17th of August, he was no 
 longer able to rise from his bed; and five days afterwards he died 
 of a consumption, which had commenced before he left England, 
 an(' of which he had lingered during the whole voyage. The 
 command of the expedition now devolved upon Captain Gore, 
 who removed into the Resolution, and appointed Mr. King to 
 the command of the Discovery. The body of Captain Gierke 
 was interred near the town of Petropaulowski, on Sunday, the 
 29th, with all the solemnity and honors which the voyagers could 
 bestow. 
 
 On the 12th of October they lost sight of Kamtschatka. In 
 the forenoon of the 29th of November, the ships passed several 
 Chinese fishing-boats; and the sea was covered with the wrecks 
 of boats that had been lost, as it was conjectured, in the late 
 boisterous weather. The navigators were now in latitude 22 
 deg. one min. south. On the following day, they ran along the 
 Lema Islands, and took a Chinese pilot on board; and at 9 
 o'clock in the morning of the 1st of December they anchored at 
 the distance of three leagues from Macao. Captain King was 
 sent to Canton to obtain supplies of provisions and stores. 
 
 On account of the war between England and America, and 
 v/ith France and Spain as her allies, of which the navigators re- 
 ceived intelligence at Canton, they put themselves in the best 
 posture of defence that they were able; in the Resolution they 
 mounted sixteen guns, and in the Discovery ten. They had 
 reason, however, to believe, from the generosity of their ene- 
 mies, that these precautions were superfluous; for they were 
 informed that instructions had been found on board all the 
 French ships of war captured in Europe, directing their com- 
 manders, in case of falling in with the ships that sailed under the 
 command of Captain Cook, to suffer them to proceed without 
 molestation; and the same orders were also said to have been 
 given by the American Congress in the vessels employed in 
 their service. In return for these liberal concessions. Captain 
 Gsre resolved to refrain from availing himself of any opportuni- 
 ties of capture, and to preserve, throughout the remainder of 
 the voyage, the strictest neutrality. 
 
 On the Itith of January, 1780, the navigators got under sail 
 from Macao; on the 19th, they saw Piilo Lapata, and on the 
 20th, descried Pulo Condore, and anchored in the harbor at the 
 south-west end of the island. The navigators remained at Pulo 
 Condore till the 28tl of January, when thev unmoored, and pro- 
 "12* 
 
|38 SCKI-UlilNGS Ol' EPilKAl.M IIOW. 
 
 ceedc'd on their homeward passage; passing througli the Straus 
 of Jianca, and Siinda, without any occnirencc worlliy of particu 
 lar leniark. On tiie 18tli of February they lefl the Straits of 
 Sunda. In the night, between the L'.3rli and ;2Gth, they e.vperi. 
 enced a violent storm, during wliieh ahnost every sail they had 
 bent was split to rags; and tlic next day they were obliged to 
 bend their last set ot sails, and to knot and splice the rigging, 
 their rordage being all expended. 
 
 On the 7th of April, they saw the land of Africa; on the eve- 
 ning sti' liie 12th, they dropped anchor in False Bay, and me 
 next morning stood into Simon's Bay, at the Cape of Good 
 Hope. They sailed out of the Bay on the 9th, and on the 12th 
 of June, they passed the equator for the fourth time during the 
 voyage. On the 12th of August they made tlie western coast of 
 Ireland, and, after a fruitless attempt to put into Port Galway, 
 they were obliged, by strong southerly winds, to steer northward; 
 and on the 26th of August, both the ships came to anchor at 
 Stromness in the Orkneys, whence Captain King was despatched 
 by Captain Gore, to acquaint the Board of Admiralty of their 
 arrival. On the 1st of October, the ships arrived safe at the 
 Nore, after an absence of four years, two months, and twenty- 
 two days. 
 
 SUFFERINGS OF EPHRAIM HOW. 
 
 On the 25th of August, 1676, Mr. Ephraim How, of New 
 Haven, in New England, with his two eldest sons; one Mr. 
 Augur; Caleb Jones, son to Mr. William Jones, one of the 
 magistrates of New Haven; and a boy; six persons in all; set 
 sail from iVew Haven for Boston, in a small ketch, of about 
 seventeen tons. 
 
 Having despatched his business there, he sailed for V^w 
 Haven on the lOtli of September, but was forced back to Boscm-, 
 by contrary winds. Here Mr. How was seized with a violent 
 flux, which continued nearly a month; many being at that time 
 sick, and some dying of the same. 
 
 Being in some degree restored to health, he again sailed from 
 Boston, October 10. They went with a fair wind as far as Cape 
 Cod: but on a sudden the weather became very tempestuous, so 
 chat they could not pass the Cape, but were driven ofT to sea, 
 where they were in great danger, experiencing terrible storms, 
 with outrarjeous winds and seas. 
 
 His eldest son fell sick and died about the 21st; soon after hia 
 other son was taken ill and died also. This was a bitter cup to 
 ♦4e poor father, for these youths were his only assistants ia 
 
SUFFERINGS OF EPHR.VI."\I HOW. 139 
 
 Working the vessel. Soon after Caleb Jones died, so that half 
 the company were now no more. 
 
 Mr. How continued in a very sickly and weak state, yet was 
 necessitated to stand at the helm twenty-four and thirty-six hours 
 together. During this time the sea was so boisterous as fre- 
 quently to break over the vessel, that if he had not been lashed 
 fast he must have been washed overboard. In this exticraily, 
 he was at a loss in his own thoughts, whether he should persist 
 in endeavoring to make for the New England shore, or bear 
 away for the Southern Islands. Upon his proposing the question 
 to Mr. Augur, tiiey determined, according to the custom of some 
 in those times, to decide this dillicult case by casting lots. They 
 did so, and it fell upon New England. 
 
 Nearly about the Tth of November they lost their rudtler, so 
 that now their only dependence was upon Providence. In this 
 deplorable state they drove up and down for a fortnight longer. 
 During me last six weeks, the poor infirm Mr. How was hardly 
 ever dry, nor had he the benefit of warm food above thrice or 
 thereabouts. 
 
 At length, about the 21st of Novembv^r, early ui the morning, 
 the vessel was driven on the tailings of a ledge of rocks, where 
 the sea broke violently. Looking out, they saw a dismal rocky 
 island to the leeward, upon which, if Providence had not by the 
 breakers given them timely warning, they had been dashed to 
 pieces. They immediately let go an anchor, and got out the 
 boat, and the sea became calm. The boat proving leaky, and 
 they being in great terror, they took but little out of the ketch, 
 but got on shore as they could. 
 
 Here they could discover neither man nor beast. It was a 
 small, rocky, desolate island, near Cape Sable, the Southern 
 extremity of Nova Scotia. They now appeared to be in great 
 danger of being starved to death, but the storm returning, beat 
 so violently upon the vessel, as it still lay at anchor, that it wis 
 stove to pieces, and several things floated to the shore. 
 
 The following articles were all they had tov.ards their futu -e 
 support: — a cask of gunpowder, which received no damage from 
 the water; a barrel of wine; half a barrel of molasses; several 
 useful articles towards building a tent: all the above drifted from 
 the wreck; besides which they had, firearms and shot; a pot 
 for boiling; and most probably other things not mentioned in tlio 
 narrative. 
 
 Their tent was soon erected, for the cold was now getting 
 severe, but new and great distresses attended them, for though 
 they had arms and ammunition, there were seldom any fowls to 
 be seen, except crows, ravens, and seagulls. These were so 
 few, that they could seldom shoot more than one at a time. 
 Many times half a tbwl, with the liquor it was boiled in, served 
 C-' a meal for all three Once they lived five days without any 
 
140 AN Ei.c.vi'1: Tii:-.ui;t;ii ini: cAiiiN-ui.vDows. 
 
 sustenance, but did not feel themselves pinched with hui.ger aa 
 at other times: which they esteemed a special favor of Heaven 
 unto them. 
 
 VV'jon they had lived in this miserable condition twelve veeks, 
 Mr. How's dear friend and companion, Mr. Augur, died, al)out 
 thf n iddle of February, 1G77; so that lie had none left to con- 
 verse witli but tiie lad, who likewise departed on the i2d of April 
 
 Mr. How was now the sole inhabitant of this desolate spot 
 during April, May, and June, and saw fishing vessels, every 
 now and tiien, sailing by; some of which came even nearer to 
 the island than that which at last took him off. He used all the 
 means in his power to make them acquainted with his distress; 
 but they either did not see him, or were afraid to approach cl.ise 
 to the island, lest some of those Indians should be quartered 
 there, who were at that time in hostility against the English, viz 
 the Nortli-East Indians, who held out* after the death of the fa- 
 mous Philip, king of the Womjianoags. 
 
 At length a vessel belonging to Salem, in New England, provi- 
 dentially passed by, and seeing this poor fellow, they sent their 
 boat on shore, and took him away. He had been on the island 
 more than seven months, and above a quarter of a year by himself. 
 On the 13th of July he arrived at Salem, and at last returned to 
 his family at New Haven. They for a twelvemonth had supposed 
 him dead; by which it appears he did not get home till the end 
 of Augustj or perhaps later 
 
 AN ESCAPE THROUGH THE CABIN-WINDOW& 
 
 In the year 18 — , said Capt. M , I was bound, in a fin«» 
 
 stout ship of about four hundred tons burden, from the port of 
 
 P to Liverpool. The ship had a valuable cargo on board and 
 
 about ninety thousand dollars in specie. I had been prevented, 
 by other urgent business, from giving much of my attention to the 
 vessel while loading and equipping for the voyage, but was very 
 particular in my directions to tiie chief mate, in whom I had 
 ereat confidence, he having sailed with me some years, to avoid 
 entering, if pcjiblo, any but native American seamen. When 
 we were about to sail, he informed me that he had not been able 
 to comply with niy directions entirely in this particular; but had 
 shipped two foreigners as seamen, one a native of Guernsey, and 
 the other a Ficnchman from Brittany. I was pleased, however, 
 with the appearance of the crew generally^ and particularly with 
 ihe foreigners. They were both stout and able-bodied men, and 
 were particularly alert and .ittentive to orders. 
 
AN ESCAPE THROUGH THE CACLN-W INDOWS. 141 
 
 The passage commenced auspiciously, and promised to be a 
 speedy one, as we took a fine steady westerly wind soon after we 
 lost soundings. To my great sorrow and uneasiness, I soon dis- 
 covered in the foreigners a change of conduct for the worse. 
 They became insolent to the mates and appeared to be frequently 
 under the excitement of liquor, and had evidently acquired an un- 
 due influence with the rest of the men. Their intemperance soon 
 became intolerable, and as it was evident that they had brought 
 liquor on board with them, I determined upon searching the fore- 
 castle and depriving them of it. An order to this effect was given 
 to the mates, and they were directed to go about its execution 
 mildly and firndy, taking no arms with them as they seemed in- 
 clined to do, but to give every chest, birth and locker in the fore- 
 castle a thorough examination; and bring aft to the cabin any 
 spirits they might find. 
 
 It was not without much anxiety that I sent them forAvai'd upon 
 this duty. I remained upon the quarter deck myself, ready to go 
 to their aid, should it be necessary. In a few moments, a loud 
 and angry dispute was succeeded by a sharp scuffle around the 
 forecastle companion-way. The steward, at my call, handed my 
 loaded pistols from the cabin, and with them I hastened forward. 
 The Frenchman had grappled the second mate, who was a mere 
 lad, by the throat, thrown him across the heel of the bowsprit, 
 and was apparently determined to strangle him to death. The 
 chief mate was calling for assistance from below, where he was 
 struggling with the Guernsey man. The rest of the crew were in- 
 different spectators, but rather encouraging the foreigners than 
 otherwise. I presented a pistol at the head of the Frenchman, 
 and ordered him to release the second mate, which he instantly 
 did. I then ordered him into the foretop, and the others, who 
 were near, into the maintop, none to come down under pain of 
 death, until ordered. The steward had by this time brought 
 : another pair of pistols, with which I armed the second mate, di- 
 i recting him to remain on deck ; and went below into the forecastle 
 myself I found that the chief mate had been slightly wounded 
 in two places by the knife of his antagonist, who, however, ceased 
 to resist as I made my appearance, and we immediately secured 
 [ him in irons. The search was now made, and a quantity of liquor 
 1 found and taken to the cabin. The rest of the men were then 
 called down from the tops, and the Frenchman was made the com- 
 panion of his coadjutor's confinement. I then expostulated, at 
 some length, with the others upon their improper and insubordi- 
 nate conduct, and upon the readiness with which they had suf- 
 \ fered themselves to be drawn into such courses by two rascally 
 foreigners, and express^ed hopes that 1 should have no reason for 
 further complaint during the rest of the voyage. This remon 
 strance I thought had effect, as they appeared contrite and 
 
 I 
 I 
 
14'i A.N ESC API-. THKO <,u jlli: CABIN-WINDOWS, 
 
 promised amendment. They were then dismissed, and order wa« 
 restored. 
 
 Tlie next day the foreigners strongly solicittd pardon with the 
 most solemn promises of future good conduct; and as the rest of 
 the crew joined in their request, I ordered that their irons should 
 be taken off. For several days the duties of the ship were per- 
 formed to my entire satisfaction; but I could discover in the 
 countenances of the foreigners, expressions of deep and ran« 
 corous animosity to the chief mate, who was a prompt, energetic 
 seaman, requiring from the sailors, at all times, ready and implicit 
 obedience to his orders. 
 
 A week perhaps had passed over in this way, when one night, 
 in the mid watch, all hands were called to shorten sail. Ordinari- 
 ly U|^>on occasions of this kind, the duty was conducted by the mate, 
 but 1 now went upon deck myself and gave orders, sending 
 him upon the forecastle. The night was dark and squally; but 
 the sea was not high, and the ship was running oif about nine 
 knots, with the wind upon the starboard quarter. The weather 
 being very unpromising, the second reef was taken in the fore and 
 main topsails, the mizen handed and the fore and mizen top gal- 
 lant yards sent down. This done, one watch was permitted to 
 go below, and I prepared to betake myself to my birth again, di- 
 recting the mate, to whom I wished to give some orders, should 
 be sent to me. To my utter astonishment and consternation, 
 word was brought me, after a short time, that he was no where 
 to be found. I hastened upon deck, ordered all hands up again, 
 and questioned every man in the ship upon the subject; but they, 
 with one accord, declared that they had not seen the mate for- 
 ward. Lanterns were then brought, and every accessible part 
 of the vessel was unavailingly searched. I then, in the hearing 
 of the whole crew, declared my belief that he must have fallen 
 overboard by accident, again dismissed one watch below, and re- 
 paired to the cabin, in a state of mental agitation impossible to 
 be described. For notwithstanding the opinion which I had ex- 
 pressed to the contrary, I could not but entertain strong suspi 
 cions that the unfortunate man had met a violent death. 
 
 The second mate was a protegee of mine; and, as I have be 
 fore observed, was a very young man of not much experience as 
 a .seaman. I therefore felt that, under critical circumstances, my 
 main support had fallen from me. It is needless to add, that a 
 deep sense of forlornness and insecurity was the result of these 
 reflections. 
 
 My first step was to load and deposit in my state room all the 
 fire arms on board, amounting to several muskets and four pairs 
 of pistols. The steward was a faithful mulatto man, who had 
 sailed with me several voyages. To him I communicated my 
 Burpicions, and directed him to be constantly on the alert: and 
 
I AX ESCAPE THROUGH THE CABIN WINDOWS, l't3 
 
 should any further difficulty with the crew occur, to repair imme- 
 diately to my state room and arm himselt'. His usual birth was 
 in the steerage, but I further directed that he should, on the fol- 
 lowing morning, clear out and occupy one in the cabin near m^ 
 own. The second mate occupied a small state room ope^iing intr 
 the passage which led from the steerage to the cabin, I called 
 hi n from the deck, gave him a pair of loaded pistols, wi^h orders 
 to kceptliem in his birth; and, during his night watches on deck, 
 never to go forward of the main mast, but to continue as constant 
 iy as possible near the cabin companion-way, and call me upon 
 the slightest occasion. After this, 1 laid down in my bed, order- 
 ing that I should be called at four o'clock, for the morning watch 
 Only a few minutes had elapsed, when 1 heard three or four knocks 
 under the counter of the ship, which is that part of the sle'n im- 
 mediately under the cabin windows. In a minute or tv/o they 
 were distinctly repeated. I arose — opened the cabin window and 
 called. The mate answered! — I gave him the end of a rope to as- 
 isist him up, and never shall I forget the flood of gratitude which 
 my delighted soul poured forth to that Being, who had restored 
 him to me uninjured. His story was soon told. He had gone 
 forward upon being ordered by me, after the calling of all hands, 
 and had barely reached the forecastle, when he was seized by the 
 two foreigners, and before he could utter more than one cry, 
 which was drowned in the roaring of the winds and waves, was 
 I thrown over the bow. He was a powerful man and an excellent 
 I swimmer. The topsails of the ship were clewed down to reef, and 
 I her way, of course, considerably lessened — and in an instant, he 
 found the end of a rope, which was accidentally towing overboard, 
 within his grasp, by which he dragged in the dead water or eddy, 
 'that is always created under the stern of a vessel while sailing, 
 Iparticularly if she is full built and deeply laden, as was the case 
 with this. By a desperate effort, he caught one of the rudder 
 chains, which was very low, and drew himself by it upon the step 
 :or jog of the rudder, where he had sufficient presence of mind to 
 remam without calling out, until the light had ceased to shine 
 through the cabin windows, when he concluded that the search 
 for him was over. He then made the signal to me. 
 
 No being in the ship, but myself, was apprised of his safety. 
 for the gale had increased and completely drowned the sounds of 
 the knocking, opening the window, &c. before they could reach 
 tlie quarterdeck; and there was no one in the cabin but our- 
 selves, the steward having retired to his birth in the steerage. \\ 
 was at once resolved that the second mate only should be inform 
 ed of his existence. He immediately betook himself to a larsje 
 vacant state room, and, for the remainder of the passage, all hi? 
 rtants were attended to by me. Even the steward was allowed 
 lo enter the cabin as rarely as possible. 
 
 Nothing of note occurred during the remainder of the voyage, 
 
44 LAMENT FOR LONG TOM. 
 
 svhich was prosperous. It soomed that the foreigners had only 
 been actuated by revenge in the \iolence they had committed; for 
 notliing further was attempted by them. In due season we took 
 a pilot in the cliannel, and, in a day or two, entered the port of 
 Liverpool. As soon as the proper arrangements were made, we 
 commenced warping the ship into dock, and while engaged in this 
 operation, the Male appeared on deck, loenlforumrd, and allendtdlo 
 his dulies as usual! A scene occurred which is beyond desciip- 
 tion: every feature of it is as vivid in my recollection as though 
 it occurred but yesterday, and will be to my latest breath. The 
 warp dropped frnni the paralysed hands of the horror-stricken 
 sailors, u:id had it not been taken up by some boatmen on board, 
 I should have been compelled to anchor again and procure assist- 
 ance from the shore. Not a word was uttered; but the two guilty 
 wretches stacgered to the mainmast, where they remained petri- 
 fied with horror, until the officer, who had been sent for, approach-, 
 ed to take them into custody. They then seemed in a measure] 
 to be recalled to a sense of their appalling predicament, andj 
 uttered the most piercing expressions of lamentation and despair.! 
 They were soon tried, and upon the testimony of the mateJ 
 c&pitally convicted and execided. 
 
 LAMENT FOR LONG TOM. 
 By J. G. C Brainard. 
 
 Thy cruise is over now 
 
 Thou art anchored by the she*' ?, 
 
 And never more shalt thou 
 
 Hear tlie storm around thee roar , 
 
 Death has shaken out the sands of thy ^-laM. 
 Now around thee sports the whale 
 And the porpoise snuffs the gale, 
 And the night winds make their wail, 
 As they pass. 
 
 The sea-grass round thy bier 
 
 Shall bend beneath the tide. 
 Nor tell the breakers near, 
 
 Where thy manly limbs abide ; 
 But tlie granite rock thy tomb shall be 
 
 Though the edges of thy grave 
 
 Are the combings of the wave — 
 
 Yet unheeded they shall rave 
 Over thee. 
 
 At the callmg of all hands, 
 
 When the judgment signals spread- 
 
, L i.LPAST. i^a 
 
 When the islands, and the lands, 
 And the seas give up their dead, 
 
 And the south and the north shall conie 
 When the sinner is betrayed, 
 And the just man is afraid, 
 Then may Heaven be thy aid, 
 Poor Tom 
 
 THE FATAL REPAST. 
 
 We had been nearly five weeks at sea, when the captain found, 
 by a nautical observation, that we were within one hundred and 
 thirty miles of the north side of Jamaica. Favorable winds and 
 smooth seas had hitherto been our constant attendants, and every 
 thing on board conspired to render the confinement and monotony 
 of a long voyage less annoying than they usually are. The cabin 
 
 passengers consisted of Major and Mrs. L , a new-married 
 
 couple; Miss P , sister to the latter; Mr. D , a young 
 
 Irishman, and myself Our captain was a man of pleasing man- 
 ners and liberal ideas, and formed an important acquisition to our 
 party, by joining in all its recreations, and affording every facility 
 to the indulgence of them. Much of our time was spent in con- 
 versation, and in walking on deck; and when the dews of evening 
 obliged us to descend to the cabin, the captain would often enter- 
 tain us with a relation of the various dangers which he and other 
 persons had encountered at sea, or detail, with great gravity, 
 some of the prevailing superstitions of sailors. 
 
 Although he possessed more general information than usually 
 falls to the lot of seafaring persons, his mind was tinctured with 
 so.-:e of their weaknesses and prejudices. The ladies of our 
 partK had a great taste for natural history, and wished to obtair 
 specimens of all the most interesting kinds of sea-birds. They 
 had several times requested the captain to shoot one of Mother 
 Gary's chickens, that they might take a drawing from it; how- 
 ever, he always declined doing so, but never gave any satisfactory 
 reason for his unwillingness to oblige them in this respect. At 
 
 last, Mr. D killed two of the birds, after having several times 
 
 missed whole flocks of them. The captain seemed very much 
 startled when he saw the animals drop on the waves; — "Will 
 you have the goodness to let down the boat to pick up the gamer" 
 
 said Mr. D . " Yes, sir," replied he, " if you 'L go off" in 
 
 her, and never return on board this vessel — Here is a serious 
 
 business — Be assured we have not seen the end of it." He then 
 
 walked away without otfering to give any orders about lowering 
 
 13 
 
M6 THE FAIAr. HETAST. 
 
 the boat; and the scamoii, who witnessed tlie transaction, Fotked 
 as if tliev wunid not have obeyed him had lie even (h)ne so. 
 
 Though W( saw no land, every thing proved that we were in 
 the West India seas. The sky had, within a lew days, begun to 
 assume a more dazzlie g aspect, and long ranges of conical 
 shaped clouds floated along the horizon. Land birds, with beau- 
 tiful plumage, oHen hovered round the vessel, and we sometimes 
 lancied we could discover a vegetable fragrance in the breezes 
 that swelled our sails. 
 
 One delightful clear morning, when we were in hourly expect- 
 ation of making the land, some dolphin appeared astern. As the 
 weather was very moderate, the captain proposed that we should 
 fish for them; and a great many hooks were immediately baited 
 for that purpose by the seamen. We caught large quantities of 
 dolphin, and of another kind of fish, and put the whole into the 
 hands of the steward, with orders that part should be dressed for 
 dinner, and part distributed among the crew. 
 
 W^hen the dinner-hour arrived, we all assembled in the cabin, 
 in high spirits, and sat down to table. It being St. George's day, 
 the captain, who was an Englishman, had ordered that every thing 
 should be provided and set forth in the most sumptuous style, and 
 the steward had done full justice to his directions. We made the 
 wines, which were exquisite and abundant, circulate rapidly, and 
 every glass increased our gaiety and good humor, while the in- 
 fluence of our mirth rendered the ladies additionally amusing and 
 animated. The captain remarked, that as there were two clarinet 
 players among the crew, we ought to have a dance upon the 
 quarter-deck at sunset. This proposal was received with much 
 delight, particularly by the females of our party; and the captain 
 had just told the servant in waiting to bid the musicians prepare 
 themselves, when the mate entered the cabin, and said, that the 
 man at the helm had dropped down almost senseless, and that 
 another of the crew was so ill that he could scarcely speak. 
 
 The captain, on receiving this information, grew very pale, and 
 seemed at a loss what to reply. At last, he started from his chair, 
 and hurried up the gangway. Our mirth ceased in a moment, 
 though none of us appeared to know why; but the minds of all 
 were evidently occupied by what they had just heard, and Major 
 
 L remarked, with a faultering voice, that seamen were very 
 
 liable to be taken suddenly ill in hot clmiates. 
 
 After a little time, we sent the servant to inquire what was 
 going forward on deck. He returned immediately, and informed 
 us that the two sailors were worse, and that a third had just been 
 attacked in the game way. He had scarcely said these words 
 
 when ]Mrs. L gave a shriek, and cried out that her sister had 
 
 fainted away. This added to our confusion and alarm; and the 
 
 IMajor and Mr. D trembled so, that they were hardly dble to 
 
 convey the young lady to her state-room. 
 
THE FATAL llEPAST. 141 
 
 All conversation was now at an end, and no one uttered a word 
 
 till IMrs. L • returned t'roni her sister's apartment. While we 
 
 were inquiring liow the latter was, the captain entered the cabin 
 in a state ol" great agitation. " This is a dreadful business," said 
 he. " The fact is — it is my duty to tell you — I fear we are all 
 poisoned by the fish we have ate — One of the crew died a few 
 minutes since, and five others are dangerously ill." 
 
 "Poisoned! my God! Do you say so? Must we all dic.^" 
 
 exclaimed Airs. L , dropping on her knees. " What is to be 
 
 done.'" cried the Major distractedly; " are there no means of 
 counteracting it?" — " None that I know of, " returned the captain. 
 "All remedies are vain. The poison is always fatal, except — 
 but I begin to feel its effects — support me — can this be imagina- 
 tion?" He staggered to one side, and would have fallen upon 
 
 the floor, had not I assisted him. IMrs. L , notwithstanding 
 
 his apparent insensibility, clung to his arm, crying out, in a tone 
 of despair, " Is there no help — no pity — no one to save us?" 
 and theii fainted away on her husband's bosom, who, turning to 
 me, said, with quivering lips, " You are a happy man; you have 
 nothing to imbitter your last moments — Oh, Providence! was I 
 permitted to escape so many dangers, merely that I might suffer 
 this misery?" 
 
 Mrs, L saon regained her senses, and I endeavored to 
 
 calm her agitation by remarking, that we might possibly escape 
 the fatal influence of the poison, as some constitutions were not 
 so easily affected by it as others. " Is there then a little hope?" 
 she exclaimed. "Oh! God grant it may be so! How dreadful 
 to die in the midst of the ocean, far from friends and home, and 
 then to be thrown into the deep!" — " There is one thing," said 
 the captain, faintly,." I was going to tell you, that — but this sen- 
 sation — I mean a remedy." — "Speak on," cried the major, in 
 breathless suspense. "It may have a chance of saving you," 
 continued the former; "you must immediately" — He gave a 
 deep sigh, and dropped his head upon his shoulder, apparently 
 un-able to utter a word more. "Oh, this is the worst of all!" 
 
 cried Mrs. L in agony; "he was on the point of telling us 
 
 how to counteract the effects of the poison — Was it heavenly 
 mercy that deprived him of the power of speech? Can it bo 
 called mercy?" — "Hush, hush! you rave," returned her husband. 
 " We have only to be resigned now — Let us at least die together." 
 . The crew had dined about an hour and a half before us, and 
 consequently felt the effects of the poison much earlier than we 
 did. Every one, however, now began to exhibit alarming symp- 
 toms. Mr. D became delirious; the major lay upon the 
 
 cabin floor in a state of torpidity; and the captain had drowned all 
 sense and recoHection by drinking a large quantity of brandy 
 
 Mrs. L watched her husband and her sister alternately, in / 
 
 ■tate of quiet despair. 
 
M5 riii'. i-\i.'. '.. ;;rn'\!5T. 
 
 I was coin[)aiatively but little nUVctod, and tlierefore eni/)loye«i 
 myself in assistnig others until tlicy seemed to be past all relief, 
 and tiien sat down, anticipating the horrid consequences which 
 Would result from the death of the whole ship's company. 
 
 While thus occupied, I heard the steersman call out, "' Taken 
 all aback here." A voice, wliich 1 knew to be the mate's, imme- 
 diately answered, " Well, and what 's that to us? Put her before 
 the wind, and let her go where she pleases." I soon perceived, 
 by the rushing of the water, that there was a great increase in 
 the velocity of the ship's progress, and went upon deck to ascer- 
 lain the cause. 
 
 1 found the mate stretched upon the top of the companion, and 
 addressed him, but he made no reply. The man at the helm 
 was tying a rope round the tiller, and told me he had become so 
 blind and dizzy, that he could neither steer, nor see the compass, 
 and would therefore fix the rudder in such a manner, as would 
 keep the ship's head as near the wind as possible. On going 
 forward to the bows, I found the crew lying motionless in every 
 direction. They were either insensible of the dangerous situa- 
 tion in which our vessel was, or totally indifferent to it; and all 
 my representations on this head failed to draw forth an intelligi- 
 ble remark from any of them. Our ship carried a great press 
 of canvass, the lower studding sails being set, for we had enjoyed 
 a gentle breeze directly astern, before the wind headed us in the 
 way already mentioned. 
 
 About an hour after sunset, almost every person on board 
 seemed to have become worse. I alone retained my senses un- 
 impaired The wind now blew very fresh, and we went through 
 the water at the rate of ten knots an hour. The night looked 
 dreary and turbulent. The sky was covered with large fleeces 
 of broken clouds, and the stars flashed angrily through them, as 
 they were wildly hurried along by the blast. The sea began to 
 run high, and the masts showed, by their incessant creaking, 
 that they carried more sail than they could well sustain 
 
 I stood alone abaft the binnacle. Nothing could be heard 
 above or below deck, but the dashing of the surges, and the 
 moanings of the wind. All the people on board were to me the 
 same as dead; and I was tossed about, in the vast expanse of 
 waters, without a companion or fellow-sufferer. I knew not 
 what might be my fate, or where I should be carried. The vea- 
 ecl, as it careered along the raging deep, uncontrolled by liuman 
 hands, seemed under the guidance of a relentless demon, to 
 whose caprices its ill-fated crew had been mysteriously consigned 
 by some superior power. 
 
 1 was filled with dread lest we should strike upon rocks, or 
 run ashore, and often imagined that the clouds which bordered 
 the horizon were the black cliffs of some desolate coast. At 
 last, I distinctly saw a light at some distance — I anticipated in 
 
THE FATAT, REPAST. 149 
 
 sfanl destruction — I rrrew irresolute whether to remain upon 
 deck, and face death, or to wait for it below. I soon discovered 
 a ship a little way ahead — I instinctively ran to the helm, and 
 loosed the rope that tied the tiller, which at once bounded back, 
 and knocked me over. A horrible crashing, and loud cries, now 
 broke upon my ear, and I saw that we had got entangleil with 
 aiiotiier vessel. But the velocity with which we swept al )ng. 
 rendered our extrication instantaneous; and, on looking back, I 
 saw a ship, without a bowsprit, pitching irregularly among the 
 waves, and heard the rattling ol' cordage, and a tumult of voices 
 But, after a little time, nothirg was distinguishable by the eye 
 or by the ear. My situation appeared doubly horrible, when I 
 reflected tliat I had just been within caU of human creatures, 
 who might have saved and assisted all on board, had not an evil 
 destiny hurried us along, and made us the means of injuring 
 those who alone were capable of affording us relief 
 
 About midnigh*, our fore top-mast gave way, and fell upon 
 deck with a tre:iiendous noise. 'J"he ship immediately swung 
 round, and began to labor in a terrible manner, while several 
 waves broke over her successively. 
 
 1 had just resolved to descend the gangway for shelter, when 
 a white figure rushed past me with a wild shriek, and sprung 
 overboard. I saw it struggling among the billows, and tossing 
 about its arms distractedly, but had no means of aflxjrding it any 
 assistance. I watched it for some time, and observed its con- 
 vulsive motions gradually grow more feeble, but its form soon 
 )ecame undistinguishable amid.st the foam of the bursting waves. 
 The darkness prevented me from discovering who had thus com- 
 mitted himself to the deep, in a moment of madness, and I felt 
 a strong repugnance at attempting to ascertain it, and rather 
 wished it might have been some spectre, or the offspring of my 
 perturbed imagination, than a human being. 
 
 An the sea continued to break over the vessel, I went down to 
 the cabin, after having closely shut the gangway doors and com- 
 panion. Total darkness prevailed below. I addressed the cap- 
 tain and all my fellow passengers by name, but received no reply 
 from any of them, though I sometimes fancied I heard moans 
 ind quick breathing when the tumult of waters without happen- 
 ed to subside a little. But I thought that it was perhaps imagi- 
 nation, and that they were probably all dead. I began to catch 
 for breath, and felt as if I had been immured in a large coffin 
 along with a number of corpses, and was doomed to linger out 
 life beside them. The sea beat against the vessel with a noise 
 like that of artillery, and the crashing of the bulwarks, driven in 
 by its violence, gave startling proof of the danger that threatened 
 us. Having several times been dashed against the wails and 
 transoms of the cabin by the vioknt pitching of the ship, I grop* 
 13* 
 
<60 TIIF. KAI'AI. UKrA.sr. 
 
 ed for my b(;d, and lay down in it, and, notwithstanding the hor- 
 rois that surroiiiidcd ine, gradually dropped asleep. 
 
 ^VIlen 1 awaked, 1 perceived, by the sunbeams that shono 
 through the skylight, that the morning was far advanced. The 
 ship rolled violently at intervals, but tlie noise of wind and wavea 
 had altogether ceased. [ got up hastily, and almost dreaded to 
 look round, lest I should Hnd my worst anticipations concerning 
 my companions too fatally realized. 
 
 1 ii'imediately discovered the captain lying on one side of the 
 
 cabin quite dead. Opposite him was Major L , stretched 
 
 along the floor, and grasping firmly the handle of the door of 
 his wife's apartment. He looked like a dying n.an, and Mrs. 
 
 L , who sat beside him, seemed to be exhausted with grief 
 
 and terror. She tried to speak several times, and at last suc- 
 ceeded in informing me that her sister was better. I could not 
 
 discover Mr. D any where, and therefore concluded that 
 
 he was the person who had leaped overboa d the preceding 
 night. 
 
 On going upon deck, I found that every thing wore a new 
 aspect. The sky was dazzling and cloudless, and not the faint- 
 est breath of wind could be felt. The sea had a beautiful bright 
 green color, and was calm as a small lake, except when an oc- 
 casional swell rolled from that quarter in whicl; the wind had 
 been the preceding night; and the water was so clear, that I 
 saw to the bottom, and even distinguished little fishes sporting 
 around the keel of our vessel. 
 
 Four of the seamen were dead, but the mate and the remain- 
 ing three had so far recovered, as to be able to walk across the 
 feck. The ship was almost in a disabled state. Part of the 
 ' /reck of the fore top-mast lay upon her bows, and the rigging 
 aid sails of the mainmast had suifered much injury. The mate 
 'old me, that the soundings, and almost every thing else, proved 
 we were on the Bahama banks, though he had not yet ascertain- 
 ed on what part of them we lay, and consequently could not say 
 whether we had much chance of soon falling in with any vessel. 
 
 The day passed gloomily. They regarded every cloud that 
 rose upon the horizon as the forerunner of a breeze, which we 
 above all things feared to encounter. Much of our time was 
 eMi])loyed in prejiaring for the painful but necessary duty of in- 
 terring the dead. The carpenter soon got ready a sufficient 
 number of boards; to each of which we bound one of the corpses, 
 and also weights enough to make it sink to the bottom. 
 
 Ab( it ten at night, wc began to commit the bodies to tlie 
 deep. A dead calm had prevailed the whole day, and not a 
 iloud obscured the sky. The sea reflected the stars s< distinctly, 
 that it seemed as if we were consigning our departed compan- 
 ions to a heaven as resplendent is that above us. There was an 
 jLvsful solemnity, alike in the scene and in our situation I read 
 
TH1E FATAL REPAST. 151 
 
 (he funeral service, and then we dropped the corpsos ovei board, 
 one after another. The sea sparkled around each, as its sullen 
 pluflge announced that the waters were closing over it, and they 
 all slDwly and successively descended to the bottom, enveloped 
 in a ghastly glimmering brightness, which enabled us to trace 
 their progress through the motionless deep. When these last 
 offices of respect were performed, we retired in silence to differ- 
 ent paits of the ship. 
 
 About midnight, the mate ordered the men to cast anchor, 
 which, till then, they had not been able to accomplish They 
 likewise managed to furl most of the sails, and we went to bed, 
 under the consoling idea, that though a breeze did spring up, out 
 moorings would enable us to weather it without any risk. 
 
 I was roused early next morning by a confused noise upon 
 deck. When I got there, I found tiie men gazing intently over 
 the side of the ship, and inquired if our anchor held fast. — " Ay, 
 ay," returned one of them, " rather faster than we want it." On 
 approaching the bulwarks, and looking down, I perceived, to my 
 horror and astonishment, all the corpses lying at the bottom of 
 the sea, as if they had just been dropped into it. 
 
 We were now exempted from the ravages and actual presence 
 of death, but his form haunted us without intermission. We 
 hardly dared to look over the ship's side, lest our eyes should 
 encounter the ghastly features of some one who had formerly 
 been a companion, and at whose funeral rights we had recently 
 assisted. The seamen began to murmur among themselves, say- 
 ing that we would never be able to leave the spot where we then 
 were, and that our vessel would remain there and rot. 
 
 In the evening a strong breeze sprung up, and filled us with 
 hopes that some vessel would soon come in sight, and afford us 
 relief At sunset, when the mate was giving directions about 
 the watch, one of the seamen cried out, " Thank Heaven, there 
 they are." And the other ran up to him saying, "Where, 
 where?" He pointed to a flock of Mother Carey's chickens 
 that had just appeared astern, and began to count how many 
 there were of them. I inquired what was the matter, and the 
 mate replied, " Why, only that we've seen the worst, that 's all, 
 master. I've a notion we'll fall in with a sail before twenty 
 !)ours are past." — " Have you any particular reason for think- 
 ing so?" said I. "To be sure I have," returned he, "Aren't 
 them there birds an omen of returning good fortune." — " I have 
 always understood," said I, "that these birds indicate bad 
 weatiier, or some unfortunate event, and this appears to me to 
 be true." — " Ay, ay," replied he, " they say experience teaches 
 fools, ;;nd I have found it so; thei-e was a time when I did not 
 believe that these creatures were any thing but common birds, 
 but now I know another story — Oh I've v/itnesscd such strange 
 tilings! ' 
 
152 THE FATAL KF.PAST. 
 
 Next morning 1 was awakened by (he joyful intelligence tha 
 a schooner was in sight, and that she had hoisted her flag in an- 
 swer to our signals. She bore down upon us with a good wind, 
 and in about an hour hove to, and spoke us. When we had in- 
 formed them of our unhappy situation, the captain ordered tl)e 
 boat to be lowered, and came on board of our vessel, with three 
 of his crew. He was a thick, short, dark-complexioned man, and 
 liis lanaiiage and accent discovered him to be a native of the 
 southern states of America. The mate immediately proceeded to 
 detail minutely all that happened to us, but our visiter paid very 
 little attention to the narrative, and soon interrupted it, by asking 
 of what our cargo consisted. Having been satisfied on this point, 
 he said, " Seeing as how things stand, I conclude you'll be keen 
 for getting into some port." — " Yes, that of course is our earnest 
 wish," replied the mate, " and we hope to be able by your assist- 
 ance to accomplish it." — "Ay, we must all assist one another," 
 returned the captain — "Well, I was just calculating, that your 
 plan would be to run into iNew Providence — I'm bound for St. 
 Thomas's, and you can't expect that I should turn about, and go 
 right back with you — neither that I should let you have any of 
 my seamen, for I'll not be able to make a good trade unless 1 get 
 slick into port. Now I have three nigger slaves on board of me, 
 — curse them, they don't know much about sea-matters, and are 
 as lazy as h — 1, but keep flogging them, mister, — keep flogging 
 them I say, — by which means, you will make them r.erve your 
 ends. Well, as I was saying, I will let you have them blacks to 
 help you, if you '11 buy them of me at a fair price, and pay it down 
 in hard cash." — " This proposal," said the mate, "sounds strange 
 enough to a British seaman; — and how much do you ask for your 
 slaves?" " I can't let them go under three hundred dollars each," 
 replied the captain, " I guess they would fetch more in St. 
 Thomas's, for they 're prime, blow me." — "Why, there is'nt 
 that sum of money on board this vessel, that I know of," answered 
 the mate; " and though I could pay it myself, I 'm sure the own- 
 ers never would agree to indemnify me. I thought you would 
 have aflbrded us every assistance without asking any thing in 
 return, — a true sailor would have done so at least." — " Well, I 
 vow you are a strange man," said the captain. "Is'nt it fair 
 that I should get something for my niggers, and for the chance 
 1' 11 run of spoiling my trade at St. Thomas's, by making myself 
 nhort of men? But we shaft' t split ab( nt a small matter, and I '11 
 lessen the price by twenty dollars n ' ad." — "It is out of the 
 question, sir," cried the mate, " I ha > money," — " Oh there's 
 no harm done," returned th*^ captai- 'we can't trade, that's 
 all Get ready the- boat, boys — I guess your men will soon get 
 smart again, and then, if the weather holds moderate, you 'II 
 reach port with the greatest ease." — " You surely do not mean 
 to leave us in this barbarous way?" cried I ; "the owners of this* 
 
CAPTAINS PORTLOCK AND DIXON. 15S 
 
 vessel would, I am confident, pay any sum ratlier than that we 
 should perish through your inhumanity." — " Well, mister, I 've 
 got owners too," replied he, " and my business is to make a good 
 voyage tor them. Markets are pretty changeable just now, and 
 it won't do to spend time talking about humanity — money 's the 
 »ord with me." 
 
 Having said this, he leaped into the boat, and ordered his men 
 to row towards his own vessel. As soon as they got on board, 
 they squared their topsail, and bore away, and were soon out of 
 the reach of our voices. We looked at one another for a little 
 time with an e.xpression of quiet despair, and then the seamen 
 began to pour forth a torrent of invectives, and abuse, against the 
 heartless and avaricious shipmaster who had inhumanly deserted 
 
 us. Major L and his wife, being in the cabin below, heard all 
 
 that passed. When the captain first came on board, they were 
 filled with rapture, thinking that we would certainly be delivered 
 from the perils and difficulties that environed us; but as the con- 
 versation proceeded, their hopes gradually diminished, and the 
 conclusion of it made Mrs. L— — give way to a Hood of tears, in 
 which I found her indulging when I went below. 
 
 The mate now endeavored to encourage the seamen to exertion. 
 They cleared away the wreck of the fore-top-mast which had 
 hitherto encumbered the deck, and hoisted a sort of jury-mast in 
 its stead, on which they rigged two sails. When these things 
 were accomplished, we weighed anchor, and laid our course for 
 New Providence. The mate had fortunately been upon the Ba- 
 hama seas before, and was aware of the difficulties he would have 
 to encounter in navigating them. The weather continued mode- 
 rate, and after two days of agitating suspense, we made Exuma 
 Island, and cast anchor near its shore. 
 
 CAPTAINS PORTLOCK AND DIXON. 
 
 This voyage was undertaken for the purposes of commerce; 
 principally, indeed, for the fur-trade, on the north-west coast of 
 America, which had been strongly recommended by Captains 
 Cook and King in their last voyage. Two vessels were fitted out 
 for this purpose, the King George and Queen Charlotte, by a 
 society of merchants and others, the formei commanded by Na- 
 thaniel Portlock, the latter by George Dixon, both of whom had 
 been with Captain Cook; the King George having si.xty men, the 
 Queen Charlotte thiuty. 
 
 September 20th they quitted St. Helens, and, proceeding to 
 
154 CAPTAINS POUTLOCK AND DIXOH 
 
 Guernsey, left it on the '25ih. October IGtli saw the Canary 
 Islands, and 24th the Cape de Verde group, anchoring for a short 
 time in Port Praya Bay, in St. Jago. Proceeding south, they 
 anchored in Port Egniont, Falkland's Islands, January 5th, 1786, 
 where, taking in water, they made sail for States Bay, in Terra 
 del Fucgo. Having made a good offing from Cape Horn, the^ 
 had tolerable weather; and continuing their route without touch- 
 ing at any place, or meeting with any thing worthy of notice, 
 dropped anchor '26th May in Karakooa Bay, in Owhyhee, Sand- 
 wicn Islands. 
 
 The natives crowded them very much, bartering a variety of 
 articles; but were nevertheless extremely troublesome. It was 
 the general opinion, that it would be impossible to water the ves- 
 sels without a strong guard, which they could not well spare; 
 while the people were probably jealous that these vessels were 
 come to revenge the death of Captain Cook. Next day they 
 stood out of the bay, lying-to three leagues off, to carry on trade 
 for hogs, plantains, taro, &.c. &c. which proved so serviceable that 
 the sick, of whom there were several, began rapidly to recover. 
 June 1st anchored in a bay in Woahoo, another of the islands, 
 and were received very civilly by the inhabitants. They now 
 siood for another of the islands, named Oneehow; and, on the 8th, 
 anchored in yam Bay, where supplies of fruit, vegetables, and 
 pigs, were willingly afforded by the principal chief Abbenooe, 
 who seemed strongly their friend, from recollecting Captain Port- 
 lock along with Cook. They took leave of him, with regret, on 
 the 13th, standing for the coast of America. 
 
 July 19th made the entrance of Cook's River; and, while look- 
 ing for good anchorage, were astonished by the report of a great 
 gun; when, soon afterwards, a party of Russians came on-board, 
 attended by some Indians; but none understanding the language 
 of either, no satisfactory information could be gained from them. 
 Most of the natives had fled from their huts, alarmed perhaps by 
 the Russians; several bears were seen, but none near enough to 
 fire at. Two veins of kennel-coal were found, which burned very 
 well, and the place was, therefore, called Coal Harbor. An el- 
 derly chief paying Captain Dixon a visit, informed him that they 
 h battle with the Russians, in which the latter were worsted, 
 
 and added, that, from the difference of dress, he knew they were 
 of a different nation. 
 
 Quitting this place, they tried for some time to get into Prince 
 William's Sound; but, by a series of unfavorable winds, failed in 
 this pursuit. September 23rd, they stood away for the Sandwich 
 Islands to pass the winter, and return in the spring. November 
 14th saw the summit ofthe high mountain in Owhyhee covered with 
 snow, and employed two or three following days in coasting it, the 
 natives bringing off a variety of articles to barter lor iron and 
 trinkets The first mate of the King George reporting, that a bav 
 
CAPTAINS PORTl.eCE AXD DIXON. 165 
 
 fhey intended to anchor in did nut admit of good anchorage, this 
 design was dropped. During the time they lay to, hogs, fowls, 
 wild-geese, bread-fruit, plantains, and several other things were 
 procured in consi:leral)le quantities; the natives dealing pretty 
 fairly, but committing a variety of thefts, even before their faces, 
 with a dexterity almost inimitable. For several days they con- 
 tinued lying to off the islands of Mowee and Morotoi, procuring 
 r( freshments and receiving visits till the 30th, when both ships 
 bare away for King George's Bay, in Whoaboo, where they an- 
 4:liored in safety, after experiencing a variety of winds from all 
 points of the compass. 
 
 Here they found every thing tabooed, or forbiddef., so that 't 
 became necessary to court the king's favor; for which purpose a 
 present was sent to him, and another to a priest, their acquain- 
 tance on the former occasion, who paid them a visit, handing up 
 a fig and plantain, which in these islands are signs of friendship. 
 Tkis was soon followed by a visit from Tahederre, the king, fol- 
 io^ved by all the ciiiefs, who took ofi' the taboo. The priest was 
 remarkable for drinking large quantities ofthe ava, or yava-juice, 
 for which he had two nen in constant attendance chewing the 
 root, which, with their spittle, forms this singular and (to us) 
 nausp^'is beverage. The yava is a root resembling liquorice in 
 shap^*«nd color. None but the chiefs and priests have permission 
 to U3f> t, and these are never at the trouble of chewing it them- 
 selves; but, as above ot>';erved, employ servants; these begin with 
 chewing a sufficient qu!« itity, and when well masticated, it is put 
 into a wooden bowl kept for the purpose, to which a small quantity 
 of water is added; the whole is then strained through a cloth, and, 
 like wine in Europe, it thus forms not merely the drink, but the 
 delight of all parties, feasts, rejoicings, and, in short, every public 
 assemblage of the leading people. Its effects, however, are very 
 pernicious; it is partly intoxicating or rather stupifying; and, by 
 its coistant use, the old priest was exceedingly debilitated, and his 
 body covered by a white scurf, resembling the leprosy, which is 
 a common symptom throughout the South Sea islands of its fre- 
 quent use. 
 
 The taboo was again put on without any explanation being 
 given, though several canoes nevertheless came off, but without 
 p.ny women, as had been formerly the case. Afterwards it was 
 understood that one of them had been detected in the King George 
 e iting Pork, which being a heinous offence, she was taken as soon 
 as she came on shore, and offered a sacrilice to the gods: human 
 sacrifices, it appears, are here, as in most parts ofthe South Sea 
 islands, frequently presented, and it is unqi estionably the most 
 inhuman and barbarous custom among them. 
 
 December 19th weighed, and two days afterwards anchored 
 between Attoui and Wymea, v.here, after paying and receiving 
 Home visits, their former friend Abbenooe came on board with 
 
156 CArTAi.Ns roiJTLOc.'i Asi, oixor* 
 
 two canoes loaded with provisions, and rcniained for two or thrte 
 days, seemingly very well pleased with his new abode. The 
 king also made his appearance; he was stout and well-made, 
 about i'orty-hve years oi" age, and possessed of more understand- 
 ing and good-nature than any of his subjects. January 6th 
 caught a shark in the King George, thirteen and a half teet long, 
 cigiit and a half broad, and six feet in the liver; forty-eight youn^ 
 ones were in her, about eight inches each in length; tsvo wiiole 
 turtles of sixty pounds each; several small pigs, and a quantity 
 of bones; so that the numbers and the voracity of this fish may 
 be conceived. From this time to the 10th they were employed 
 in purchasing wood, water, provisions, curiosities, and every thing 
 else they wanted; and now, quitting the anchorage, proceeded 
 to yam Bay, in Oneehow, where, after making a few excursions, 
 they departed once more for Wymoa Bay, Attoui. 
 
 On the 3d March weighed, and made sail for the coast of 
 America, and on the 24th April saw Montager Island, coming 
 to anchor in the harbor, where there is sufficient shelter from the 
 prevailing winds. The weather continued very variable, several 
 unsuccessful attempts being made to get into Prince Williams 
 Sound, and only a single straggling inhabitant being seen now 
 and then, so that there was no opportunity to trade. 
 
 Captain Dixon now made an excursion in his boats up the 
 Sound, and receiving some hints from the natives of a vessel be- 
 ing there, continued his search for several days, and at length 
 got on board a vessel called the Nootka, from Bengal, commanded 
 by Mr. Meares, which had wintered in Snug-corner Cove. The 
 scurvy had made dreadful havoc among them, nearly all the 
 officers and many of the crew having died of this frightful disorder, 
 so that at length the Captain was the only person on board able 
 to walk the deck. Along with his first mate he soon afterwards 
 visited the ships, met with a hearty reception, and received such 
 assistance as he wanted and as the others could afford. From 
 him they learned that few or no furs could be procured here; that 
 several vessels from India had been already on this coast for the 
 purposes of trade; and that two or three were expected next 
 month in the same pursuit, which immediately determined our 
 voyagers to separate and push for different parts of the coast, in 
 order to be before their expected rivals; the Queon Charlotte to 
 
 froceed to King George's Sound, and Messrs. Hayward and 
 Jill to Cook's River in the King George's long-boat, the latter 
 o remain where she was for the present. 
 
 Or the l.Sth May several canoes visited them, in one of which 
 was a chief of great consequence, named Sheenaawa, whose party, 
 like most others, were determined thieves, exerting their ingenuity 
 and tricks for this purpose in an extraordinary degree. They 
 danced, sung, laughed, and diverted the attention af the seamen 
 in every possible way, while slyly their hands were seizing every 
 
CAPTAINS PORTI.OCK AND DIXON. 1^' 
 
 thing on the decks, so that literaliy they were smiling in their 
 faces and robbing them at the same time. In the meantime the 
 Queen Charlotte and the long-boat sailed, while the King George 
 shifted to Hinchinbruke Cove. Some of the boats were sent out 
 to tiade, which were tolerably successful; but they also suffered 
 from continual thefts, which were sometimes accompanied by 
 nienacos, if *hey attempted to resist the plunderers. 
 
 June 9th the PJootka left her former anchorage, where she had 
 been frozen in, and came close to the King George, when the 
 crew of the latter were partly employed in rendering her assist- 
 ance. Two days afterwards the long-boat returned from Cook's 
 Rivnr with a very good cargo, and was again sent off with ordc- s 
 to return by the 20th of July. On the 19th the Nootka sailed, 
 Next day the surgeon took the invalids on shore for an excursion, 
 who, by the use of spruce-beer, which they now brewed in abun- 
 dance, were rapidly recovering. In the evening observed two In- 
 dian boats and several canoes, in which were about twenty-five 
 natives, who came alongside next morning. Their chief, named 
 Taatucktellingnake, was paralytic on one side, had a long beard, 
 and seemed about sixty years of age; his country was called 
 Cheeneecock, situated towards the south-west part of the Sound. 
 July 11th hauled the seine frequently, when not less than two 
 thousand salmon were caught at each haul; and so great were 
 their numbers, that ships prepared for the purpose might have 
 obtpined any quantity they wished. The long-boat returned on the 
 21st, though without so much success as formerly. On the 26th 
 sailed from this place. The natives in general are short in stat- 
 ure, with flat faces and noses, ill-formed legs, but good teeth and 
 eyes; they wear their hair, which is black and straight, very long, 
 but cut it short on the death of a relation, this seeming their onl}' 
 method of mourning. They are attentive to their women, but 
 jealous of them. Their thieving habits seem fixed, the most dex 
 terous being most in esteem, and receiving the greatest applause 
 for the exertion of his talents; he is also distinguished by a fan- 
 tastical dress, which, while it excites the notice of the spectators, 
 gives the owner additional opportunities of exerting his fingers at 
 their expense. 
 
 By the 3d of August had made little progress, from the shift- 
 ing of the wind. On the 8th, two large boats visited them, with 
 twen'y-five men, women, and children on board, who, very dif- 
 ferent from their other visiters, seemed very honest, and who were 
 inviied to dinner in the cabin, when tliey relished the English 
 cookery so well, that the dishes were quicklv obliged to be re- 
 plenished, T/iese departed in tiie evening well pleased with their 
 entertainment, proniisiug to return with tlie means of trading with 
 their new friends. 
 
 On the 11th a new tribe visited them from the eastward, with 
 about tha same number o'pers(>'-8 as the last; four days after, th« 
 14 
 
t.'S ClAlTAINls rORTUOCX AND DIXON 
 
 lo"0 boat reliiriird, liaviiig liad prcK y <jo:!(l pik-ccss, notwithsland 
 ia^ some acts ut' iiostility wliicli they hud been compelled to re- 
 taliate upon the Indians. Another party, from the north-wost, 
 weie extremely addicted to thieving, n(jthing could escape them; 
 an'J, wlien delected, were very impudent, and otten threatened 
 those they rohbed. The men were of the size of Euro^ieans, of 
 a tierce and savage aspect, using daggers and 'ong 5peais, easily 
 provoked and ready to indulge their anger. 
 
 August i2id weighed and made sail from this coast. ha\in9 
 done as much as it seemed likely they could do in the way of tiade. 
 September '2iith made Owhyhee, the principal of the Sandwich 
 group, when s'^veral canoes came off, with whom a brisk trade 
 ("or hogs and other refreshments was carried on. At Attoui they 
 found the Nootka and Queen Charlotte had been there and left 
 letters for the King George. After procuring what necessaries 
 they wanted, Captain Portlock directed his course for China 
 Avith his cargo of furs; on the 4th November saw Saypan and 
 Tinian, two of the Ladrone Islands; and on the 21st anchored in 
 Macao Roads, where Captain Dixon was found, whose transac- 
 tions ahall now be noticed. 
 
 After separating, the Queen Charlotte coasted it for some time, 
 till, sjL'eing an appearance of an inlet, a boat was despatched which 
 found an excellent harbor, where she soon after anchored. Sev 
 eral canoes came off, from whom some skins were procured, 
 but by no means so many as they had at first reason to expect 
 Thi! number of inhabitants was about seventy; the harbor, which 
 is g')(jd, was named Port JMulgrave, and is situated in 59 deg. S"" 
 min. north latitude; 110 deg. west lungitude. The language Oj 
 these people is quite different from that of Prince William's Sound 
 or Cook's River, being extremely uncouth and difficult to pro 
 nounce. The mode in which they dispose of their dead is re- 
 markable; the head is separated from the body, and both are 
 wrapped in furs, the former being put into a box, the latter into 
 an oblong chest which are afterwards preserved and disposed of 
 in a fanciful way. 
 
 June 4th quitted this place, and kept beating to the southward; 
 a harbor was perceived ft a distance, which, upon examination 
 by the boats, was found to extend to a considerable distance, with 
 a number of coves here and there, very well calculated for an- 
 chorage; it was named Norfolk Sound. The people were at first 
 '. iviland well-behaved; but sooii became troublesome and thiev- 
 i.jh, like almost all their brethren on this coast. Trade here 
 was not very brisk. July 1st saw an island, and were soon sur- 
 •lunded by Indians, who, after gratify ing their curiosity in exam- 
 niing the vessel, l)egan to trade, and soon parted with all their 
 skins. Several fresh tribes visited them almost daily, who, delight- 
 ed with European articles of barter, were content to leave their fura 
 behind in exchange. The residence of one was strongly fortified. 
 
CAPTAINS PORTLOCK AND UIXOX. 159 
 
 Fesembling a nippah or fortified place, in New Zealand; and^ 
 from some circumstances which transpired, Dixon was tempted 
 also to believe they were also like the Xew Zealanders, cannibals 
 Proceeding to the eastward, eleven canoes came alongside on tha 
 24th with one hundred and eighty persons; but curiosity \\as the 
 prevailing motive, as they had nothing to sell; and, live days 
 after, no less than two hundred men, women, and children, 
 in eighteen canoes, came off to indulge their curiosity; a num 
 ber that, on this coast, is rarely found in one community. Theii 
 chief had the most savage aspect of any yet seen, his whole ap- 
 pearance sufficiently marking him as the leader of a tribe of can- 
 nibals. His stature was above the common size, his body spare 
 and thin, and, though seemingly lank and emaciated, his step was 
 bold and firm, his limbs strong and muscular; his eyes, which 
 were large and goggling, seemed ready to start from their S^tckets^ 
 his forehead deeply wrinkled, as well by age as an habitual frown 
 which, joined to a long visage, hollow cheeks, high cheek-bones, 
 and natural ferocity of temper, rendered him a most formidable 
 figure. 
 
 August 8th, made sail for the Sandwich Islands. September 
 2d made Owhyhee, and, after procuring refreshments, stood on 
 for Whahoo, being visited the next day by Abbenooe and the king 
 by whose commands they received abundant supplies of wood, 
 water, and provisions, of which they were in extreme want, several 
 of the crew being nearly dead with the scurvy. Attoui was their 
 next destination, where the chiefs inquired particularly after their 
 friend Po-pote (Captain Portlocke,) and were desirous of contri- 
 buting all in their power to the assistance of the ship, every one 
 supplying the Captain with a liberality as unbounded as it was un- 
 expected, but which did not go unrewarded; saws, hatchets, nails, 
 and other iron instruments being given to the men, and buttons, 
 beads, and a variety of ornaments to the women. 
 
 September 18th made sail for China, and anchored in Macao 
 Roads the 9th November, where being joined as already noticed, 
 by the King George, their meeting was extremely agreeable 
 Captain Portlock was very much surprised in Canton with his old 
 friend Tiaana, from the Sandwhich Islands, who was no less pleas- 
 ed at seeing him, embracing the Captain in the most cordial and 
 affectionate manner. 
 
 During his stay, Tiaana was introduced to every place worthy 
 of notice; he was usually dressed in a cloak and fine feather cap, 
 and, to show that he was a person of consequence, carried a spear 
 in his hand. Afterwards, at the persuasion of Mr. Ross, he wore 
 a light satin waistcoat and a pair of trousers. He frequently at- 
 tended places of public worship, behaving with the greatest de- 
 corum, and joining the congregation in the ceremonies of kneel- 
 ing or standing, as-if he had been all his life regularly accustomed 
 to them. Some of the customs of the Chinese displeasec him ex* 
 
f60 CUniOSITY BAFFLEO. 
 
 ceodingly, and, during tlic voyage, was nearly tlirowing the pilot 
 overboard for some real or imaginary oflence; he was, however, 
 of a kind disposition, displaying frequent instances of humanit)) 
 as well as generosity. IJcing once at an entertainnr.ent, given by 
 on<- of the Captains at IVIacao, his ( jnipassion was strongly 
 cxtiicd al\er dinner by seeing a number of poor people, in Sam- 
 pans, crowding round the vessel and asking alms; he solicited his 
 host's permission to give them some food, remarking it was a great 
 sliame to let poor people want victuals, and that in his country 
 there were no beggars. In compliance with his importunities, 
 the broken meat was collected under his care, and he distributed 
 it in tlie most equal and impartial manner. Tiaana was six feet 
 two inches high, exceedingly well-made, but inclined to corpulen- 
 cy; he had a pleasing animated countenance, fine eyes, and other- 
 wise expressive as well as agreeable features. He was universally 
 liked, and, previous to his departure for Attoui, the gentlemen 
 at Canton furnished him with bulls, cows, sheep, goats, rabbits, 
 turkeys, &c. &.c. besides all kinds of seeds which could be useful 
 in his island, with directions how to rear and propagate them. 
 The best skins of their cari^oes were disposed of to the East 
 India Company for fifty thousand dollars, while the inferior ones 
 were sold to the Chinese, both vessels receiving in return cargoes 
 of tea. February, 6th, 1788, weighed and made sail down the 
 river, quitting Macao finally a day or two afterwards. On the 
 20th saw the island of Pulo Sapata, four leagues distant; and, 
 2.5th, the islands of Aramba; three days afterwards Mr. Lander, 
 surgeon of the Queen Charlotte, died, having been ill for some 
 time, and attended by his brother surgeon, Mr. Hoggan, of the 
 King George. On the 30th of March the ships agreed to sepa- 
 rate, and make the best of their way to St. Helena, where the 
 King George arrived the 13th June, and the Queen Charlotte on 
 the 18th. The former at length reached England, without any 
 occurrence worthy of remark, on the 22d August; and the latter 
 the nth September. Nor was the voyage unfortunate; for though 
 no great gain was made, yet nothing was lost, which, in a new 
 commercial specuktion, is not an uncommon occurrence. 
 
 CURIOSITY BAFFLED. 
 
 Brook Watson was born of humble parentage, in the provmce 
 of Maine, and in that part of it more appropriately known as 
 Sairadahoc. History has not conveyed to us the incidents of his 
 childhiod. As he mr-t with extraordinary success in life, we 
 presume he was pretty soimdiy drubbed by the schoolmaster and 
 
CURIOSITV BAFFLED. 16] 
 
 the older boys He probably ran about bare-footed in summer, 
 and in winter, wore old woollen stockings, with the feet cut off, 
 under the name of Icggin.^, to keep out snow-water. We imag- 
 ine he got on the rafts of the lumber-men, and learned to swim, 
 by being knocked off, as a mischief-maker, into the river. We 
 think it likely he occasionally set up, of a moonshiny night, to 
 \vat( h the bears, as they came down, to reconnoitre the pig-stye; 
 and we have little doubt that, before he was eleven years old, 
 he had gone cabin-boy to Jamaica, with a cargo of pine boards 
 and timber. But of all this we know nothing. It is enough for 
 our story, that, at the age of twenty. Brook Watson was a stout 
 athletic young man, sailing out of the port of New York to the 
 West Indies. 
 
 The Yankees knew the way to the West Indies a good while 
 ago; they knew more ways than one. Their coasting vessels 
 knew the way, without quadrant or Practical Navigator. Their 
 skippers kept their reckoning with chalk, on a shingle, which 
 they stowed away in the binacle; and, by way of observation, 
 they held up a hand to the sun. When they got him over four 
 fingers, they knew they were straight for the Hole-in-the-wall; 
 three fingers gave them their course to the Double-headed-shot 
 Keys, and two carried them down to Barbadoes. This was one 
 way; and when the IMonsieurs and the Dons at Martinico and 
 the Havana heard the old New England drums, thumping away 
 under the very teeth of their batteries, they understood to their 
 cost, that the Yankees had another way of working their passage. 
 But Brook Watson went to the Havana in the way of trade. 
 He went as second mate of the Royal Consort, a fine topsail 
 schooner of one hundred and fifteen tons; and whether he had 
 any personal venture in the mules, butter, cheese, codfish, and 
 shooks, which she took out, is more than history has recorded. 
 
 Captain Basil Hall says the Americans are too apt to talk 
 about the weather. But in the tropics, in the month of July, 
 aboard a small ship, without a breath stirring, captain, it is hot; 
 — you have been a sailor yourself, and you ought to know it. It 
 was very hot on board the Royal Consort, about four o'clock in 
 the afternoon of the 14th of July, I7.55. There was not the 
 slightest movement in the air; the rays of the sun seemed to burn 
 down into the water. Silence took hold of the animated creation. 
 It was too hot to talk, whistle, or sing; to bark, to crow, or to 
 biay. Every thing crept under cover, but Sambr and Cuffee 
 two fine looking blacks, who sat sunning themselves on the quay, 
 and thought " him berry pleasant weather," and glistened like a 
 new Brist<,I bottle. 
 
 Brook Watson was fond of the water; he was not web-footed, 
 
 nor was he branchioustegous; (there's frr you, see Noah Web 
 
 ster;) but were he asked whether he felt most at home on land 
 
 or in the water, he would have found it iiard to tell. He bad 
 
 14* 
 
I6"^i CUKlOSilY nAFFl.ED. 
 
 probably swum the Kennebec, where it is as wide and deep as 
 the Hellespont between Sestos and Abydos, at least once a day, 
 for five months i:i the year, ever since he was eleven years old, 
 without Lord Byron's precaution ol" a boat in company, to pick 
 him up, in case of need. As his Lordship seemed desirous of 
 imitating Leander, honesty ought, we think, to have suggested 
 Jo him, to go without the boat. At all events, that was Brook 
 Watson's way; and we have no doubt, had he been in a boat, 
 uith a head wind, he would have sprung into the river, in order 
 to get across the sooner. With this taste for the water, and with 
 the weather so oppressive as we have described it on the present 
 occasion, it is not to be wondered at, that Brook Watson should 
 have turned his thoughts for refreshment, fo a change of element; 
 in other words, that he should have resolved to bathe himself in 
 the sea. 
 
 Such was the fact. About six o'clock in the afternoon, and 
 when every other being on board the vessel had crept away 
 into the cabin or the forecastle, to enjoy asicsia, Brook, who had 
 been sweltering, and panting, and thinking of the banks of the 
 Kennebec, till his stout gay heart felt like a great ball of lead 
 within him, tripped up on deck, dropped his loose clothing, and in 
 ati instant was over the side of the vessel. This was Brook's first 
 voyage to the West Indies, since he had grown up; and the first 
 day after his arrival. He was one of that class of mankind not 
 bred up to books; and, consequently, in the way of learning wis- 
 dom only by experience. W^hat you learn by experience, you 
 iearn pretty thoroughly, but at the same time, occasionally, much 
 to your cost. Thus by chopping off a couple of fingers with a 
 broad axe, you learn, by experience, not to play with edge-tools. 
 Brook Watson's experience in bathing had hitherto been confined 
 to the Kennebec; a noble, broad, civil stream, harboring nothing 
 witnin its gentle waters more terrible than a porpoise. The sea- 
 serpent had not yet appeared. Brook Watson had certainly 
 heard of sharks, but at the moment of forming the resolution to 
 bathe, it had entirely escaped his mind, if it had ever entered it, 
 that the West India seas were full of them; and so over he went, 
 with a fearless plung: 
 
 Sambo and Cuffet as we have said, were sitting on the quay, 
 enjoying the pleasant sunshine, and making their evening repast 
 of banana, when they heard the plunge into tiie water bv the side 
 of tlie Royal Consort, and presently saw Brook Watson emerging 
 from the deep, his hands to his eyes, to free them from the brine, 
 balancing up and down, sputtering the water from his mouth, and 
 then throwing himself forward, hand over hand, as if at length he 
 really felt himself in his element. 
 
 " Oh, Massa Bacra," roared out Sambo, as soon as lie could 
 recover his astonishment enough to speak, " O Senor; he white 
 Qian neber go to .swim; O, de tiburon; he berry bad bite, come 
 
CURiOSiXV BAFFLED. 163 
 
 ilamar — de shark; he hab berry big mouth; he eatee a Senor all 
 ap down!" 
 
 Such was the exclamation of Sambo, in the best English he 
 had been able to pick up, in a few years service, in unlading the 
 American vessels, that came to the Havana. It was intended to 
 apprise the bold but inexperienced stranger, that the waters were 
 riiiud with sharks, and that it was dangerous to swim in them. 
 The words were scarcely uttered, and, even if they were 'leard^ 
 had not time to produce their eiiect, when Cuftee respo: ded to 
 the exclamation of his sable colleague, with — 
 
 " O, Madro de Dios, see, see, de tiburon, de shark; — ah Sun 
 Salvador; ah pobre joven! matar, todo comer, he eat him all down, 
 berry soon!" 
 
 This second cry had been drawn from the kind-hearted negro, 
 by seeing, at a distance, in the water, a smooth shooting streak, 
 which an inexperienced eye would not have noticed; but which 
 Sambo and CulTee knew full well. It was the wake of a shark. 
 At a distance of a mile or two, the shark had perceived his 
 prey; and with the rapiditv of sound he had shot across the inter- 
 vening space, scarcely disturbing the surface with a ripple. 
 Cud'ee's practised eye alone had seen a flash of his tail, at the 
 distance of a mile and a half; and raising his voice to the utmost 
 of his strength, he had endeavored to apprise the incautious swim- 
 mer of his danger. Brook heard the shout, and turned his eye in 
 the direction, iii whicli the negro pointed; and well skilled in all 
 the appearances of the water, under which he could see almost 
 as well as in the open air, he perceived the sharp forehead of the 
 fearful animal rusliing towards him, head on, with a rapidity which 
 bade defiance to flight. Had he been armed with a knife, or even 
 a stick, he would not have feared the encounter: but would have 
 <',oolly waited his chance, like the negroes of the West Indies 
 and the Spanish Main, and plunged his weapon into the opening 
 maw of the ravenous animal. But he was wholly naked and de- 
 fenceless. Every one on board the Royal C(msort was asleep; 
 and it was in vain to look for aid from that quarter. He cast a 
 glance, in his extremity, to Sambo and Cuflee; and saw them, 
 with prompt bei.evolence, throw themselves into a boat, to rescue 
 him; but meantime the hungry enemy was rushing on. 
 
 Brook thought of the Kennebec; he thought of its green banks, 
 and its pleasant islands. He thought of the tall trunks of the 
 pine trees, scathed with fire, which stood the grim sentinels of the 
 forest, over the roof where he was born. He thought of the log 
 school-house. He thought of his little brothers and sisters, and 
 of liis mother; and there was another image tl at passed through 
 his mind, and almo.st melted into cowardice his manly throbbing 
 hor.rt. He thought of IMary Atwood, and — but he had ♦o think 
 n^ iiimselt'. For th-iugh these tumultuous emotions and a thousand 
 others rus! *u throu<:h his mind in a moment, crowding that ou« 
 
IC, 1 ( ri'.iOM . V ii.\n Lr.i). 
 
 moment with a long duration of sufTcring; yet in the same fleet 
 moment, the drcadlul tnonster liad shot across the entire space 
 that separated him from JJrook; and liad stopped, as if its viliility 
 had heen instantly arrested, at the distance of ahout twelve feet 
 from our swimmer. Brook had drawn himself up in the most 
 pugnacious attitude possible; and was treading water w th great 
 activity. The shark, probably unused to any signs of making 
 battle, remained, for one moment, quiet; and then, like a flash of 
 lightning, shot sideling off, and came round in the rear. Brook, 
 however, was as wide awake as his enemy. If he had not dealt 
 with sharks before, he knew something of the ways of bears and 
 catamounts; and contriving himself to get round, about as soon 
 as the shark, he still presented a bold front to the foe. 
 
 But a human creature, after all, is out of his element n\ the 
 water; and he fights with a shark, to about the same disadvantage 
 as the shark himself, when dragged up on deck, fights with a 
 man. He flounces and flings round, and makes formidable battle 
 with tail and maw; but he is soon obliged to yield. The near 
 approach to a fine plump healthy Yankee was too much for the 
 impatience of our shark. The plashing of the oars of Sambo and 
 Cuflee, warned the sagacious monster of gathering foes. Whirl- 
 ing hiinself over on his back, and turning up his long white belly, 
 and opening his terrific jaws, set round with a double row of broad 
 serrated leeth, the whole roof of his mouth paved with horrent 
 fangs, all standing erect, sharp, and rigid, just permitting the 
 blood-brighf red to be seen between their roots, he darted toward 
 Brook Brook's self-possession stood by him in this trying mo- 
 ment. He knew very well if the animal reached him in a vitaJ 
 part, that instant death was his fate; and with a rapid movement, 
 either of instinct or calculation, he threw himself backward, 
 kicking, at the same moment, at the shark. In consequence of 
 this movement, his foot and leg passed into the horrid maw of the 
 dreadful monster, and were severed in a moment, — muscles, sin- 
 ews, and bone. In the next moment. Sambo and Cufl^ee were at 
 his side; and lifted him into the boat, convulsed with pain, and 
 fainting with loss of blood. The Royal Consort was near, and 
 the alarm was speedily given. Brook was taken on board; the 
 vessel's company v. .■c roused; bandages and styptics were ap- 
 plied; surgical advice was obtained from the shore, and in due 
 seasoi the hearty and sound-constitutioned youth recovered. 
 
 The pla"e of his lost limb was supplied by a wooden one; and 
 mdufelry, temperance , probity, and zeal, supplied the place of a 
 regiment of legs, when employed to prop up a lazy and dissipated 
 frame. The manly virtues of our hero found their reward; his 
 sufferings were crowned with a rich indemnity. He rose from one 
 step to another of prosperity. Increased means opened a wider 
 (Sphere of activity and usefulness. He was extensively engaged in 
 public contracts, which he fulfilled to the advantage of the gov- 
 
CURIOSITY BAFFLED 165 
 
 ernment as well as his own; — a thing rare enough among con- 
 tracting biptds. From a contractor, he becamo a commissary, 
 and from commissary, Lord Mayor of London. 
 
 Behold our hero now, at the head of the magistracy of the me- 
 tropolis of the British empire, displaying, in this exalted station, 
 the virtues, which had raised him to it from humble life; and 
 combating the monsters of vice and corruption, which infest the 
 metropolis, as boldly as he withstood the monster of the deep, and 
 with greater success. All classes of his majesty's subjects, who 
 had occasion to approach him, enjoyed the benefit of his civic 
 qualities; and his fame spread far and wide through Great Britain 
 Nor was it confined, as may well be supposed, to the British isles. 
 The North American colonies were proud of their fellow citizen, 
 who, from poverty and obscurity, had reached the Lord INIayor's 
 chair. The ambitious mother quoted him to her emulous offspring. 
 The thrifty merchant at Boston, would send a quintal of the best 
 Isle-of-Shoals, as a present to his worship; and once, on the an- 
 nual election-day, the reverend gentleman, who officiated on the 
 occasion, in commenting on the happy auspices of the day, (it 
 was just after the receipt of a large sum of money from England, 
 on account of the expenses of the colony in the old war,) includ- 
 ed among them, that a son of New England had been entrusted 
 with the high and responsible duties of the Chief Magistracy of 
 the metropolis of his majesty's dominions. 
 
 It may well be supposed, that the Americans, who went home 
 (as it was called, even in the case of those, who were born and 
 bred in the colonies) were very fond of seeking the acquaintance 
 of Sir Brook Watson, for knighthood had followed in the train 
 of his other honors. Greatly to the credit of his worship, he 
 uniformly received them with kindness and cordiality, and instead 
 of shunning whatever recalled his humble origin, he paid partic- 
 ular attention to every one, that came from Sagadahoc. There 
 was but a single point in his history and condition, on which he 
 evinced thr least sensitiveness, and this was the painful occur- 
 rence, whicn had deprived him of his limb. Regret at this severe 
 loss; a vivid recollection of the agony, which had accompanied it; 
 and probably no little annoyance at the incessant interrogatories 
 to which it had exposed him through life, and the constant repeti- 
 tion, to which it had driven him of all the details of this event, had 
 unitedly made it a very sore subject with him. He at length 
 ceasod himself to allude to it, and his friends perceived, by the 
 !)rcvity of his answers, that it was a topic on which he wished to 
 be spared. 
 
 Among the Americans who obtained an introduction to big 
 worship in London, were Asahel Ferret and Richard Teasewell, 
 shrewd Yankees, who had found their way over to England, with 
 a machine for dressing flax. They had obtained a letter of re- 
 commendation from a merchant in Boston to Sir Brook. They 
 
had no reason to murinnr at their reception. fhey were invited 
 to dine witli l)is lordsliip and treated with hearty hospitality and 
 friendship. The dinner passed rather silently away, but with nc 
 neglect of the main end of the dinner. Our V^ankee visiters did 
 full justice to his worship's bountiful fare They found his mutton 
 fine; his turbot line; his strong beer genuine (as they called it), 
 and his wine most extraordinary good; and as the bottle circ lat- 
 ed, the slight repression of spirits, under which they commenced, 
 passed of They became proportionally inquisitive, and opened 
 upon their countryman a full battery of questions. They began 
 with the articles, that formed the dessert; and asked whether his 
 liiidship's peaches were raised in his lordship's swn garden. 
 When told they were not, they made so bold as to inquire, whether 
 they were a present to his lordship or boughten The mayor 
 having answered that they came from the market, — " might they 
 presume to ask how much they had cost.""' They were curious 
 to be informed whether the silver gilt spoons were solid metal; — 
 how many little ones his worship had; what meeting he went to, 
 and whether his lordship had ever heard Mr. Whitefield preach; 
 and if he did not think him a fine speaker. They were anxious 
 to know, whether his lordship went to see his Majesty sociably 
 now, as you would run in and out at a neighbor's; whether her 
 majesty was a comely personable woman, and whether it was true, 
 that the prince was left-handed, and the princess pock-marked. 
 They inquired what his lordship was worth; how much he used to 
 get, as commissary ; how much he got as lord mayor; and whether 
 her ladyship had not something handsome of her own. They 
 were anxious to know, what his worship would turn his hand to, 
 when he had done being lord mayor; how old he was; whether 
 he did not mean to go back and live in America; and whether it 
 was not very pleasant to his lordship, to meet a countryman from 
 New England. To all these questions and a great many more, 
 equally searching and to the point, his lordship answered good- 
 humoredly; sometimes with a direct reply, sometimes evasiveJy, 
 but never impatiently. He perceived, however, that the appetite 
 of their curiosity grew, from what it fed on; and that it would be 
 as wise in him to hope for respite on their being satisfied, as it 
 was in the rustic to wait for the river to run out. 
 
 These sturdy questioners had received a hint, that his lords!iip 
 was rather sensitive, on the subje^-.t of his limb, and not fond oi 
 lun iiig it alluded to. This, of course, served no other purpi se, 
 than that of imparting to them an intense desire to know every 
 thing about it. They had never heard by what accident his lord- 
 ship had met this misfortune; as indeed the delicacy, which had 
 for years been observed on the subject, in the circle of his friends, 
 had prevented the singular circumstances, which in early youth 
 deprived him of his leg, from being generally known. It waa 
 surmised by some, that he had broken it by a fall on the ice, io 
 
CURIOSITY BAFFt£n. 167 
 
 crossing the Kennebec in the winter. Others afiirrne i, of their 
 certain knowledge, that he was crushed in a raft of timber; and a 
 third had heard a brother-in-law declare, that he stood by him, 
 when it was shot off, before Quebec. In fact, many persons, not 
 altogether as curious as our visitants, really wished they knew hew 
 his lordship lost his leg. 
 
 This prevailing mystery, the good humor with which nis wor- 
 ship had answered their other questions, and the keen sting cf 
 curiosity wrought upon the visiters, till they were almost in a 
 frenzy. The volubility, with which they put their other quev 
 tions, arose, in part, from the flutter of desire to probe this hidden 
 matter. They looked at his worship's wooden leg; at eachothei: 
 at the carpet; at the ceiling; and finally, one of them, byway 
 of a feeler, asked his lordship, if he had seen the new model cf 
 a cork leg, contrived by Mr. llivetshin and highly commended! in 
 the papers. His lordshij) had not heard of it. Baflled in vnic, 
 they asked his lordship, whether he supposed it was very pai^ifuJ 
 to lose a limb, by a cannon ball or a grape shot. His woifciiip 
 really could not judge, he had never had that misfortune. Tbey 
 then inquired whether casualties did not frequently happen to 
 lumberers on the Kennebec river. The mayor replied thai the 
 poor fellows did sometimes slip otV a rolling log, and get drowned 
 "Were there not bad accidents in crossing the river on the ice?" 
 His lordship had heard of a wagon of produce, that had been 
 blown down upon the slippery surface of the ice, horses and all, 
 as far as JNIerry Meeting I3ay, when it was brought up by u shot 
 from fort Charles, which struck the wagon between percli and 
 axle-tree and knocked it over; but his lordship pleasantly added, 
 he believed it was an exaggeration. 
 
 Finding no possibility of getting the desired information by any 
 indirect means, they began to draw their breath hard; to throw 
 quick glances at each other and at his lordship's limb; and in a 
 few moments one of them, with a previous jerk of his head and 
 compression of his lips, as much as to say, " I will know it or die," 
 ventured to take the liberty to inquire, if he might presume so 
 far, as to ask his lordship, by what accident he had been deprived 
 of the valuable limb, which appeared to be wanting to his lord- 
 ship's otherwise fine person. 
 
 His lordship was amused at the air and manner with which the 
 question was put; like those of a raw lad, who shuts his eye, 
 when taking aim with a gun. The displeasure he would other- 
 wise have felt was turned into merriment; and he determined to 
 sport with their unconscionable curiosity. 
 
 " Why, my friends, said he, what good would it do you to be 
 mformed? How nmny questions I have already answered yo» 
 this morning! You now ask me how I lost my leg; if I ansv^er 
 rou on that point, you will wish to know the when, and the 
 
163 CIJUIOSITY CAFFLED. 
 
 wherefore; and instead of satisfying I shall only excite jcur 
 curiosity." 
 
 " Oh no," they replied, " if his lordship would but condescend 
 to answer them this one question, they would agree never to isk 
 him another." 
 
 His lordship paused a moment, musing; and then added, w th 
 a smile, " But will you pledge yourselves to me to that eflect:" 
 
 Oh, they were willing to lay them.selves under any obligation; 
 they would enter into bond not to trouble his lordship with ary 
 ("nrlhcr question; they would forfeit a thousand pounds, if they 
 did not keep their word. 
 
 " Done, gentlemen," said his lordship, " I accept the condition 
 ■ — I will answer your question, and take your bond never to put 
 me another." 
 
 The allected mystery, the delay, and the near prospect of satis 
 fviiig their own curiosity, rendered our visiters perfectly indiffer 
 ent to the conditions, on which they were to obtain the object of 
 their desire. His lordshiji '"'log to'" a clerk, to whom he briefly 
 explained th(! case, directing him to draw up a bond, for the 
 signature of his inqui.'^itive countrymen. The instrument was 
 soon produced, and ran in the following terms. 
 
 " Know all men by these presents. 
 That we, Asahel Ferret and Richard Teasewell, of the town of 
 Gossipbridge and county of Tolland, in his majesty's colony of 
 Connecticut, in New England, do hereby jointly and severally 
 acknowledge ourselves firmly holden and bound to his worship, 
 Sir Brook Watson, the present Lord Mayor of London, to his 
 heirs, and assigns, in the sum of one thousand pounds sterling; 
 and we do hereby, for ourselves, our heirs, and assigns, covenant 
 and agree, to pay to his said worship, the present Lord Mayor of 
 I.ondon, to his heirs and assigns, the aforesaid sum of one thou- 
 sand pounds sterling, when the same shall become due, according 
 to the tenor of this obligation; — 
 
 And the condition of this obligation is such, that, whereas the 
 aforesaid Ferret and Teasewell, of the town and county, &.c. and 
 colony, Sec. have signified to his aforesaid worship their strong 
 desire, to be informed, apprised, instructed, told; made acquaint- 
 ed, satisfied, put at rest, and enlightened, how and in what man- 
 ner his aforesaid worship became deprived, mutilated, maimed, 
 cu ■tailed, retrenched, damnified, abated, abscinded, amputated, 
 »»r abridged in the article of his worship's right leg; and whereas 
 his aforesaid worship, willing to gratify the laudable curiosity of 
 the said Ferret and Teasewell; but desirous also to put some 
 period, term, end, close, estoppel, and finish, to the numerou3 
 questions, queries, mterrogatories, inquiries, demands, and exam- 
 inations of the said Ferret and Teasewell, whereby his aforesaid 
 
CLKiO-.iTV KAFFLED 169 
 
 worship hath been sorely teased, worried, wherreted, perplexed, 
 annoyed, tormented, atHicted, soured, and discouraged; therefore, 
 to the end aforesaid, and in consideration of the premises afore- 
 said, his worship aforesaid, hath covenanted, consented, agreed, 
 promised, contracted, stipulated, bargained, and doth, &.c. with 
 th« said Ferret and Teasewell, Sec. kc. to answer such question, 
 as they, the said Ferret and Teasewell, shall put and propound 
 to his said worship, in the premises, touching the manner, &C. &c. 
 truly, and without guile, covin, fraud, or falsehood; and the said 
 Ferret and Teasewell, also, do on their part, covenant, consent, 
 agree, promise, stipulate, and bargain with his aforesaid worship, 
 and have, &c. that they will never propound, or put any farther 
 or different question to his aforesaid worship, during the term of 
 their natural lives; — And if the said Ferret and Teasewell, or 
 either of them, contrary to the obligation of this bond, shall at 
 any time hereafter, put or propound any farther, or other, or dif- 
 ferent question to iiis said worship, they shall jointly and severally, 
 forfeit and pay to his said worsliip, the sum aforesaid, of one 
 thousand pounds, sterling money; and if, during the term of their 
 natural lives, they shall utterly forbear, abstain, renounce, aban- 
 don, abjure, withhold, neglect, and omit, to propound any such, 
 other, or farther, or different question, to his aforesaid worship, 
 then this bond shall be utterly null, void, and of no effect; — but 
 otherwise in full force and validity. 
 
 Witness our hand and seal, this tenth day of October, in the 
 year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and si.\ty-nine. 
 AsAHEL Ferret. (Seal.) 
 
 Richard Teasewell. (Seal.) 
 
 Signed, sealed, and delivered, 
 in presence of 
 
 Francis Fairservice. 
 Samuel Slyplay. 
 
 Middlesex, ss. 10th October, A. D. 1769. Then personal!" 
 appeared before me, the said Asahel Ferret and Richard Teasr^ 
 well, and acknowledged the aforesaid obligation to be their free 
 act and deed. 
 
 Attest Thojmas Trueman, Justice of the Peace. 
 
 Stamp, 3s." 
 
 The instrument was executed, handed to his v-orship, and do- 
 iw)sited in his scrutoire. 
 
 " Now gentlemen," said he, " I am ready for your question." 
 They paused a moment, from excess of excitement and antici- 
 pation. Their feelings were like those of Columbus, when he 
 beheld a light from the American shores; like Dr. Franklin's, 
 <vhen he took the electric spark from the string of his kite 
 15 
 
170 TFfE RE-TU!l.\ OF THE AOMlRAf,. 
 
 •* Your lordship then will ploase to iiifo'-m us, bow joar Ior<J- 
 Bhip's limb was taken oil'." 
 
 " It was bitten off!' 
 
 They started, as if they had taken a shock from an electric 
 battery; the blood shot up to their temples- they stepped each a 
 pace nearer to his lordship, and with staring eyes, ga[)ing mouth, 
 and with uplifted hands, were about to pour out a volley of ques- 
 fions, " by whom, by what bitten; how, why, when!" 
 
 But his lordship smilingly put his forefinger to his lip, and thea 
 pointed to the scrutoire, where their bond was deposited. 
 
 Tliey saw, for the first time in their lives,, that they were taken 
 in; and departed rather embarrassed and highly dissatisfied, with 
 having passed an afternoon, in finding out that his lordship's leg 
 was bitten ofT. This mode of losing a limb being one of very 
 rare occurrence, their curiosity was rather increased than allayed 
 by the information; and us they went down stairs, they were heard 
 bv the servants, mutteruig to each other, '• Who, do you 'spose, 
 bit off his leg?" — JV, England Magazine. 
 
 THE RETURN OF THE ADMIRAL. 
 By Barry Cornwall. 
 
 How gallantly, how merrily, 
 
 We ride along the sea ! 
 The morning is all sunshine, 
 
 The wind is blowing free ; 
 The billows are all sparkling, 
 
 And bounding in the light 
 Like creatures in whose sunny veins 
 
 The blood is ninning bright 
 All nature knows our triumph : 
 
 Strange birds about us sweep; 
 Strange things come up to look at ub. 
 
 The masters of the deep ; 
 In our wake, like any servant, 
 
 Follows even the bold shark — 
 Oh, proud must be our Admiral 
 
 Of such a bonny barque ! 
 
 Proud, proud must be our AdmiraC 
 
 (Though he is pale to-day,) 
 Of twice five hundred iron men, 
 
 Who all his nod obey ; 
 Who've fought for him, and conqueieA-w 
 
 Who've won with sweat and gore, 
 Nobility ! which he shall have 
 
 Whene'er he touch the shore. 
 Oh ! would I were our Admiral, 
 
 To order, with a word — 
 To lose a dozen drops of blood, 
 
 And straiglil rise up a lord ! 
 
SHIPWRECKED WARINER3. 171 
 
 t *d shout e'en to yon shark, there, 
 
 Who follows in our lee, 
 " Some day I "11 make thee carry me, 
 
 Like lightning through the sea '. " 
 
 —The Admiral grew paler. 
 
 And paler as we flew ; 
 Still talked he to his officers, 
 
 And smiled upon his crew ; 
 And he looked up at the heavens, 
 
 And he looked down en the sea, 
 And at last he spied the creature 
 
 That kept following in our lee. 
 He shook— 't was but an instant— 
 
 For speedily the pride 
 Ran crimson to his heart. 
 
 Till all chances he defied ; 
 It threw boldness on his forehead ; 
 
 Gave firmness to his breath ; 
 And he stood like some grim wamoi 
 
 New risen up from death. 
 
 That night, a horrid whisper 
 
 Fell on us where we lay, 
 AnJ we knew our old fine Admiral 
 
 Was changing into clay ; 
 And we heard the wash of waters, 
 
 Though nothing could we see, 
 And a whistle and a plunge 
 
 Among the billows in our lee ! 
 'Till dawn we watched the body 
 
 In its dead and ghastly sleep, 
 And next evening at sunset. 
 
 It was slung into the deep ! 
 And never, from that moment, 
 
 Save one shudder through the sea 
 Saw we (or heard) the shark 
 
 That had followed in our lee ! 
 
 SHIPWRECKED MARINERS SAVED THROUGH 
 A DREAM. 
 
 In June, 1695, the ship Mary, commanded by Captain Jones, 
 witli a crew of twenty-two men, sailed from Sfwthead for the 
 West Indies; and contrary to the remonstrances of one Adama 
 on board, the master steered a course which brought the vessel 
 on the Caskets, a large body of rocka, two or three leagues south 
 east of Guernsey. It was about three o'clock in the morning, 
 when the ship struck against the high rock, and all the bows were 
 stove in; the water entered most rapidly, and in less than half an 
 hour, she sunk. Those of the crew who were in the fore part of 
 
\Vi siiiruRr.CTcr.D MAni.vEns. 
 
 the ship, got upon the rock; but the rest, to the number of eight, 
 who wi-re in the liiiid part, sunk directly, and were seen no more. 
 Adams Jiiul thirteen more, wlio were on tlie rock, had not tme to 
 save anv thing (Uit of the ship for their subsistence; and the placo 
 aflbrJed them none, nor even any shelter from the heat of the 
 sun. The first day they went down the rock, and gathered 
 limpets, but finding that they increased their thirst, they eat no 
 more of them. The tiiird day they killed the dog which had swam 
 to the rock, and eat him, or rather chewed his Tlesh, to allay their 
 thirst, which was excessive. They passed nine days without any 
 other food, and without any prospect of relief; their flesh wasted, 
 tl.eir sinews shrunk, and their mouths parched with thirst; on the 
 tenth day, they agreed to cast lots, that two of the company should 
 die, in order to preserve the rest a little longer. When the two 
 men were marked out, they were willing and ready to stab them- 
 selves, as had been agreed on with horrible ingenuity, in order 
 that those who were living might put a tobacco pipe into the inci- 
 B.ou, and each in his turn suck so many gulphs of blood to quench 
 his thirst! But although the necessity was so pressing, they 
 were yet unwilling to resort to this dreadful extremity, and resolved 
 to stay one day more in hopes of seeing a ship. The next day, 
 no relief appearing, the two wretched victims on whom the lots 
 had fallen, stabbed themselves, the rest sucked their blood, and 
 were thus revived for a short time. They still continued to make 
 signals of distress, and having hoisted a piece of a shirt on a stick, 
 it was at length seen by a ship's crew of Guernsey, one Taskard, 
 master, bound from that island to Southampton. They were all 
 taken on board, when each had a glass of cider and water to 
 drink, which refreshed them considerably ; but two of them eager- 
 ly seizing a bottle, drank to excess, which caused the death of 
 both in less than two hours. 
 
 The most remarkable circumstance connected with this ship- 
 wreck, is yet to be mentioned. It was with great reluctance that 
 Taskard brought his ship near the Caskets, which were out of 
 his course; but he was very much importuned by his son, who 
 had twice dreamed that there were men in distress upon these 
 rocks. The father refused to notice the first dream, and waa 
 angry with his son; nor would he have yielded on the seccnd, if 
 til ere had been a favorable wind to go on his own course 
 
A POLITE SEA-ROBBER. \19 
 
 A POLITE SEA-ROBBER. 
 
 We often read of extremely polite and gentlemanly highwaymen, 
 who rob with such marvellous courtesy tliat a man can hardly feel 
 it in his Iieart to withhold his watch, his purse, or aught of goods 
 ai;d chattels that he may chance to have about him. — But it ia 
 quite otherwise with your sea robbers, alias pirates, who are rep- 
 resented as a most brutal and unfeeling set, who have not the least 
 dash of politeness about them, to redeem their characters from 
 unmitigated odium. Such being their general reputation, it is 
 with no slight feeling of relief that we read the account of so pol- 
 ished and courteous a villain as the one described below. It is 
 e.x'tracted from the " Adventures of a Wanderer." He had ship- 
 ped at New Orleans, on board the Governor Griswold, bound to 
 Havana and Liver])ool, as steward: — 
 
 We got (says he) under way, and proceeded down the river 
 until we came to a place called the English Turn, when a boat, 
 manned by twelve or fourteen men, came off from shore, and 
 when they had arrived within hail they called to us and asked if 
 we wanted a pilot. The Captain answered, "No;" whereupon 
 the man in the stern of the boat ordered one of the men to throw 
 him a rope. The rope was handed him, and it being made fast 
 to the boat, he came alongside. He ascended the ladder, and 
 came on board with all his mrn, excepting four who remained in 
 the boat. The captain of these desperadoes was a tall man, dark 
 complexioned, and terrible in aspect. His eye was black and 
 piercing, his nose slightly Roman, and he wore a huge pair of 
 sable mustachios. His men were a ferocious looking band, har- 
 dy and sun burnt. He saluted the captain in a courteous manner, 
 and was proi'use in compliments. 
 
 His men, who wore long red Indian stockings, red caps, and 
 were armed with pistols and knives, sauntered carelessly about 
 the deck. 
 
 The pirate captain asked our captain wnere he was bound; he 
 answered correctly, " To Liverpool via Havana." 
 
 Our captain then cut short the interrogation of the pirate, by 
 saving, " 1 know your business." 
 
 The pirate then turned to our crew, and asked them what sort 
 of usage they had received since they left Europe. 
 
 •• Tolerable," they replied, " but very little grog." 
 
 The pirate then called for the steward. I made my appearance 
 " Have you ])lenty of grog on board?" inquired he. 
 
 I replied in the aflirmative. "Fill up that bucket," said hi», 
 " and carry it down the forecastle for the men to drink." I took 
 ap the bucket at which he pointed, carried it into the ca'^in, and 
 15* 
 
174 . A roi.riE sea-robber 
 
 filled it witli liquor. I tlien took it forward to the forecastlOj 
 where tlie men received it and c<.nveycd it below. 
 
 As soon as the crew had got below, and were assembled arounc 
 the bucket, the pirate placed two of his men upon the scuttle to 
 prevent any of the crew from coming on deck, while he with two 
 of his gang stuck close to the captain and mate. — "Now, stew- 
 ard," said the pirate, " go down and invite all your passengers to 
 ■^ome Qu deck." I did as I was ordered. Our passengers were 
 a lady and two small cliildren, and a gentleman who had been en- 
 gaged in teaching a school in New Orleans, out having rece'ved 
 a letter pur|)orting that the death of a near relation had left hirh 
 heir to a large fortune, had embarked for his home, which was, 
 London. 
 
 These persons came on deck. The lady was much frightened, 
 but the pirate told her to be under no ap|)rehension, and soothed 
 her -vith language which would not have disgraced the court of 
 Great Britain. The pirate now gave orders to bring up the gen 
 tleman's trunk. The trunk was laid at his feet. — "Now" said 
 b«, " bring up all the captain and mate's property." They also 
 were produced. 
 
 lie then proceeded to overhaul the captain's trunk, which con 
 lained " no great shakes." 
 
 'Captain, you have a very poor kit!' said he, with a scornful 
 smile. 
 
 The liirate then examined the passenger's trunk. It contained 
 about four hundred and forty dollars in specie. In rummaging the 
 .runk, the pirate fell in with the letter containing the information 
 in respect to the fortune which had been left the passenger. 
 This letter the pirate read, and giving a significant glance at the 
 fortunate man whose direction it bore, folded it up carefully and 
 laid it down. 
 
 He then turned to the captain, and asked him if the man had 
 paid his passage. ' No,' answered the captain. ' How much does 
 Ills passage cost ?' inquired the pirate. ' Two hundred and twenty 
 dollars,' replied the captain. 'That you must lose,' said the 
 pirate. 
 
 Then turning to the passenger — ' You,' said he, ' I will treat 
 fairly! You will want,' continued the pirate, 'when you arrive 
 at IJverpool, two dollars to pay the porter for carrying your trunk;' 
 ho laid down the money; 'your passage to London will cost you 
 £2 10s,' he counted it out and placed it with the two dollars; 
 four dinner will come t > five shillings, and you may want £2 moro 
 to treat sonic of your friends,' he laid down the money' v/ith the 
 rest, ' and for fear that will not be sufficient, here are twenty-five 
 dollars more.' He presented the amount of these several items 
 to the passenger, gave the remainder to one of his gang, and told 
 him to pass it into the boat. He then very courteoushy asked the 
 tune of day. The captain pulled out a fine watch, and answered 
 
A POLITE SEA-ROBBER. 175 
 
 that it was half oast three. ' Your watch takes ray fancy mightily, 
 said the pirate, and taking it from the captain, he put it into his fob 
 with great noiuhalance, and walked awa^ to the forecastle. ' Come 
 up here two of you who are sober,' said he. Two of them stum- 
 bled up, and the rest came reeling after. 
 
 ■' Go dov*n into the cabin, and bring me up all the small arms 
 J ou can find," said the pirate. The two first sailors went down, 
 and soon returned with an old fowling piece and a pair of pistols 
 
 " Now," said he, turning to the sailors, " if any of you, boys, wish 
 to change your situation for better pay and a shorter passage, I 
 Will give you a chance; for rent I am after and rent I'll have' 
 But stop!" cried he, " :hts lady I had almost forgotten; come here^ 
 madam, and let me hear a little of your worldly concerns." 
 
 She immediately commenced an eloquent harangue, accompa- 
 nied with tears. She had gone on for some time in this manner, 
 v.hen the pirate immediately cried, 'Avast! avast! there, that's 
 enough, I'd sooner fao tlie battery of a ninety-eight, than stem 
 the torrent of female eioquencel" 
 
 He then ordered sone bramly for himself and his men. 
 
 The liquor was brouglit; 1 poured out a glassful for him, when 
 he said, " Stop! captain just be so good as to drink this oft' your- 
 self! after you is manners. I don't know what some of you Yan- 
 kee inventors may have put into this liquor. You may have 
 thrown an onyx in the cup. The captain drank it off readily 
 The pirate eyed the captain closely for a few moments, and then 
 said to his followers, " Come, my boys, we may venture," and the 
 decanter was soon drained of its contents. The pirate then point- 
 ed to the maintop, and requested the captain to take a walk up 
 that way. " And you, Mr. Mate," said he, " begin to travel up the 
 forerigging. But mind!" said he, " stop when I tell yo.;!" The 
 captain and mate had proceeded half way up the lower rigging, 
 when he summoned them to halt. The captain was about stepping 
 upon the next rattling, when the pirate again hailed him — " if you 
 stir an inch backward or forward," said he, " you will comedown 
 faster than you went up." The captain looked down and saw 
 several pistols levelled at him, ready to be discharged on the in- 
 stant. He then remained stationary. 
 
 Then the pirate taking off his cap, addressed th€ passengers. 
 He told them he was once poor himself, and therefore knew how 
 to sympathize with persons in distress. He hoped they would be 
 grateful for the lenity which he had shown them, and then wish- 
 ing them a pleasant voyage, he stepped over the side into his boat, 
 and was soon lost to our view beneath the foliage of tue thick 
 underv.'ood v.hich lined the shore and hung over the green 
 lyave 
 
176 FEELINGS EXCITED BY A LONG ^PflQa 
 
 THE SEA-BIRD'S SOJNG.-by j. j. «*'» - 
 
 On the deep is the mariner's danger, 
 
 On the deep is the mariner's death ; 
 Who to fear of the tempest a stranger, 
 Sees the hist bubble burst of his breath ? 
 
 'T is the sea-bird, sea-bird, sea-bird, 
 
 Lone looker on despair. 
 The sea-bird, sea-bird, sea-bird, 
 The only witness there. 
 
 Who watches their course who so mildly. 
 
 Career to the kiss of the breeze ? 
 Who lists to their shrieks, who eo wildly 
 
 Are clasped in the arms of the seas ! 
 
 'Tis the sea-bird, sea-bird, sea-bird, 4kc. 
 
 Who hovers on high o'er the lover, 
 And her who has olung to his neck? 
 
 Whose wing is the winr; that can cover. 
 With its shadows the foundering wrtck ' 
 
 'Tis the sea-bird, sea-bird, sea-bird. &c 
 
 My eye is the light of the billow. 
 My wing on the wake of the wave — 
 
 I shall take to my breast — for a pillow — 
 The shroud of ihe fair and the brave — 
 
 I'm the sea-bird, sea-bird, sea-bird, &*. 
 
 My foot on the ice-berg has lighted 
 
 When hoarse the wild winds veer about, 
 My eye when the bark is benighted 
 
 Sees the lamp of the light-house go out. 
 I'm the sea-bird, sea-bird, sea-bird. 
 
 Lone looker on despair, 
 The sea-bird, sea-bird, sea-bird, 
 The only witness there. 
 
 FEELINGS EXCITED BY A LONG VOYAGE 
 
 VI.SIT TO A NEW CONTINENT.— By Washington Irving. 
 
 To an American visiting Europe, the long voyage he has to 
 make is an excellent preparative. From the moment you lose 
 sight of the land you have left, all is vacancy until you step upon 
 the opposite shore, and are launched at once into the bustle and 
 novelties of jMiothei wor'd. 
 
FEELINGS EXCITED BV A LONG VOVAGE. 171 
 
 I hive said that at sea all i.s vacancy. I should correct the 
 expression. To one given up to day-dreaming, and fond of losing 
 himself in reveries, a sea voyage is lull of sui)jects for meditation; 
 but then they are the wonders of the deep, and of the air, and 
 rather tend to abstract the mnid from worldly themes. I delight- 
 ed to loll over the quarter railing, or to climb to the main top on 
 a calm day, and to muse for hours together on the tranquil bosom 
 of a summer's sea; or to gaze upon the piles of golden clouds 
 just peering above the horizon, fancy them some fairy realms, 
 and people them with a creation of my own, or to watch the gen- 
 tle undulating billows rolling their silver volumes as if to die 
 away on those happy shores. 
 
 There was a delicious sensation of mingled security and awn, 
 with which I looked down from my giddy height on the monsters 
 of the deep at their uncouth gambols. Shoals of porpoises tum- 
 bling about the bow of the ship; the grampus slowly heaving his 
 huge form above the surface, or the ravenous shark, darting like 
 a spectre through the blue waters. INIy imagination would con- 
 jure up all that I had heard or read of the watery world beneath 
 me, of the finny herds that roam its fathomless valleys; of the 
 shapeless monsters that lurk among the very foundations of the 
 earth; and those wild phantasms which swell the tales of fish- 
 ermen and sailors. 
 
 Sometimes a distant sail gliding along the edge of the ocean 
 would be another theme for idle speculation. How interesting 
 this fragment of a world hastening to rejoin the great mass of 
 existence! What a glorious monument of human invention, that 
 has thus triumphed over the wind and wave; has brought the 
 ends of the earth to communion, has established an interchange 
 of blessings, pouring into the steril regions of the north all the 
 luxuries of the south; difl^'used the light of knowledge and the 
 charities of cultivated life; and has thus bound together those 
 scattered portions of the human race, between which nature 
 seemed to have thrown an insurmountable barrier! 
 
 We one day descried some shapeless object drifting at a dis- 
 tance. At sea every thing that breaks the monotony of the 
 surrounding expanse attracts the attention. It proved to be the 
 mast of a ship that must have been completely wrecked; for there 
 were the re-v>iains of handkerchiefs by which some of the crew had 
 fastened themselves to this spar to prevent their being washed 
 off by the waves. There was no trace by which the name of the 
 ship could be ascertained. The wreck had evidently drifted 
 about many months; clusters of shell-fi.<;h had fastened about it, 
 and long sea weeds flaunted at its sides. But where, thought I, 
 is the crew? Their struggle has long been over; — they have 
 gone down amidst the roar of the tempest; — their bones lie 
 whitening in the caverns of the deep. Silence — oblivion, like 
 the waves have closed over them, an! no one can tell the story 
 of ttieir end. 
 
178 FELLIXns HXCITLO BV A I-ONO VOVACE. 
 
 What sighs have been wafted afler that sliip! what prayers of- 
 fared up at the deserted fireside of home! How often has the 
 mistress, tlie wife, and the mother, pored over the daily news, to 
 catch some casual intelliffcnce of this rover of the deep! How 
 has expectation darkened into anxiety — anxiety into dread — and 
 dread into despair! Alas! not one memento shall ever return for 
 love to cherish. All that shall ever be known is that she sailed 
 fiom her port " and was never heard of more." 
 
 The sight of the wreck as usual gave rise to many dismal an- 
 ecdotes. This was particularly the case in the evening when the 
 weather which had hitherto been fair began to look wild and 
 threatening, and gave indications of one of those sudden storms.- 
 that will sometimes break in upon the serenity of a summer voy- 
 age. As we sat around the dull light of a lamp, in the cabin, that 
 made the gloom more ghastly, every one had his tale of ship 
 wreck and disaster. I was particularly struck with a short one 
 related by the captain. 
 
 "As 1 was once sailing," said he, " in a fine stout ship, across 
 the banks of Newfoundland, one of the heavy fogs that prevail 
 in those parts rendered it impossible for me to see far ahead even 
 in the daytime; but at night the weather was so thick that we 
 could not distinguish any object at twice the length of our ship. 
 I kept lights at the mast head and a constant watch forward to 
 look out for fishing-smacks, which are accustomed to lie at an- 
 chor on the banks. The wind was blowing a smacking breeze, 
 and we were going at a great rate through the water. Suddenly 
 the watch gave the alarm of " a sail ahead!" but it was scarcely 
 uttered till we were upon her. She was a small schooner at 
 anchor with her broad side towards us. The crew were all 
 asleep, and had neglected to hoist a light. We struck her Just 
 amid-ships. The force, the size, and weight of our vessel, bore 
 her down below the waves; we passed over her and were hurried 
 on our course. 
 
 "As the crashing wreck was sinking beneath us, I had a glimpse 
 of two or three half naked wretches, rushing from her cabin; 
 they had just started from their cabins to be swallowed shrieking 
 by the waves. I heard their drowning cry mingled with the 
 wind. The blast that bore it to our ears swept us out of all far- 
 ther hearing. I shall never forget that cry! It was some time 
 uefore we couH put the ship about, she was under such headway 
 We returned as nearly as we could guess to the place where the 
 ?hip was anchored. We cruised about for several hours in the 
 dense fog. We fired several guns, and listened if we might 
 hear the hallo of any survivors; but all was silent — we never heard 
 nor saw an> thing of them more!" 
 
 It was a fine sunny morning when the thrilling cry of land, 
 was given from the mast-head. I question whether Columbus, 
 ivhen he discovered the new world, felt a more delicious thiong 
 
FEELINGS EXCITLD DV A LONG VOYAGE. 179 
 
 of sensations than rush inlo an American's bosom when he first 
 comes in sight of Europe. There is a volume of associations in 
 the very name. It is that land of promise, teeming with every 
 thing of which his childhood has heard, or on which his studious 
 years have pondered. 
 
 From that time until the period of our arrival it was all feverish 
 excitement. The ships of war that prowled like guardian giants 
 round the coast; the headlands of Ireland stretching out into the 
 channel; the Welsh mountains towering into the clouds; all were 
 objects of intense interest. As we sailed up the Mersey, I recon- 
 noitred the shores with a telescope. My eye dwelt with delight 
 on neat cottages, with ,heir trim shrubberies and green grass 
 plots. I saw the mould'^ring ruins of an abbey overrun with ivy, 
 and the taper spire of a village church rising from the brow of 
 a neighboring hill — all were characteristic of England. 
 
 The tide and wind were so favorable, that the ship was enabled 
 to come at once at the pier. It was thronged with people; some 
 idle lookers-on, others eager expectants of some friends or rela- 
 tives. I could distinguish the merchant to whom the ship be- 
 longed. I knew him by his calculating brow and restless air. 
 His hands were thrust into his pockets; lie was whistling thought- 
 fully, and walking to and fro, a small space having been accord- 
 ed to him by the crowd, in deference to his temporary importance. 
 Tlieu. were repeated cheerings and salutations interchanged be- 
 tween the shore and the ship, as friends happened to recognise 
 each other. 
 
 But I particularly noted one young woman of humble dress, 
 but interesting demeanor. She was leaning forward from among 
 the crowd, her eye hurried o'er the ship, as it neared the shore, 
 to catch some wished for countenance. She seemed disappoint- 
 ed and agitated when I heard a faint voice call her name. It 
 was from a poor sailor, who had been ill all the voyage, and had 
 excited the sympathy of every one on board. When the weath- 
 er was fine, his messmates had spread a mattrass for him on deck 
 in the shade, but of late his illness had so increased that he had 
 taken to his hammock, and had only breathed a wish that he 
 might see his wife before he died. 
 
 He had been helped on deck as we came up the river, and 
 was now leaning against the shrouds, with a countenaiiCe so 
 wasted, so pale and so ghastly, that it is no wonder the eye of 
 aflection did not recognise him. But at the sound of his voice 
 her eye darted on his features, it read at once the whole vol jme 
 of sorrow; she clasped her hands, uttered a faint shriek, E«jd 
 stood wringing them in silent agony. 
 
 All was now hurry and bustle. The meeting of acquaintances 
 — the greetings of friends — the ccnsultations of rnen of business 
 t alone was solitary and idle. I had no friend lo meet, no cheer- 
 ing to receive. I stepped upon the land of my forefathers — but 
 felt that I was a stranger in the land 
 
180 FOUTY-FiVE days' SUFFERINGS. 
 
 FORTY-FIVE DAYS' SUFFERINGS. 
 
 Captain David Harrison, who commanded a sloop of New 
 VorK, called the Peggy, has left a melancholy narrative of the 
 BuHerings of himself and his crew, during a voyage from Fayal, 
 one of the Azores, m 17G9. A storm which had continued for 
 some days, successively hlew away the sails and shrouds; and 
 on the 1st of December, one shroud on a side and the main sail 
 alone remained. In this situation they could make very little 
 way, and all their provisions were exhausted, except bread, of 
 which but a small quantity was left; they came at last to an al- 
 lowance of a quarter of a pound a day, with a quart of water and 
 a pint of wine, for each man. 
 
 The ship was now become very leaky; the waves were swelled 
 into mountains by the storm, and the thunder rolled incessantly 
 over their heads in one dreadful almost unintermitting peal In 
 this frightful dilemma, either of sinking with the wreck, or float- 
 ing in her and perishing with hunger, two vessels came in sight; 
 but such was the tempest that neither could aoproach, and they 
 saw with sensations more bitter than death itself, the vessels that 
 would willingly have relieved them disappear. The allowance 
 of bread and water, though s^'ill farther contracted, soon exhaust- 
 ed their stores, every morsel of food was finished, and only about 
 two gallons of water remained in the bottom of the cask. The 
 poor fellows who, while they had any sustenance, continued obe- 
 dient to the captain, were now driven by desperation to excess; 
 they seized upon the cargo, and because wine and brandy were 
 all they had left, they drank of both till the frenzy of hunger waa 
 increased by drunkenness, and curses and blasphemy were blend- 
 ed with exclamations of distress. The dregs of the water cask 
 were abandoned to the captain, who, abstaining as much as pos- 
 sible from wine, husbanded them with the greatest economy. 
 
 In th< midst of these horrors, this complication of want and 
 excess, f distraction and despair, they espie<l another sail. 
 Every eye was instantly turn'^d towards it> the signal of distress 
 was hung out, and they had the unspeakable satisfaction of being 
 near enough to the ship to communicate their situation. Relief 
 was promised by the captain; but this, alas! was but " the mock- 
 ery of wo;" and instead of sending the relief he had promised, 
 the unfeeling wretch crowded all sail, and left the distressed crew 
 lo all the agony of despair which misery and disappointment 
 could occasion. 
 
 The crew once more deserted, and cut ofl'*from their last hooe, 
 vere still prompted by an intuitive love of life to preserve it aa 
 •jng as possible. The only living creatures on board the vessel. 
 
FOUTV-FIVE days' SUFfEUlNGS, - 18. 
 
 besides themselves, were two pigeons and a cat. The pigeons 
 were killed immediately, and divided among them for their Christ- 
 mas dinner; the next day they killed the cat; and as there were 
 nine persons to partake of the repast, they divided her into nine 
 parts, which they disposed of by lot. The head fell to the share 
 «>f Coptain Harrison, and he declared that he never eat any tiling 
 ih.it he thought so delicious in his life. 
 
 The next day the crew began to scrape the ship's bottom for 
 biirnacles; but the waves had beaten off' those above water, and 
 the men were too weak to hang long over the ship's side. During 
 all this time, the poor wretches sought only to forget their misery 
 in intoxication; and while they were continually heating wine in 
 the steerage, the captain subsisted upon the dirty water at the 
 bottom ef the cask, half a pint of which, with a few drops of Tur- 
 lington's Balsam, was his whole sustenance for twenty-four hours. 
 
 To add to their calamity, they had neither candle nor oil; and 
 tliey were in consequence compelled to pass si.xteen hours out of 
 the twenty-four in total darkness, except the glimmering light of 
 the tire. Still however, by the help of their only sail, they nmde 
 a little way; but on the !28th of December, another storm over- 
 took them, which blew their only sail to rags. The vessel now 
 lay like a wreck on the water, and was wholly at the mercy of 
 the winds and waves. 
 
 How they subsisted from this time to the 13th of January, six- 
 teen days, does not appear, as their biscuit had been long ex- 
 hausted, and the last bit of animal food which they tasted, was 
 the cat on the 26th of December; yet on the 13th of January they 
 were all alive, and the crew, with the mate at their head, came 
 to the captain in the cabin, half drunk indeed, but with sufficient 
 sensibility to express the horror of their purpose in their counte- 
 nances. They said they could hold out no longer, their tobacco 
 was exhausted; they had eaten up all the leather belonging to 
 the pump, and even the buttons Irom their jackets; and that now 
 they had no means of preventing their perishing together, but by 
 casting lots which of them should be sacrificed for the sustenance 
 of the lest. The Captain endeavored to divert them from their 
 purpose until the next day, but in vain; they became outrageous, 
 and with execrations of peculiar horror, swore that what was to 
 be done, must be done immediately; that it was indifferent to 
 tiicm whether he acquiesced or dissented; and that though they 
 hid paid him the compliment of acquainting him with their reso- 
 lutic n, yei they would compel him to take his chance with the 
 ••est, tor general misfortune put an end to personal distinction. 
 
 Thf Captain resisted, but in vain; the men retired to decide 
 on the fate of some victim, and in a few minutes returned, and 
 Biiid the lot had fallen on the negro, who was part of the cargo. 
 The poor fellow knowing what had been determined against him, 
 aiid seeing one of the ",rew loading a pistol to despatch him, im 
 16 
 
I .'2 ro.iv-nv;: i).\\>' sii tr-iuNGs. 
 
 u )rc(l the Captain to save iiis !i!V, hut he wus instantly dragged 
 c the steerage, and shot tluough the head. 
 
 Having made a large (ire, tlicy hrgan to cut the negro up 
 ni.aost as soon as he was dead, intending to try his entrails for 
 sutiper; but James Canipbell one ol" the Ibremast men, being 
 ravenously impatient lor lood, tore the liver out of the bod), and 
 devoured it raw; the remainder of the crew, however, dressed the 
 me.»t, and continued their dreadful banquet until two o'clock in 
 the morning. 
 
 'i fie next day the crew pickled the remainder of the negro's 
 body, e.vcept the head and fingers, which, by common consent, 
 they threw overboard. The Captain refused to taste any part 
 of it, and continued to subsist on the dirty water. On the third 
 day after the death of the negro, Campbell, who had devoured 
 (lie liver raw, died raving mad, and his body was thrown over- 
 board, the crew dreading the consequences of eating it. The 
 negro's body was husbanded with rigid economy, and lasted the 
 crew, now consisting of six persons, from the 13th to the 26th of 
 January, when they were again reduced to total abstinence, ex- 
 cept their wine. This they endured until the 29th, when the 
 mate again came to the Captain at the head of the men, and told 
 him it was now become necessary that they should cast lots a 
 second time. The captain endeavored again to reason theni 
 from their purpose, but without success; and therefore consider- 
 ing that if they managed the lot without him, he might not have 
 fair play, consented to see it decided. 
 
 '1 "he iut now fell upon David Flat, a foremast man. The shock 
 of the ueci.sion was so great, that the whole company remained 
 motionless and silent lor some time; when the poor victim, who 
 appeared perfectly resigned, broke silence, and said. "My dear 
 friends, messmates, and fellow sufferers, all 1 have to beg of you 
 is, to despatch me as soon as you did the negro, and to put me tc 
 as little torture as possible." Then turning to one Doud, the 
 man who shot the negro, he said, "it is my desire (hat you should 
 shoot me." Doud reluctantly consented. The victim begged a 
 short time to prepare himself for death, to which his companions 
 most rradily agreed. Flat was much respected by the whole 
 ship's t :)mpany, and during this awful interval, they seemed incli- 
 ned to save his life; yet finding no alternative but to perish with 
 him, and having in some measure lulled their sense of horror at 
 the approaching scene by a few draughts of wine, they prejiared 
 for the execution, and a fire was kindled in the steerage to dress 
 (I'.eir first meal as soon as their companion should become their 
 food. 
 
 As the dreadful moment approached, their compunction increas- 
 ed, and Iritndship and humanity at length trium|)hed over hunger 
 and death. Tl ey determined that Flat should live at least until 
 eleven o' clock the next morning, hoping, as they said that the 
 
FORTY-FIVE DAYS* SUFFERINGS. 183 
 
 Divine Goodr ess would in the meantime open some other source 
 of reHef. At the same time they begged the captain to read 
 prayers; a task wnich, with the utmost effort ot^ liis collected 
 strength, he was scarcely able lo perform. As soon as prayers 
 were over, the company went to their unfortunate friend, Flat, and 
 with great earnestness and affection expressed their hopes that 
 God would interpose for his preservation; and assuring him that 
 /hoiigh they never yet could catch or even see a fish, yet iiey 
 would put out all their hooks again to try if any relief could be 
 procured. 
 
 Poor Flat, however, could derive little comfort from the concern 
 they expressed; and it is not improbable, that their friendship ^nd 
 affection increased the agitation of his mind; such, however, it 
 was, that he could not sustain it, for before midwight, he grew al- 
 most totally deaf, and by four o'clock in the morning was raving 
 mad. His messmates, who discovered the alteration, debated 
 whether it would be an act of humanity to despatch him immedi- 
 ately; but the first resolution, of sparing him till eleven o'clock, 
 prevailed. 
 
 About eight in the morning, as the captain was ruminating in 
 his cabin on the fate of this unhappy wretch, who had but three 
 hours to live, two of his people came hastily down, with uncom- 
 mon ardor in their looks, and seizing both his hands, fixed their 
 eyes upon him without saying a word. A sail had been discov- 
 ered, and the sight had so far overcome them, that they were for 
 some time unable to speak. The account of a vessel being in 
 sight of signals, struck the captain with such excessive and tumult- 
 uous joy, that he was very near expiring under it. As soon as 
 he could speak, he directed every possible signal of distress 
 His orders were. obeyed with the utmost alacrity; and as he lay 
 in his cabin, he had the inexpressible happiness of hearing them 
 jumping upon deck, and crying out, "She nighs us, she nighs 
 us! she is standing this way." 
 
 The approach of the ship being more and more manifest every 
 moment, their hopes naturally increased, and they proposed a can 
 to be taken immediately for joy. The captain dissuaded them all 
 from it, except the mate, who retired, and drank it to himself 
 
 After continuing to observe the progress of the vessel for some 
 hours, with all the tumult and agitation of mind that such a sus- 
 pense could not fail to produce, they had the mortification to find 
 the gale totally die away, so that the vessel was becalmed at only 
 two miles distance. They did not, however, suffer long from this 
 circumstance, for in a few minutes they saw a boat put out from 
 the ship's stern, and row towards them fully manned, and with 
 vigorous despatch. As they had been twice before confident of 
 deliverance, and disappointed, and as they still considered them- 
 selves tottering on the brink of eternity, the conflict between their 
 hopes and fears, during the approach of the boat, was dreadful 
 
i84 THE GRECIAN MAUINEIi's SONG, 
 
 At length, however, slio came ulongsid*;; but tlie appearance of 
 the crew was so ghastly, that the men rested upon their oars, and 
 with looks of inconceiva!)le astonishment asked what they were? 
 
 Being at length satisfied, th( y came on board, and begged the 
 people to use the utmost expedition in quitting the wreck, lest 
 they should be overtaken by a gale of wind, that would prevent 
 their getting back to the sliip. The captain being unable to stir, 
 was lifted out of his cabin, and lowered into the boat with ropes; 
 his people followed him, with poor Flat still raving; and they were 
 just putting off, when one of them observed, that the mate wag 
 still wanting. He was immediately called to, and the can of joy 
 had just letl him power to crawl to the gunnel, with a look of 
 idiotic astonishment, having to all appearance forgot every thing 
 that had happened. The poor drunken creature was with difficul- 
 ty got into the boat, and in about an hour they all reached the ship 
 in safety, which was the Susannah of London, commanded by Cap- 
 tain Thomas Evers. He received them with the greatest tender- 
 ness and humanity, and promised to lay by the wreck until the 
 next morning, that he might, if possible, save some of Captain 
 Harrison's property; but the wind blowing very hard before night, 
 he was obliged to quit her, and she probably, with her cargo, went 
 to the bottom btjfore mornin.g. 
 
 The crew had been without provisions forty-jive days. The 
 mate, James Doud, who shot the negro, and one Warner, a sea- 
 man, died on the passage. The remainder, including Flat, who 
 continued mad during the voyage, arrived safe in the Susannah, in 
 the Downs, in the beginning of March; whence Captain Harrison 
 proceeded on shore, and made the proper attestation on oath of 
 iiie facts related in this melancholy narrative. 
 
 THE GRECIAN MARINER'S SOU? 
 
 BY THOMAS MOORE, ESQ. 
 
 Our home is on the sea, boy, 
 Cur home is on the sea — 
 When nature gave 
 The ocean wave. 
 She marked it for the free 
 Wliatever storms befall, boy 
 Whatever storms befall, 
 The island bark, 
 Is freedom's irk, 
 And floats her safe through all 
 
 Behold yon sea of isles, boy, 
 Behold yon sea of isles. 
 
MONSIEUR DE LA PEROfSE. 184 
 
 Where every sliore, 
 
 Is sparkling o'er, 
 With beauty's richest smiles. 
 For us hath freedom claimed, boy 
 For us hath freedom claimed 
 
 Those ocean nests 
 
 Where valor rests 
 His eagle wing untamed. 
 
 And shall the Moslem dare, boy, 
 And shall the Moslem dare, 
 While Grecian hand 
 Can wield a brand, 
 To plant his crescent there ! 
 No ! — by our fatliers, no, boy, 
 No ! by the cross we show — 
 From Maina's rills 
 To Thracia's hills, 
 All Greece reechoes " No !' 
 
 MONSIEUR DE LA PEROUSE 
 
 France becoming jealous of the renown acqtiired by the Eng- 
 lish circumnavigators, determined to send out an ^pedition, 
 which, in its scientific equipments, should vie with them in every 
 respect. Two ships were appointed to thi« service, the Boussole 
 and Astrolabe, the former commanded by La Perouse, the latter 
 by M. de Langle, both captains in the navy, and men of consid- 
 erable attainments, besides being assisted by men of science and 
 artists. The voyage is interesting as far as it goes; but, unfor- 
 tunately, the ships, after quitting Botany Bay, in 1788, have 
 never since been heard of, to the regret of all lovers of science 
 and humanity, on account not only of the acquirements but the 
 amiable character of the commander. 
 
 On the 1st of August, 1785, they quitted Brest, and, on the 
 13th, reached INTadeira; they saw Teneriffe on the 19th, and on 
 the 16th of October the island of Trinidada, barren, rocky, and 
 with a violent surf breaking on the shores, where refreshments 
 not being obtainable, the commander steered for St. Catharine's 
 on the Brazil coast. 
 
 This island is extremely fertile, producing all sorts of fruit, 
 vegetables, and corn, almost spontaneously. It is covered with 
 Mees of everlasting green, but they are so curiously interwoven 
 with plants and briars, that it is impossible to pass through the 
 forests without opening a path with a hatchet: to add to the dif- 
 ficulty, danger i-s also to be apprehended from snakes whose bite 
 is mortal. The habitations are l)ordering on the sea. Tlie woods 
 are delightfully fragrant, occasioned by the orange-trees, and 
 other odoriferous plants and shrubs, which form a part of them 
 
iSG MONSILLIl DK I. A ri:ilOLSE. 
 
 On the l4Ui of January the navigators struck ground on th« 
 coast of Ptitagonia. On the 2.Jth, La Peroust took bearings a 
 league to the southward of Cape San Diego forming the west 
 point of the straits of Leniaire. On the 9th of February, he was 
 abreast of tiie Straits of Magellan. Examining the quantity of 
 provisions he l»ad on board, La Perouse discovered he had vevy 
 ii'th> Hour and bread left in store; having been obliged to leave 
 a luindred barrels at Brest. The worms had also taken possession 
 of the biscuits, and consumed or rendered useless a htlh part of 
 them. Under these circumstances. La Perouse preferred Con- 
 tepti(jn to the island of Juan Fernandez. The Bay of Concep- 
 lion in Chili is a most excellent harbor; the water is smoot*^, 
 and almost without any current, though the tide rises six feet 
 three inches. 
 
 At daybreak, on the 15th of March, La Perouse made the 
 pignal to prepare to sail. On the 17th, about noon, a light breeze 
 sprung uj), with which he got under way. On the 8th of April, 
 about noon they saw P^.aster Island. The Indians were alarmed, 
 except a lew who had a kind of slight wooden club. Some of 
 them assumed an apparent superiority over the others which in 
 duced La Perouse* to consider the former as chiefs, but he soon 
 discovered that these selected persons were the most notorious 
 utfenders. Having but a few hours to remain upon the island, 
 and wishing to employ his time to the best advantage. La Perouse 
 left the'care of the tent, and other particulars, to his first lieuten- 
 ant M. D'Escures. A division was then made of the persons en- 
 gaged in the adventure; one part, under the command of M. De 
 Langle, was to penetrate into the interior of the island to en- 
 courage and promote vegetation, by disseminating seed, Slc. in a 
 proper soil; and the other division undertook to visit the monu- 
 ments, plantations, and habitations, within the compass of a league 
 of the establishment. The largest of the rude busts upon one of 
 the terraces is foarteen feet six inches in height, and the breadth 
 and other partici.iais appeared to be proportionate. 
 
 Returning about noon to the tent, La Perouse found almost 
 every man without either hat or handkerchief; so much had for- 
 bearance encouraged the audacity of the thieves, that he also ex- 
 perienced a similar depredation. An Indian, who had assisted 
 him in descending from a terrace, rewarded himselifor his trouble 
 by taking away his hat. Some of them had dived under water, 
 ;u1 the small cable of the Astrolabe's boat, and taken away her 
 grapnel. A sort of chief, to whom M. De Langle made a present 
 of a male and female goat, received the animals with one hand, 
 and rol)bed him of his handkerchief with the other. 
 
 On the 2Sth of May, they saw :he mountains of Owhyiice, 
 covered m ith snow, and afterwards those of Mowee, which ara 
 'ess elevated. About one hundred and fifty canoes were seen 
 putting off from the shore, laden with fruit and hogs, which the 
 
P.IOXSIELR DE LA PEUOUSE. 18' 
 
 Indians proposed to exchange for pieces of iron of the French 
 navigators. Most of them came on board of one or the ether of 
 the vessels, but tlipy proceeded so fast through the water that 
 they filled along-side. The Indians were obliged to quit the ropes 
 thrown them, and If^xping into the sea swam after their hogs, when 
 taking :hem in their arms, they emptied their canoes of the water, 
 and resumed their seats. 
 
 After having visited a village, jNI. de Langle gave orders that 
 six soldiers, with a sergeant, should accompojiy him: the others 
 were left upon the beacli, under the command of M. de Pierrevert, 
 the lieutenant; to them was committed the protection of the s'.ip'd 
 boats, from which not a single sailor had landed. The party re- 
 emba.ked at eleven o'clock in very good order, and .irrived on 
 board about noon, where M. de Clonard had received a visit from 
 a chief, of whom he had purchased a cloak, and a helmet adorned 
 with red feathers; he had also purchased a hundred hogs, a quan- 
 tity of potatoes and bananas, plenty of stuffs, mats, and various 
 other articles. On their arrival on board, the two frigates dragged 
 their anchors; it blew fresh from the south-east, and they were 
 driving down upon the island of Morokinne, which was however 
 ot a suihcient distance to give them time to hoist in their boats. 
 La Perouse made the signal f )r weighing, but beiore they could 
 purchase the anchor, he was obliged to make sail, and drag it till 
 he had passed JMorokinne, to hinder him from driving past the 
 channel. 
 
 A fair wmd accompanied the navigators on their departure from 
 the Sandwich Islands. Whales and wild-geese convinced them 
 that they were approaching land. Early in the morning of the 23d 
 they descried it ; a sudden dispersion of the fog opened to them the 
 view of a long chain oi" mountains covered with snow. They dis- 
 tinguished IJehring's Mount St. Elias, on the north-west coast of 
 America Having taken in as much wood and water as was re- 
 quired, the navigators esteemed themselves the most fortunate of 
 men, in having arrived at such a distance from Europe withaut 
 having a sick person among them, or any one afflicted with he 
 scurvy; but a lamentable misfortune now awaited them. At .he 
 entrance of this harbor perished twenty brave seamen, in two 
 boats, by the surf On the 30th of July, at four in the afternoon, 
 I a Perouse got under way. This bay or harbor, to which he gave 
 the name of Port des Francais, is situated in 58 deg. 37 min. north- 
 latitude and 139 deg. 50 min. west longitude. In different ex- 
 cursions- he says, he found the high-water mark to be fifteen 
 fG(>t abovi: the surface of the sea. The climate of this coast is 
 in;'nitely milder than that of Hudson's Rav, in the same degree 
 ol latitude. Pines were seen of six feet in diaaieter, and one 
 hu)idred and tbrty feet in height. Vegetation is vigorous during 
 three or four months of the year. The men wear oitferent small or 
 naments. pendant Ironi the ears and nose, scarify their arms and 
 
li}8 iMONsii.i,!; Di; i.a rKiuiusr. 
 
 breasts, and lilc llicir toctli close to tlioir gum?, using, for the 
 last operation, a sand-stone, forined into a particular shape. 
 'They paint the face and body with soot, ochre, and plumbago 
 mixed with train-oil, making themselves most horrid figures 
 When ompletely dressed, their flowing hair is powdered, anu 
 plaited with tlie down of sea-birds; but, perhaps, only the chiefs 
 of certain distinguished families are thus decorated. Their should- 
 ers are covered with a skin, and on the head, is generally worn a 
 little straw-hat, plaited with great taste and ingenuity. Some- 
 times, indeed, the head is decorated with two horned bonnets of 
 eagles' feathers. Their head-dresses are extremely various, the 
 grand object in view being only to render themselves terrible, 
 that they may keep their enemies in awe. Some Indians have 
 skirts of otters' skins. A great chief wore a shirt composed of a 
 tanned skin of the elk, bordered by a fringe of beaks of birds, 
 which, when dancing, imitated the noise of a bell; a common 
 dress among the savages of Canada, and other nations in the 
 eastern parts of America. The passion of these Indians for 
 gaming is astonishing, and they pursue it with great avidity. The 
 sort of play to which they are most devoted, is a certain game cf 
 chance; out of thirty pieces of wood, each distinctly marked like 
 the French Dice, they hide seven: each plays in succession and 
 he who guesses nearest to the whole number marked upon the 
 seven is the winner of the stake, which is usually a hatchet or a 
 piece of iron. 
 
 At length, after a very long run, on the 11th of September, at 
 three in tlie afternoon, the navigators got sight of Fort Monterey, 
 and two three-masted vessels which lay in the road. The com- 
 mander of these two ships having been informed, by the Viceroy 
 of Mexico, of the probable arrival of the two French frigates, 
 sent them pilots in the course of the night. Loretto, tl e only 
 presidency of Old California, is situated on the east coast of this 
 peninsula and has a garrison of fifty-four troopers, who furnish 
 detachments to fifteen missions; the duties of which are per- 
 formed by Dominican friars. About four thousand Indians, con- 
 verted and residing in these fifteen parishes, are the sole produce 
 of the long labors of the different religious orders which have 
 succeeded each other. A small navy was established by the 
 Spanish Government in this port, under the orders of the Viceroy 
 of Mexico, consisting of four corvettes of twelve guns, and one 
 goletta. They are destined to supply with necessaries the pres- 
 idencies of North California; and they are sometimes despalciied 
 as packets-boats (o Manilla, when the orders of the court requirw 
 the utmost expedition. 
 
 The company were received with all possible politeness and re- 
 spect: the president of the missions, in his sacerdotal vestment, 
 Tvith the holy water in his hand, waited to receive them at the 
 entrance cf the church, which was splendidly illuminated as o* 
 
MO.NSIEUR DE LA PEROUSE 189 
 
 ihcir highest festivals: he then conducted them to the foot of 
 the high altar, where Te Deum was sung in thanksgivings for 
 their ariival. Before they entered the church they passed a range 
 of Indians: the parish church, though covered with straw, is neat, 
 and decorated with paintings, copied from Italian originals. The 
 Indians, as well as the missionaries, rise with the sun, and devote 
 an hour to prayers and mass, during which time a species of boiled 
 food is prepared for them: it consists of barley meal, the grain of 
 which has been roasted previous to its being boiled. It is cooked 
 in the centre of the square, in three large kettles. This repast 
 is called atole by the Indians, who consider it as delicious; it is 
 destitute of salt and butter, and must consequently be insipid. 
 The women have little more to attend to than their housewifery, 
 their children, and the roasting and grinding of several grains, 
 the latter operation is long and laborious, as they employ no other 
 means than that of crushing it, in pieces with a cylinde* upon a 
 stone. 
 
 The Indians of the ranchcries, or independent villages, arc ac- 
 customed to paint their bodies red and black, when they are in 
 mourning . but the missionaries have prohibited the former, though 
 they tolerate the latter, these people being singularly attached to 
 their friends. The ties of family are less regarded among them 
 than those of friendship: the children show no filial respect to the 
 father, having been obliged to quit his cabin as soon as they were 
 able to procure their own subsistence. 
 
 A Spanish commissary at Monterey, named M. Vincent Vassa- 
 dre y Vega, brought orders to the governor to collect all the 
 otter-skins of his missions and presidencies, government having 
 reserved to itself the exclusive commerce of them; and INI. Pages 
 assured La Perouse that he could annually furnish twenty thousand 
 of them. The Spaniards were ignorant of the importance of this 
 valuable peltry till the publication of the voyages of Captain 
 Cook; that e.xcellent man has navigated for the general benefit 
 of every nation; his own enjoys only the glory of the enterprise, 
 and that of having given him birth. 
 
 New California, though extremely fertile, cannot boast of 
 having a single settler; a few soldiers, married to Indian women, 
 who dwell in the forts, or who are dispersed among the different 
 missions, constituting the whole Spanish nation in this district of 
 America. The Franciscan missionaries are principally Europe- 
 ans; they have a convent in Mexico. 
 
 On the evening of the 22d every thing was on board, and Icavo 
 had been taken of the Governor and missionaries. On the 
 morning of the 21tli they sailed. On the 3d of November the 
 frigates were surrounded with noddies, terns, and man-of-war 
 birds; and on the 4th they made an island which bore west 
 Tiiis small island is little more than a rock of about five hundred 
 toises in length. La Perouse named it Isle Necker. About 
 
i90 Mo.NMrait nt i,a rEi;ousE. 
 
 an hour j)ast one in the morning La Percuse saw breakers at two 
 cables' length ahead of the ship; the sea being so smooth, the 
 sound of them was hardly heard; the Astrolabe perceived them 
 at the same time, though at a greater distance than the Boussole: 
 both frigates instantly hauled, with their heads to the south-east 
 La Pcrouse gave orders for sounding; they had nine fathoms, 
 rocky bottom; soon alter ten and twelve fathoms, and in a quarter 
 of an hour got no ground with sixty fathoms. They just escaped 
 the most imminent danger to which navigators can be exposed. 
 
 The Island of Assumption, to which the Jesuits have attributed 
 six leagues of circumference, from the angles now taken, was re- 
 duced to half, and the highest point is about two hundred toises 
 above the level of the sea. A more horrid place cannot be con- 
 ceived. It was a perfect cone, as black as a coal, and very 
 mortifying to behold, after having enjoyed, in imagination, the 
 cocoa-nuts and turtles expected to be found in some one of the 
 Marianne Islands. Having determined the position, he continued 
 his course towards China; and on the 1st of January, 1787, found 
 bottom in sixty fathoms; a number of fishing-boats surrounded 
 him the next day. On the 2d of January our navigators made 
 the White Rock. In the evening they anchored to the north- 
 ward of Ling-sing Island, and the following day in Macao Road. 
 Macao, situate at the mouth of the Tigris, is capable of receiving 
 a sixty-four gun-ship into its road, at the entrance of the Typa: 
 and in its port, below the city, ships of seven hundred tons half 
 laden. 
 
 The climate of thr road of Typa is, at this season of the year, 
 precarious; most of the crews were afHicted with colds, accom- 
 panied with a lever; which yielded to the salutary temperature of 
 the island of Luconia, when they approached it on the 15th of 
 February. Wanting wood, which he knew was dear at Manilla, 
 La Perouse came to a resolution of remaining twenty-four hours 
 at Marivella to procure some, and early the next morning all the 
 carpenters of the two frigates were sent on shore with the long 
 boats; the rest of the ship's company, with the yawl, were re- 
 ser.ed for a fishing-party; but they were unsuccessful, as thej 
 found nothing but rocks and very shallow water. 
 
 On the 28th the navigators came to an anchor in the port of 
 Cavite, in three fathoms, at two cables' length from the town 
 Cavite, situate three leagues to the south-west of Manilla, wa» 
 formerly a jjlace of importance. Manilla is erected on the Bay 
 which also bears its name, and lies at the mouth of a river, being 
 one of the finest situations in the world: a,ll the necessaries of life 
 may be procured there in abundance, and on reasonable terms; 
 but the cloths, and other manufactures of E.irope are extravagant- 
 ly dear. La Perouse confidently asserts, that a great nation 
 without any other colony than the Philippines, which would estab 
 ish a proper government there, might view all the Europea" 
 
?I0?«SIEUR DE LA FERaUSE, 91 
 
 Bettleiuents in Africa and America without envy or regret. These 
 islands contain about 3,000,000 of inhabitants, and that of Luco- 
 nia consists of about a third of them. These people seem not 
 inferior to Ei..'opeans; they cultivate the land with skill, and 
 among them have mgenious goldsmiths, carpenters, joiners, 
 macons, blacksmiths, &c. La Perouse says he has visited them 
 at their villages, and found them affable, hospitable, and honest. 
 
 On the 9th of April, according to the French reckoning, and 
 the 10th as the Manillese reckon, our navigators sailed and got 
 to the northward of the island of Luconia. On the 2 1st they 
 made the island of Formosa; and experienced, in the channel 
 which divides it from that of Luconia, some very violent currents. 
 On the '22d they set Lamy Island, at the south-west point oi 
 Formosa, about three leagues distant. The tack they then stood 
 on conveyed them upon the coast of Formosa, near the entrance 
 of the bay of Old Fort Zealand, where the city of Ta.ywan, the 
 capital of that island is seated. 
 
 The w hole of the next day a dead calm occurred, in mid-channel, 
 between the Bashee Islands, and those of Botol Tabacoxima. 
 It is probable that vessels might provide themselves in this island 
 with provision, wood, and water. La Perouse preserved the 
 name of Kumi Island, which Father Gambil gives it in his chart. 
 In the night of the 25th our navigators passed the strait of Corea, 
 sounding very frequently, and as this coast appeared more eligible 
 to follow than that of Japan, they approached within two leagues 
 of it, and shaped a course parallel to its direction. On the 27th 
 they made the signal to bear up, and steer east, and soon perceiv- 
 ed, in the north-north-east, an Island not laid down upon any 
 chart, at the distance of about twenty leagues from the coast of 
 Corea. He named it Isle Dagelet, from the name of the astrono- 
 mer who first discovered it. The circumference is about three 
 leagues. 
 
 On the 30th of May, La Perouse shaped his course east towards 
 Japan, and on the 2d of June saw two Jcfpanese vessels, one of 
 which passed within hail of him. It had a crew of twenty men, 
 all habited in blue cassocks resembling those worn by French 
 priests. This vessel was about one hundred tons burden, and 
 had a single high mast stepped in the middle. The Astrolabe 
 hailed her as she passed, but neither the question nor the answer 
 was comprehended. At different times of the day seven Chinese 
 vessels of a smaller construction, were seen, which were better 
 calculated to encounter bad weather. 
 
 During the seventy-five days, since our navigators sailed from 
 Manilla, they had run along the coasts of Quelpert Island, Corea, 
 and Japan; but as these countries were inhabited by people in- 
 hospitable to strangers, they did not attempt to visit them. They 
 were extremely impatient to reconnoitre this land, and it was the 
 only part of the globe which had escaped the activity of Captain 
 
192 MONSIEUR DE L\ PEROUSE. 
 
 Cook. The geographers who had drawn the strait of Tessoy^ 
 erroneously determined the limits ol" Jesso, of the C'onipany's land, 
 and of Staten Island; it, therefore, became necessary to termi- 
 nate the ancient discussions by indisputable facts. The latitude 
 of Jiaie de Ternai was the same as that of Port Acqueis, though 
 the description of it is very difierent. The plants which France 
 produces, carpeted the whole of this soil. Roses, lilies, and all 
 Kurojiean' meadow-flowers were beheld at every step. Pine- 
 tiees embellished the tops of the mountains; and oaks, gradual- 
 ly diminishing in strength and size towards the sea, adorned the 
 loss elevated parts. Traces of men were frequently perceived by 
 the havoc they had made. By these, and many other corrobora- 
 ting circumstances, the navigators were clearly of opinion, that 
 the Tartars approach the borders of the sea, when invited thither 
 by the season for iishing and hunting; that they assemble for these 
 purposes alonii tlie rivers, and that the mass of people reside in 
 the interior of the country, to attend to the multiplication oftheij 
 flocks and herds. JM. de Langle, with several other officers who 
 had a passion for hunting, endeavored to pursue their sport, but 
 without success, yet they imagined that by silence, perseverance, 
 and posting themselves in ambush in the passes of the stags and 
 bears, they might be able to procure some of them. This plan 
 was determined on for the next day, but, with all their address 
 and management it |)roved abortive. It was therefore generally 
 acknowledged that fishing presented the greatest prospect of suc- 
 cess. Each of the five creeks in the Baie de Ternai afliirded a 
 proper place for hauling the seine, and was rendered more con- 
 venient by a rivulet, near which they established their kitchen. 
 They caught plenty of trout, salmon, cod-tish, harp-fish, plaice, 
 and herrings. 
 
 At eight in the morning of the 7th, he made an island which 
 seemed of great extent; he supposed, at first, that this was Sega- 
 lien Island, the south part of which some geographers had placed 
 two degrees too far to the northward. The aspect of this land was 
 extremely different from that of Tartary; nothing was to be seen 
 but barren rocks, the cavities of which retained the snow. To 
 the highest of the mountains La Perouse gave the appellation of 
 Peak Lamanon. M. de Langle, who had come to anchor, came 
 instantly on board his ship, having already hoisted out his long 
 boat and small boats. He submitted to La Perous.e whether it 
 would not be proper to land before night, in order to reconnoitre 
 the country, and gather some necessary information from the 
 inhabitants. By the assistance of their glasses, they perceived 
 Borne cabins, and two of the islanders hastening towards the 
 woods. 
 
 Our navigators were successful in making the natives compre- 
 hend that they requested a description of their country, and that 
 ot the Mantchous; one of the old sages rose up, and, with great 
 
MOXSlELil DE LA PEROlSE. 193 
 
 perspicuity pointed out the most essential and interesting particu- 
 lars with the end of his staff. His sagacity in guessing the mean- 
 ing of the questions proposed to him was astonishing, though, in 
 this particular, he was surpassed by another islander of about 
 thirty years of age. The last-mentioned native informed our navi- 
 gators that they had a commercial intercourse with the people 
 who inhabit the banks of Segalien river, and he distinctly 
 marked, by strokes of a pencil, the number of days it required 
 for a canoe to sail up the river to the respective places of their 
 general traffic. The bay in which they lay at anchor was named 
 liaie de Langle, as Captain de Langle was the first who discovered 
 it, and first landed on its shore. They spent the remainder of the 
 day in visiting the country and its inhabitants. They were sur- 
 prised to find among a people composed of hunters and fishermen, 
 who were strangers to the cultivation of the earth, and without 
 flocks or herds, such gentle manners, and such a superiority of 
 'nteilect. The attention of the inhabitants of the Bale de Langle 
 was attracted by the arts and manufactures of the French, they 
 judiciously examined them, and debated among themselves the 
 manner of fabricating the several articles. They were not un- 
 acquainted with the weaver's shuttle. A loom of their construction 
 was carried to France, by which it appeared that their methods of 
 making linens was similar to that of the Europeans; but the 
 thread of it is formed of the bark of the willow-tree. Though 
 they do not cultivate the soil, they convert the spontaneous pro- 
 duce of it to the most useful and necessary purposes. 
 
 At daybreak, on the 4th of July, La Perouse made the signal 
 for getting under way; early on the 19th, he saw the land of an 
 island from north-east-by-north, as far as east-south-east, but so 
 thick a fog prevailed that none of the points could be particularly 
 discovered. The bay, which is the best in which he had an- 
 chored since his departure from Manilla, he named Baie'd 'Esta- 
 ing. M. de Langle, who first landed in the island, found the 
 islanders assembled round three or four canoes, laden with smoked 
 fish: he was there informed tliat the men who composed the crews 
 of the canoes were Mantchous, and had quitted the banks of the 
 Segalien river to become purchasers of these fish. In the corner 
 of the island, within a kind of circus planted with stakes, each 
 surmounted with the head of a bear, the bones of animals lay scat- 
 tered. As these people use no firearms, but engage the bears 
 in close combat, their arrows being only capable of wounding 
 them, this circus might probably be intended to perpetuate the 
 memory of certain great exploits. Having entertained conjectures 
 relative to the proximity of the Coast of Tartary. La Perouse 
 at length discovered that his conjectures were well-founded; for 
 when the horizon became a little more extensive, he saw it per 
 fectly. lu the evening of the 22d he came to anchor in thirty- 
 fieve'i fa'homs, about a league from the land He was then abreast 
 17 
 
lyi siONsiEUic nr i.\ rr.r.ousc 
 
 ofa small river, to the northwarfl of whicli he saw a lemarkablc 
 peak; its basn is on the shore, and itssttniniit on all sid^s preserves 
 a reguhir lorna. La Perouse bestowed on it the tilie ol" Peak la 
 Martinicre. 
 
 On the 28th, in tlie evening, our navigators were at the 
 opening of a hay which presented a safe and convenient anchor- 
 age. JM. de Langie reported to La Perouse that there was ex- 
 cellent shelter behind four islands; he had landed at a village 
 of I'artars, where he was kindly received, and where he discov 
 ered a watering place abounding with the most limpid element 
 From IM. dc Langle's report. La Perouse gave orders to prepare 
 for anchoring in the bottom of the bay, which was named Baie 
 de Castris. 
 
 In this bay the French navigators first discovered the use of the 
 circle of lead or bone, which these people, and the inhabitants of 
 Segalien Island, wear on the thumb like a ring; it greatly assists 
 them in cutting and stripping the salmon with a knife, which ia 
 always hanging to their girdle Their village was built upon lovt 
 marshy land, which must doubtless be uninhabitable during the 
 winter, but on the opposite side of the gult^, another village 
 appeared on a more elevated situation. It was seated at the en- 
 trance of a wood, and contained eight cabins, larger and better 
 constructed than the first. IVot far from these cabins, they 
 visited three yourts, or subterranean houses. They were suffi- 
 ciently capacious to accommodate the inhabitants of the whole 
 eight cabins during the severity of the inclement season. On 
 the borders of this village several tombs presented themselves, 
 which were larger and more ingeniously fabricated than the 
 houses; each of them contained three, four, or five biers, deco- 
 rated with Chinese stuffs, some pieces of which were brocade. 
 Bows, arrows, and the other most esteemed articles of these people, 
 were suspended in the interior of these monuments, the wooden 
 door of which was closed by a bar, supported at each end by a 
 prop. 
 
 The women are wrapped in a large robe of nankeen, or sal- 
 mon's skin, curiously tanned, descending as low as the ankle- 
 bone, sometimes embellished with a border of fringe manufactured 
 of copper, and producing sounds like those of little bells. Those 
 palmon which furnish a covering for the fair, weigh thirty or 
 forty pounds, and are never caught in summer; those which were 
 taken by the French visiters did not exceed three or four pounds 
 in weight; but that disadvantage WaS fully compensated by the 
 extraordinary number, and the extreme delicacy of th.eir flavor. 
 
 On the L'd of August, La Perouse sailed with a light breeze. 
 On tl>« 19th Cape Troun was perceived to the southward, and 
 Cape Uries to the south-east-by-east; its proper direction, ac* 
 cording to the Dutch chart: their situation could no> possibly 
 have been determined with more precision by modern navigators 
 
MONSIEUR DR LA PEUOL'SE. 196 
 
 kn the eve^iing of the 6th, they made the entrance of Avatcha 
 Bay, cr Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The hght-house, erected 
 by the Russians on the east point of the entrance, was not kindled 
 during the night; as an excuse for which the governor declared 
 the next day, that all their efforts to keep it burn had been in- 
 effectual; the win-l had constantly extinguished the flame, which 
 was only sheltered by four planks of wood very indiflerently 
 cemented. 
 
 The government of Kamtschatka had been materially changet 
 since the departure of the English, and was now only a dependency 
 of that of Ochotsk. These particulars were communicated to oui 
 navigators by lieutenant Kaborof, governor of the harbor of Saint 
 Peter and Saint Paul, having a sergeant and forty soldiers under 
 his command. M. de Lessops, who acted as interpreter, and who 
 perfectly understood the Russian language, wrote a letter, in La 
 Perouse's name, to the governor of Ochotsk, to whom La Perouse 
 also wrote in French himself He told him that the narrative of 
 Cook's last voyage had spread abroad the fame of the hospitality 
 of the Kamtschadale government; and he flattered himself that 
 he should be as favorably received as the English navigators,, as 
 his voyage, like theirs, was intended for the general benefit of all 
 maritime nations. 
 
 The Kamtschadales are of an imitative genius, and fond of 
 adopting the customs of their conquerors. They have already 
 abandoned the yourts, in which they were formerly accustomed 
 to burrow like badgers, breathing foul air during the whole of 
 the winter. The most opulent among them now build isbas, or 
 wooden houses, like those of the Russians: they are divided into 
 three small rooms, and are conveniently warmed by a brick-stove. 
 The inferior people pass their winters and summers in balagans, 
 resembling wooden pigeon-houses, covered with thatch, and placed 
 upon the tops of posts twelve or thirteen feet high, to which the 
 women, as well as men, find a ladder necessary for their ascen- 
 sion. But these latter buildings will probably soon disappear: 
 for the Kamtschadales imitate the manners and dresses of the 
 Russians. It is curious to see in their little cottages, a quantity 
 of cash in circulation; and it may be considered as a still greater 
 curiosity, because the practice exists among so small a number of 
 inhabitants. Their consumption of the commodities of Russia 
 and China are so few, that the balance of trade is entirely in their 
 favor, in consequence of which it is necessary to pay them the 
 difference in roubles. The Kamtschadales, says La Peroust, 
 appeared to me to be the same people as those of the Bay of C s.s- 
 tries, on the coast of Tartary; they are equally remarkable for 
 Iheir mildness and their probity, and their persons are not \ ery 
 dissimilar. 
 
 The approach of winter now warned our navigators to depj rt: 
 Ihe ground, which, on their arrival on the 7th of September, vas 
 
V9G MONsiF.ia Old !.A riinousE 
 
 adoriiod witli the most beautiful verdure, was as j'cllow and parched 
 j|) on tlic 'i5th oi" tlie same month, as in tlie environs of Paris at 
 the conchision of December. La i'erouse therefore gave prepar- 
 atory orders for their departure, and, on the 29th, got under way. 
 M. Kaslotr came to take a final leave of him, and dined on board. 
 He accompanied him on shore, with M. de Langle, and several 
 otlicers, and was liberally entertained with a good supper, and 
 a ball. 
 
 induced by a western gale. La Perouse attempted to reach the 
 parallel of Bougainville's .Navigator's Islands, a discovery due to 
 tht French, Avhere fresh provision might probably be procured. 
 On the 6th of December, at three in the afternoon, he saw the 
 most easterly island of that Archipelago, and stood on and off dur- 
 ing the rest of the evening and night. Meaning to anchor if he 
 met with a proper place, La Perouse passed through the channel 
 between the great and the little islands that Bougainville left to 
 the south; though hardly a league w4de, it appeared perfectly 
 free from danger. He saw no canoes till he was in the channel, 
 yet he beheld several habitations on the windward side of the 
 island, and a group of Lidians sitting under the shade of cocoa-nut 
 trees, who seemed delighted with the prospect aflforded by the 
 frigates. 
 
 At break of day they were surprised not to see land to leeward; 
 nor was it to be discovered till six o'clock next morning. Charm- 
 ed with the beautiful dawn of the following morning. La Perouse 
 resolved to reconnoitre the country, take a view of the inhabitants 
 at their own homes, fill water, and immediately get underway; 
 prudence warning him against passing a second night at that 
 anchorage, which M. de Langle also thought too dangerous for 
 a longer stay. It was therefore agreed on to sail in the afternoon, 
 after appropriating the morning in exchanging baubles for hogs 
 and fruit. At the dawn of day the islanders had surrounded the 
 two frigates, with two hundred different canoes laden with provi- 
 sion, which they would only exchange for beads, axes, and cloth; 
 other articles of traffic, were treated by them with contempt. 
 While a part of the crew was occupied in keeping them In order, 
 and dealing, the rest were despatching empty casks on shore to 
 be replenished with water. Two boats of the Boussole, armed, 
 and commanded by Messrs de Clonard and Colinet, and those of 
 the Astrolabe, commanded by Messrs. de Monti and Bellegarde, 
 •?et off with that view at five in the morning, foi ;. bay at the dis- 
 fance of about a league. La Perouse followed close after Messrs 
 Clonard and Monti, in his pinnace, and larded when they did. 
 It unfortunately happened that M. de Langle had formed a resolu- 
 tion to make an excursion in his jolly-boat to another creek, at the 
 distance of about a league from their watering-place; from this 
 excursion a dire misfortune ensued. The creek, towards which 
 the long-boats steered, was large and commodious: these, and 
 
MONSIEUR DE LA PEROUSE. 19/ 
 
 the other boats, remained afloat at low water, within half a pistol 
 shot of the beach, and excellent water was easily procured. Grea, 
 order was observed by Messrs. de Clonard and de Monti. A line 
 of soldiers was posted between the beach and the natives, who 
 amounted to about two hundred, including many women and 
 cliildren. They were prevailed on to sit down under cocoa-trecij 
 at a little distance from the boats; each of them had fowls, hogs, 
 pig^^ons, or fruit, and all of them were anxious to disp<»se of theii 
 arlicles witliout delay, which created some confusion. 
 
 While matters were thus passing with perfect tranquillity, and 
 the casks expeditiously tilling with water, I. a Perouse ventured 
 to visit a charming village, situated in the midst of a neighboring 
 wo:'d, the trees of which were loaded with delicious fruit. The 
 houses formed a circle of about one hundred and tifty toises in 
 diameter, leaving an interior open space, beaiitifidlv verdant, and 
 shaded with trees, which rendered the air delightfully cool and 
 refreshing. Women, children, and aged men attended him, and 
 earnestly importuned him to enter their houses; they even spread 
 their finest mats upon the floor, decorated with chosen pel)bles, 
 and raised a convenient distance from the ground to prevent 
 olfensive hunudity. La Perouse condescended to enter one of 
 the handsomest of these huts, which was probaUy inhabited by a 
 chief, and was astonished to behold a large cabinet of lattice-work, 
 •n which as much taste and elegance were displayed as if it had 
 been produced in the environs of Paris. This enchanting coun- 
 try, blessed with a fruitful soil without culture, and enjoying a 
 climate which renders clothing unnecessary, holds out to these 
 fortunate people an abundance of the most estimable food. The 
 trees invite the natives to partake of the bread-fruit, the banana, 
 the cocoa-nut, and the orange; while the swine, fowls, and dogs, 
 which partake of the surplus of these fruits, afford them a rich 
 variety of viands. The inhabitants of this enviable spot were so 
 rich, and entirely free from wants, that they looked with disdain 
 on the cloth and iron tendered by the French visiters, and only 
 deigned to become customers for beads. Abounding in real bless- 
 ings, they languished only for superfluities. 
 
 The boats of the Boussole now arrived loaded with water, and 
 La Perouse made every preparation to get under way. M. de 
 Langle at the same instant returned from his excursion, and 
 mentioned his having landed in a noble harbor for boats, at the 
 foot of a delightful village, and near a cascade of transparent 
 water, tie spoke of this watering-place as iniinitely more com- 
 modious than any other, and begge*. La Perouse to permit him to 
 take the lead of the lirst party, assuring him that in three hours he 
 would return on board with all the boats full of water. Though 
 La Perouse, from the appearance of things at this time, had no 
 great apprehensions of danger, he was averse to sending boats on 
 sh »ro without the greatest necessity, especially among an immense 
 11* 
 
198 MONSIEUR nn r.A peuouse. 
 
 niimhe of people, unsupported and unperceived by the sljips 
 The boats put o If from the Astrolabe at half past twelve, and ar 
 rived at the watering-place soon after one; when, to their grea 
 astonishment, ]M. de l^anglc, and his oHiceis, instead of (indina 
 a krge commodious bay, saw only a creek full of coral, through 
 which there was no other passage than a winding channel of about 
 twenty-tive feet wide. When within, they had no more than five 
 feet water; the long-boats grctunded, and the barges must have 
 been in t/,e same situation had ihey not been hauled to the en- 
 trance of the channel at a great distance from the beach. M. de 
 Langle was now conviinM-d that he had examined the bay at high- 
 water only, not supposing :hai the tide at those islands rose five or 
 six feet. Struck with amazement, he instantly resolved to quit 
 the creek, and repair to that where they had before tilled water; 
 but the air of tranciuillity and apparent good humor of the crowd 
 of Indians, bringing with them an immense quantity of fruit and 
 hogs, chased his first prudent idea from his recollection 
 
 He landed the casks on siiore from the four boats without in- 
 terruption, while bis soldiers preserved excellent order on the 
 beach, forming themselves in two lines, the more etfectually to 
 answer their purpose. Instead of about two hundred natives, in- 
 chiding women and children, which M. de Langle found there at 
 about half after one, tiiey were, at three o'clock, increased to the 
 alarming number of one thousand and two hundred. M. de Lan- 
 gle 's situation became every instant more embarrassing; he found 
 means, however, to ship his water, but the bay was almost dry-, 
 and he had not any hopes of getting off the long-boats till four in 
 the afternoon. He and his detachment, however, stepped into 
 them, and took post in the bow with his muslcct and musketeers, 
 forbidding any one to fire without his command; which he knew 
 would speedily be found necessary. Stones were now violently 
 thrown by the Indians, who were up to their knees in water, and 
 surrounded the long-boats, at the distance of about six feet; 
 the soldiers, who were embarked, making feeble efforts to keep 
 them off. 
 
 M. de Langle, still hoping to check hostilities, without effusion 
 ot blood, gave no orders, all this time, for firing a volley of mus- 
 ketry an 1 swivels; but shortly after, a shower of stones, thrown 
 with incredi!)le force, struck almost every one in the long-boat. 
 M de Langle had only fired two shot, when he was knocked 
 overboard, and niassacred with clubs and stones by about two 
 hiindred Indians. The long-boat of the Eoussole, commanded by 
 ISI. de Boutin, was aground near the Astrolabe, leaving between 
 them a channel unoccupied by the Indians. Many saved them- 
 selves by swimming, who fortunately got on board the barges, 
 which keeping afloat, forty-nine persons were saved out of the 
 sixty-one, of which the party consisted. M. Boutin was knocked 
 iown by a stone, but tbrtunatc^ly fell between the two long-boats, 
 
MONSIEUR DE LA PLIIOUSE. 193 
 
 on board of which not a man remained in the space of abo it five 
 minutes. Those who preserved their lives by swimming to tho 
 two barges, received several wounds; but those who unhappily fell 
 on the other side were instantly despatched by the clubs of the 
 remorseless Indians. 
 
 rii(.' crews of the barges, who had killed many of the islanders 
 w!;h (heir muskets, now began to make more room by throwing 
 tlieir water-casks overboard. They had also nearly exhausted 
 their ammunition, and their retreat was rendered difficult, n 
 auiiiber of wounded persons lying stretched out upon the thwarts, 
 and impeding the working of the oars. To the prudence of M. 
 ^'aujaus, and the discipline kept up by INI. iNIouton, who comman- 
 ded the Boussole's barge, the public are indebted for the preser- 
 vation of the forty-nine persons of both crews who escaped. M. 
 Boutin had received five wounds in the head, and one in the 
 breast, and was kept above water by the cockswain of the long- 
 boat, wlio had himself received a severe wound. M. Colinet was 
 discovered in a state of insensibility upon the grapnel-rope of the 
 barge, with two wounds on the head, an arm fractured, and a 
 finger broken. M. Lavaux, surgeon of the Astrolabe, was obli- 
 ged to suffer the operation of the trepan. M. de Lamanon, and 
 M. de Langle, were cruelly massacred with Talio, master at arms 
 of the Boussole, and nine other persons belonging to the two 
 crews. M. le Gobien, who commanded the Astrolabe's long-boat, 
 did not desert iiis post till he was left alone; when, having exhaust- 
 ed his ammunition, he leaped into tlie channel, and, notwithstand- 
 ing his wounds, preserved himself on board one of the barges. 
 A little ammunition was afterwards found, and completely ex- 
 hausted on the infuriated crowd; and the boats at length extricated 
 themselves from their lamentable situation. 
 
 At five o'clock the officers and crew of the Boussole were 
 informed of this disastrous event; they were at that moment sur- 
 rounded with about one hundred canoes, in which the nativea 
 were disposing of their provisions with security, and perfectly 
 innocent of the catastrophe which had happened. But they were 
 -he countrymen, the brothers, the children of the infernal assas- 
 sins, the thoughts of which so transported La Perouse with rage, 
 that he could with difficulty confine himself to the limits of mode- 
 ration, or hinder the crew from punishing them with death. 
 
 On the 14th of December, La Perouse stood for the Island of 
 OyoHva, which had been observed before they had arrived at the 
 anchorage which proved so fatal. This island is separated from 
 that of JNIaouna, or of the Massacre, by a wide channel, and vies 
 with Otuheite in beauty, extent, fertility, and population. At 
 the distance of about tliree leagues from the north-east point, he 
 was surrounded by canoes, laden with bread-fruit, bananas, cocou- 
 nuts, sugar-canes, pigeons, and a few hog'*. The inhabitants of 
 tliis island resemb e those of the island of iMaouna, whose treacherv 
 
200 510NSIEUR DE LA PEROUSE 
 
 had been so fatally experienced. Some exchanges were conduct 
 ed with these islanders with more tranquillity and honesty than at 
 the island of JNIaouna, as the smallest act of injustice received 
 immediate chastisement. 
 
 On the 1 7th they approached the islacd of Pola, but not a single 
 canoe came off; perhaps the natives had been intimidated by 
 hearing of the event which had taken place at Maouna, Pola is 
 a smaller island than that of Oyolava, but equally beautiful, and 
 is only separated from it by a channel four leagues across. The 
 natives of Maouna informed our visiters, that the Navigator's 
 Islands are ten in number, viz. Opoun, the most easterly, Leone, 
 3'^anfoue, Maouna, Oyolava, Calinasse, Pola SUika, Ossamo, and 
 Ouera. These islands form one of the finest archipelagoes of the 
 South Sea, and are as interesting with respect to arts, productions, 
 and population, as the Society and Friendly Islands, which the 
 English navigators have so satisfactorily described. In favor of 
 their moral characters, little remains to be noticed; gratitude can- 
 not find a residence in their ferocious minds; nothing but fear can 
 restrain them from outrageous and inhuman actions. The huts 
 of these islanders are elegantly formed: though they disdain the 
 fabrications of iron, they finish their work with wonderful neatness, 
 with tools formed of a species of basaltes in the form of an adze. 
 For a i'ew glass-beads, they bartered large three-legged dishes 
 of wood, so well-polished as to have the appearance of being 
 nighiy varnished. They keep up a wretched kind of police; a 
 few, who had the appearance of chiefs, chastised the refractory 
 f/ith their sticks, but their assumed power seemed generally dis- 
 regarded; any regulations which they attempted to enforce and to 
 establish, were transgressed almost as soon as they were promul- 
 gated. Never were sovereigns so negligently obeyed, never were 
 orders enforced with such feeble shadows of authority. 
 
 Imagination cannot figure to itself more agreeable situations 
 than those of their villages. All the houses are built under fruit- 
 trees, whi :h render them delightfully cool; they are seated on the 
 borders of streams, leading down from the mountains. Though 
 the principal object in their architecture is to protect them from 
 offensive heat, the islanders never abandon the idea of elegance. 
 Tlieir houses are sufficiently spacious to accommodate several 
 families; and they are furnished with blinds, which are drawn up 
 to the windward to prevent the intrusion of the potent rays of the 
 sun. The natives repose upon fine comfortable mats, which are 
 cautiously preserved from all humidity. Nothing can be said, by 
 o-,ir travelh rs, of the religious rites of these natives, as no morai 
 was perceived belonging to them. The islands are fertile, and 
 their population is supposed to be considerable. Opun, Leone, 
 and Fanfbue, are small; but IMaounc, Oyolava, and Pola, may be 
 classed among the largest and most beautiful in the Sout!i Sea. 
 Cocoa island is \'>i^ty, and formed like a sugar-loaf; it is nearly a 
 
MONSIEUR DE LA PEROUSE. 201 
 
 mile in diameter, covered with trees, and is separated from Trait- 
 ors' Island by a channel about a league wide. At eight in the 
 morning La Perouse brought too, to the west-south-west, at twu 
 miles from a sandy bay in the western part of the Great Island of 
 Traitors, where he expected to find an anchorage sheltered from 
 easterly winds. About twenty canoes instantly quitted the shore 
 and approached the frigates in order to make exchanges; several 
 of tliem wer3 loaded with excellent cocoa-nuts, with a few yams 
 and banaims; one of them brought a hog, and three or four fowls. 
 It •-•vidently appeared that these Indians had before some know- 
 ledge of Europeans, as they came near without fear, traded with 
 honesty, and never refused to part with their fruit before they were 
 paid for it. They spoke, however, the same language, and the 
 same ferocity appeared in their countenances; their manner of 
 tattooing, and the form of their canoes were the same, but they 
 had not, like them, two joints cut off from the little finger of the 
 left hand; two individuals had, however, suffered that operation. 
 
 On the 27th of December, Vavao was perceived, an island 
 which Captain Cook had never visited, but was no stranger to its 
 existence, as one of the archipelago of the Friendly Islands; it is 
 nearly equal in extent to that of Tongataboo, and is particularly 
 fortunate in having no deficiency of fresh water. The two small 
 islands of Hoongatonga are no more than two large uninhabitable 
 rocks, which are higii enough to be seen at the distance of fifteen 
 leagues. Their position is ten leagues north of Tongataboo; but 
 that island being low, it can hardly be seen at half that distance. 
 On the 3 1st of December, at six in the morning, an appearance 
 like the tops of trees, which seemed to grow in the water, proved 
 the harbinger of Van Dieman's point. The wind being northerly, 
 La Perouse steered for the south coast of the island, which may, 
 without danger, be approached within three musket-shots. Not 
 the semblance of a hill is to be seen; a calm sea cannot present 
 a more level surface to the eye. The huts of the natives were 
 scattered irregularly over the fields, and not socially collected 
 into a conversable neighborhood. Seven or eight canoes were 
 launched from these habitations, and direct. ^d their course towards 
 the vessels; but these islanders were awk vard seamen, and did 
 not venture to come near, though the water was smooth, and no 
 obstacle impeded their passage. At the distance of about eight 
 or ten feet, they leaped overboard and swam near the frigates, 
 holdmg in each hand a quantity of cocoa-nuts, which they were 
 ghid to exchange for pieces of iron, nails, and hatchets; from the 
 honesty of their dealings a friendly intercourse ensued between 
 the islanders and the navigators, and they ventured to come on 
 board 
 
 Norfolk Island, off the coast of New South Wales, which they 
 ■saw on the 13th of January, is very steep, but does not exceed 
 eighty toises above the level of the sea. It is covered with pines 
 
202 MONSIEUR HE LA PEROUSE. 
 
 which appt ar to be of the satnc species as those of New Ca.edo- 
 nia, or New Zealand. Captain Cook having declared that he saw 
 many cabbage-trees in this island, heightened the desire of the nav- 
 igators to land on it. Perhaps the palm which produces these 
 cabbages, is very small, for not a single tree of that species :;ould 
 be discovered. On the viGth, at nine in the morning, La Peronse 
 let go the anchor at a mile from the north coast of Botany Bay, in 
 seven fathoms water. An English lieutenant, and a midshipman, 
 were sent on board his ship by Captain Hunter, commander of 
 the Sirius. They offered him, in Captain Hunter's name, all the 
 services in his power; but circumstances would not permit him to 
 sup|)ly them with provision, ammunition, or sails. An officer was 
 despatched from the French to the English Captain, returning 
 thanks, and adding, that his wants extended only to wood and 
 water, of which he should find plenty in the bay. The journal of 
 La Perouse proceeds no further. La Perouse, according to his 
 last letters from Botany Bay, was to return to the Isle of France 
 in 1788. 
 
 They left Botany bay in March, and, in a letter which the 
 commodore wrote February 7, he stated his intention to continue 
 his researches till December, when he expected, after visiting the 
 Friendly islands, to arrive at the Isle of France. This was the 
 latest intelligence received of the fate of the expedition; and M. 
 d' Entrecasteaux, who was despatched by the French government, 
 in 1791, in search of La Perouse, was unable to trace the course 
 he had taken, or gain any clew to the catastrophe which had be- 
 fallen him and his companions. 
 
 In 1825, the attention of the public was excited towards this 
 mysterious affair, by a notice published by the French minister 
 of the marme, purporting that an Amerian captain had declared 
 that he had seen, in the hands of one of the natives of an island 
 in the tract between Louisiade and New Caledonia, a cross of the 
 order of St. Louis, and some medals, which appeared to have been 
 procured from the shipwreck of La Perouse. In consequence of 
 this information, the commander of a vessel which sailed from 
 Toulon, in April, 182B, on a voyage of discovery, received orders 
 to make researches in the quarter specified, in order to restore 
 to their country any of the shipwrecked crew who might yet re- 
 nsain in existence. Other intelligence, relative to the wreck of 
 two large vessels, on two different islands of the New Hebrides, 
 was obtained by captain Dillon, the commander of an English 
 vessel atTucopia, in his passage from Valparaiso to Pondicherry, 
 in May, j»2b. In consequence of which he was sent back to as- 
 certain the truth of the matter. The facts discovered by him on 
 this mission, wf re, that the two ships struck on a reef at Mallicolo, 
 1° 4' S. lati'dde, 169"^ 20 E. l-ngitude; one of them inm cdiateKy 
 w^ent down and all on board perished; some of the crew of the 
 other esc'/f)ed, part of whom were murdered by the savages; the 
 
midshipman's prakks. 203 
 
 remainder biilt a small vessel, and set sail from Mallicolo; but 
 what became of them is not known. It is not, indeed, certain 
 that these were the vessels of La Perouse. 
 
 MIDSHIPMAN'S PRANKS. 
 
 BY CAFTAIX HALL. 
 
 During the long winters of our slothful discontent at Bermuda, 
 caused by the peace of Amiens, the grand resource, both of the 
 idle and the busy, amongst all classes of the Leander's officers, 
 was shooting — that nr er-ending, still-beginning amuserrent, 
 wliich Englishmen carry to the remotest corner of the habitable 
 globe — popping away in all countries, thinking only of game, and 
 often but too reckless of the prejudices, or fear of the natives. This 
 propensity is indulged even in those uninhabited regions of the 
 earth which are visited only once in an age; and if Captain Parry 
 had reached the pole, he would unquestionably have had a shot 
 at the axis of the earlh! 
 
 In the meantime, the officers and young gentlemen of the flag- 
 ship at Bermuda in the beginning of 1803, I suppose to keep their 
 hands in for the war whioh they saw brewing, and prayed hourly 
 for, w^re constantly blazing away amongst the cedar groves and 
 orange plantations of those fairy islands, which appeared to be 
 more and more beautiful after every such excursion. The mid- 
 shipmen were generally obliged to content themselves with knock- 
 ing' down the blue and red birds with the ship's pistols, charged 
 witii His Majesty's gunpowder, and, for want of small shot, with 
 slugs formed by cutting up His INIajesty's musket-bullets. The 
 officers aimed at higher game, and were, of course, better provid- 
 ed with guns and ammunition. Several of these gentlemen had 
 brought from England some fine dogs — high bred pointers, while 
 the middies, also, not to be outdone, must needs have a dog of 
 tlieir own: they recked very little of what breed; but some sort of 
 animal they said they must have. 
 
 I forget how we procured the strange-looking animal whose 
 services we contrived to engage; but having once obtained him, 
 we were not slow in giving him our best affections. It is true he 
 was as ugly as anything could possibly be. His color was a dirty 
 reddish yellow; and while a part of his hair twisted itself up in 
 curls, a part hung down quite straight, almost to the ground. He 
 v>'as utterly useless for ail t!ie pur;)oses of real sport, but quite 
 good enough to furnish the mids with plenty of liin when they wen 
 on shore — in chasing pigs, barking at old white headed negresses 
 
■iuJ Mi:;:>nir:.iA.N s iua.nks. 
 
 and other amusements suited to the exalted taste and habits oftha 
 vismg generation ol'orticers. 
 
 People will diller as to the merits of dogs; hut we had no doubtg 
 as to the great superiority of ours over all others on board, though 
 the name we gave hitn certainly implied no such confidence on 
 our part. Allcr a lull deliberation, it was decided to call him 
 Shakings. Now it nuist be explained that shakings is a name 
 [given to small fragments of rope yarns, odds and ends of cordage, 
 bits of oakum, old lanyards, — in short to any kind of refuse arising 
 out of the wear and tear of the ropes. This odd name was per- 
 haps bestowed on our beautiful favorite in consequence of his 
 color not being very dissimilar to that of well tarred Russia hemp; 
 while the rescmbl-ance was increesed by many a uab of pitch, 
 which his rough coat inbibed from the seams between the pianks 
 of the deck in hot weather. 
 
 If old Shakings was of no great beauty, he was at least, the 
 most companionable of dogs; and though he dearly loved the 
 midshipmen and was dearly beloved by them in return, he had 
 enough of the animal in his composition to take a higher pleas- 
 ure in the society of his own kind. So that when the high bred, 
 showy pointers belonging to the officers came on bourd, after a 
 shooting excursion, Mr. Shakings lost no time in applying to them 
 for news. The pointers who liked this sort of familiarity very 
 well gave poor Shakings all possible encouragement. ]\ot so with 
 their masters; they could not bear to see an abominable cur, aa 
 they called our favorite, at once so cursedly dirty and so utterly 
 useless, mixing witii their sleek and well-fed animals. At first 
 their dislike was confined to such insulting expressions as these; 
 then it came to an occasional kick or knock on the nose with the 
 but-end of a fowling-piece; and lastly, to a sound cut with the 
 hunting whip. 
 
 Shakings, who instinctively knew his place, took all this, like a 
 sensible fellov/, in good part; while the niids, when out of hearing 
 of the higher powers, uttered curses both loud and deep against 
 the tyranny and oppression exercised against an animal which, 
 in their fond i'ancy was declared to be worth all the dogs in the 
 ward room put together. They were little prepared, however, 
 for the stroke which soon fell upon them, perhaps inconsequence 
 of these murmurs. To their great horror and indignation, one of 
 the Lieutenants, provoked al some liberty which JNlaster Shakings 
 had taken with his new polished boots, called out one morning,— 
 
 ••■ Man the jolly-boat, and land that internal, dirty, ugly, beas. 
 of a dog, belonging to the young gentlemen!" 
 
 " VV^here shall I take him to, sir?" asked the strokesman of the 
 boat. 
 
 "Oh, any where; pull to the nearest part of the shore, and 
 pitch him on the rocks. He'll shift for himself, I have no doubt ' 
 So off went poor dear Shakmgs' 
 
midshipman's pra.vks. 205 
 
 If a stranger had t i:ne into the mirJshipiTen s birth at that i.':-- 
 ment, he might have thought His 3Iajesty's naval service was 
 about to be broken up. All allegiance, discipline, or subordi- 
 nation, seemed utterly cancelled by this horrible act. .iNIany were 
 the execrations hurled upwards at the otfending "knobs," who, 
 we tliought were combining to make our lives miserable. Some 
 dT our party voted lor writing a letter of remonstrance to the Ad 
 niiral against this unheard of outrage; and one youth swore deeply 
 ihrit he would leave the service unless justice was obtained. But 
 as he had been known to swear the same thing half a dozen times 
 every day since he had joined the ship, no great notice was taken 
 of his pledge. Another declared upon his word of honor, that 
 such an act was enough to make a man turn Turk, and fly hia 
 country! At last, by general agreement, it was decided that we 
 should not do a bit of duty, or even stir from our seats, till we 
 obtaine<l redress for our grievances. However, while we were in 
 the act of vowing mutiny and disobedience, the hands were turned 
 up to " furl sails!" upon which the whole party, totally forgetting 
 their magnanimous resolution, scudded up the ladders, and jumped 
 into their stations with more than usual alacrity, wisely thinking, 
 that the moment of actual revolt had not yet arrived. 
 
 A better scheme than throwing up the service, or writing to the 
 Admiral, or turning 3Iussulmen, was afterwards concocted. The 
 midshipmen who went on shore in the next boat easily got hold of 
 poor Siiakings who was howling on the steps of the watering place. 
 In order to conceal him, he was stuffed, neck and crop, into the 
 captain's clothes-bag, brought sately on board, and restored once 
 more to the bosom of his friends. 
 
 In spite of all we could do, however, to keep Master Shakings 
 below, he presently found his way to the quarter-deck, to receive 
 the congratulations of the other dogs. There he was soon detect- 
 ed by the higher powers, and very shortly afterwards trundled 
 over the gangway and again tossed on the beach. Upon this 
 occasion he was honored with the presence of one of his own 
 masters, a middv, who was specially desired to land the brute, 
 and not bring him on board again. Of course this particular 
 yi ungster did not bring the dog off; but, before night, somehow 
 or other, old Shakings was snoring away, in grand chorus with 
 his niiire fashionable triends. the pointers, and dreaming no evil, 
 before the door of the very officer's cabin whose beautiful polished 
 boots he had brushed so rudely in the morning, — an offence which 
 had led to his banishmf-nt. 
 
 This second return of our dog was too much. The whole posse 
 of us were sent tor on the quarter-deck, and in very distinct terms 
 ordered not to brii g Shakings on board again. These injunc- 
 tions having been given, this wretched victim, as we termed him, 
 of oppression, was once more landed amongst the cedar groves. 
 This time he remained tull a week on shore: but ^c^v or when he 
 18 
 
COG iMlDSUir.M.V.N's IMlA.NIiS. 
 
 ever found li s way olF ugai.i, no one over know; at .\;ast no one 
 cliuse to divulge. JNever was there anything like the mutual joy 
 (clJ by Shakings :\m\ hi^; two dozen masters. He careered about 
 ihe ship, harked and yelled with delight, and, in his rajitures, 
 actually leaped, with his dirty feet on the milk-white duck trousers 
 of the disgusted ofticers, who heartily wished him at the bottom 
 of the anchorage! Thus the poor beast unwittingly contributed 
 to accelerate his ha[)less fate, by this I'll-timed show of confidence 
 in those who were then plotting his ruin. If he had kept his 
 paws to himself, and staid quietly in the dark recesses of the 
 cock-pit, wings, cable-tiers and otiier wild regions, the secrets of 
 which were known only to the inhabitants of our sub-marine world^ 
 all might yet have been well. 
 
 Wv had a grand jollification on the night of Shakings resto- 
 ration; and his health was in the very act of being drunk, with 
 tiiree times three, when the otHcer of the watch, hearing an uproar 
 \ elow, the sounds of which were distinctly conveyed up the wind- 
 sail, sent down to put our lights out, and we were forced to march 
 off growling to our hammocks. 
 
 Tv'ext day to our surprise and horror, old Shakings was nowhere 
 to be seen or heard of". We searched every where, interrogated 
 the cockswains of all the boats, and crossquestioned the marines, 
 who had been sentries during the night on the forecastle gangways 
 and poop, but all in vain! — no traces of Shakings could be found. 
 
 At length the opinion began to gain ground amongst us, 
 that the ooor beast had been put to death by some diabolical 
 means, and our ire mounted accordingly. This suspicion seemed 
 the more natural, as the oflicers said not a word about the matter, 
 nor even asked us what we had done witii our dog. While we 
 were in this state of excitement and distraction for our loss, one 
 'i he nijdsliipnien, who had some drollery in his composition, 
 gave a new turn for the expression of our thoughts. 
 
 This ypntlcman, who was more than twice as old as mostof tis, 
 say about thirty, had won the affections of all our class, by the 
 gentleness of his manners, and the generous part he always took 
 on our fiide. He bore among us the pet name of Daddy; and 
 certainly he was like a father to those amongst us who, like my- 
 self, w*;re quite adrift in the ship without any one to look after 
 them. He was a man of talents and classical education, but he 
 had ofered the navy far too late in life ever to take to it cordially. 
 His habits, indeed, had become so rigid, that they could never 
 be n»ude to bend to the mortifying kind of discipline, which it ap- 
 pears every officer should run through, but which only the young 
 and light-hearted can brook. Our worthy friend, accordingly, 
 with all his abilities, tastes, and acquirements, never seemed at 
 homo on board the ship, and unless a man can reach this point ol 
 liking for the sea, he is better on the shore. At all events old 
 Daddy cared more about his books than about blocks, and delight- 
 
midshipman's pranks. 207 
 
 ed more in giving us assistance incur literary pursuits, and trying 
 to teach us to be useful, than in rendering hiniselt' a proficient in 
 those professional i.iysteries, which he never hoped to practise ir. 
 earnest himself. 
 
 What this very interesting person's early history was, we could 
 never find out; nor why he entered the navy; nor how it came, 
 taat a man of his powers and accomplishments should have been 
 kept back so long. Indeed the youngsters never inquired into 
 these matters, being quite contented to have the advantage of hig 
 protection against the oppression of the oldsters, who occasionally 
 bullied them. Upon all occasions of difficulty, we were in the 
 habit of clustering around him, to tell our grievances, great and 
 small, with the certainty of always finding in him that great desi- 
 deratum in calamity — a patient and friendly listener. 
 
 It will easily be supposed, that our kind Daddy took more than 
 usual interest in the aflair of Shakings, and that he was applied 
 to by us at every stage of the transaction. He was sadly perplex- 
 ed, of course, when the dog was finally missing ; and for some days, 
 he could give us no comfort, nor suggest any mode of revenge 
 which was not too dangerous for his young friends to put into 
 practice. He prudently observed, that as we had no certainty to 
 go upon, it would be foolish to get ourselves into any serious 
 scrape for nothing at all. 
 
 " There can be no harm, however," he continued in his dry and 
 slightly sarcastic way, which all who knew him will recollect, as 
 well as if they saw him now, drawing his hand slowly across his 
 chin, " There can be no harm my boys, in putting the other dogs 
 in mourning for their departed friend Shakings; for whatever is 
 become of him, he is lost to them, as well as to us, and his memory 
 ought to be duly respected." 
 
 This hint was no sooner given than a cry was raised for crape, 
 and every chest and bag ransacked, to procure badges of mourn- 
 ing. The pointers were speedily rigged up with a bunch of crape 
 tied in a handsome bow, upon tlie letl leg just above the knee. 
 The joke took immediately. The officers could not help laugh- 
 ing; for, though we considered them little better than fiends, at 
 that moment of excitement, they were in fact, except in this in- 
 stance, the best natured and most indulg-ent men I remember to 
 have sailed with. They of course ordered the crape to be instant- 
 ly taken off from the dogs' legs: and one of the officers remarked 
 to us seriously, that as we had now had our piece of fun out, there 
 were to be no more sucli tricks. 
 
 Off we scampered to consult old Daddy what was to be done 
 ne.xt, as we had been positively ordered not to meddle any more 
 with the dogs. 
 
 " Put the pigs in mourning," he said. 
 
 All our crape was expended by this time, but this want was 
 «oon supplied by men whose trade it was to discover resource* 
 
i08 midshipman's franks 
 
 in difliculty. With a generous spirit of devotion to the cause of 
 public spirit one of these juvenile mutineers pulled off" his black 
 ne< k-handkerchief, and, tearing it in pieces, gave a portion to each 
 of .he circle and away we all started to put into practice this new 
 suggestion of our director-general of mischief. 
 
 The row which ensued in the pig-sty was prodigious— -for in 
 those days, hogs were allowed a place on board a man-of-war,— 
 a custom wisely abolished of late years, since nothing can be 
 more out of character with any ship than such nuisances. As these 
 matters of taste and cleanliness were nothing to us, we did not 
 intermit our noisy labor till every one of the grunters had his arm- 
 let of such crape as we had been able to muster. We then watch- 
 ed our opportunity and opened the door so as to let out the whole 
 herd of swine on the main deck just at a moment when a group of 
 oilicers were standing on the fore part of the quarter deck. Of 
 course the liberated pigs delighted with their freedom, passed in 
 review under the very noses of our superiors, each with his mourn- 
 ing knot displayed, grunting or squealing along, as if it was their 
 express object to attract attention to their domestic sorrow for the 
 loss of Shakings. The officers were excessively provoked, as 
 they could not help seeing all this was affording entertainment, at 
 their expense, to the whole crew; for though the men took no 
 part in this piece of insubordination, they were ready enough, in 
 those times of the weary, weary peace, to catch at any species of 
 distraction or devilry, no matter what, to compensate for the loss 
 of pommeling their enemies. 
 
 The matter, therefore, necessarily became rather serious; and 
 the whole gang of us being sent for on the quarter deck, we were 
 ranged in a line, each with his toes at the edge of a plank accord- 
 ing to the orthodox fashion of these gregarious scoldings, techni- 
 cally called ' toe-the-line matches.' We were given to under- 
 stand that our proceedings were impertinent, and after the orders 
 we had received, highly offensive. It was with much aifticulty 
 that either party could keep their countenances during mis offi- 
 cial lecture, for while it was going on, the sailors were endeav- 
 oring by the direction of the officers, to remove the bits of silk 
 from the legs of the pigs. If however it be difficult — as most 
 difficult we found it — to put a hog in mourning, it is a job len times 
 more troublesome to take him out again. Such at least is tne fair 
 nfe/cnce from these two experiments; the only ones, per/iaps, on 
 record, — for it cost half the morning to undo what we had done 
 in less than an hour; to say nothing of the unceasing and out- 
 rageous uproar which took place along the decks, especially «n 
 der the guns, and even under the coppers forward in the galley, 
 where two or three of the youngest pigs had wedged themselves, 
 apparently resolved to die rather than submit to the degradation 
 ©f being deprived of their mourning. 
 
 All this v/as very creditable to the memory of poor Shaking.^ 
 
midshipman's fra.vks ^^ 
 
 but, in the course of the day the real secret of this extraordinary 
 difficulty of taking a pig out of mourning was discovered. Two ol 
 the mids were detected in the very act of tving a bit of black bun- 
 tin to the leg of a sow, from which the seamen declared they had 
 already cut off crape and silk enough to have made her a complete 
 suit of black. 
 
 As soon as these new offences were reported, the whole party 
 of us were ordered to the mast-head as a punishment. Some were 
 sent to sit on topmast cross-trees, and some on the top-gallant yard- 
 arms, and one small gentleman being perched at the jib-boom end, 
 was very properly balanced abaft by another little culprit at the 
 extremity of the gaff. In this predicament we were hung out to 
 dry for live or six hours, as old Daddy remarked to us with a grin, 
 when we were called down as the night fell. 
 
 Our persevering friend, being rather provoked at the punish- 
 ment of his young flock, now set to work to discover the real fate 
 of Shakings. It soon occurred to him, that if the dog had really 
 been made away with, as he shrewdly suspected, the butcher, in 
 all i)robability must have had a hand in the murder; accordingly, 
 he sent for him in the evening, when the following dialogue took 
 place: — 
 
 " Well, butcher, will you have a glass of grog to-night? " 
 
 " Thank you, sir, thank you. Here 's your honor's health! 
 said the other, after smoothing down his hair, and pulling an im- 
 mense quid of tobacco out of his mouth. 
 
 Old Daddy observed the peculiar relish with which the butcher 
 took his glass, and mixing another, a good deal more potent, 
 placed it before the fellow, and continued the conversation in these 
 words: 
 
 " I tell you what it is Mr. Butcher — you are as humane as any 
 man in the ship, I dare say; but, if required, you know well, tha* 
 you must do your duty, whether it is on sheep or hogs?" 
 
 " Surely sir." 
 
 " Or upon dogs either?" suddenly inquired the inquisitor. 
 
 " I don't know about that," stammered the butcher, quite taken 
 by surprise and thrown all aback. 
 
 " Well, well," said Daddy, " here's another glass for you — a 
 stiff north-wester. Come! tell us all about it now. How did 
 you get rid of the dog? — of Shakings, I mean? " 
 
 " Why, sir," said the peaching rogue, " I put him in a bag — 
 a bread bag, sir." 
 
 " Well!— what then? " 
 
 " I tied up the inouth, and put him overboard — out of the mid 
 ship lower-deck port, sir." 
 
 " Yes — but he would not sink?" said Daddy. 
 
 " Oh, sir," cried the butcher, now entnring into the merci'eas 
 spirit of his trade, " I jiut a four and twenty pound shot in*,o th« 
 bag along with Shakings." 
 
 13' 
 
210 MlDSHn'MAN'S pkanics. 
 
 " Did you? — Tlion, ]M;istcr Butcher, all I can say is, you are 
 as precious a rascal as ever went about unhanged. There — drink 
 your grog, and bo olfwitli you!" 
 
 Next morning wlicnthe olliccrs were asscniUcd at breakfast in 
 the ward room, the door of the captain of marines' cabin was sud- 
 denly opened and that oflicer half shaved, and laughing, through 
 a collar of soap suds, stalked out, with a paper in his hands. 
 
 " Here," he exclaimed, " is a copy of verses which 1 found in 
 my basin this morning. I can't tell how they got there or what 
 they arc about; — but you shall judge." 
 
 So he read the two following stanzas of doggerel: — 
 
 " When the Northern Coiitederary threatened our shores, 
 And roused Albion's XAori, recliiiiii!; to sleep, 
 Preservation was taken of all the kings stores. 
 Nor so much as a riipe.-yarn was launched in the deep. 
 
 «' But now it is peace, other liopes are in view. 
 
 And all active service as light as a feather, 
 
 The Jr'tores may he d — il, and humanity too, 
 
 For Shakings and Shot ire thrown overboard together !" 
 
 1 need hardly say in what quarter of the ship this biting morsel of 
 cock-pit satire was concocted, nor indeed who wrote it, for there 
 was no one but our good Daddy who was equal to such a flight 
 About midnight, an urchin — who shall be nameless — was thrust 
 out of one of the aiter ports of the lower deck, from which ho 
 clambered up to the marine officer's port, and the sash happening 
 to have been lowered down on the gun, the epigram, copied by 
 another of the youngsters was pitched into the soldier's basin, 
 
 The wisest thing would have been for the officer's to have saic 
 nothing about the matter, and let it blow by. But angry people 
 are seldom judicious — so they made a formal complaint to the cap 
 tain, who, to do him justice^ was not a little puzzled how to settk 
 the affiiir. The reputed author was called up, and the captain 
 said to him — 
 
 " Pray, sir, are you the writer of these lines?" 
 
 " I am sir," he replied, after a little consideration. 
 
 " Then all I can say is," remarked the captain, " they are clever 
 enotigh, in their way — but take my advice, and write no more 
 such verses." 
 
 So the aiFair ended. The satirist took the captain's hint in good 
 part, and confined his pen to matters below the surface of the 
 water. 
 
 As in the course of a few months the war broke out, there was 
 no longer time for such nonsense, and our generous protector, old 
 Daddy, some time after the affair of Shakings took place, was 
 sent oiT to Halifax, in cliarge of a prize. His orders were if possi- 
 ble to join his own ship, the Leander, then lying at the entrance 
 of jSew York harbor, just within Sandy Hook light-house. 
 
 Our good old friend, accordingly, iiaving completed his mission 
 and dolivered his prize to the authorities of Halifax, took his pas- 
 
THE SOUND OF THE SEA 21., 
 
 sage in the British packet sailing from thence to the port in which 
 we lay. As this ship sailed past us, on her way to New York, we 
 ascertained, to our great joy, that our excellent Daddy was actu- 
 ally on board of her. Some hours afterwards the pilot boat was 
 seen coming to us, and though it was in the middle of the night, 
 all ihe young mids came hastily on deck to welcome their worthy 
 Int^ssmafe back again to his ship. 
 
 It was late in October, and the wind blew fresh from the north- 
 westward, so that th-e ship, riding to the ebb, had her head direct- 
 ed towards the Narrows, between Staten island and Long island; 
 consequently the pilot-boat, — oneof thjse beautiful vessels so well 
 known to every visiter of the American coast, — came flying down 
 upon us, with the wind nearly riglit aft. Our joyous party were 
 ah assembled on the quarter-deck, looking anxiously at the boat 
 as she swept past us. She then lulfed round, in order to sheer 
 alongside, at which moment the mainsail jibed, as was to be ex- 
 pected. It was obvious, however, that something more had taken 
 place than the pilot had looked for, since the boat, instead of rang- 
 ing up to us, was brought right rc)und on her heel, and went otT 
 again upon a wind on the other tack. The tide carried her oui of 
 sight for a k\v minutes, but she was soon alongside, when we 
 learned, to our inexpressible grief and consternation, that, on the 
 main-boom of the pilot-boat swinging over, it had accidentally 
 struck our poor friend and pitched him headlong overboard. 
 Being encumbered with a great coat, the pockets of which, as we 
 afterwards learned, were loaded with his young companions' let- 
 ters, brought from England by this packet, he in vain struggfled 
 to reach the boat and then sunk to rise no more. 
 
 THE SOUND OF THE SEA. 
 
 BV MRS. HEMANS. 
 
 Thou art soundinw on, thou mighty s 
 
 For ever and the same I 
 Tlie ancient rocks yet ring to thee^ 
 
 Whose thunders naught can tame. 
 
 Oh ! nnany a glorious voice is gone, 
 From the rich bowers of earth, 
 
 And hushed is many a lovely tone 
 Of mournfulness or mirth. 
 
 The Di)r an flute that si</hed of yore 
 
 Alotio- thy wave, is still; 
 The harp of Judah peals no mor» 
 
 OnZion's awful liill. 
 
S12 Tin; LOSS or the tikknix. 
 
 And iMomnon's lyre li;ith lost tlie chord 
 That breathed the mystic tone, 
 
 And tlie songs, at Ro;no's high triumphs poured 
 Are with lier eagles flown. 
 
 And mute the Moorish horn, that rang 
 O 'cr stream and mountain free, 
 
 And the hymn tlie leagued Crusaders sang 
 Hath died in Galilee 
 
 But thou art swelling on, thou deep, 
 Through many an olden clime, 
 
 Thy billowy anthem, ne'er to sleep 
 Until the close of time. 
 
 Thou liftest up thy solemn voice 
 
 To every wind and sky, 
 iLnd all our earth's green shores rejoice 
 
 In that one harmony. 
 
 It fills the noontide's caim profound, 
 
 The sunset's heaven of gold; 
 And the still midnight hears the sound, 
 
 Ev'n as wiien first it rolled. 
 
 Let there be silence deep and strange, 
 
 Where sceptered cities rose ! 
 Thou speak'st of one who doth not change — 
 
 So may our hearts repose. 
 
 ACCOUNT OF THE LOSS OF HIS MAJESTY'S SHlf 
 PHCENIX, 
 
 Off Cuba, in the Year 1780. By Lieutenant Jlrcher. 
 
 The Phoenix of 44 guns. Captain Sir Hyde Parker, was lest 
 in a hurricane, off Cuba, in the West Indies, in the year 1780 
 The same hurricane destroyed the Thunderer, 74; Stirling Cas- 
 tle, 64; La Blanche, 42; Laurel, 28; Andromeda, 28; Deas 
 Castle, 24; Scarborough, 20; Beaver's Prize, 16; Barhadoes, 14; 
 Carneleon, 14; Endeavour, 14; and Victor, 10 guns. Lieute: ant 
 Archer was first-iieufcnant of the Piioenix at the time she r,'a.s 
 lost. His narrative in a letter to his mother, contains a mosf 
 correct and animated account of one of the most awful events in 
 the service. It i.s so simple and natural as to make the reader 
 feel himself as on board the Phoeni.v. Every circumstance is 
 detailed with feeling, and powerful appeals are continually made 
 lo the heart. It tnust likewise afford considerable pleasure to 
 
THE LOSS OF THE PHCF.NIX 213 
 
 observe the devout spirit of a serman frequent y bui sting forth, 
 and imparting sublimity to the relation. 
 
 Al Sea, June 30, 1781. 
 Mr DEAR Mother, 
 
 I am now going to give you an account of our last cruise in the 
 Phcenix; and must premise, that should any one see it besides 
 yourself, they must put this construction on it — that it was origi- 
 nally intended for the eyes of a mother, and a mother only — as, 
 upon that supposition, my feelings may be tolerated. You will 
 ulso meet with a number of sea terms, which, if you don't under- 
 stand, why, I cannot help you, as I am unable to give a sea 
 description in any other words. 
 
 To begin then: — On the ^d of August, 1730, we weighed -nd 
 sailed for Port Royal, bound for Pensacola, having two store-ships 
 under convoy, and to see safe in; then cruise off the Havanna, 
 snd in the gulf of Mexico, for six weeks. In a few days we made 
 ♦he two sandy islands, that look as if they had just risen out of the 
 «ea, or fallen from the sky; inhabited, nevertheless, by upwards 
 of three hundred English, who get their bread by catching turtle 
 and parrots, and raising vegetables, which they exchange with 
 ships that pass, for clothing and a few of the luxuries of life, as 
 rum, &c. 
 
 About the 12th we arrived at Pensacola, without any thing 
 remarkable happening, except our catching a vast quantity offish, 
 sharks, dolphins, and bonettos. On the 13th sailed singly, and 
 on the 14th had a very heavy gale of wind at north, right off the 
 land, so that we soon left the sweet place, Pensacola, a distance 
 astern. We then looked into the Havanna, saw a number of 
 ships there, and knowing that some of them were bound round 
 the bay, we cruised in the track: a fortnight, however, passed, 
 and not a single ship hove in sight to cheer our spirits. We then 
 took a turn or two round the gulf, but not near enough to be seen 
 from the shore. Vera Cruz we expected would have made us 
 happy, but the same luck still continued; day followed day, and 
 no sail. The dollar bag began to grow a little bulky, for every 
 one had lost two or three times, and no one had won: this was a 
 small gambling party entered into by Sir Hyde and ourselves; 
 every one put a dollar into a bag, and fixed on a day when we 
 ghoul": see a sail, but no two persons were to name the same day, 
 and whoever guessed right first was to have the bag. 
 
 Being now tired of our situation, and glad the cruise was 
 Ji'mont out, for we found the navigation very dangerous, owing to 
 Uiiaccountable currents; we shaped our course for Cape Antonio. 
 The next day the man at the mast head, at about one o'clock in 
 the afternoon, called out: "A sail upon the weather bow! Ha! 
 Ka! Mr. Spaniard, I think we have you at last. Turn out all 
 
214 THE LOSS or TUF. piid:N.x. 
 
 hands! make sail! Ail liands give chase!" There was scarcely 
 any occasion for this order, for the sound of a sail heing in sight 
 fiew like wild tire through the ship, and every sail was set in an 
 mstant, almost before the orders were given. A lieutenant at the 
 mast head, with a spy glass, " What is she." " A large ship 
 studding athwart right before the wind. P-o-r-tl Keep her away! 
 set the studding sails ready!" Up comes the little doctor, rubbing 
 his hands; " Ha! ha! I have won the bag." " The devil take 
 yoi.' and the bag; look, what's ahead will fill all our bags." 
 JVIast^hcad again: "Two more sail on the larboard beam!" 
 " Archer, go up, and see what you can make of them." " Upon 
 deck there; I see a whole fleet of twenty sail coming right before 
 the wind." "Confound the luck of it, this is some convoy or 
 other, but we must try if we can pick some of them out." 
 "Haul down the studding-sails! Luff! bring her to the wind' 
 Let us see what we can make of them." 
 
 About five we got pretty near them, and found them to be twen- 
 ty-six sail of Spanish merchantmen, under convoy of three line 
 of battle ships, one of which chased us; but when she found we 
 were playing with her (for the old Phoenix had heels) she left 
 chase, and joined the convoy; which they drew up into a lump, 
 and placed themselves at the outside; but we still kept smelling 
 about till after dark. O, for the Hector, the Albion, and a frigate, 
 and we should take the whole fleet and convoy, worth some mil- 
 lions! About eight o'clock perceived three sail at some distance 
 from the fleet; dashed in between them, and gave chase, and 
 were happy to find they steered from the fleet. About twelve 
 came up with a large ship of twenty-six guns. "Archer, every 
 man to his quarters! run the lower deck guns out, and light the 
 ship up: show this fellow our force; it may prevent his firing into 
 us and killing a man or two." No sooner said than done. 
 " Hoa, the ship ahoy, lower all your sails down, and bring to 
 instantly, or I'll sink you." Clatter, clatter, went the blocks, 
 ana away flew all their sails in proper confusion. " What ship is 
 that.'" "Tiie Polly." " Whence came you?" " From Jamai- 
 ca." " Where are you bound?" "To New York." "What 
 Rhip is that?" "The Phoenix." Huzza, three times by the 
 whole ship's company. An old grum fellow of a sailor standing 
 close by me: " O, d — m your three cheers, we took you to be 
 something else." Upon examination we found it to bo as he re- 
 ported, and that they had fallen in with the Spanish fleet that 
 morning, and were chased the whole day, and that nothing saved 
 them but our stepping in between; for the Spaniards, took us for 
 three co;isorts, and the Polly took the Phojnix for a Spanish 
 frigate, till we hailed them. The other vessel in company was 
 likewise bound to New York. Thus was I, from being worth 
 thousands in idea, reduced to the old 4s. 6d. a day again: for the 
 little doctor made the most prize monev of us all that day, by 
 
THE LOSS OF THE PKCENIX. 215 
 
 winning the bag, which contained between thirty and forty dollars; 
 but this is nothing to what we sailors sometimes undergo. 
 
 After parting company, we steered south-south-cast, to go 
 round Antonio, and so to Jamaica, (^our cruise being out) with our 
 fingers in our mouths, and all of us as green as you please. It 
 happened to be my middle watch, and about three o'clock, when a 
 man upon the forecastle bawls out: " Breakers ahead, and land 
 upon the lee-bow;" I looked out, and it was so sure enough, 
 "Ready about! put the helm down! Helm a lee!" Sir Hyde 
 hearing me put the ship about, jumped upon deck. " Archei 
 what 's the matter? you are putting the ship about without my 
 orders!" " Sir, 'tis time to go about; the ship is almost ashore, 
 there 's the land." " Good God so it is! Will the ship stay?'' 
 "Yes, Sir, I believe she will, if we don't make any confusion; 
 she 's all aback — forward now.'"' " Well," says he, " work the 
 ship, I will not speak a single word." The ship stayed very well. 
 "Then, heave the lead! see what water we have!" "Three 
 fathom." "Keep the ship away, west-north-west." — " By tlie 
 mark three.'* "This won't do. Archer." " No, sir, we had bet- 
 ter haul more to the northward; we came south-south-east, and 
 had better steer north-north-west." " Steady, and a quarter 
 three." "This may do, as we deepen a little." " By the deep 
 four." "Very well, my lad, heave quick." "Five fathom." 
 " Tihat 's a fine fellow! another cast nimbly." "Quarter less 
 eight." " That will do, come, we shall get clear by and by." 
 " JMark under water five." " What 's that.^" " Only five fath- 
 om. Sir." " Turn all hands up, bring the ship to an anchor, 
 boy!" "Are the anchors clear!" " In a moment, Sir," "A" 
 clear!" " What water have you in the chains now!" "Eight, 
 half nine." "Keep fast the anchors till I call you." "Ay, 
 ay, Sir, all fast!" "I have no ground with this line." "How 
 many fathoms have you out.'' pass along the deep-sea line!" 
 " Ay, ay. Sir." " Come are you all ready ?" " All ready, Sir.'' 
 "Heave away, watch! watch! bear away, veer away, no ground, 
 Sir, with a hundred fathom." "That's clever, come, Madam 
 Phcenix, there is another squeak in you yet — all down but the 
 watch; secure the anchors again; heave the main-top-sail to the 
 mast; luff, and bring her to the wind!" 
 
 I told you. Madam, you should have a little sea-jargon: if you 
 can understand half of what is already said, I wonder at it, though 
 it is nothing to what is to come yet, when the old hurricano 
 begins. As soon as the ship was a little to rights, and all quiet 
 again. Sir Hyde came to me in the most friendly manner, the 
 tears almost starting from his eyes — "Archer, we ought all, to 
 be much obliged to you for the safety of the ship, and perhaps 
 of ourselves. I am particularly so; nothing but that instantane- 
 ous presence of mind and calmness saved her: another ship'a 
 length aiAd we should have been fast on shore; had you been the 
 
816 THF, LOSS OF TIIF PIICENIX. 
 
 least diffident, or made the least confusion, so as to make the 
 siiip baulk in her stays, she must have been inevitably lost.** 
 " Sir, you are very good, but I have done nothing that 1 suppose 
 any body else would not have done, in the same situation. 1 did 
 not turn all tiie hands up, knowing the watch able to work the 
 ship; besides, had it spread inmiediately about the ship, that she 
 was almost ashore, it might have created a confusion that was 
 better avoided." " Well," says he, " 't is well indeed." 
 
 At daylight we found that the current had set us between the 
 Collarado rocks and Cape Antonio, and that we could not have 
 got out any other wav than we did; there was a chance, but 
 Providence is the best pilot. We had sunset that day twenty 
 leagues to the south-east of our reckoning by the current. 
 
 Alter getting clear of this scrape, we thought ourselves fortu- 
 nate, and made sail for Jamaica, but misfortune seemed to follow 
 misfortune. The next night, my watch upon deck too, we were 
 overtaken by a squall, like a hurricane while it lasted; for 
 thougli I saw it coming, and prepared for it, yet, when it took the 
 ship, it roared, and laid her down so, that I thought she would 
 never get up again. However, by keeping her away, and clewing 
 up every thing, she righted. The remainder of the night we had 
 very heavy squalls, and in the morning found the mainmast sprung 
 half the way through: one hundred and twenty-three leagues to 
 the leeward of Jauuiica, the hurricane months coming on, the 
 head of the mainmast almost off, and at short allowance; well, we 
 must make the best of it. The mainmast w^as well fished, but 
 we were obliged to be very tender of carrying sail. 
 
 Nothing remarkable happened for ten days afterwards, when 
 we chased a Yankee man of war for six hours, but could not get 
 near enough to her before it was dark, to keep sight of her; so 
 •that we lost her because unable to carry any sail on the mainmast. 
 In about twelve days more made the island of Jamaica, having 
 weathered all the squalls, and put into Montego Bay for water; 
 so that we had a strong party for kicking up a dust on shore, 
 having found three men of war lying there. Dancing, &c. &.c. 
 till two o'clock every morning; little thinking what was to happen 
 in four days' time: for out of the four men of war that were there, 
 not one was in being at the end of that time, and not a soul alive 
 but those left of our crew. Many of the houses, where we had 
 D:;en so merry, were so completely destroyed, that scarcely a 
 \jstige remained to mark where they stood Thy works are 
 wonderful, O God! praised be thy holy Name! 
 
 September the 30th weighed; bound for Port Royal, round the 
 eastward of the island; the Barbadoes and Victor had sailed the 
 day before, and the Scarborough was to sail the next. Moderate 
 weather until October the 2d. Spoke to the Barbadoes off Port 
 Antonio in the evening. At eleven at night it began to snuffle, 
 with a monstrous heavy appearance from the eastward. Close 
 
TliE L0'5S OF THE niCENIX. 217 
 
 reefed the top-sails. Sir Hyde sent for me: "What sort of 
 weather have we, Archer!' " It blows a little, and has a very 
 ugly look: if in any other quarter but this, I should say we were 
 going to have a gale of wind." " Ay, it looks so very often 
 here when there is no wind at ail; however, don't hoist the top- 
 sails till it clears a little, there is no trusting any country." At 
 twelve I was relieved; the weather had the same rough look: 
 however, they made sail upon her, but had a very dirty niglit. At 
 fight in the morning 1 came up again, found it blowing hard from 
 the east-north-east with close-reefed top-sails upon the ship, and 
 heavy squalls at times. Sir Hyde came upon deck: " Well, 
 Archer, what do you think of it.'" " O, Sir, 't is only a touch of 
 the tiuies. we shall have an observation at twelve o'clock; the 
 clouds are beginning to break; it will clear up at noon, or else — 
 blov; very hard afterwards." " I wish it would clear up, but 1 
 doubt it much. I was once in a hurricane in the East Indies, and 
 the beginning of it had much the same appearance as this. So 
 take in the top-sails, we have plenty of sea-room." 
 
 M twelve, the gale still increasing, wore ship, to keep as near 
 mid-channel, between Jamaica and Cuba, as possible; at one the 
 gale increasing still; at two harder yet: it still blows harder! 
 Keefed the courses, and furled them; brought to under a foul 
 mizen stay-sail, head to the northward. In the evening no sign 
 of the weather taking off", but every appearance of the storm in- 
 creasing, prepared for a proper gale of wind; secured all the sails 
 with spare gaskets; good rolling tackles upon the yards; squared 
 the booms; saw the boats all made fast; new lashed the guns; 
 double breeched the lower deckers; saw that the carpenters had 
 the tarpawlings and battens all ready for hatchways; got the top- 
 gallant-mast down upon the deck; jib-boom and sprit-sail-yard fore 
 and aft; in fact every thing we could think of to make a snug 
 ship. 
 
 The poor devils of birds now began to find the uproar in the 
 elements, for numbers, both of sea and land kinds, came on board 
 of us. I took notice of some, which happening to be to leeward, 
 turned to windward, like a ship, tack and tack; for they could not 
 fly against it. When they came over the ship they dashed them- 
 selves down upon the deck, without attempting to stir till picked 
 up, and when let go again, they would not leave the ship, but en- 
 deavored to hide themselves from the wind. 
 
 At eight o'clock a hurricane; the sea roaring, but the wind 
 ai.I steady to a point; did not ship a spoonful of water. How- 
 ever, got the hatchways all secured, expecting what would be the 
 consequence, should the wind shift; placed the carpenttirs by the 
 mainmasl, with broad axes, knowing, from experience, that at 
 the moment you may want to cut it away to save the ship, an axe 
 may not be found. Went to supper: bread, cheese, and porter. 
 ^''^6 purser frightened out of his wits about his bread bags; the 
 1.9 
 
218 THE i.O:^s iji ■:iiZ linr.M;;. 
 
 two marine ofTiccrs as wliilc as shefts, not un<lorstancTing (he si.ip s 
 working so much, and the noise of llie lower deck guns; which, 
 by this tinje, made a pretty screeching to people not used to it; 
 •t seemed as if the whole ship's side was going at each roll 
 fVo^den, our carpenter, was all this time smoking his pipe and 
 laughing at the doctor; the second lieutenant upon deck, and tlie 
 third in his hammock. 
 
 At ten o'clock I thought to get a little sleep; came to look into 
 my cot; it was full of water; for t^very seam, by the straining of 
 the sliip, had begun to leak. Stretched myself, therefore, upou 
 deck between two chests, and left orders to be called, should tho 
 least thing happen. At twelve a midshipman came to me: " Mr 
 Archer, we are just goi-ng to wear ship. Sir!" " O, very 
 well, I'll be up directly, what sort of weather have you got r* 
 " It blows a hurricane." Went upon deck, found Sir Hyde there. 
 " It blows damned hard. Archer." " It does indeed. Sir." " I 
 don't know that I ever remember ifs blowing so hard before, but 
 (he ship makes a very good weather of it upon this tack as she 
 bows the sea; but we must wear her, as the wind has shifted to 
 the south-east, and we were drawing right upon Cuba; so do you 
 go forward, and have some hands stund by ; loose the lee yard-arm 
 of the fore-sail, and when she is right before the wind, whip the 
 clue-garnet close up, and roll up the sail." " Sir! there is no 
 canvass can stand against this a moment; if we attempt to loose 
 him he will fly into ribands in an instant, and we may lose three 
 or four of our people; she'll wear by manning the fore shrouds." 
 •' No, I don't think she will." " I'll answer for it. Sir; I have 
 seeri it tried several times on the coast of America with success." 
 " Well, try it; if she does not wear, we can only loose the fore- 
 sail afterwards." Tliis was a great condescension from such a 
 man as Sir Hyde. However, by sending about two hundred peo- 
 ple into the lure-rigging, after a haid struggle, she wore; found 
 she did not make so good weather on this tack as on the other; 
 for as the sea began to run across, she had not time to rise from 
 one sea before another lashed against her. Began to think we 
 should lose our masts, as the ship i'ly very much along, by the 
 pressure of the wind constantly upon the yards and masts alone: 
 for the poor mizen-stay-sail had gone in shreds long before, and 
 the sails began to fly from the yards through the gaskets into 
 coach whips. My God' to think that the wind could have such 
 force! 
 
 Sir Hyde now sent me to see what was the matter between 
 decks, as there was a good deal of noise. As soon as I was be- 
 low, one of the Marine officers calls out: " Good God! Mr. 
 Archer, we are sinking, the water is up to the bottom of my cot.' 
 " Pooh, pooh! as long as it is not over your mouth, you are well 
 ofl^; what the devil do you make this noise for?" I found there 
 was so;nc water between docks, but notliing to be "'armed at 
 
THE LOSS Of THE PHCE.MX. 218 
 
 Bcuttled the deck, and let it run into the well; found she made a 
 good deal of water through the sides and decks; turned the 
 watch below to the pumps, though only two teet of water in the 
 well; but expected to be kept constantly at work now, as the ship 
 labored much, with scarcely a part of her above water but the 
 quarter-deck, and that but seldom. " Come, pump away, my 
 boys. Carpenter.s, get the weather chain-pump rigged." "All 
 ready, Sir." " Then man it, and keep both pumps going." 
 
 At two o'clock the chain-pump was choked; set the carpenters 
 at work to clear it; the two head pumps at work upon deck: the 
 ship gained upon us while our chain-pumps were idle; in a -quar- 
 ter of an hour they were at work again, and we began to gai» 
 upon her. While I was standing at the |)Utups, cheering the peo- 
 ple, the carpenter's mate cam^- running to me with a lace as long 
 as my arm: " O, Sir! tlie ship has sprung a leak in the gunner's 
 room." " Go, then, and tell the carpenter to come tome, but 
 don't speak a word to any one else." " Mr. Goodinoh, I am told 
 there is a leak in the gunner's room; go and see what is the mat- 
 ter, but don't ahirm any body, and come and make your report 
 privately to inc." In a short time he returned: "Sir, there's 
 nothing there, 'tis only the water washing up between the tim- 
 bers tiiat this booby has taken for a leak." " O, very well; go 
 upon deck and sec if you can keep any of the water from wash- 
 ing down below." " Sir, I have had four people constantly keep- 
 ing the hatchways secure, but there is such a weight of water 
 'ipon the deck that nobody can stand it when the ship rolls." 
 The gunner soon afterwards came to me: " Mr. Archer, I should 
 be glad if you would step this way into the magazine for a 
 moment:" I thought some damned thing was the matter, and ran 
 directly: " Well, what is the matter here?" "The ground-tier 
 of powder is spoiled, and I want to show you that it is not out of 
 carelessness in me in stowing it, for no powder in the world could 
 oe better stowed. Now, Sir, what am I to do.^ if you don't speak 
 to Sir Hyde, he will be angry with me." I could not forbear 
 smiling to see how easy he took the danger of the ship, and said 
 to him: " Let us shake off this gale of wind first, and talk of the 
 damaged powder afterwards." 
 
 At four we had gained upon the ship a little, and I went upon 
 deck, it being my watch. The second lieutenant relieved me at 
 the pumps. Who can attempt to describe the appearance of 
 tilings 'jpon deck ? If I was to write for ever I could not give you 
 an idea of it — a total darkness all above; the sea on fire, running 
 as it were in Alps, or Peaks of TcnerifTe; (mountains are too 
 conimon an idea); the wind roaring louder than thunder, (abso- 
 lutely no flight of imagination), the whole made more terrible, if 
 possible, by a very uncommon kind of blue lightning; the pool 
 ship very much pressed, yet doing what she could, shaking her 
 Bides, and groaning at every stroke. Sir Hyde upon deck lashed 
 
T20 iiir, i.ns5 or tiir pikf.mx. 
 
 to windward! I soon lashed myself alongside of him, and /old him 
 t!ie :^ituation of things below, saying the ship did not make mor« 
 water than niiglit he expected in such weather, and that I wag 
 only alVaid of a gun breaking loose. " I am not in the least 
 afraid of that; I have ctmrnanded her six years, and have had 
 many a gale of wind in her; so that her iron work, which alway? 
 gives way tirst, is pretty well tried. Hold fast! that was an ugly 
 sea; we must" lower the yards, I believe, Archer; the ship is much 
 pressed." "If we attempt it, Sir, we shall lose them, for a man 
 aloft can do nothing; besides their being down would ease the 
 ship very little; the mainmast is a sprung mast; I wish it was 
 overboard without carrying any thing else along with it; but that 
 can soon be done, the gale cannot last for ever; 'twill soon be 
 daylight now." Found by the master's watch that it was five 
 o'clock, though but a little after four by ours; glad it was so near 
 daylight, and looked for it with much anxiety. Cuba, thou art 
 much in our way! Another ugly sea: sent a midshipman to bring 
 news from the pumps: the ship was gaining on them very much, 
 for they had broken one of their chains, but it was almost mended 
 again. News from the pump again. " She still gains! a heavy 
 lee!" Back-water from leeward, half-way up the quarter-deck, 
 filled one of the cutters upon the booms, and tore her all to 
 pieces; the ship lying almost on her beam ends, and not attempt- 
 ing to right again. Word from below that the ship still gained on 
 them, as they could not stand to the pumps, she lay so much along. 
 I said to Sir Hyde: " This is no time. Sir, to think of saving the 
 masts, shall we cut the mainmast away?" " Ay! as fast as yon 
 can." I accordingly went into the weather chains with a pole- 
 ax, to cut aw.ny the lanyards; the boatswain went to leeward, and 
 the carpenters stood by the mast. We were all ready, when a 
 very violent sea broke right on board of us, carried every thing 
 upon deck away, filled the ship with water, the main and mizcn- 
 masts went, the ship righted, but was in the last struggle of sink- 
 ing under us. 
 
 As soon as we could shake our heads above water. Sir Hyde 
 exclaimed: "We are gone, at last. Archer! foundered at sea!" 
 •' Yes, Sir, farewell, and the Lord have mercy upon us!" Ithen 
 turned about to look forward at the ship; and thought she was 
 strugglinfT to get rid of some of the water; but all in vain, she was 
 almost full below. " Almighty God! I thank thee, that now 1 am 
 leaving this world, which I have always considered as only a pas- 
 sage to a better, I die with a full hope of thy mercies, through 
 the merits of Jesus Christ, thy son, our Saviour!" 
 
 I then felt sorry that I could swim, as by that means I might 
 be a quarter of an hour longer dying than a man who could not, 
 and it )s impossible to divest ourselves of a wish to preserve life 
 At the end of these reflections 1 thought 1 heard the ship thump 
 und grinding under our feet ; it was so. " Sir, the ship is ashore!" 
 
THE LOSS OF THE PHffiNlX, 5*21 
 
 '' What do you say?" "The ship is ashore, and we may gave 
 ourselves yet!" By tJiis time the quarter-deck was full of men 
 who had come up from below; and 'the Lord have mercy upon us,' 
 flying about from all quarters. The ship now made every body 
 sensible that she was ashore, for every stroke threatened a total 
 diiddlution of her whole frame; found she was stern ashore, and 
 the bow broke the sea a good deal, though it was washing cleaa 
 over at every stroke. Sir Hyde cried out: " Keep to the quarter- 
 deck, Jny lads, when she goC'? to pieces 't is your best chance!" 
 Providentially got the foremast cut away, that she might not pay 
 round broad-side. Lost five men cutting away the fore-mast, by 
 the breaking of a sea on board just as the mast went. That was 
 nothing; every one e.\|)ected it would be his own fate ne.xt; 
 looked for daybreak with the greatest impatience. At last it 
 came; but what a scene did it show us! The ship upon a bed of 
 rocks, mountains of them on one side, and Cordilleras of water 
 on the other; our poor ship grinding and crying out at every stroke 
 between them; going away by piece-meal. However, to show 
 liie unaccountable workings of Providence, that which often ap- 
 pears to be the greatest evil, proves to be the greatest good! 
 That unmerciful sea lifted and beat us up so high among the rocks, 
 that at last the ship scarcely moved. She was very strong, and 
 did not go to pieces at the first thumping, though her decks tum- 
 bled in. We found afterwards that she had beat over a ledge of 
 rocks, almost a quarter of a mile in extent beyond us, where, 
 if she had struck, every soul of us must have perished. 
 
 I now began to think of getting on shore, so stripped off my 
 coat and shoes for a swim, and looked for a line to carry the end 
 with me. Luckily could not find one, which gave me time for 
 recollection: " This wont do for me, to be the first man out 
 of the ship, and first lieutenant; we may get to England again, 
 and peojile may think I paid a great deal of attention to myself 
 and did not care for any body else. No, that wont do; instead of 
 being the first, I'll see every man, sick and well, out of her be- 
 fore me." 
 
 I now thought there was no probability of the ship's soon going 
 to pieces, therefore had not a thought of instant death: took a look 
 round with a kind of philosophic eye, to see how the same situa- 
 tion affected my companions, and was surprised to find the most 
 swaggering, swearing bullies in fine weather, now the most pitiful 
 wretches on earth, when death appeared before them. However, 
 two got sale; by which means, with a line, we got a hawser on 
 shore, and made fast to the rocks, upon which many ventured and 
 dtrived safe. There were some sick and wounded on board, who 
 could not avail themselves of this method; v.e, therefore, got a 
 spare top-saiI-%ard from the chains and placed one end ashore and 
 the other on the cabin window, so that most of the sick go. ashore 
 this way. 
 
 19* 
 
'■iSZ Tur: LOSS ur tuf, i-wj-.m^. 
 
 A3 I had deteniiiiietJ, so I was t!ie last man out of the ship; 
 this was about ten o'ch)ck. 'J'he f^aie now began to break. Sir 
 llyilc came to me, and taking me by the liand was so alTected 
 that lie was scarcely able to speak. "Archer, I am ha[)py be- 
 yond expression, to see you on shore, but h)ok at our poor Phor- 
 nix!" 1 turned about, but could not say a single word, being too 
 lull: my mind had been too intensely occupied before; but every 
 thing now rushed upon me at once, so that I could not coutain 
 myself, and 1 indulged for a full quarter of an hour in tears. 
 
 liy twelve it was pretty moderate; got some nails on shore and 
 made tents; found great quantities of fish driven up by the sea 
 into holes of the rocks; knocked up a lire, and had a most com- 
 fortable diimer. In the afternoon made a stage from the cabin- 
 windows to the rocks, and got out some provisions and water, htst 
 the ship should go to pieces, in which case we must all have per- 
 ished ot" hunger and thirst; for wc were upon a desolate part of 
 the coast, and under a rocky mountain, that could not supply us 
 with a single drop of water. 
 
 Slept comfortably this night and the next day, the idea of death 
 vanishing by degrees, the prospect of being prisoners, during the 
 vvar, at the Havanna, and walking three hundred miles to it 
 through the woods, was rather un|)leasant. However, to save life 
 for the present, we employed this day in getting more provisions 
 and water on shore, which was not an easy matter, on account of 
 decks, guns, and rubbish, and ten feet water that lay over them. 
 In the evening I proposed to Sir Hyde to repair the remains of 
 tile only boat left, and to venture in her to Jamaica myself; and 
 in case I arrived safe, to bring vessels to take them all off; a pro- 
 posal worthy of consideration. It was, next day, agreed to; 
 theretore got the cutter on shore, and set the carpenters to work 
 on her; in two days she was ready, and at four o'clock in the 
 afternoon I embarked with four volunteers and a fortnight's pro- 
 vision, hoisted English colors as we put off from the shore, and 
 received three cheers Irom the lads left behind, which we returned, 
 and set sail with a light heart; having not the least doubt, that, 
 with God's assistance, we should come and bring them all off. 
 Had a very squally night, and a very leaky boat, so as to keep 
 two buckets constantly baling. Steered her myself the whole 
 night by the stars, and in the morning saw the coast of Jamaica 
 disiant twelve leagues. At eight in the evening arrived at Mon- 
 tego Hay. 
 
 I must now begin to leave off, particularly as I have but half 
 an hour to conclude; else my pretty little short letter will lose its 
 passage, M'hich I should not like, after being ten days, at differ- 
 ent times, writing it, beating up with the convoy to the northward, 
 which is a reason tiiat this epistle will never read well; for I never 
 BKt down with a proper disposition to go on with it; but as I knew 
 P):nething of the kind would please you, I was resolved to finish 
 
MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY. 2^ 
 
 it' yet it will not bear an overhaul; so don't expose your son s 
 nonsense. 
 
 But to proceed — I instantly sent off an express to tht; admiral, 
 another to the Porcupine man of war, and went myself to 3Iuitha 
 Bray to get vessels; for all their vessels here, as well as many of 
 their houses, were gone to Moco. Got three small vessels, and 
 set out back again to Cuba, where I arrived the fourth day alter 
 leaving my companions. I thought the ship's crew would have 
 devoured me on my landing; they presently whisked me up on their 
 siiouiders and carried me to the tent where Sir Hyde was 
 
 I must omit many little occurrences that happened on shore, 
 lor v/ant of time; but I shall have a number of stories to tell when 
 I got alongside of you; and the next time I visit you I shall not 
 be in such a hurry to quit you as I was the last, for then I hoped 
 my nest would have been pretty well featnered: — But my tale is 
 forgotten. 
 
 1 ibund the Porcupine had arrived that day, and the lads had 
 built a boat almost ready for launching, that would hold fifty of 
 them, which was intended for another trial, in case I had founder- 
 ed. Next day embarked all our people that were left, amounting 
 to two hundred and fifty; for some had died of their wounds they 
 received in getting on shore; others of drinking rum, and others 
 had straggled into the country. All our vessels were so full of 
 people, that we could not take away the few clothes that were 
 saved from the wreck; but that was a trifle since we had preserv- 
 ed our lives and liberty. To make short of my story, we all 
 arrived safe at JMontego Bay, and shortly alter at Port Royal, in 
 the Janus, which was sent on purpose for us, and were all hon- 
 orably acquitted for the loss of the ship. I was made admiral's 
 aid de camp, and. a little time afterwards sent down to St. Juan's 
 as captain of the Resource, to bring what were left of the poor 
 devils to Blue Fields, on the Musquito shore, and then to 
 Jamaica, where they arrived after three months absence, and 
 without a prize, though I looked out hard off Porto Bello and 
 Carthagena. Found in my absence that I had been appointed 
 captain of the Tobago, where I remain his Majesty's most true 
 and faithful servant, and my dear mother's most dutiful son, 
 
 ARCHER 
 
 MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY. 
 
 The merchants and planters of the West India islands, having 
 represented to his majesty that an essential benefit might be de- 
 ?ived by introducing the bread-fruit as an article of food for tha 
 
2?4 MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY. 
 
 inhabitanis of those islands: his majesty was graciously pleased 
 to direct the board of Admiralty to equip a ship for this purpose. 
 Accordingly one proper for sucli a voyage was purchased, and 
 fitted up in a most commodious manner to receive the plants. She 
 was named the Bounty, her burden about two hundred and fifteen 
 tons, and the command conferred on Lieutenant W. Bligh, whc 
 had sailed as master with Captain James Cook, on his voyage of 
 discoverres. The whole crew consisted "of forty-six. 
 
 On the 4th of November, 1787, the Bounty arrived at Spithead, 
 and on the i24th of the same month, Mr. Bligh received his final 
 orders from the Admiralty, which were to proceed round Cape 
 Horn to the Society islands, there to take on board as many of 
 the bread-fruit trees and plants as may be thought necessary, 
 from thence to proceed through Endeavour Straights, to Prince's 
 Island in the Straights of Sunda, or if it should be more con- 
 venient, to pass on the eastern side of Java, to some port on the 
 north side of that island, where any bread-fruit trees which may 
 have been injured, or have died, may be replaced by mangosteens, 
 duriens, and other fruit trees of that quarter, as well as the rice 
 plant which grows upon dry land. From Prince's Island, or the 
 island of Java, to return by the Cape of Good Hope to the Wes* 
 Indies, and deposite one half of the trees and plants at his Majes- 
 ty's Botanical garden at St. Vincent, for the benefit of the Wind- 
 ward Islands; then to go on to Jamaica, and having delivered the 
 remainder to Mr. East, or such person or persons as may be 
 authorised by the governor and council to receive them, to refresh 
 the people and return to England. 
 
 As the season might be too far advanced for eflfecting a passage 
 round Cape Horn, the Admiralty gave Mr. Bligh discretional 
 orders in this case, to go round the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 On the 23d of December, the Bounty sailed from Spithead 
 On the 6th of January, 1788 she anchored in Santa Cruz rotid, 
 on the island of Teneriff". On the 10th, having taken on board 
 wine and other refreshments, Mr. Bligh proceeded on his voyage. 
 On the 20th of IVIarch the coast of Terra del Fuego was discov- 
 ered; from this time they began to experience very tempestuous 
 weather, the winds in general blowing with great violence from 
 t!ie westward, attended with frequent snow and hail-storms. Mr. 
 i>ligh struggled with great perseverance against these troubles 
 for thirty days; and then came to the resolution of bearing away 
 for the Cape of Good Hope, where he arrived on the 23d of May. 
 ^Vhile at the Cape Mr. Bligh procured such plants and s'^eds as 
 he thought would he valuable at Otaheite, or any other place at 
 which he might stop. On the 1st of July he sailed from the Cape, 
 and- shaped his course f n- New Holland; the southern promontory 
 of which he made on the 19th of August. The next day he an- 
 chored in Ad>enture Bay: here the ship was refitted; the only 
 fresh water to be procured was what had lodged in deep pits and 
 
MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY. 223 
 
 gullies after ti. ainy season: it was found perfectly sweet and 
 good. 
 
 This pari of the coast of New Holland abounds in large forest- 
 trees, some running to the height of one hundred and Htly feet; 
 one in particjlar which was seen by the Bounty's people, meas- 
 ured thitty-two feet in girth. The wood of these trees is in gen- 
 eral firm, but of two heavy and solid a nature for masts, though it 
 might answer extremely well for ship-building. On the trunk ol 
 a decayed tree was observed to have been cut with a knife, the 
 letters, " A. D. 1773,'' which is supposed to have been done by 
 some of Captain Furneaux's people who were at this place in the 
 March of that year. 
 
 The natives who were seen, were perfectly naked, extremely 
 wild, but inoffensive. Mr. Bligh held out every friendly encour- 
 agement to have an intercourse with them, but without effect. 
 
 Previous to their leaving Adventure Bay, Mr. Nelson, the 
 botanist, planted some apple and other fruit trees, and sowed 
 various kinds of seeds. On the 4th of September they sailed from 
 hence, and steering to the S. E. arrived on the 26th of October 
 in Matavai Bay, in the island of Otaheite. 
 
 Mr. Bligh immediately set about executing the object of his 
 voyage; for which purpose the botanists were sent on shore, in 
 search of, and to collect the bread-fruit plants, in which they found 
 no difficulty, receiving every assistance from the natives, v/ith 
 whom the greatest friendship and intimacy subsisted during their 
 continuance at this island. 
 
 On the 31st of March, 17B9, having collected as many of the 
 trees and plants as could be conveniently stowed, they were taken 
 on board to the number of one thousand and fifteen, contained in 
 seven hundred and seventy-four pots, thirty-nine tubs, and twenty- 
 six boxes; besides several other plants of various descriptions. 
 The Bounty being now ready for sea, Mr. Bligh made the fare- 
 well presents to his friends, many of whom expressed a great 
 desire to accompany him to England, and shewed evident signs 
 of regret at their departure. 
 
 On the 4th of April, they took a last and affectionate leave of 
 their hospitable Otabeiten friends, and put to sea; pursuing nearly 
 the same tract to the Fnendly Islands with former navigators; on 
 the morning of the 10th an island and several small keys near i* 
 were discovered; the island had a most beautiful appearance, it 
 was covered with cocoa nut and other trees, interspersed with 
 beau iful lawns. The next day a canoe came off with some of tho 
 natives, who were extremely familiar, and spoke a similar language 
 to those of Otaheite. They said the island was called Wytootac- 
 kee. Its circumference is about ten miles; latitude 18° 50, 
 south, longitude 200° 19 east. 
 
 Leaving this island, they proceeded for the Friendly Islands, 
 Biid on the 23d anchored at Annamooka; at this place Mr. Bligli 
 
226 MUTINY OF THE BOt'NTT. 
 
 ^a\v an old man, wlio he reiiienilxicd when he was here with 
 Captain Cook, in the year 1777, from whom lie learnt that several 
 of the cattle which had hern then left were still alive and had 
 bred. INIr. Hli<:;h had also the satisfaction to see that most of the 
 seeds which had been sown at that time had succeeded, especially 
 the pines, of which fruit the natives were very fond. 
 
 On tiie 27th, having com|)leted taking on board wood and water, 
 and procured some bread-fruit plants to replace those which were 
 dead or sickly, they sailed from Annamooka. 
 
 A scene as unexpected as deplorable was now about to present 
 itself, which rendered the object of the voyage, after all Mr. 
 Jiligh's exertions, ineffectual. 
 
 This individual's bearing towards his officers and crew as it 
 was afterwards proved, had never been of the most gentle or 
 conciliating kind; indeed, he had frequently indulged in the 
 coarsest and most brutal language towards them, and his acts 
 were often oppressive in the extreme. In the afternoon of the 
 27th, Lieutenant Bligh came upon deck, and missing some of the 
 cocoa nuts which had been piled up between the guns, said they 
 had been stolen, and could not have been taken away without 
 the knowledge of the officers, all of whom were sent for and 
 questioned on the subject. On their declaring that they had not 
 seen any of the people touch them, he exclaimed, " Then you 
 must have taken them yourselves;" and proceeded to inquire 
 of them separately how many they had purchased. On coming 
 to Mr. Christian, tha* gentleman answered, "I do not know, sir, 
 but I hope yo" ao not think me so mean as to be guilty of steal- 
 ing you»-" Mr. Bligh answered, " yes, you d d hound, I 
 
 do— you must have stolen them from me, or you would be able to 
 give a better account of them;" then turning to the other officers, 
 he said, " God d — n you, you scoundrels, you are all thieves 
 alike and combine with the men to rob me: I suppose you will 
 steal my yams next; but I'll sweat you for it, you rascals — I'll 
 make halfof you jump overboard before you get through Elndeav- 
 our Straits." This threat was followed by an order to the clerk 
 "to stop the villains' grog, and give them but half a pound of 
 yams to-morrow; if they steal them, I'll reduce them to a 
 quarter." 
 
 On the morning of the 28th of April, just before sun-rise, Mr. 
 Christian, one of the mates, (who had for some time been intrus- 
 ted with the charge of the third watch), accompanied by ttio 
 master at arms, gunner's mate, and Thomas Burkett, a seaman, 
 entered Mr. Bligh's cabin while he was asleep, and seizing hini,, 
 boimd his hands behind his back, at the same time threatening 
 mstant death if he resisted or made the least noise. Not intimi- 
 dated by their threats, Mr. Bligh resolutely called for assistance, 
 but the mutineers had taken care, previously to secure all those 
 vho '<fere not concerned in their diabolical scheme. They the«» 
 
MUTINY OF THE COUNTY. 227 
 
 pulled him from Ins bed, and forced him upon deck, with nothing 
 on him but his shirt, where a guard was placed over him. The 
 boatswain was ordered to hoist t!ie launch out, which being done, 
 Mr. Hayward and Mr. Hallet, midshipmen, Mr. Samuel, the 
 clerk, with some others, were directed to go into her. Mr. Bligh 
 frequently remonstiated with his people on the impropriety and 
 violence of their proceedings, and endeavored to persuade them 
 lo return to their duty; but all his efforts proved ineffectual: the 
 only reply he could obtain was, " hold your tongue sir or you arc 
 dead this instant." 
 
 The officers who were confined below, were ne.\t called upon 
 deck and forced into the boat. The mutineers were some time 
 undecided whether they should detain the carpenter or his mate; 
 at length, after much altercation, it was determined that the car- 
 ;:>enter should go into the boat; and it was not without much 
 opposition that they permitted him to take his tool-chest with him. 
 Upon whicli some of them swore, that " he (meaning IMr. Bligh) 
 would find his way home if he gets any thing with him, and that 
 he would have a vessel built in less than a month." While 
 others turned their miserable situation into ridicule, little expect- 
 ing from the boat being so deep and crowded, that she could long 
 keep the sea. All those now being in the boat who were intended 
 to accompany their unfortunate commander, Christian addressed 
 him, saying, — " Come, Captain Bligh, your officers and men are 
 now in the boat, and you must go with them; if you attempt to 
 make the least resistance you will instantly be put to death." 
 He was then forced over the side, and his hands unbound. 
 Wlicn they were putting him out of the ship, Mr. Bligh looked 
 steadfastly at Christian, and asked him, if his treatment was a proper 
 return for the many instances he had received of his friendship.' 
 At this question he seemed confused, and answered with much 
 
 emotion, — " That, Captain Bligh, that is the thing; 1 am 
 
 in hell — I am in hell." *" 
 
 The boat was vjered astern, and soon after cast adrift, amidst 
 the ridicule and feoffs c^ these deluded and unthinking men, 
 whose general shout was, " huzza for Otaheite." The armorer 
 and carpenter's mates called on Mr. Bligh, and begged him to 
 remember that they had no hand in the transaction, and some 
 others seemed to e.xpress by their manner a contrition for having 
 joined in the mutiny. 
 
 As no complaints had been made, or dissatisfaction shown, 
 ]Mr. Bligh was at a loss how to account for this sudd-^n and un- 
 expected change in the disposition of his people; urJess it lose 
 fiom tlie temptations held out to them by the chiefs of Otaheite, 
 who were much attached to the English, and allured them by 
 promises of large possessions if they would remain behind; this, 
 in addition to the connexion which they had formed with the 
 women, whom Mr. Bligh describes as handsome, mild and cheftr 
 
WJ« MUTINY OF TJIE BOUN'TT. 
 
 fill in their manners and conversiUion; possessed of great 8en^i 
 sibility, and having suflicient delicacy to make them admired and 
 boloved. 
 
 Although these were perhaps among the inducements which 
 led to the mutiny, there is no doubt but that Bligh's intemperate 
 language and insulting demeanor were the chief causes of the 
 imhappy deed. It is pretty evident, that the mutiny was not, as 
 liligh in his narrative stated it to have been, the result of a con- 
 spiracy. It appears from the minutes of the court-martial, which 
 was al'terwards instituted, that the whole affair was planned and 
 executed between the hours of four and eight o'clock on the 
 morning of the 28th April, when Christian had the watch upon 
 deck; that Christian, unable longer to bear the abusive language, 
 had medi'tated his own escape from the ship the day before, choos- 
 ing to trust himself to fate rather than submit to the constant up- 
 braiding to which he had been subject; but the unfortunate busi- 
 ness of the cocoa nuts drove him to the commission of the rash 
 and felonious act which ended, as such criminal acts usually do, 
 in his own destruction and that of a great number of others, many 
 of whom were wholly innocent. 
 
 The following persons were those turned adrift with Mr. Bligh 
 in the boat. 
 
 John Fryer, master. T. Hayward, ) 
 
 Tho. Ledwood, acting surgeon; J. llallet, \ 
 
 he was never heard of after John Norton, quarter-master 
 
 Mr. Bligh left Batavia. killed by the natives at Tosoa 
 
 D. Nelson, botanist; died at P. Linkletter, quarter-master; 
 
 Batavia. died at Batavia. 
 
 Wri Peckover, gunner. L. Lebogue, sail-maker. 
 
 Wm. Cole, boatswain. John Smith, cook. 
 
 Wm. Purcill, carpenter. Tho. Hall, ditto; died at Bata- 
 
 Wm. Elphilstone, master's via. 
 
 mate; died at Batavia. Robert Tinkler, boy. 
 
 There remained in the Bounty, 
 
 Fletcher Christian, master's Tho. M'Intosh, of carpenter's 
 
 mate. crew. 
 
 P. Heywood, ^ C. Churchill, master at arms. 
 
 K Young > midshipmen. Joseph Coleman, armorer. 
 
 G Stewart, ) Wm. Brown, gardiner; and 14 
 J, Jlills, gunner's mate. able seamen. 
 
 Before the boat was cast OiT, Mr. Bligh begged that some avma 
 m ght be handed into her; but these unfeeling wretches laughed at 
 hi n, and said "he was well acquainted with the people among 
 w! lom he was going, and therefore did not want them." Tnev 
 h(wever, threw four cutlasses into the boat 
 
MUTINY OF THE UuUNTY. 229 
 
 Their whole stuck of provisions consisted of oi.e hundred and 
 fifty pound of bread, sixteen pieces of pork, six quarts of rum, 
 with twenty-eight gallons of water; there were also four empty 
 barrecoes in the boat. The boatswain had been allowed to col- 
 lect a small <iuantity of twine, some canvas, lines, and cordage. 
 ?tlr Samuel, the clerk, iiad been also permitted to take a quadrant 
 and compass; but he was forbidden on pain of death to touch 
 ei'i. r chart, ephemeris, book of astronomical observations, sex- 
 str lit, time-keeper, or any of the surveys or drawings which JMr. 
 liligh had been collecting lor fifteen years. Mr. Samuel had the 
 good ibrtune to secure Mr. Bligh's journal and commission, with 
 s >me otiier material ship papers. 
 
 At the time the boat left the ship they were about ten leagues 
 from Tosoa. Mr. Bligh's first determination was to steer for this 
 [ilacfi, to seek a supply of bread-fruit and water, from thence to 
 j)roceed to Tongataboo, and there to solicit the king to suffer him 
 to equip the boat, and grant them such a supply of water and pro- 
 visions, as might enable them to reach the East Indies. Arriving 
 at Tosoa, they found the natives unfriendly and hostile; and 
 availing themselves of the defenceless state of the English, at- 
 tacked them violently with stones, so that the supply they got 
 here was very scanty. It was indeed with some difiiculty they 
 escaped being entirely cut off by the natives; which most probably 
 would have been the case, had not one of the crew (John Norton) 
 resolutely jumped on shore and cast ofl^the stern-fast of the boat; 
 tiiis brave fellow fell a sacrifice to preserve the lives of his com- 
 panions; he was surrounded and inhumanly murdered by these 
 savages. 
 
 The reception they met at Tosoa, gave them little encourage- 
 ment to touch at Tongataboo; as it was evident that the former 
 good behavior of those people proceeded more from the dread of 
 fire arms, than a natural disposition to be friendly. 
 
 It now seemed the general wish of all in the boat, that Mr 
 Biigh should conduct them towards home. He pointed out to 
 ihum that no ho|)cs of relief remained, excepting what might be 
 found at New Holland, or the island of Timor, which was at the 
 distance of full one thousand and two hundred leagues; and that 
 it would require the greatest economy to be observed, with regard 
 \o the scanty allowance which they had to live upon fir so long a 
 voyau'e. It was therefore agreed by the whole crew, that only an 
 oince of bread, and a quarter of a pint of water should be issued 
 to each person per day. After Mr. Bligh had recommended to 
 them in the most solemn manner not to depart from the promise 
 they had made; he on the '2d of May bore away, and shaped hi^ 
 course for New Holland, across a sea little explored, in a boat 
 only twenty-three feet in length, six feet nine inches in bieadth, 
 and two feet nine inches deep, with eighteen persons on board, 
 and heavy ladnn. The next day they eaco'jiitered a violent 
 
Z30 MuriNv OF Tiii-: i-.olnty. 
 
 sidiin, tlu; hn;il .-ilii|)jic<! s.icli ii ijuaality of water, lliat it xras b^ 
 groat exertions and witlj the utmost dilticulty she could be kept 
 alloat The day filluAiiiy it moderated. On the 5th, they saw 
 and Massed a cluster of islands, continuing tlieir course to the 
 ii<»rt)i-\vest. Hitherto thev had not been able to keep any other 
 aixouut ihan by guess; but had now succeeded in getting a log- 
 line tuarked, and by a little practice, some could count the sec- 
 ond-: with a tolerable degree of exactness. The miserable and 
 coutined state in which they were, induced Mr. Bligh to put hia 
 Clew to watcti and watch, so that one half might be on the look 
 out, while the others lay down in the boat's bottom, or upon a 
 cliest; even this gave but a trifling alleviation to their sufferings; 
 being exposed to constant wet and cold, and not having room to 
 stretch their limbs, they became often so dreadfully cramped, as 
 to be incapable of moving them. 
 
 On the 7tli. another group of islands was seen, from whence 
 they observed two large canoes in pursuit of them, one of which 
 at fwir o'clock in the afternoon, had arrived within two miles of 
 the boat, vviien she gave over the chase and returned in shore. 
 Mr. Bligh imagined from their direction and vicinity to the 
 Friendly Islands these must have been the Fegee Islands. 
 
 On the Sth, the weather was moderate and fair, which gave 
 them an opportunity to dry ttieir clothes, and clean out the boat. 
 IVIr. Biii^h also amused the people, by relating to them a descrip- 
 tion of rVew Guinea and New Holland, with every intormati'm in 
 his p'lwer, that in case any accident happened to him, the survi- 
 vors might be able to j)ursue their course to Timor; which place 
 they belore knew n)(hing of except by name. 
 
 On the lOth, the weather again began to be extremely boisterous, 
 with constant rain and frequent thunder and lightning; the sea 
 was so rough, as often to break over the boat; so that they were 
 forever baling, and often in imminent danger of perishing; in ad- 
 dition to their misl'ortunes, the bread was damaged by the salt 
 water; their ctothes never being dry, they derived no refreshment 
 Hom the little rest they sometimes got; and many were so be- 
 numbed and cramped by the cold, that they were afflicted with 
 violent shiverings and pains in the bowels. As the weather still 
 continued tempesfiious, Mr. Bligh, as an expedient, recommend- 
 ed it to every one to strij), and wring their clothes in the salt- 
 ■^'ater, whicii had a good effect, and produced a warmth, that 
 while wet with the rain they could not have. 
 
 On the 14th they saw a number of islands, which appended to 
 be a new discovery, but as they lie so near the New Ilebrides, 
 they may be considered as a part of that group. Their latitude 
 from 13 dcg. 16 min. to 14deg. south, longitude 110 deg. 67 min 
 17 min. to 168 deg. .SI min. east from Greenwich; to these they 
 cjave the name of Bligh's Islands. 
 
 On the 2At\ it was thought necessary to reduce their already 
 
MLTINY OF THE BOUNTY. 231 
 
 miserable pillance; it was accordingly agreed that each person 
 should receive one 25th part of a pound of bread for breakfast, 
 and the same qjiantity for dinner; so that by omitting the allow- 
 ance for supper, they would have forty-three days provisinn-i. 
 
 The next day they saw several noddies and other sea towl, 
 some of which they were so lortunate as to catch, and served 
 tliem out as a part of the allowance. The sight of these birds in- 
 dicated their being in the neighborhood of land. The weather 
 was now more serene; but even this became distressing to them; 
 the heat of the sun was so intense, that many of the people were 
 seized with a langor and faintness, which made life inditierent 
 At one in the morning on the 29th, breakers were discovered 
 about a quarter of a mile distant under their lee; they immediate- 
 ly hauled off and were soon out of danger. At daylight, they 
 again stood in and discovered the reef, over which the sea broke 
 furiijusly. Steering along the edge of it, an opening was soon 
 observed, through which the boat passed; a small island which 
 lay within the reef of a moderate height, JMr. Bligh named Island 
 of Direction, as it serves to show the entrance of the channel; 
 its latitude is 12deg. 51 min. south. As they advanced within the 
 reef, the coast of New Holland began to show itself distinctly. 
 They landed in a fine sandv bay on an island near the main: here 
 they found plenty of oysters, water, and berries, which to men in 
 their deplora!)le condition, were looked upon as luxuries. After 
 a m ire comfortable repose than they had experienced for many 
 nights, they were preparing the next day to depart, when about 
 twenty natives made their appearance on the opposite shore, run- 
 ning and hallooing, at the same time making signs to land. Each 
 was armed with a spear or lance; several others were seen peep- 
 ing over the tops of the adjacent hills. ]Mr. Bligh finding that 
 he was discovered, judged it most prudent to make the best of his 
 way to sea. He named the island on which they landed Restora- 
 tion Island; as it was not only applicable to their own situation 
 but the anniversary of King Charles's Restoration when it was 
 discos ^red; its observed latitude 12 deg. 39 min. south. 
 
 As the boat sailed along the shore, many other parties of the 
 natives came down, waving green boughs as a token of friendship; 
 but Mr. Bligh, suspicious of their intentions, would i.ot venture 
 to land. These people were naked, with black and woolly hair. 
 
 On the 31st they landed on a small island, in order to get a 
 distinct view of the coast; from thence, after making a hearfy 
 meal on oysters, they again put to sea, steering along the shore, 
 ollen touching at the different islands and keys to refresh them- 
 selves, and get such supplies as they afforded. On the evening 
 of the 3d of June, they had passed through Endeavour Straits, 
 and were once more launched into the open ocean, shaping thei: 
 course for the island of Timor, which they were encouraged tn 
 expect they might reach in eight or ten days. A continuance of 
 
232 MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY. 
 
 wet and tempestuous weatlier, aflected even the stoutest among 
 tliem to such a degree, from incessant fatigue, that many showed 
 evident signs of approaching dissolution. Mr. Jiligh used ever)' 
 (iilurt tf) revive their drooping spirits, and comforted them with a 
 hope that they would ^oon arrive at a port where their distresses 
 would he relieved. • 
 
 At three o'clock in the morning on the 12th of June, to their 
 iiioxprcssihle joy, the island of Timor was discovered; and on the 
 Mill Ihey arrived at the Dutch settlement of Coupang. Nothing 
 foil Id exceed the friendly and hospitable reception thfey met with 
 iVoiii the governor, Mr. Van Este, who was lying :.lmost at the 
 point of death; he regretted that his infirmity should prevent him 
 from officiating as a friend himself, but assured Mr. Bligh that he 
 would give such orders, as should procure him and his fellow suf- 
 ferers every assistance in his power; he accordingly committed 
 them to the care of Mr. Wanjen, his son-in-law, who, with the 
 other principal persons of Coupang, rendered their situation com- 
 fortable during the time they staid among them. 
 
 INIr. Bligh presented the governor a formal account of the loss 
 of the Bounty; and a requisition in his Majesty's name, that in- 
 structions might be sent to all the Dutch settlements, to stop the 
 ship if she should touch at any of them; with a list and description 
 of the mutineers. 
 
 A short time after their arrival at Coupang, by the humane and 
 kind attention ofthe Dutch inhabitants, they had so much recovered 
 their health, and strength, that Mr. Bligh purchased a schooner 
 for one thousand rix dollars, to convey them to Batavia before the 
 October fleet should sail for Europe. This vessel was named the 
 Resource; and by the assistance and friendship of Mr. Wanjen, 
 (to whose liberal and hospitable treatment they were all much in- 
 debted), Mr. Bligh was able to procure four brass swivels, four- 
 teen stand of arms, and some ammunition, which was necessary 
 ♦o protect them against the pirates who infest the coast of Java. 
 
 On the 20th of July, Mr. David Nelson, the botanist died of 
 an inflammatory fever; he was a man much respected, and of great 
 scientific knowledge. This was his second voyage to the South 
 Seas in the capacity of botanist. 
 
 The schooner being ready tor sea, on the 30th of August INIr. 
 Bligh and his crew took an affectionate leave of their benefactors, 
 flud siiled from Coupang, with the launch that had preserved 
 ihek ves, in tow. 
 
 On the 1st of October they arrived in Batavia road. The next 
 day INIr. Bligh was taken so extremely ill, that he was obliged to 
 be moved into the country. Shortly alter the Dutch suigeon- 
 gencral represented to him that his complaint was of such d 
 natuic, that unless he quitted the air of Batavia, it might prove 
 fatal. In consequence of this, Mr. Bligh applied to the governor- 
 general for permission to return to Europe by the fleet whicb 
 
iMUTI.VY OF THE BOUNTY. 233 
 
 «'as on the point of sailing; which being granted, he took his 
 passage on board a Dutch packet, and sailed from Batavia on the 
 16th of October, IToD; the governfu- promising him that the re- 
 mainder of his crew should be sent home by the earliest oppoitu- 
 nity. On the 14th of March, 1790, he arrived in England. Out 
 of t!ie nineteen who were in the boat when she left the ship, only 
 twelve lived to return to their native country. 
 
 The tide of public applause set as strongly in favor of Bligh, 
 i,n ueC'^u.it of his sulferings and the successful issje of his daring 
 enterprise, as its indignation was launched against Christian and 
 his associates, for the audacious and criminal deed they had com- 
 mitted. Bligh was promoted by the Admiralty to the rank of 
 commander, and speedilv sent out a second time to transport the 
 bread-fruit to the West Indies, whicii he without the least obstruc- 
 tion, successfully accomplished; and his maiestv's government was 
 no sooner made acquainted with the atrocious act of piracy and 
 mutiny, than it determined to adopt every possible means to aj)- 
 prehend and bring to condign punishment the perpetrators of so 
 foul a deed. For this purpose, the Pandora frigate of twenty- 
 four guns, and one hundred and sixty men, was despatched, under 
 tlie command of Captain Edward Edwards, with orders to proceed 
 in the first instance to Otaheite, and, not finding the mutineers 
 there, to visit the diiferent groups of the Society and Friendly 
 Islands, and others in the neighboring parts of the Pacific, 
 using his best endeavors to seize and bring home in confinement 
 the whole or such part of the delin(|uents as he might be able to 
 discover. 
 
 This voyage was in the sequel almost as disastrous as that of 
 the bounty, but from a diiferent cause. The waste of human life 
 was much greater, occasioned bv the wreck of the ship, in return- 
 ing; and the distress experienced hv the crew was not much less, 
 owing to the famine and thirst t'uey had to suffer in a navigation 
 of eleven hundred miles in open boats; but the captain succeeded 
 in fulfilling a part of his instructions, by taking fourteen of the 
 mutineers, of whom ten were brought safe to England, the other 
 four being drowned when the ship was wrecked. Soon after their 
 arrival, a court-martial assembled to try the prisoners, on board 
 his majesty's ship Duke, on the 12th September, lld'2. A<rainst 
 seven of the ten the charges of mutiny were proved, and they were 
 adjudged worthy of death; two of tiiem, however, Peter Hey- 
 wood and James JMorrison were earnestly recommended by the 
 court to his majesty's mercy, and they were pardoned according- 
 'y. Heywood, who at the time ot" the mutiny was but sixteen 
 years of age, v.as very honorably and fully a -quitted in public 
 opinion of any particiiiation in tlie deed, aid he, afterwards rose 
 to distinction, with-Mit any invidious suspicion being attached to 
 him. He died in the year 1831, leaving behind him a high and 
 unblemished character in that service of which he was a jnost 
 20 ' 
 
honoral)le, .ntc ligctit, end dit^iiiiguislied member. The remaining 
 five ol' the convicts were luiiii; pursuant to sentence. 
 
 Twenty 3'ears had passed away, and the Bounty, and Fletcher 
 Christian, and tiie piratical crew that he had carried oti" with iiim 
 in ihi>t siiip, had h)n<f ceased to occupy a thought in tlie puhhc 
 mind It happened however, that an accidental discovery, as in- 
 teres ing as it was wholly unexpected, was brought to light in con- 
 sequence of an American trading vessel liaving, by mere chance, 
 approached one of those numerous islands in the Pacific, against 
 wliose steep and iron-bound shore the surf almost everlastingly 
 lolls with such tremendous violence as to bid defiance to any at- 
 tempts of boats to land, except at particular times and in very few 
 places. 
 
 Captain Folger, of the American brig Topaz, of Boston, in 
 September, 1808, landea on Pitcairn's Island in latitude 2.3° 2' 
 south, longitude 1:30^ west, where he found an Englishman, of 
 the name of Alexander Smith, the only person remaining of nine 
 that had escaped in the Bounty. Smith related that, after put- 
 ting Captain Bligh in the boat, Christian took command of the 
 ship and went to Otaheite, where many of the crew lef^ her, ex- 
 cept Christian, Smith, and seven others, who each took wives, 
 and six Otaheitan men-servants, and shortly after arrived at Pit 
 cairn's Island, where they ran the ship ashore and broke her up; 
 tills event took place in the year 1790. 
 
 About four years after their arrival (a great jealousy existing), 
 the Otaheitans secretly revolted, and killed every Englishman 
 except Smith, whom they severely v/ounded in the neck with a 
 |)istol ball. The same niglit, the widows of the deceased Eng- 
 lishmen arose and put to death the whole of the Otaheitans, 
 leaving Smith the only man alive upon the island, with eight or 
 nine women and several small children. On his recovery, he ap- 
 plied himself to tilling the ground, so that it now produced plenty 
 of yams, cocoa-nuls, bananas and plantains; hogs and poultry in 
 abundance. There were some grown-up men and women, cliil-, 
 dren of the mutineers, on the island, the whole population amount- 
 ing to about thirty-five, who acknowledged Smith as father and] 
 commander of them all; they all spoke English, and had bcei 
 educated by Iiiiti in a moral and religious way. 
 
 It was asserted by the second mate of the Topaz, that Chris 
 (isii, the ringleader became insane shortly after taking up his] 
 abode on the island, and threw himself off the rocks into the sea. 
 It is clear enough that this misguided and ill-fated young mai 
 was never happy after the rash and criminal step h'j had (aken.l 
 He was alwavs sullen and morose, and committed so many acta 
 of wanton oppression as very soon incurred the hatred of hi&J 
 com|)anions. According to the account of Smith, or as he vvaal 
 usually called, John Adams, the cause oT Christian's deatn waulj 
 
THE SHETI.AM) ISl.ES. 2'>5 
 
 his having foicibly seized on the wife of one of the Otahcite men, 
 which so exasperated the rest that they not only sought the lite 
 of the offender, but of others also who migiit, as they thought, be 
 disposed to pursue the same course. The manner of Christian's 
 death still remains uncertain; certain it is, that however far he 
 might escape from the reach of justice there was no escaping t\om 
 
 Pitcairn's Island was visited in 1814 by his majesty's fr'^ates, 
 the Briton and the Tagus, by which the account of Captain Fol- 
 ger v/as c jniirnied. From the time of this visit nothing moro 
 was heard of Adams and his fatnily for nearly twelve years, when, 
 in 182-5, Captain Beechey, in the Blossom, bound on a voyage of 
 discovery, touched at Pitcairn's Island. He found the descend- 
 ants of the mutineers increased to sixty-si.x; the females were 
 modest, handsome and pleasing, and the males added a wonderful 
 degree of strength and agility to a bea'utiful symmetry of form. 
 Adams had introduced into his little society, the most salutary 
 laws and regulations, which he had drawn from the bible, and 
 seemed desirous to atone for his past misconduct by training up 
 the rising generation in piety and virtue. The death of this cAd 
 patriarch took place in March, 1829, and he was sincerely 
 lamented by the infant colony. It has recently been stated in tne 
 newspapers, that owing to a deHcicHcy of water at Pitcairn's 
 Island, the descendants of the mutineers had all emigrated to 
 Otaheite: but there being disgusted with the dissolute and im- 
 moral behavior of the islanders, they had returned to the place 
 of their birth t escape the contamination of vice and intempe- 
 rance. 
 
 THE SHETLAND ISLES 
 
 These islands lie about fifteen leagues north-east ot the 0& • 
 neys, between the fit'ty-ninth and sixty-first degrees of north lati 
 tude. They are about eighty-six in number, of which forty are 
 inhabited, and the others are small holms or rocky islets, used onU 
 for pasturage. The small islands of Foula and Fair Isle lie in the 
 strait between the clusters of Orkney and Shetland. The climate 
 of these islands cannot be said to be agreeable. The weather 13 
 wet and variable, though not injurious to the health of those who 
 have been accustomed to it. 
 
 Great numbers of horses are bred in Shetland, though they are 
 of very small size, the ordinary height being fi om rme to ten 
 bands, whilst the largest do not exceed eleven hands. The inhab- 
 
IJ6 
 
 Tllli: SIIKTI.A.ND ISI.ES 
 
 itants aro a hardy, robust and laborious race, and hospitable to 
 strangers. They have few niunufactures, but export ^reut quanti- 
 ties of stockings wrought upon wires, manufactured from the wool 
 of tlieir own sheep. 
 
 The isles afford abundance of sea-fowl, which serve the inhab- 
 itants for part of their food, while the down and feathers are a 
 source of considerable profit to them. The several tribes of fowl 
 here l)uild and hatch apart. Some of the lesser isles are so crowd- 
 ed with variety of sea-fowl, that they darken the air when they fly, 
 in great numbers. The people inhabiting the lesser isles have 
 plenty of eggs, and fowl, which contribute to maintain their fami- 
 lies during the sununer. The common people are generally very 
 dexterous in climbing the rocks in quest of the eggs and fowl; 
 but this exercise is attended with great danger, and sometimes 
 proves fatal to those who venture too far. The most remarkable 
 experiment of this sort is at the isle called the IS'oss of Brassah 
 and is as follows: 
 
 The Noss being about sixteen fathom distant from the side of 
 the opposite main; the higher and lower rocks have two stakes 
 fasteneu in each of them, and to these there are ropes tied: upon 
 the ropes is hung an engine which they call a cradle; and in tHa 
 a man makes his way over from the greater to the lesser rocK, 
 where he takes a considerable quantity of eggs and fowl; but his 
 return being by an ascent, makes it more dangerous, though those 
 on the great rock have a rope tied to the cradle, by which they 
 draw it and the man safe over for the most part. 
 
 There are some rocks here computed to be about three hundred 
 
A SEA nA,.LAO. 231 
 
 falhoms high; and the way of climbing them is, to tie a rope 
 about a man's middle and let him down with a basket, in which 
 he brings up his eggs and fowl. The isle of Foula is the most 
 dangerous and fatal to the climbers, for many of them perish in the 
 attempt. 
 
 A SEA-BALLAD. 
 
 A jolly comrade in the port, a fearless mate at sea ; 
 When I forget thee, to my hand false may the cutlass be! 
 And may my gallant battle-flag be stricken down in shame, 
 If, when the social can goes rounJ, I fail to pledge thy name ! 
 Up, up, my lad.s ! his memory ! we'll give it with a cheer — 
 Ned Bolton, the commander of the Black Snake privateer! 
 
 Poor Ned 1 he had a heart of steel, with neither flaw nor speck : 
 Firm as a rock, in strife or storm, he stood the quarter-deck ; 
 He was, I trow, a welcome man to many an Indian dame, 
 And Spanish planters crossed themselves at whisper of his name, 
 But now, Jamaica girls may weep — rich Dons securely smile — 
 His bark will take no prize again, nor e'er touch Indian isle ! 
 
 S blood ! 'twas a sorry fate he met on his own mother wave — 
 Tlie f(ie far olf, tlie storm asleep, and yet to find a grave' 
 With store of the Peruvian gold, and spirit of the cane. 
 No need would he have had to cruise in tropic climes again : 
 But some are born to sink at sea, and some to hang on shore, 
 And Fortune cried, God speed ! at last, and welcomed Ned no more. 
 
 Twas off the coast of Mexico — the tale is bitter brief — 
 The Black Snake, under press of sail, stuck fast upon a reef— 
 Upon a cutting coral-reef, scaice a good league from land. 
 But hundreds, both of horse and foot, were ranired upon the strand ; 
 His boats were lost before Cape Horn, and, with an old canoe, 
 Even had he numbered ten for one, what could Ned Bolton do ? 
 
 Six days and nights the vessel lay upon the coral-reef. 
 
 Nor favoring gale, nor friendly flag brought prospect of relief; 
 
 For a land breeze, the wild one prayed, who never prayed befoi< , 
 
 And when it came not at his call, he bit his lip and swore. 
 
 The Spaniards shouted from the beach, but did not venture near 
 
 Voo well they knew the mettle of the daring privateer! 
 
 A calm . a calm ! a hopeless c- Im ! the red sun burning high, 
 
 Glared bllsteringly and wearily in a transparent sky ; 
 
 T je grog went round the gasping crew, and loudly rose the song, 
 
 I'lie only pastime at an hour when rest seemed far too long. 
 
 So boisterously they took their rouse upon the crowded deck — 
 
 They looked like men who had escaped, not feared, a sudden wreck 
 
 Up sprung the breeze the seventh day — away ! away ! te sea 
 Drifted the bark, with riven planks, over the waters free ; 
 Their battle-flag these rovers bold then hoisted topmast high, 
 And to the swarthy foe sent back a fierce defying cry. 
 
£58 DANGERS OV A NOVA SCOTIA FOO. 
 
 " One last broadside !' iNed Bolton cried — deep boomed the cannop 3 rotf 
 And cello's lioilow growl returned an answer from the shore. 
 
 The thundering gun, the broken song, the mad, tuintiltuous cheer 
 
 Ceased not, so long as ocean spared tile shattered privateer, 
 
 1 saw her — I — she shot by me, like lightning, in the gJile, 
 
 We strove to save, we tacked, and fast we slackened all our sail— 
 
 I knew the wave of Ned's right hand — farewell ! you strive in vain ■ 
 
 And he, nor one of his ship's crew, e'er entered port again ! 
 
 DANGERS OF A NOVA SCOTIA FOG. 
 
 BY CAPTAIN HALL. 
 
 There are few things more provoking than the fogs off Halifax, 
 for, as they happen to be companions of that very wi-nd, the south- 
 east, which is the hest for running in, the navigator is plagued 
 with the tormenting conciousness, that if he could be allowed but 
 a couple of hours of clear weather, his port would be gained, and 
 liis troubles over. The clearing up, therefore, of these odious 
 clouds or veils is about the most delightful thing I know; and the 
 instantaneous eHect which a clear sight of the land, or even of the 
 sharp horizon, when far at sea, has on the mind of every person 
 on board, is quite remarkable. All things look bright, fresh, and 
 more beautiful than ever. The stir over the whole ship at these 
 moments is so groat that even persons sitting below can tell at 
 once that the fog has cleared away. The rapid clatter of the 
 men's feet, springing up the hatchways at the lively sound of the 
 boatswains call to "make sail!" soon follows. Then comes the 
 cheerful voice of the officer, hailing the tojimen to shake out the 
 reefs, trice up the stay sails, and rig out the booms. That pecu- 
 liar and well known kind of echo, also, by which the sound of thr 
 voice is thrown back from the wet sails, contributes in like man- 
 ner, t> produce a joyous elasticity of spirits, greater, I think than 
 is e.xcucd by most of the ordinary occurrences of a sea life. 
 
 A year or two after the time I am speaking of, it was re- 
 solved to place a heavy gun upon the rock on which Sambro light- 
 hou.^e is built; and, after agood deal of trouble, a long twenty-four 
 pfuinder was hnisted up to the highest ridge of this prominent sta- 
 tion. It was then arranged that, if, on the arrival of any ship ofl 
 ihe harbor, in a period of fog she chose to fire guns, these were 
 to be answered from the light-house, and in this way a kind of 
 audible though invisible telegraph might be set to work. If it 
 happened that the officers of the ship were sufficiently familiar 
 witli the ground, aMd possessed nerves stout en'iugh for such a grop- 
 ing kii?d of navagation, perilous at best, it was possible to run 
 
DAXGEKS OF A SOVA. SCOTIA FOG, 23l« 
 
 }<iirly into he harbor, notwithstariding the obscurity, by watching 
 ihe sound of these guns, and attending closely to the depth ol 
 water. 
 
 I never was in any ship which ventured upon this feat, but J 
 perfectly recollect a curious circumstance, which occured, I think, 
 to his majesty's ship Cambrian. She had run in from sea towards 
 he coast, enveloped intone of these dense fogs. Of course tliey 
 took fi)r granted that the light-house and the adjacent land Hal- 
 afa.\ included were likewise covered with an impenetrable cloud 
 or mist. But it so chanced, by what freak of Dame Nature, I 
 know not, that the fog, on that day, was confined to the deep 
 water, so that we who were in the port, could see it at the distance 
 of several mile.s from the coast lying on the ocean like a huge 
 stratum of snow, with an abrupt face fronting the shore. Tlie 
 Cambrian, lost in the midst of this fog bank, supposing herself to 
 be near the land, fired a gun. To this the light-house replied; 
 and so the ship and the light went on pelting away, gun for gun, 
 during half the day without ever seeing one another. The people 
 at the light-house had no means of communicating to the frigate 
 that, if *he could only stand on a little further, she would disen- 
 tangle herself from the cloud, in which, like Jupiter Olympus of 
 old she was wasting her thunder. 
 
 At last the captain, hopeless of its clearing up, gave orders to 
 pipe to dinner; but as the weather, in all respects except this abom- 
 inable haze, was quite fine, and the ship was still in deep water, 
 he directed her to be steered towards the shore, and the lead kept 
 constantly going. As one o'clock approached, he began to feel 
 uneasy, from the water shoaling, and the light-house guns sajnd- 
 ing closer and closer; but, being unwilling to disturb tiie men at 
 dinner, he resolved to stand on for the remaining ten minutes of 
 the hour. Lo and behold! however, they had not sailed half a 
 mile further before the Hying jib-boom end emerged from the wall 
 of mist — then the bowsprit shot into day light — and, lastly the ship 
 herself, glided out of the cloud into the full blaze of a bright and 
 " sunshine holy day." All hands were instantly turned up to 
 make sail; and the men, as they flew on deck, could scarcely 
 believe their senses, when they saw behind them the fog bank, and 
 right ahead the harbor's mouth, with the bold clifTs of Cape Sam- 
 bro on the left, and, farther still, the ships at their moorings, with 
 their ensign and pendants blowing out, light and dry in the 
 breeze. 
 
 A far different fate, alas! attended his Majesty's ship Atalante, 
 Captain Frederic Hickey. On the morning of the 10th of No- 
 "ember, 1813, this ship stood in for Halifax harbor in very thick 
 veather, carefully feeling her way with the lead, and having 
 look-out men at the jib-boom-end, fore-yard-arms, and every where 
 elsu from which a glimpse of land was likely to be obtained. Af- 
 rr breakfast a fog signal gun was fii-ed, in expectation of its beinj? 
 
nwciKus or a nova scotia fog. 
 
 fins'.veicd by the light-houso on Cape Sambro, near which it wa 
 known they must be. Within a few minutes, accordingly, a gun 
 was lieard in the nortli-nortli-west quarter, exactly where the light 
 was .*;up|)osed to lie. As the soundings agreed with the estimated 
 position of the sliip, and as the guns iVoni the Atalante, fired at 
 intervals oftiftcen minutes, were regularly answered in the direc- 
 tion of the harbor's mouth, it was determined to stand on so as to 
 enter tlie port under the guidance of these sounds alone. By a 
 fatal coincidence of circumstances, however, these answering guns • 
 v/erc Hrcd not by Cape Sambro, but by his Majesty's ship Bar- 
 rossa, which was likewise entangled by the fog. She, too, suppos- 
 ed that she was communicating with the light-house, whereas it 
 was the gunj of the unfortunate Atalante that she heard all the 
 time. 
 
 There was certainly no inconsiderable risk incurred by running 
 in f)r the harborV-i moutli UTider such circumstances. But it will 
 often happen that it becomes tlie oiHcer's duty to put his ship as 
 well as iiis life in hazard; and this appears to have been exactly 
 one of those cases. Captain Hickey was charged with urgent 
 despatches relative to the enemy's fleet, which it was of the great- 
 est importance should be delivered without an hour's delay. But 
 there was every appearance of this fog lasting a week; and as he 
 and his oihcers had passed over the ground a hundred times before, 
 and were as intimately acquainted with the spot as any pilot could 
 be, it was resolved to try the bold experiment; and the ship was 
 forthwith steered in the supposed direction of Halifax. 
 
 They had not, however, stood on far, before one of the lookout 
 men exclaimed, " breakers ahead! Hard a-starboard!" But it was 
 too late, for, before the helm could be put ever, the ship was 
 amongst those formidable reefs known by the name of the sisters' 
 rocks, or eastern ledge of Sambro Island. The rudder and half 
 of the sternpost, together with the greater part of the false keel, 
 were driven off by the first blow and floated up along side. There 
 is some reason to believe, indeed, that a portion of the bottom of 
 the ship, loaded with one hundred and twenty tons of iron ballast, 
 were torn from the upper works by this fearful blow, and that the 
 ship, which instantly tilled with water, was afterwards buoyed up 
 merely by the empty casks, till the decks and sides burst through 
 or were riven asunder by the waves. 
 
 The captain who, throughout the whole scene, continued as com- 
 poaed as if nothing remarkable had occurred, now ordered the 
 guns to be thrown overboard, but before one of them could be 
 cast loose, or a breaching cut, the ship fell over so much that the 
 men could not stand. It was, therefore, with great difliculty that 
 a few guns were fired as signals of distress. In the same breatn 
 that this order was given, Captain Hickey desired the yard tackles 
 to be hooked, in order that the pinnace might be hoisted out; 
 but as the masts, deprived of tlieir foundation, were tottering from 
 
DANU:.RS OF A NOVA SCOTIA FOG. 241 
 
 Side lo side, the people v.eie called down again. The quarter 
 boats were then lowered into the water with some difficulty, but 
 the jolly boat, which happened to be on the poop undergoing re- 
 pairs, in being launched overboard, struck against one of the stern 
 davits, bilged, and went down. The ship was now falling fast over 
 on her beam ends, and directions were given to cut away her tore 
 and main mast. Fortunately, they fell without injuring the large 
 bo'il on the booms — their grand hope. At the instant of this crash, 
 the ship parted in two between the main and mizen-masts; and, 
 within "d k\v seconds afterwards, she again broke right across, be- 
 tween the fore and main-masts: so that the poor Atalante now form- 
 ed a mere wreck, divided into three pieces, crumbling into smaller 
 fragmenis at every send of the swell. 
 
 By this time a considerable crowd of men had got into the pin- 
 nace on the booms in hopes that she might float ofl' as the ship 
 sank; but Captain Ilickey, seeing that the boat was so loaded 
 tliat she could never swim, desired some twenty men to quit her; 
 and, what is particularly worthy of remark, his orders, which were 
 given with perfect coolness, were as promptly obeyed as ever. 
 Throughout the whole of these trying moments, indeed, the disci- 
 pline of the ship appears to have been maintained not only without 
 the smallest trace of insubordination but with a degree of cheer- 
 fulness which is described as truly wonderful. Even when the 
 masts fell, the sound of the crashing spars were drowned in the 
 animating huzzais of the undaunted crew, though they were then 
 clinging to the weather gunwale, with the sea, from time to time, 
 making a clean breach over them, and when they were expecting 
 every instant to be carried to the bottom! 
 
 As soon as the pinnace was relieved from the pressure of the 
 crowd, she floated off the booms or rather was knocked off by a 
 sea, which turned her bottom upwards, and whelmed her into 
 the surf amidst the fragments of the wreck. The people however, 
 imitating the gallant bearing of their ca()tain, and keeping their 
 eves fixed upon him, never for one instant lost their self possession. 
 By dint of great exertions, they succeeded not only in righting 
 the boat but disentangled her from the confused heap of spars, 
 and the dash of the breakers, so as to place her at a little distance 
 from the wreck where they waited for further orders from the 
 captain, who with about forty men, still clung to the poor remains 
 of the gav Atalante once so much admired! 
 
 An attempt was next made to construct a raft, as it was feared 
 l.\e three boats could not possibly carry all hands; but the 
 >iolence of the waves prevented this, and it was resolved to trust 
 to the boats alone, though they were already to all appearance 
 qjite full. It was now, however absolutely necessary to take tc 
 tliem, as the wreck was disappearing rapidly; and in order to 
 pack close, most of the men were removed to the pinnace, wher<» 
 thgy laid tlat in th«^ bottom, like herrings in a barrel, while i^e small 
 21 
 
24'i TyAMiLna ar a sriv.k s<ori\ rna. 
 
 boats returned to nick ofl' llie rest. This was no easy matfcr tl 
 any case, while it was impossible in others; so that many 
 men bad to swim lor it; others were dragged through the wavea 
 by ropes, and some were forked off by oars and other small 
 spars. 
 
 Arrrongst the crew there was o ic famoMs merry feUov/, a blach 
 fiddler, \\\\o was discovered at this critical jancture clinging to the 
 main chains with his beloved Cremona squeezed tightly but deli 
 cately under his arm — a ludicrous picture of distress, and a subject 
 of some joking amongst the men even at this moment. It soon be- 
 came absolutely necessary that he should lose one of the two things 
 his fiddle or his life. So, at last, after a painful struggle, the pro- 
 fessor and his violin were obliged to part company! 
 
 The pinnace now contained seventy-nine men and one ^-oman, 
 (he cutter forty-two and the gig eighteen, with which cargoes they 
 barely floated. Captain Hickey was, of course, the last man who 
 left the wreck; though such was the respect and affection felt i'of 
 him by his crew, that those who stood along with him on this last 
 vestage of the ship, evinced the greatest reluctance at leaving their 
 commander in such a perilous predicament. So speedy indeed 
 was the work of destruction, that by the time the Captain was 
 fairly in the boat, the wreck bad almost entirely ' melted into the 
 yest of waves.' The crew, however, gave her three hearty cheers 
 as she went down, and then finally abandoned the scattered frag- 
 ments, of what had been their house and home for nearly seven 
 years. 
 
 The fog still continued as thick as ever; the binacles had 
 both been washed overboard, and no compass could be procured. 
 As the wind was still light, there was great difficulty in steering 
 in a straight line. Had there been a breeze, it would perhaps 
 have been easier to have shaped a course. In this dilemma a re- 
 source was hit upon, which for a time answered pretty well to 
 guide them. It being known loosely, before leaving the wreck, 
 in what direction the land was situated, the three boats were placed 
 in a row pointing that way. The sternmost boat then quitted her 
 station in the rear, and pulled ahead till she came in a line wit.h 
 the other two boats, but took care not to go so far as to be lost in 
 the fog; the boat which was now astern then rowed ahead, as tho 
 tirst had done, and so on doubling along one after the other. 'I'hia 
 tirdy method of proceeding however answered only for a lime; 
 at length tl.ey were completely at loss which way to steer. Precise- 
 ly at this moment of greatest need, an old quarter-master, Samuel 
 Shanks by name, recollected that at the end of his watch chain 
 there hung a small compass seal. This precious discovery waa 
 announced to the other boats by a joyous shout from the pinnace. 
 
 The compass being speedily handed into the gig, to the captain, 
 was placed en top of the chronometer, which had been nobly caved 
 by the clerk; and as this instrument worked on jimblcs.. the little 
 
THE EODVSTONE LtGtti-MOt'SE. 245 
 
 needle remained upon it sufficiently steady for stcc.ing the boata 
 within a kw points. 
 
 This was enough to insure hitting land, from which they had 
 been steering quite wide. Before reaching the .'^liore, they fell in 
 with an old fisherman, who piloted them to a light, called Portu- 
 guese Cove, where they all landed in safety, at a distance of 
 twenty miles from Halifax. 
 
 THE EDDYSTONE LIGHT-HOUSE. 
 
 This most celebrated light-house is built on the Eddystonf 
 rocks These are situate nearly south-south-west from the mid* 
 die of Plymouth sound, England, according to the true meridian 
 The distance from the port of Plymouth is nearly fourteen miles; 
 and from the promontory called Ilamhead, about ten miles. They 
 are almost in the line, but somewhat within it, which joins the 
 Start and the Lizard points; and as they lie nearly in the direction 
 of vessels coasting up and down the channel, they were necessari- 
 ly, before the establisiimcnt of light-iiouses, very dangerous, and 
 often fatal to ships under such circumstances. Their situation, 
 likewise, with regard to the Bay of Biscay, and the Atlantic Ocean, 
 is such, that they lie open to the swells of the bay and ocean from 
 all south-western points of the compass, which swells are generally 
 allowed by mariners to be very great and heavy in those seas, and 
 particularly in the Bay of Biscay. It is to be observed that the 
 soundings of the sea from the south-westward, toward the Eddy- 
 stone, are from eighty fathoms to forty, and every where till you 
 come near the Eddystone, the sea is full thirty fathoms in depth; 
 so that all the heavy seas from the south-west come uncontrolled 
 upon the Eddystone rocks, and break on them with the utmost 
 fury. 
 
 The force and height of these seas is increased by the circum- 
 stance of the rocks stretching across the channel, in a north and 
 south direction, to the length of above one hundred fathoms, and 
 by their lying in a sloping manner toward the south-west quarter. 
 This striving of the rocks, as it is technically called, does n.)t 
 cease at low water, but still goes on progressively; so that, at fifty 
 fathoms westward, there are twelve fathoms water, nor do they 
 terminate altogether at the distance of a mile. From this con- 
 figuration it happens, that the seas are swelled to such a degree 
 in storms and hard gales of wind, as to break on the rocKs with 
 the utmost violence. 
 
 The effect of this slope is likewise sensibly felt in moderate, 
 and even in calm weather, for the liberation of the Vater, cpussC. 
 
11 
 
 Tin: EUDVSIONE J.ICIIT-IIOL'SE. 
 
 in tlie IJay of Biscay in hard gales, at south-west, continues in those 
 <^ee|i waters for many days, though succeeded hyacahn; inso- 
 rnucli, tliat when tlie sea is to all appearance sinootli and even, and 
 its surface unruflled by tlie sliglitest breeze, yet those librationa 
 still continuing, which arc called the ground swell, and meeting 
 the slope of the rocks, the sea breaks upon them in a frightful 
 manner, so as not only to obstruct any v/ork being done upon the 
 rock, but even the landing upon it, when, figuratively speaking, 
 you might go to sea in a walnut-shell. A circumstance which 
 still farther increases the difficulty of Working on the rocks is 
 there being a sudden drop of the surface of the rock, forming a 
 step of about four and a half, or five feet high, so that the seas, 
 which in moderate weather come swelling to this part, meet so 
 sudden a check, that they frequently fly to the height of thirty or 
 forty feet 
 
 Eddystone Light-House. 
 
 Notwithstanding these difficulties, it is not surprising that the 
 wnngers to which navigators were exposed by the Eddystone rocks, 
 Biiould make a commercial nation desirous of having a light-house 
 on them. The wonder is, that any one should be found hardy 
 enough to undertake the building. Such a man was first found in 
 the person of Henry Winstanly, of Littlebury, in Essex, gent, who, 
 in tne year 1696, was furnished by the master, wardens, and as- 
 sistanis, of the Trinity-house, of Deptford Strond, with the neces- 
 sary powers to carry the design into execution. He entered upon 
 this undtrtaking in IGOG, and completed it in four' years. This 
 gentleman was so certain of the stability of his structure, that he 
 declareJ it to be his wish to be in it " during the greatest storm 
 that ever blew under the face of the heavens," 
 
THE EDDVSTONK LIGHT-IIOCSE. 245 
 
 Ml. Winstanly was but too amply gratified in his wish, for while 
 he was there with his workmen and light-keepers, that dreadful 
 storm began, which raged n;ost violently on tiie 26th of November 
 1703, in the night; and of ail the accounts of the kind which his- 
 tory furnishes us with, we have none that has exceeded this in 
 Great Briiain, or was more injurious or extensive in its devastation. 
 The next morning, iN'ovember 27th, when the violence of the 
 storm was so much abated that it could be seen whether the light- 
 house had suffered by it, nothing appeared standing; but, upon 
 a nearer inspection, some of the large irons by which the woik 
 was fixed upon the rock still remained; nor were any of the people 
 or any of the materials of the building, ever found afterwards. 
 
 In 1709, another light-house was built of wood, on a very differ 
 ent construction, by JNIr. John Rudyerd, then a silk mercer or 
 Ludgate-hill. This was a very ingenious structure; after it had 
 braved the elements for forty-six years, it was burnt to the ground 
 in 1755. On the destruction of this light-house, that excellent 
 mechanic and engineer Mr. Smeaton, was chosen as the fittest 
 person to build another. It was with some difficulty that he was 
 able to persuade the proprietors, that a stone building, properly 
 constructed, would in all respects be preferable to one of wood, 
 but having at last convinced them, he turned his thoughts to the 
 sha|)e which was most suitable to a building so critically situated. 
 Reflecting on the structure of the former buildings, it seemed a 
 material improvement to procure, if possible, an enlargement of 
 the base, without increasing the size of the waist, or that part of 
 the building which is between the top of the rock, and the top of 
 the solid work. Hence he thought a greater degree of strength 
 and stiffness would be gained, accompanied with less resistance 
 to the acting power. On this occasion, the natural figure of the 
 waist, or bole, of large spreading oak, occurred to Mr. Smeaton 
 " Let us (says he) consider its particular figure. Connected 
 with its roots, which lie hid below ground, it rises from the surface 
 with a large swelling base, which at the height of one diameter 
 is generally reduced by an elegant curve, concave to the eye, to 
 a diameter less by at least one third, and sometimes to half its 
 original base. From thence, its taper diminishing more slowly, 
 !:s sides by degrees come into a perpendicular, and for some 
 lieight form a cylinder. After that, a preparation of more cir- 
 cumferance becomes necessary, for the strong insertion and 
 establishment of the principal boughs, which produces a swelling 
 of its diameter. Now we can hardly doubt, but that every section 
 of the tree is nearly of an equal strength in proportion to what it 
 has to resist; and were we to lop off its principal boughs, and ex- 
 pose it in that state to a rapid current of wafer, we should find it 
 as capable of resisting the action of the heavier fluid, when divest- 
 ed of th.i greater part of its clothing, as it was that of the lighter, 
 when all its spreading ornaments were exposed to the fury of the 
 21 * 
 
246 JOHN TALL J0NE3. 
 
 Wind; and hence we may derive an ideaof wliat the proper shape 
 of a column of the greatest stability ought to be, to resist the ac 
 tion of external violence, when the quantity of matter is given ot 
 which it is to be composed." 
 
 W ith tijosc views, as to the proper form of 'he ''uperstrncturej 
 Mr. Siiieafon began the work on the 'id of April, 1757, and finish- 
 ed it in Aug'jst 4tii, 1759. The rock, which slopes towards thg 
 south-west is cut into horizontil steps, into which are dovetailed, 
 and united by a strong cement, Portland stone, and gianite. The 
 whole, to the lieight of thirty-five feet from the foundation, is a 
 polid of stoni's, ingrafted into each other, and united oy every 
 means of additional strength. Ti e building has four rooms, one 
 o\ r the other, and at the top a gallery and lantern. The stone 
 floors are fiat above, but concave beneath, and are kept from 
 pressing against the sides of the building by a chain let into the 
 wails. It is nearly eighty feet high, and since its completion has 
 been assaulted by the fury of the elements, without sufl'ering the 
 smallest injury. 
 
 We regret that we cannot with propriety trace out the progress 
 of this great work, and shew with what skill and judgment this 
 unparalleled engineer overcame the greatest difficulties; we, how- 
 ever, beg to recommend to our curious readers, Mr. Smeaton's 
 own account of the Eddystone light-house, not doubting that they 
 will be highly gratified by the perusal. According to the requi- 
 site tables, this light-house is situated in lat. 50. 8 N., long. 4. 
 24. W. of Greenwich; or 4. 18. 23. W. of London. 
 
 JOHN PAUL JONES. 
 
 John Paul Jones was born at Arbingland, in Scotland, Ju y 6, 
 i747. His father was a gardner, whose name was P(ml; but the 
 son assumed that of Jones in subsequent life, for what reason is 
 not known. Young Paul early evinced a decided predilection for 
 the sea, and, at the age of twelve, was bound apprentice to a re- 
 Bpecta )!e merchant of Whitehaven, in the American trade. His 
 first voyage was to America, where his elder brother was estab- 
 lished as a planter. He was then engaged for some time in the 
 slave-trade, but quitted it in disgust, and returned to Scotland, m 
 17ti8, as passenger in a vessel, the captain and mate of which 
 died on the passage Jones assumed the command, at the request 
 of those on board, and brought the vessel safe into port. Foi 
 
JOHN PAtL 50.VES 247 
 
 tiiis service, he was appointed by the owners nsa^er and super- 
 cargo. While in command of this vessel, he punished a sailor 
 who afterwards died of a fever at the island of Tobago — a cir- 
 cumstance which gave rise to an accusation against Jones, of 
 having caused his death, by the severity of the punishment upon 
 hmi; but tliis has been completely refuted. Jones was afterwards 
 in command of the Betsy, of Londou, and remained some time in 
 tiie West Indies, engaged in commercial pursuits and speculations, 
 by which it is said he realized a handsome fortune. In 1773, he 
 viHs residing in Virginia, arranging the affairs of his brother, who 
 |jad died intestate and childless, and about this time took the 
 came of Jones. In Virginia he continued to live until the com- 
 fnencenient of the struggle between the colonies and mother 
 country. He offered his services to the former, and was appointed 
 hrst of the first lieutenants, and designated to the Alfred, on board 
 of which ship, to use his own language in one of his letters, " he 
 iiad the honor to hoist, with his own hands, the flag of freedom, 
 the first time it was displayed on the Delaware." Soon after 
 this, we find Jones in command of the Providence, mounting 
 twelve four-pounders, with a complement of seventy men, cruising 
 from the Bermudas to the Gut of Canso, and making sixteen 
 prizes in little more than six weeks. In JMay, 1777, he was or- 
 dered to proceed to France, where the American commissioners, 
 Franklin, Deane and Lee, were directed to invest him with the 
 command of a fine ship, as a reward of his signal services. On 
 his arrival in France, he was immediately summoned to Paris by 
 the commissioners. The object of this summons was to concert a 
 plan of operations for the force preparing to act against the British 
 in the West Indies, and on the coast of America. This plan, 
 which certainly did great honor to the projector, though untoward 
 delays and accidents prevented its immediate success, was after- 
 wards openly claimed by Jones as his own, without acknowledging 
 the assistance or participation of the American commissioners or 
 the French ministry. 'l"he Ranger was then placed under his 
 orders, with discretion to cruise where he pleased, with this re- 
 striction, however, thcit he was not to return to France imniediately 
 after making attempts upon the coast of England, as the French 
 government had not yet declared itself openly as the ally of the 
 '.J. States. April 10, 1778, he sailed on a cruise, during which 
 tie laid open the weakness of the British coast. With a single 
 ship, he kept the whole coast of Scotland, an4 part of that of 
 England, for some time, in a state of alarm, and made a descent 
 lit Whitehaven, where he surprised and took two forts, with thirty 
 pieces of cannon, and set fire to the shipping. In this attack unon 
 Whiteharc-n, the house of the ear! of Selkirk, in wtiose servi'je 
 the lather of Jones had been gardener, was plundered, and ttie 
 family plate carried off. But the act was committed without hia 
 knowledge, and he afterwards made the best atonement in hi» 
 
248 JOHN PAUL JONES. 
 
 power. After his return to Brest with two hundred prisoners of 
 war, he became involved in a variety of troubles, for want of 
 means to support them, pay his crew, and refit his ship. After 
 many dehiys and vexations, Jones sailed from the road of St. Croix, 
 August 14, 1779, with a squadron of seven sail, designing to annoy 
 the coasts of England and Scotland. The principal occurrence 
 ol' this cruise was the capture of the British ship of war Serapis, 
 after a bloody and desperate engagement, off Flamborough head, 
 Sept 23, 1779. The Serapis was a vessel much superior in forco 
 to Jones's vessel, the Bon Homme Richard, which sunk not long 
 after the termination of the engagement. The sensation produced 
 by this battle was unexampled, and raised the jame of Jones to its 
 acme. In a letter to him, Franklin says, " For some days after 
 the arrival of your express, scarce any thing was talked of at Paris 
 and Versailles, but your cool conduct an(? persevering bravery 
 during that terrible conflict. You may believe that the impression 
 on my mind was not less strong than on that of the others. But 
 I do not choose to say, in a letter to yourself, all I think on such 
 an occasion." His reception at Paris, Avhither he went on the 
 invitation of Franklin, was of the most flattering kind. He was 
 every where caressed; the king presented him with a gold sword, 
 bearing the inscription, Vindicali maris Luduvicus XVl rcmuncra- 
 tur streniin vindici, and requested permission of congress to invest 
 him with the military order of merit — an honor never conferred 
 on any one before who had not borne arms under the commission 
 of France. In 1781, Jones sailed for the U. States, and arrived in 
 Philadelphia, February 18th, of that year, after a variety of escapes 
 and rencounters, where he underwent a sort of examination before 
 the board of admiralty, which resulted greatly to his honor. The 
 board gave it as their opinion, "that the conduct of Paul Jones 
 merits particular attention, and some distinguished mark of appro- 
 bation from Congress." Congress passed a resolution, highly 
 complimentary to his " zeal, prudence and intrepidity." Generai 
 Washington wrote him a letter of congratulation, and he was af- 
 terwards voted a gold medal by Congress. From Philadelphia 
 he went to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to superintend the 
 building of a ship of war, and, while there, drew up some admira- 
 ble observations on the subject of the American navy. By per- 
 ni»3sion of Congress, he subsequently went on board the French 
 leet, where he remained until the conclusion of peace, which put 
 a period to his naval carter in the service of the U. States. He 
 then went to Paris, as agent for prize-money, and, while there, 
 joined in a plan to establish a fur-trade between the north-west 
 coast of America and China, in conjunction with a kindred spirit, 
 the celebrated John T.cdvard. In Paris, he continued to be 
 treated with the greatest distinction. He afterwards was invited 
 into the llussian service, with the rank of rear-admiral, where he 
 was disappointed in not eceiving the command of the fleet acting 
 
lAiViES LAWRENCE. 249 
 
 against the Turks in the Black sea. He found fault with the 
 conduct of the prince of Nassau, the admiral; became restless and 
 impatient; was intrigued against at court, and calumniated by hia 
 enemies; and had permission, from the empress Catliarine, to retire 
 from the service with a pension, which was never paid. He re- 
 turned to Paris, where he gradually sunk into poverty, neglect, 
 and ill health, until his death, which was occasioned by jaundice 
 and dropsy, July 18, 1792. His last public act was heading a 
 deputation of Americans, who appeared before the national as- 
 sembly to offer their congratulations on the glorious and salutary 
 relbrm of their government. This was before the flight of the 
 king. — Jones was a man of signal talent and courage ; he conducted 
 all his operations with the most daring boldness, combined with 
 the keenest sagacity in calculating the chances of success and the 
 consequences of defeat. He was, however, of an irritable, im- 
 petuous disposition, which rendered him impatient of the authoril/ 
 of his superiors, while he was, at the same time, harsh in the 
 exercise of his own; and he was deficient in that modesty which 
 adorns great qualities and distinguished actions, while it disarms 
 envy and conciliates jealousy. His early education was of a very 
 limited kind. It terminated when he went to sea, at the age of 
 twelve; but he supplied its defects by subsequent study, so as to 
 enable himself to write with fluency, strength and clearness, and 
 to sustain his part respectably in the polished society into which 
 he was thrown. In his letters, he inculcates the necessity of 
 knowledge for naval officers, and intimates that he had devoted 
 "midnight studies" to the attainment of that information which 
 he deemed requisite in his situation. His memorials, correspon- 
 dence, St-c, are quite voluminous. He also wrote poetry, and, in 
 Paris, was a great pretender to ton, as a man of fashion, especially 
 after his victory over the Serapis, which, of course, gave him great 
 eclat amongst the ladies of the French capital. At this period, 
 he is described by an English lady then resident at Paris, as " a 
 smart little man of thirty-six; speaks but little French, and appears 
 to be an extraordinary genius, a poet as well as a hero." — Jim. Enc 
 
 JAMES LAWRENCE 
 
 James Lawrence, a distinguished American raval commander, 
 was born at Burlington, New Jersey, in 1781. He early manifest- 
 ed a strong predilection for the sea; but his father, who was a 
 lawye- was anxious that he should pursue his own professi ; 
 and, when only thirteen years of age, he commenced the study 
 of the law; but after the death of his father, he entered the navy 
 
2.j0 ja.mls la whence. 
 
 as a niidshipiinan, in 17'JS. In 1801, the Tripoli wai having 
 commenced, he was promoted, and, in 1803, was sent out to tho 
 JNIediterranean, as the first lieutenant of the schooner Enterprise. 
 While there, he performed a conspicuous part in the destruction 
 ol the frigate Philadelphia, which had been captured by the Tri 
 nolitaus. In the same year, he was invested with the temporary 
 command of (he Enterprise, during the bombardment of Tripoli 
 by coiiiiiiodore Preble, all the ships of the squadron being employed 
 to cover the boats during the attack; and so well did he execute 
 his duty, that the commodore could not restrain the expression of 
 his thanks. He remained in the Mediterranean three years, and 
 tlien returned with Preble to the U. States, having previously 
 been transferred to the frigate John Adams, as first lieutenant 
 In June, 1812, war was declared between Great Britain and the 
 U. States, and Lawrence, at the time in command of the Hornet, 
 a few days afterwards sailed with a squadron under the orders of 
 commodore Rogers, for the purpose of intercepting the Jamaica 
 fleet. They returned, however, at the end of the following month, 
 to Boston, without having been able to accomplish their object. 
 Lawrence then accompanied commodore Bainbridge on a cruise 
 to the East Indies; but they separated near St. Salvador, on the 
 coast of Brazil, the Hornet remaining there to blockade a British 
 ship of war, laden with specie, till compelled to retire by the ar 
 rival of a seventy-four. Feb. 24, 1813, the Hornet fell in with 
 the brig Peacock, captain Peake, which he took after a furious 
 action of fifteen minutes. This vessel was deemed one of the 
 finest of her class in the British navy. In the number of her men 
 and guns, she was somewhat inferior to the Hornet. She sunk 
 before all the prisoners could be removed. The latter was con 
 siderably damaged in the rigging and sails, but her hull was 
 scarcely hurt. Lawrence returned to the U. States, where he 
 was welcomed with the applause due to his conduct; but the most 
 honorable eulogy bestowed upon it, was contained in a letter, 
 published by the officers of the Peacock, expressing their gratitude 
 for the consideration and kindness with which they had been treat- 
 ed. Shortly after his return, he was ordered to repair to Boston, 
 and take command of the frigate Chesapeake. This he did with 
 great regret, as the Chesapeake was one of the worst ships in the 
 navy. He had been but a short time at Boston, when the British 
 frigate Shannon, captain Brooke, appeared before the harbor, 
 and defied the Chesapeake to combat. Lawrence did not refuse 
 the challenge, although his ship was far from being in a condition 
 for action; and, June 1, 1813, he sailed out of the harbor, and 
 e: gaged his ojjponent. After the ship had exchanged several 
 broadsides, and Lawrence had been wounded in the leg, he called 
 \iS boarders, when he received a musket-ball in his body. At the 
 mme time, the enemy boarded, and, after a desperate resistance, 
 I acceeded in taking possession ofthe ship. Almost all the officera 
 
ADDRESS TO THE OCEAN. 2AI 
 
 of the Chesapeake were either killed or wounded. The last ex 
 clamation of Lawrence, as they were carrying him below, after 
 the fatal wound, was, "Don't give up the ship." He lingered 
 for four days in intense pain, and expired on the 5th of June. 
 Fie was buried at Halifax, with every mark of honor — //». 
 
 ADDRESS TO THE OCEAN 
 
 Likeness of Heaven ' 
 
 Aqent of power I 
 Man is thy victim, 
 
 Shipwreck's thy dower! 
 Spices and jewels 
 
 From valley and sea. 
 Armies and banners, 
 
 Are buried in thee '. 
 
 What are the riclses 
 
 Of Mexico's mines, 
 To the wealth that far down 
 
 In thy deep waters shines ? 
 The proud navies that cover 
 
 The conquering west — 
 Thou fling'st them to death 
 
 With one heave of thy breast. 
 
 Krom the high hills that view 
 
 Thy wreck making shore, 
 When the bride of the mariner 
 
 Shrieks at thy roar, 
 When like lambs in the tempeit 
 
 Or mews in the blast, 
 On thy ridge broken billows 
 
 The canvass is cast 
 
 How humbling to one. 
 
 With a heart and a soul, 
 To look on thy greatness 
 
 And list to its roll ; • 
 
 To think how that heart 
 
 In cold ashes shall be. 
 While the voice of Eteruitj 
 
 Rises from thee ' 
 
 Yes ! where are the cities 
 
 Of Thebes and of Tyro ' 
 Swept from the na-tions 
 
 Like spa rks from the fire ; 
 The glory of Athens, 
 
 The spl ndor of Rome^ 
 Dissolved- -and forever — 
 
 Like de iv in thy f',<un. 
 
MOl EARLY AMEUiCAN llEIiOiay) 
 
 But thou art almighty, 
 
 Eternal — sublime — 
 Unwoariod — uiiwasted — 
 
 Twin brother of Time ! 
 Fleets, tempests nor nations 
 
 Tliy glory can bow ; 
 As the stars first behold thee 
 
 Still chainlcss art thou ' 
 
 Bu ; hold ! when thy surges 
 No longer shall roll, 
 
 And that firmament's length 
 Is drawn back like a scroll, 
 
 Then — then shall the spirit 
 That sighs by thee now, 
 
 Be more might}', more lasting, 
 * More chainlcss than thou. 
 
 EARLY AMERICAN HEROISM. 
 
 During one of the former wars, between- France and 1 ngla id, 
 in which the then Colonies bore an active part, a respect ible in- 
 dividual, a member of the society of Friends, of the i ame of 
 
 , commanded a fine ship which sailed from an Eastern 
 
 port, to a port in England. This vessel had a strong tind effective 
 crew, but was totally unarmed. When near her destined port, she 
 was chased, and ultimately overhauled, by a French \ assel of 
 war. Her commander used every endeavor to escape, b .it seeing 
 from the superior sailing of the Frenchman, that his ca] ture was 
 inevitable, he quietly retired below: he was followed into the 
 cabin by his cabin boy, a youth of activity and enterprii i, named 
 Charles Wager: he asked his connnander if nothing m jre could 
 be done to save the ship — his commander replied that i was im- 
 possible, that every thing had been done that was pt icticable, 
 there was no escape for them, and they must submit tj be cap- 
 tured. Charles then returned upon deck and summone ; the crew 
 around him — he stated in a few words what was theii captain's 
 conclusion-^then, with an elevation of mind, dictated by a soul 
 formed for enterprise and noble daring, he observed, " if you will 
 place yourselves under my command, and stand by r e, I have 
 conceived a plan by which the ship may be rescued, and we in 
 turn become the conquerors." The sailors no doubt. j<eling thf 
 ardor, and inspired by the courage of their youthful . nd gallant 
 leader, agreed to place themselves under his command His plan 
 was communicated to them, and they awaited with fiimness, the 
 moment to carry their enterprise into etFect. The suijpense was 
 •f short duration, for the Frenchman was quickly alongside, and 
 
CAFTAIM G. VAXCOUVEn. 253 
 
 as the weather was iine, iinrneuiately grappled fast to the unof- 
 fending merchant ship. As Charles had anticipated, the exhila- 
 rated conquerors, elated beyond measure, with the acquisition of 
 so fine a prize, poured into his vessel in crowds, cheering and 
 huzzaing; and not foreseeing any danger, they left but iew men 
 on board their ship. P^fow was the moment tor Charles, who, 
 giving his men the signal, sprang at their head on board the op- 
 posing vessel, while some seized the arms which had been left in 
 profusior on her deck, and with which they soon overpowered the 
 few mer eft on board; the others, by a simultaneous movement, 
 relieved her from the grapp'ings which united the two vessels. 
 Our hero now having the command of the French vessel, seized 
 the helm, and placing her out of boarding distance, hailed, with 
 the voice of a conqueror, the discomfited crowd of Frenchmen 
 who were left on board of the peaceful bark he had just quitted, 
 and summoned them to follow close in his wake, or he would blow 
 them out of water, (a threat they well knew he was very capable 
 of executing, as their guns were loaded during the chase.) They 
 sorrowfully acquiesced with his commands, while gallant Charles 
 steered into port, tollowed by his prize. The exploit excited uni- 
 versal applause — the former master of the merchant vessel was 
 examined by the Admiralty, when he stated the whole of the en- 
 terprise as it occurred, and declared that Charles Wager had 
 planned and eflected the gallant exploit, and that to him alone 
 belonged the honor and credit of the achievement. Charles was 
 immediately transferred to the British navy, appointed a mid- 
 shipman, and his education carefully superintended. He soon 
 after distinguished himself in action, and underwent a rapid pro- 
 motion, until at length he was created an Admiral, and known as 
 Sir Charles Wager. It is said, that he a' -vays held iu veneration 
 and esteem, that respectal)le and conscientious Fiiend, whose cab- 
 in boy he had been, and transmitted yearly to his old master, as 
 he termed him, a handsome present of Madeira, to cheer his de- 
 clining days. 
 
 CAPTAIN G. VANCOUVER. 
 
 Notwithstanding the valuable discoveries of Cook, further jn- 
 vestigation was required of some of the southern regions, with 
 wh.ch view a voyage was planned in autumn 1789, and the com- 
 mand destined to Captain Henry Roberts, v.ho had served under 
 Captain Cook in the two last voyages, Captain Vancouver being 
 named as his second; and tor this purpose a ship of three hundred 
 and forty tons was purchased, in a state nearly finished, and on 
 22 
 
S64 CAriAi.N o. vA.NCouvr.u. 
 
 being luunclioil was nanicci (lu; Dirfcovciy, and commissioned ai 
 a sloop; but tlic disputes with Spain respecting Nootka Sound for 
 a short time suspended Iior equipment. Th(!se difl'eicnces being 
 terminated, and the fisheries and fur-trade of China being objects 
 ol' material importance, it was deemed expedient to send an officer 
 to Nootka to receive from thi-- Spaniards a formal restitution of 
 the territories they had seized; to survey the coast, obtain every 
 possible information of the natural and political state of the coun- 
 try. To this command Captain Vancouver was now appointed 
 The same shi|), the Discovery, was equipped, carrying ten four 
 potinders and ten swivels, with one hundred and thirty men includ- 
 ing officers. Captain Vancouver being Captain, Messrs. Zacha- 
 riah IVIudge, Peter Puget, and Joseph Baker, lieutenants; and 
 Joseph VVhidbey, master. She was to be accompanied by the 
 Chatham armed tender, of one hundred and thirty-five tons, four 
 three -pounders, six swivels, and forty-five men, commanded by 
 Lieutenant W. R. Broughton; James Hanson, second lieutenant; 
 and James Johnstone, master, Mr. Archibald Menzies, a sur- 
 geon of the navy, was also appointed for the special purpose of 
 botanical research. 
 
 On the 5th February, 1791, the Discovery anchored at Spithead, 
 on the I Ith March proceeded down the chanel to Falmouth, 
 when; she was, on the 31st, joined by the Chatham. On the 28th 
 April they made TenerifTe. They crossed the tropic of Capricorn 
 the 1 '2th June, in 25 deg. 18 min., after which it was resolved to 
 proceed by the Cape of Good Hope, whither they arrived the lOth 
 July, and where a variety of necessary repairs employed them till 
 the 1 1th of August. After being detained by contrary winds and 
 calms till the 17th, they then sailed out of the Simon's Bay, bound 
 for the coast of New Holland, and directing their course between 
 the tracks of Dampier and Marion, over a space before unfre- 
 quented. On the 27th September they made land, and, in latitude 
 S5 deg. 31 min. and longitude 160 deg. 35 min. 30 sec. passed by 
 a conspicuous promontory, to which Captain Vancouver gave the 
 name of Cape Chatham, after the Earl. 
 
 The natives along this coast appeared to be a wandering people, 
 who sometimes made their excursions individually; at other times 
 in considerable parties: this was apparent, by their habitations 
 being found single and alone, as we'll as composing tolerably large 
 villages. Besides the village they visited, Mr. Broughton dis- 
 covered another about two miles distant from it, of nearly the same 
 magnitude; but it appeared to be of a much later date, as all the 
 huts had been recently built, and seemed to have been very lately 
 inhabited. The larger trees in the vicinity of both villages hnd 
 been liollowed out by fire, sufficiently to afford the shelter these 
 poo|ile seemed to require. Upon stones placer' n the inside of 
 hese hollow trees fires had been made, which proved that they 
 had boen tsed as habitations, either for the inferior of the party. 
 
CAPTAIN G. VANCOUVER. 255 
 
 <vhich would arguj a degree of subordination amongst them, or 
 for those who were too indolent to build themselves the wattled 
 huts before described. 
 
 Frorv this coast Captain Vancouver proceeded toNexr Zealand, 
 which ne reached on the 27th October, and anchored in Dusky 
 Bay, when they encountered a heavy storm, the effects of which 
 required considerable repair, particularly of the Discovery 
 Another heavy gale occurred onthe22d and 23d, after which, very 
 unexpectedly, they made land, namely, a cluster of seven cragg} 
 islands, the largest situated in latitude 48 deg. 3 min. longitude 
 166 deg. 20 min., which had not been seen by Captain Cook. 
 These sterile rocks Captain Vancouver denominated The Snares 
 Another new island was discovered on the 22d of December, in 2 15 
 deg. 49 min. Several canoes came off to the ship, but tlie natives 
 would not go on board, while they used every so'licitation to in- 
 duce the English to land. One at length ventured on board. 
 
 These people were evidently of the Great South Sea nation, 
 both from language and a similarity to the Friendly Islanders. 
 Two or three of Ihein remained on board nearly an hour; but so 
 much was their attention distracted, that they could scarcely give 
 an answer as to the name of the island, or otherwise. It appear- 
 ed on the whole, that they called it Oparo, by which name it is 
 therefore distinguished by Captain Vancouver. The tops of si.x 
 of the highest hills bore the appearance of fortified places, resemb- 
 ling redoubts; having a sort of block-house, in the shape of an 
 English glass-house, in the centre of each, with rows of palisadoes 
 a considerable way down the sides of the hills, nearly at equal dis- 
 tances. These, overhanging, seemed intended for advanced 
 works, and apparently capable of defending the citadel by a few 
 against a numerous host of assailants. On all of them they no- 
 ticed people, as if on duty, constantly moving about. These were 
 the only habitations they saw. 
 
 On the 29th the Discovery reached Otaheite, where they had 
 been expected in consequence of information by an English vessel, 
 which turned out to be the Chatham, that had separated near 
 Facile Harbor, and arrived before them. The Chatham, during 
 her separation, had seen several immaterial lands, named by Mr 
 Broughton successively, Knight's Island, (the same as The Snares 
 of Captain Vancouver), Point Alison, Mount Patterson, The Two 
 Sisters, and Cape Soung. An island which he named Chatham 
 Island, and the anchorage of which, in Skirmish Bay, was 43 deg 
 49 min. latitude, and 183 deg. 25 min. longitude, was taken posses- 
 sion of Here, having gone on shore, a number of the native? 
 came about, held a conversation by signs and gestures, and readi 
 ly received Mr Broiighton's presents, but would make p.o ex- 
 changes. They were very anxious to have the party follow then? 
 to their habi ations, but this was thought imprudent. Nothmg 
 would preva'". on the islanders to give up any of their aiticlc" 
 
256 CAPTAIN O. VANCOUVEU. 
 
 but they not only reiidily accepted, but carried ofT various thingi 
 belongiiij]; to the party, and were jjarticularly anxious to get Mr. 
 JJroughton's fowling-piece, which he liad Hrcd, much to their 
 alarm. Having, in order both to get information and to procure 
 water, at lengtli made signs of their intention to accompany the 
 natives, it appeared that tlie latter had meditated hostility, having 
 collected large sticks, swinging them over their heads, as if with 
 an intention of using them; several of them likewise had spears 
 Vet, being well armed, Mr. Broughton's party were not afraid, 
 especially as they thought they bad purchased the good opinion of 
 the savages. They were, however, mistaken; an attack was made 
 so violently, that both Mr. Broughton and Mr. Johnstone were re- 
 luctantly obliged to fire, as did the gentleman having the charge 
 of the boat, which occasioned the natives to fly, but not before one 
 of them had unfortunately perished. 
 
 On the Discovery anchoring, she was surrounded by canoes 
 laden with the country productions. Captain Vancouver found 
 that most of the friends he had left there in 1777 were dead, 
 Otoo, now called Tomarrey, his father, brothers, and sisters, 
 Potatou, and his family, were the only of their chiefs now living. 
 Captain Vancouver and Mr. Broughton went on shore to fix on 
 an eligible spot for tents, and to pay their respects to his Otahei- 
 tan majesty. They found Otoo, Pomarrey's son and now king, 
 to be a boy of about nine or ten years of age. He was carried 
 on the shoulders of a man, and was clothed in a piece of English 
 red cloth, with ornaments of pigeons' feathers hanging over his 
 shoulders. When they had approached within about eight paces, 
 they were desired to stop; the present they had brought was ex- 
 hibited ; and although its magnitude, and the value of the articles it 
 contained, excited the admiration of the by-standers in the highest 
 degree, it was regarded by this young monarch with an apparent- 
 ly stern and cool indifference. After some other ceremonies, a 
 ratification of peace and mutual friendship being acknowledged 
 on both sides, the diflerent European articles composing the 
 present were, with some little form, presented to Otoo; and on 
 his shaking hands with them, which he did very heartily, his 
 countenance became immediately altered, and he received them 
 with the greatest cheerfulness and cordiality. 
 
 On the !2d day of January, 1792, arrived Pomarrey, who was, 
 to his great gratification, saluted with four guns. With him came 
 IMatooara JNIahou, the reigning Prince of Morea, under Otoo, 
 but who was in a deep decline. At one of the entertainments on 
 board, Pomarrey having drank a bottle of undiluted brandy, it 
 threw him into convulsions; after which, ha\ing sle[)t for an hour, 
 he was perfectly recovered. Captain Vancouver endeavored to 
 persuade him of the bad consequence of inebriety. The chief 
 on this accused him of being a stingy fellow, and not lio iio, (a 
 jolly companion). On this it was determined to give him his own 
 
CAFTAIN U. VANCOUVER. -25^ 
 
 way, and orders were given to let him have as much brandy oi 
 -um as he should call for, which had completely the efTect, for in 
 a weeli he ceased to call for any. 
 
 Pom arrey's father, formerly called Happi, nowlaou, also came 
 to visit them, and a most affectionate interview took place between 
 the Ihree sons and their aged and venerable father. A very dif- 
 ferent scene was afterwards exhibited. It was announced that 
 Otoo was approaching. On this occasion it became necessary 
 that the grandfather should pay homage to his grandson. A pig 
 and a plaintain-leaf were instantly procured; the good old man 
 stripped to the waist, and when Otoo appeared in front of the 
 marquee, the aged parent, whose limbs were tottering with the 
 decline of life, met his grandson, and on his knees acknowledged 
 his own inferiority, by presenting this token of submission; which, 
 so far as could be discovered, seemed offered with a mixture of 
 prof(;und respect and parental regard. The ceremony seemed 
 to have little effect on tlie young monarch, who appeared to no- 
 tice the hmniliating situation of his grandsire with the most per- 
 fect indifference and unconcern. This mode of behavior is, 
 however, rather to be attributed to the force of education, than 
 to a want of the proper sentiments of affection. 
 
 On the 14th a message was received of the death oflNIahou, 
 at Oparre, which district was, for some days, by a religious in- 
 terdict, forbidden communication with the rest of the island. iNIr. 
 Broughton, and a party of the gentlemen belonging to the ships, 
 having made an excursion for purchasing curiosities among the 
 islands, landed to see the grand moral, or tapootapootatea. 
 INIowre, the sovereign of Uleatea, who attended them, on ap- 
 proaching the sacred spot, desired the party would stop until he 
 should address the Eatooa. Then, seating himself on the ground, 
 he began praying before awatta, ornamented with a piece of wood, 
 indifferently carved, on which was placed, for the occasion, a 
 bundle of cloth and some red featliers. During this ejaculation 
 the names of the party were twice mentioned. He likewise re- 
 peated the names of the several commanders who had visited the 
 island, together with those of " Keene George " (that is. King 
 George) and '• Biitarne," which were frequently expressed 
 When these introductory ceremonies were finished, Mowree at- 
 tended them to every part of the moral, and explained every par- 
 ticular. He appeared to be well versed in all the ceremonials 
 and rites appertaining to their religion, which made the party 
 greatly lament their want of a competent knowledge of the lan- 
 guage, as they were unable to comprehend his meaning, except 
 in a few common instances. 
 
 The next morning they were again honored by a visit from 
 Otoo and several of the chiefs, in their way to the moral. Soon 
 after a canoe, covered with an asvning, was seen coming from 
 the westwa;d, paddling in a slow and solemn manner towards tho 
 
268 c.wiMs <.. vancui'veh 
 
 morai, in which was the corpse of the deceased chief. On their 
 expressing great anxiety to see Pomarrey, foi the purpose of 
 ol)taining permission to attend the burial ceremony, tliey were 
 informed that he was gone to the morai, but would have no 
 objection to their being present. They proceeded; and near to 
 the rivulet that flows by Urripiah's house, they saw the queen - 
 iriother, Fier-re-te, and the widow of the deceased Mahow, sitting 
 all in tears; and, in the paroxysms of their affliction, wounding 
 their heads with the sharks' teeth they had prepared the preceding 
 evening. The widow had a small s|)ot shaved on the crown of 
 her head, which was bloody, and bore other evident marks of 
 having frequently undergone the cruel effect of her despair. The 
 body of Mahow, wrapped in English red cloth, was deposited under 
 an awning in a canoe, whose bow was drawn up a little way on 
 the beach near the morai, and was attended by one man only, at her 
 stern, up to his middle in water, to prevent her driving from th« 
 spot. The priests continued chanting their prayers, frequently ex- 
 alting their voices, until they ended in a very shrill tone. The 
 address being ended, they all rose up and proceeded westward 
 along the shore, followed by the canoe, in which was the corpse, 
 to the mouth of the rivulet, where the three royal ladies still con- 
 tinued to indulge their excessive grief; and, on perceiving the 
 canoe, burst forth into a loud yell of lamentation, which was 
 accompanied by an accelerated apjilication of the sharks' teeth, 
 until the blood, very freely following, mingled with their tears 
 The canoe entered the brook and proceeded towards another 
 morai at the foot of the mountains, where the ceremonies to be 
 performed on the body of the deceased required such secrecy, 
 that on no account could the gentlemen be permitted to attend, 
 although it was most earnestly requested. 
 
 In consequence of a message from Pomarrey, Captain Van- 
 couver and Messrs. Broughton and Whidbey went to Oparre, to 
 assist at the mourning for the death of Mahow. The concern 
 here of the relatives was by no means such as might have been 
 expected from their tender regard to the chief when alive. The 
 corpse was laid on the tapapaoo, which seemed to have been erect- 
 ed for the express purp(;se, about a quarter of a mile to the east- 
 ward of the grand morai, (or, as it is called, " tapootapootatea *'); 
 and appeared to be then undergoing the latter part of the embalm- 
 ing process, in the same manner as described by Captain Cook 
 in the instance of Tee. The body was exposed to the sun, and 
 on their approach the covering was taken off. which exhibited the 
 corpse in a very advanced state of putrefaction. The skin shone 
 very bright with the cocoa-nut oil with which it had been anointed, 
 and which they under.stood was highly impregnated witli " aehigh," 
 or sweet-scented wood. One of the arms and a leg being moved, 
 ^he joints appeared perfectly flexible. The extremely offensive 
 exhalations that were emitted, rendered it natural to conclude 
 
 i 
 
CAPTAIN G. VANCOUVER. 259 
 
 \. A the whole mass would soon be completely decomposed; but, 
 i .^redit may be given to their assertions, which were indubitably 
 c. .j/irmcd by the remains of Tee, and to which the captain could 
 h^ai testimony, this will not be the case. Pomarrey infoitned 
 tl.tif», \he. corpse was to remain a month in this place; then a 
 nr.oinh »/as to be employed in its visiting some of the western dis- 
 tricts; dxter which it was to be removed to Tiaraboo for another 
 month ft'hence it was to be carried to Morea, and there finally 
 deposiieu »vith his forefathers in the moral of the family. In the 
 course o/ a few months after its arrival there, it would gradually 
 beoin to niuaSder away, but by such very slow degrees, that sev- 
 eral months N/ould elapse before the body would be entirely con- 
 sumed. Ttivi boat's crew were ranged before the paling that 
 encompassed vhe tapapaoo; a piece of red clotii from them was 
 given to the widow, who spread it over the dead Iwdy; some vol- 
 lies were then fiied, and the captain was directed to pronounce 
 " lera no oea ^Nitiliow," that is, For you ?»Iahow. On some rain 
 falling, the body wuri taken under cover and carefully wrapped up. 
 They proceeded to aii excellent new house of Whytooa's, where 
 t. ey oined, and reiuined to JMatarai with two large hogs, pre- 
 sently on this mout>uul occasion by the widow of IMahow. 
 
 A st'iious theft ot a large quantity of linen belonging to INIr 
 Brougiwon, as well a^ iwo axes, now demanded the most rigorous 
 inquiry. An additional mortification happened on the 21st. — 
 Towerei\v>, a Sandwich islander (brought out from England in 
 the Discv'V'ery,) had, m ihe course of the preceeding night, found 
 means to eiope from tnc ship. After much trouble of investiga- 
 tion, and some coercion, on the 2.3d the three royal brothers 
 brought bac.v Towereroo, with a variety of expiatory presents. 
 The linen tnv';?^ appearcu now no prospect of recovering, without 
 both losing liix.t and having recourse to unpleasant measures; it 
 was, therefore, \»rsolved cO depart without it; presents as usual 
 were distributee, and the separation took place with the utmost 
 harmony. 
 
 Omai, it seems,. t\aviri^ died without children, the house which 
 Captain Cook haa nuiU for him, the lands that were purchased, 
 and the horse, whj :n was still alive, together with such European 
 commodities as re!/i;i\occf at his death, all descended to Matuarro, 
 as king of the isiaml. and, when his majesty is at home, Omai's 
 ho'v.se is his constani residence. From Matuarro tht'y learned, 
 that Omai was much vespected, and that he frequently aflordod 
 great entertainment f.o him, and the other chiefs, with the ac- 
 counts of his travob. and describing the various countricij, 
 oiijecfs, &.C. that had fallen under his observation; and that he 
 died univc;sa!!v regret 'ed and lamented. His death, as well aa 
 that of the two ?-7ew Zealand boys left with him by Captain Cook, 
 was occasioned bv a d sorder that is attended by a large swe Vm^ 
 in the throat of w'licl, very few recover 
 
■2G0 «;\i>rA:-; <; v\\(,ui\t.[: 
 
 On til . 2 4th Jiuuuiry, the Discovery •"ind Chatham directed 
 their course to the northward, for the tirst time pointing their lieada 
 towards the grand object of the expedition. On the 'id February 
 passed Owliyhce, one ot'tl)e Sandwich Islands, and were honored 
 by a visit from Tianna, the personage mentioned in Mr. Mears's 
 voyage, who, since his return from China, had taken part with 
 Tamaahmuah against Teamav.'heere, and, being victorious, tlese 
 two chieis had agreed to share the government. Tianna vas 
 taken on board to go to the Leeward Islands. Tareehooa, who 
 preferred the name of Jack, having been with Mr. Ingram com- 
 manding an American ship, laden with furs, from North-West 
 America, bound to IJoston, by tiie way of China, was desirous of 
 continuing on board the J3iscovery, and to proceed on the voyage, 
 which, with consent of the chief, was complied with. After pas- 
 sing some desolate islands, the Discovery anchored, on the 7th 
 of March, in a bay called Whykete, south of the Island of 
 VVoahoo, on good and safe ground. Some of the inhabitants went 
 .n board, and were exceedingly orderly and docile, which appear- 
 ed the more remarkable, as they had formerly been represented 
 as the most daring and unmanageable of any in the Sandwich 
 Islands. 
 
 Their new ship-mate, Jack, beeame very useful; he took upon 
 him to represent them in the most formidable point of view to all 
 his countrymen; magnifying their powers and numbers, and pro- 
 claiming that they were nr)t traders, such as they had been accus- 
 tomed to see; but were belonging to King George, and were ali 
 mightv warriors. This being his constant discourse, it is not to 
 be wondered that his countrymen became much intimidated; and, 
 as this could be productive of no ill consequences, they permitted 
 Jack to proceed in his encomiums, and unanimously agreed it 
 would not be his fault if they were not in high repute amongst 
 the islanders. 
 
 The natives having failed in supplying water as expected, 
 Cajjtain Vancouver set sail, on the 8th, for Attowai, where he 
 understood it was to be had without difficulty. Whyhetee Bay 
 lies in latitude 21 deg. 16 min. 47 sec, longitude 202 deg. 9 min. 
 37 sec. Next morning they made Whymea Bay, on the south 
 side of Attowai. The inhabitants of this island behaved in the 
 same orderly manner, and with the same distant civility experi 
 enced at VVoahoo, and gave the necessary assistance in watering 
 and other operations. The land here was also much the same, 
 and similarly cultivated with the taro plant. Here were found 
 Rowbottom, an Englishman, Williams, a Welshman, and Cole- 
 man, an Irishman, left for the purpose of collecting pearls and 
 sandal-wood for their master, John Kendrick, an American, com- 
 manding the Lady Washington, and which was to call for them in 
 her return from China, to take them on board with the pearls and 
 Bajidal-wood collected. They were visited by two chiefs, No-ma 
 
CAPTAIN G. VANCOUVER. 261 
 
 ee-hc-tec and Too, announcing that Ene^iioh, guardian of the 
 young prince Ta-moo-eree, uho was the eldest son of Taio, sove 
 -eign of this and the neighboring islands, together with the prince 
 himself, would be with them in a few days. They accordingly 
 came and behaved with the utmost propriety, although, from cer- 
 tain appearances of fire, as well as the circumstance of a schooner 
 taken by the Indians at Owyhee, and the cautions of Rowbottom, 
 Captain Vancouver had not been without suspicions of treachery. 
 Enemoh readily went on board and an exchange was made of 
 presents, which, though liberal on the part of Captain Vancouver, 
 did not give satisfaction; the great desire of the chi S, as of all 
 of them, being to have fire-arms and ammunition, with which the 
 various traders touching at their islands had most improperly, ^nd 
 even cruelly, supplied the inhabitants. 
 
 Wednesday, the 14th of March, the two ships sailed for the 
 coast of America. On the 17th of April they saw land, being 
 part of New Albion, and being then in .39 dcg. 27 niin. latitude, 
 236 deg. i2o min. longitude. On the 2c5th they spoke an Ameri- 
 can ship, Columbia, Mr. Robert Gray, commander, of Boston, 
 whence she had been absent eighteen months. On the 29th, an- 
 chored about eight miles within the entrance of the supposed 
 Straits of Juan de Fuca. Of course they made a strict investiga- 
 tion of this passage, and were satisfied that it did not exist. 
 
 Port Discovery, where the vessels now went to anchor, is a 
 perfectly safe and convenient harbor, having its outer points one 
 mile and three quarters asunder, and situated in latitude 48 deg. 
 7 min., longitude 237 deg. 20i min. Tho country of jNew Albion, 
 in this neighborhood, is of a rich fertile soil. In respect to its 
 mineral productions no great variety was observed. Iron ore, in 
 its various forms, was generally found; and, from the weight and 
 magnetic qualities of some specimens, appeared tolerably rich, 
 particularly a kind that much resembled the blood-stone. 
 
 The next place of research was Admiralty Inlet, where the 
 ships anchored off Restoration Point. The general information 
 here is little. The natives were much the same, equally ill-made, 
 and their persons besmeared with oil and ochre, and a sort of 
 shining chaffy mica very ponderous, and in colors resembling 
 black-lead; but decked more with copper ornaments, while they 
 were not wanting in acts and offers of friendship and hospifality, 
 and behaved with perfect decorum and civility. 
 
 About a dozen ot' these friendly people had attended at their 
 iiiMier, one part of which was a venison pasty. Two of them, 
 expressing a desire to pass the line of separation drawn between 
 them, were permitted to do so. They sat down by the j^ngli^h, 
 »nd ate of the bread and fish given them without the least hesita- 
 iion; but, oa being offered some of the venison, they could not be 
 induced to taste it. They received it with great discust, and 
 presented it round to the rest of the party, by whom it underwent 
 
a62 CAT! A!N ■:;. r '.xcot-VF.R. 
 
 a very strict cxaminatioii. Tlielr conduct on this occasion lefl 
 no doubt that they beheved it to be liuinan flesh, an impression 
 which it was highly expedient should be done away. To satisfy 
 them (hat it was the flesh of tlie deer, they pointed to the skins of 
 the animal they had about them. In reply to this they pointed to 
 each oilier, and made signs that could not be misunderstood, that 
 it was the flesh of human beings, and threw it down in the dirt 
 with gestures of great aversion and displeasure. At length thej 
 linjjpily convinced them of their mistake by showing them a 
 haunch they had in the boat, by which means they were unde- 
 ceived, and some of them ate of the remainder of the pie with a 
 good appetite. 
 
 On ftFonday, the 4th of June, the ship's companies were served 
 a good dinner, it being the anniversary of his majesty's birth; on 
 which day, they designed to take formal possession of all the 
 countries they had lately been employed in exploring. Pursuing 
 the usual formalities on such occasions, and under the discharge 
 of a royal salute from the vessels, they took possession according- 
 ly of the coast, tVom that part of New Albion, in the latitude 
 of 39 deg. 20 min. north, and longitude 236 de^. 26 min. east, to 
 the entrance of this inlet of the sea, said to be tlie straits of Juan 
 de Fuca, as likewise all the coast, islands, Slc. by the name of 
 the Gulf of Georgia; and the continent binding the said gulf and 
 extending southward to the 45th degree of north latitude, with 
 ths,, of [\ew Georgia, in honor of his majesty. 
 
 On the 5th of June, the Discovery and Chatham sailed frorr, 
 Possession Sound. Having anchored on the 11th in Strawberry 
 Bay, so named from its producing that excellent fruit in abun- 
 dance, latitude 48 deg. 36 min., longitude 237 deg. 34 min., anc 
 there being several tilings necessary to be done, Captain Van- 
 couver and Mr. Puget, in the Discovery's yawl, and Mr. Whidby 
 in the cutter, attended by the Chatham's launch, explored the 
 neighborhood. As they were rowing on the 22d, for Point Grey 
 purposing there to land and breakfast, they discovered two ves- 
 sels at anchor under the land. They were a brig and a schooner 
 ■wearing the colors of Spanish vessels of war, most probably em 
 ployed in pursuits similar to their own, and this idea was confirm 
 ed. These vessels proved to be a detachment from the commis- 
 sion of Seignor Malaspina, who was himself employed in the 
 Pliillippine islands. Seignor Malaspina had, the preceding 
 yoitr, visited (he coast, and these vessels, his Catholic majesty's 
 biig the Sutil, under the command of Seignor Don D. Galiano, 
 with the schooner Mexicana, commanded by Seignor Don C. 
 Valdes, both captains of frigates in the Spanish navy, had sailed 
 from Acapuico on the 8th of March, in order to prosecute discov- 
 eries en this coast. From these gentlemen Vancouver understood, 
 that Seignor Quadra, the commander-in-chief of the Spanish 
 marine r St, Bias and at California, was, with three f igates and 
 
CAPTAIN G. VANCOUVET?, 269 
 
 a brig, waiting his arrival at Nootka, in order to negotiate tlie 
 restoration of those territories to the crown cf Gre.-U Britain. 
 Their conduct was replete with that politeness and friendship 
 which characterize the Spanish nation; every kind of useful infor- 
 mation they cheerfully communicated, and obligingly expressed 
 much desire, that circumstances might so concur as to admit their 
 respective labors being carried on together. 
 
 The nth of August they were suddenly surprised by the arrival 
 r t a brig off the entrance of the cove, under English colors 
 fehe was the Venus, belonging to Bengal, of one hundred and 
 ten tons burden, commanded by Mr. Shepherd, last from jVootka, 
 and bound on a trading voyage along these shores. By him they 
 received the pleasant tidings of the arrival of the Daedalus store- 
 ship, laden with a supply of provisions and stores for their use; 
 and he acquainted J\Ir. Baker, that Seignor Quadra was waiting 
 with the greatest impatience to deliver up the settlement and ter- 
 ritories at Nootka. Mr. Shepherd had brought with hitn a letter 
 from Mr. Thomas Newmaster of the Diedalus, informing Van- 
 couver of a most distressing and melancholy event. Lieutenant 
 Hergest, the commander, 5lr. William Gooch, the astronomer, 
 Avith one of the seamen belonging to the DiBdalus, had been 
 murdered by the inhabitants of VVoahoo, whilst on shore procur- 
 ing water at that island. August 19th they proceeded from the 
 last station, namely, Point Menzies, in latitude 52 deg. 18 niin., 
 longitude '232 deg. 55 min., and on the '28th, arrived off Nootka 
 Sound. The Chatham, by the partial clearing of the fog, had 
 found her way in some time before; the Daedalus store-ship, and 
 a small merchant brig called the Three Brothers, of London, 
 commanded by Lieutenant Alder of the navy, were also there at 
 anchor. Seignor Quadra, with several of his officers, came on 
 board the Discovery, on the i29th, where they breakfasted, and 
 were saluted with thirteen guns on their arrival and departure; 
 (he day was afterwards spent in ceremonious offices of civility, 
 with much harmony and festivity. Maquinna, the native chief^ 
 of Nootka, who was present on this occasion, had early in the 
 morning, from being unknown to them, being prevented coming 
 on board the Discovery by the sentinels and the officer on deck, 
 as there was not in his appearance the smallest indication of his 
 superior rank. Of this indignity he had complained in a most 
 angry manner to Seignor Quadra, who very obligingly found means 
 to soothe him. 
 
 Some difficuhies now occurred in respect to the particulars of 
 the restitution, but af\er written and verbal correspondence, it 
 was agreed that the objections on both sides should be referred 
 to the respective courts. Seignor Quadra, however, having 
 'Hereafter made further objections, an additional correspondence 
 took place; but the Spanish officer insisting, and being positively 
 resolved to adliere to certain principles proposed by him as to tha 
 
CAPTAIN C. VANCOUVER. 
 
 restitution, to which Cuptain Vancouver could net accede, the 
 latter acqMuinted liiin that ho should consider Nootka as a Spanish 
 port, and requested his permission to carry on the necessary em- 
 ployments on shore, which he very politely gave, with the most 
 friendly assurance of every service and kind oflice in his power. 
 
 It was not till the I '2th of October that the Discovery sailed 
 from Nootka, with the Chatham and r)a3dalus store-ships, bound 
 lo the southward. November 15th discovered anchorage in a 
 most excellent small bay. The herds of cattle and flocks of sheep 
 grazing on the surrounding hills, were a sight they had long been 
 strangers to, and brought many pleasing reflections. On hoisting 
 the colors at sun-rise, a gun was fired, and in a little time after- 
 wards several ps'ople were seen on horseback, coming from behind 
 the hills down to the beach, who waved their hats, and made other 
 signals for a boat, which was immediately sent to the shore, and 
 on its return they were favored with the company of a priest of 
 the order of St. Francisco, and a serjeant in the Spanish army to 
 breakfa.st. The good friar, after pointing out the most convenient 
 spot for procuring wood and water, and' repeating hospitable of- 
 fers, in the name of tlie lathers of the Franciscan order, returned 
 to the mission of St. Francisco, which they understood was at no 
 great distance, and to which he gave them the most pressing in- 
 vitation. 
 
 Whilst engaged in allotting to the people their different em- 
 ployments, some saddled horses arrived from the commandant, 
 with a very cordial invitation; which was accepted by the captain 
 and some of the officers. They rode up to the Presidio, an ap- 
 pellation given to their military establishments in this country, 
 and signilying a safe-guard. The residence of the friars is called 
 8, mis.sion. The Spanish soldiers composing the garrison amount- 
 ed to thirty-five, who, with their wives, families, and a few Indian 
 servants, composed the whole of the inhabitants. On the left of 
 the church is the commander's house, consisting of two rooms 
 and a closet only, which are divided by massy walls, and commu- 
 nicating with each other by very small doors. Between these 
 a|)artments and the outward wall was an excellent poultry-house 
 and yard, which seemed pretty well stocked; and between the 
 roof and ceiling of the rooms was a kind of lumber garret; these 
 were all the conveniences the habitation seemed calculated to af- 
 ford. On approaching it they found his good lady, who, like her 
 epouse, had passed the middle age of life, decently dressed, 
 seated cross-legged on a mat, placed on a small square wooden 
 platform raised three or four inches from the ground, nearly in 
 front of the door, with two daughters and a son, clean and decent- 
 ly dressed, sitting by her; this being the mode observed by these 
 ladies when they receive visiters. The decorous and pleasing 
 behavior of the children was really admirable, and exceeded any 
 thing that could have been expected from them undei the circum- 
 
CAPTAIX G. VANCOUVER. 265 
 
 stances of their situation, without any other ad\antag*s than the 
 education and example of their pereiits, v.hich, however, seemed 
 to have been studiously attended to, and did them great credit. 
 
 The next day was appointed for visiting the mission. Accom- 
 panied by Menzies and some of the officers, and Seignor Sal, the 
 captain rode thither to dinner. The uniform, mild, and kind- 
 hearted disposition of this religious order has never failed to 
 attach to their interest the atr'.^ctions of the natives, wherever they 
 have sat down amongst ^hem; this is a very happy circumstance, 
 for their situation otherwise would be excessively precarious; as 
 *^hev are protected only by five soldiers, who reside under the di- 
 , actions of a corporal, in the buildings of the mission at some 
 distance on the other side of the church. The natives, however, 
 Beeriied to have treated with the most perfect indifference the pre- 
 cepts, and laborious example of their truly worthy and benevolent 
 pastors. Their persons, generally speaking, were under the mid- 
 dle size, and very ill made; their faces ugly, presenting a dull, 
 heavy, and stupid countenance, devoid of sensibility or the least 
 expression. 
 
 On the 2.5th, they set sail for Monterrey, where they found the 
 Diedalus, and also Seignor Qaudra, with his broad pendant on 
 board the brig Acteon. TTe, as well as the acting governor, 
 Seignor Anquilla, both behaved in the most friendly and liberal 
 manner. They sailed on the 14th of January, and on the 12th 
 of February arrived olT the north-east point of Owhyhee. Having, 
 on the 21st of February, reached Tyahtatooa, Captain Vancou- 
 ver was honored with a visit from Tomaahmaah, the king of the 
 island of Owhyhee, a chief of an open, cheerful, and sensible 
 mind, combined with great generosity and goodness of disposition 
 He was accompanied by John Young, an English seaman, who 
 possessed much influence with him. The queen and some of his 
 iTiajesty's relations also visited on board. 
 
 They were much pleased with the decorum and general con- 
 iuct of this royal party. Though it consisted of many, yet not 
 one solicited even the most inconsiderable article, nor did th«.y 
 appear to have any expectation of receiving presents. Being de- 
 iermined that nothing should be wanting to preserve the harmony 
 and good understanding that seemed to have taken place between 
 them, and having learned from Young, that the royal visiters did 
 nt' entertain the most distant idea of accepting any thing from 
 tht. captain, until they had first set the example; he considered 
 thife H good opportunity to manifest a friendly disposition towards 
 then by presents suitable to their respective ranks and situations. 
 Accoidingly, such articles were distributed as they knew were 
 likely to be highly acceptable to the whole party. This distribu- 
 tion being finished, anu the whole party made very happy, the 
 king, in addition to what he had before received, was presented 
 with a scarlet cloak, that reached from his neck to the ground, 
 
2t?G c.trTAix o. VA5ct?L-vErw 
 
 adorned with tinsel lace, trimmed with various colored gartenng 
 tape, with blue ribbons to tie it down the front. 'Ihe looking- 
 glasses being placed opposite to each other, displayed at once the 
 whole of his royal person; this filled him with rapture, and so 
 delighted him, that the cabin could scarcely contain him. His 
 ecstasy produced capering, and he soon clea'red the cabin of many 
 of their visiters whose numbers had rendered it very hot and un- 
 pleasant. 
 
 Next morning they reached Karakakooa, the residence of 
 Tomaahmaah. Besides Young, his Ovvhyhean majesty's favorite 
 before mentioned, there were here also John Smith, an Irishman, 
 wIk) iiad deserted from an American trader, and Isaac Davis, who 
 had been captured by the islanders, in the schooner Fair American. 
 These men behaved extremely well, and had been taken under 
 the special patronage of Tamaahmaah, who was much irritated 
 at the above capture; and the treatment of the people belonging 
 to the schooner, which was atrociously taken by Tamamootoo, a 
 powerful chief, and his people, but which Tamaahmaah caused to 
 be delivered up to them, to be kept for the benefit of the proprietor 
 Mr. Metcalf, who had the command of the schooner, was thrown 
 overboard by Tamaahmootoo, who took out of her every thing he 
 could, before the arrival of the king and Young. In this affair, 
 Tianna had also acted a scandalous part, endeavoring, by false 
 insinuations, to prevail on the king to kill Young and Davis, but 
 Iris arts were unsuccessful on his majesty, whose sound judgment, 
 and humane attentions, would have done credit to the sovereign 
 of a more civilized people. 
 
 On tlie 4th of March, as soon as dinner was over, they were 
 summoned to a sham-fight on shore; and as Tamaahmaah con 
 sidered all ceremonies and formalities as adding to his conse 
 quence, he requested that the captain would be attended on shore 
 by a guard. They found the warriors assembled towards the 
 north corner of the beach, without the limits of the hallowed 
 ground. The party consisted of about one hundred and fifty 
 men, armed with spears; these were divided into three parties, 
 nearly in equal numbers; two were placed at a little distance 
 tTom each other; that on the right was to represent the armies 
 of Titeeree and Taio; that on the left the army of Tamaahmaah. 
 Their spears, on this occasion, were blunt-pointed sticks, about 
 the length of their barbed ones, whilst, on each wing, they were 
 to suppose a body of troops placed to annoy the enemy with stones 
 from their slings. The combatants now advanced towards each 
 other, seemingly without any principal leader, making speeches 
 HS they approached, which appeared to end in vaunts and *;1 treats 
 from both parties, when the battle began, by throwing their sham 
 epears at each other. These were parried in most instances- with 
 great de.xterity; but such as were thrown with efiect, produced 
 contusions and v/ounds, which, though fortunately of no danger* 
 
CATTAIN G. VANCOUVER. 261 
 
 &U8 tendency, v/ere yet very considerable, and it was, admirable 
 to observe the great good-humor and evenness '-f temper that was 
 preserved by those who were thus inji ed. This battle was a 
 mere skirmish, neither party being supported, nor advancing in 
 any order, but such as the fancy of the individuals directed 
 Some would advance even from the rear to the Iront, where they 
 would throw their spears, and instantly retreat into the midst of 
 their associates, or would remain picking up the spears that had 
 fallen without effect. These they would sometimes hurl again at 
 the foe, or hastily retreat, with two or three in their possession. 
 Those, however, who valued themselves on military achievements, 
 marched up towards the front of the adverse party, and in a 
 >raunting manner bid defiance to the whole of their adversaries. 
 In their left hand they held their spear, with which, in a contemptu- 
 ous manner, they parried some of those of their opponents, whilst, 
 ■«vith their right, they caught others in the act of flying immodi- 
 ately at them, and instantly returned them with great dextent) 
 In this exercise no one seemed to excel his Owhyhean majesty 
 who entered the lists for a short time and defended himself wit*- 
 the greatest dexterity, much to their surprise and admiration, ir 
 one instance particularly, against six spears, that were hurled a 
 him nearly at the same instant; three he caught as they were fly 
 ing, with one hand; two he broke, by parrying them with his 
 spear in the other; and the sixth, by a trifling inclination of hig 
 body, passed harndess. 
 
 This part of the combat was intended to represent the king an 
 having been suddenly discovered by the enemy, in a situation 
 where he was least expected to be found; and the shower of darts 
 that were instantly directed to that quarter, were intended to 
 show that he was in the most imminent danger; until advancing 
 a few paces, with the whole body of his army more closely con- 
 nected, and throwing their spears with the utmost exertion, he 
 caused the enemy to fall back in some little confusion, and he 
 himself rejoined the English, without having received the slight- 
 est injury. 
 
 The consequences attendant on the first man being killed, or 
 being so wounded as to fall on the disputed ground between tho 
 contending armies, wore next exhibited. This event causes the 
 loss of many lives, and much blood, in the conflict that takes 
 place, in order to rescue the unfortunate individual, who, if car- 
 ried off" by the adverse party, dead or alive, becomes an immedi- 
 ate sacrifice at the morai. On this occasion, the wounded man 
 was supposed to be one cf Titeeree's soldiers, and until this 
 um.appy period no advantage appeared on either side; but now 
 the dispute became very serious, was well supported on all sides, 
 and victory still seemed to hold a level scale, until, at length, the 
 supposed armies of Taio and Titeeree fell back, whilst that of 
 Tamaahmaah carried ofl^iu triunijjh several supposed dead bodies, 
 
2G8 CAPiAi:; r. VAVrot;vF.n. 
 
 dra^p;in!>; tlie poor (l-llows, (who iilie.'idy had hcen much trampled 
 upoaj h) the huels, some distance; lhroii<.rh a light, loose sand; and 
 who, noiwithstandiiig their eyes, ears, mouth, and nostrils, were 
 hy this means lillod, were no sooner permitted to use their legs, 
 than they ran into the sea, washed themselves, and appeared a? 
 happy and as cheerful as if nothing had happened. 
 
 In this riot-like engagement, the principal chiefs were consid- 
 fred to bear no part; and, on its being thus concluded, each 
 party sat quietly down on the ground, and a parley, or some otl.er 
 sort of conversation took place. The chiefs were now supposed 
 to have arrived at the theatre of war, which had hitherto beea 
 carried on by the common people only of both parties; a very 
 iisual mode of proceeding among these islanders. They now on 
 both sides came forward, guarded by a number of men armed' 
 with spears of great length, called pallaloos. These weapons 
 are never relinquished but by death, or captivity; the former is 
 the most common. They are not barbed, but reduced to a small 
 point, and though not very sharp, yet are capable of giving deep 
 and ujortal wounds by the force and manner with which they are 
 used. The missive spears are all barbed about six inches from 
 the point, and are generally from seven to eight feet long. 
 
 The warriors armed with the pallaloos now advanced with a 
 considerable degree of order, and a scene of very different ex- 
 ploits commenced; presenting, in comparison to what before had 
 been exhibited, a wonderful degree of improved knowledge in 
 military evolutions. Tliis body of men, composing several ranks, 
 formed in close and regular order, constitutes! a firm and compact 
 phalanx, which in actual service was not easily to be broken. 
 Having reached the spot in contest, they sat down on the ground 
 ab;ut thirty yards asunder, and pointed their pallaloos at each 
 other. After a short interval of silence, a conversation com- 
 menced, and Taio was supposed to state his opinion respecting 
 peace and war. The arguments seemed to be argued and sup- 
 ported with e{|ual energy on both sides. When peace under cer- 
 tain stipulations was proposed, the pallaloos were inclined towards 
 the ground, and when war was announced, their points were 
 raised to a certain degree of elevation. Both parties put on the 
 appearance of being much upon their guard, and to watch each 
 othei with a jealous eye, whilst this negotiation was going for- 
 ward, which, however, not terminating amidtibly, their respective 
 claims remained to be decided by the fate of a battle. Nearly at 
 the same instant of time they all arose, and, in close columns, 
 met each <;ther by slow advances. This movement they conducted 
 with mucli order and regularity, frequently shifting their ground, 
 and guarding with great .circumspection against the various 
 advantages of their opponents; whilst the inferior bands were 
 supposed to be engaged on each wing with spears and slings. 
 The success of the contest, however, seemed to depend entireljf 
 
CAPTAIN G. VANCOUVER. 269 
 
 on those with t\ e pallaloos, who firmly disputed every inch of the 
 ground, by parrying each other's lunges with the greatest dexter- 
 ity, until some to the left of Titeeree's centre fell. This greatly 
 encouraged Taniaahmaah's party, who, rushing forward with 
 phouts and great impetuosity, broke the ranks of their opponents, 
 and victory was declared for the arms of Owhyhee, by the sup- 
 posed death e<' several of the enemies; these at length retreated; 
 and, on being more closely pressed, the war was decided by the 
 supposed death of Titeeree and 'I'aio; and those who had the 
 honor of personating these chicf«s, were, like those before, dragged 
 in triumph by the heels over no small extent of loose sandy beech, 
 to be presented to the victorious Tamaahmaah, and tor the sup- 
 posed purpose of being sacrificed at his morai. These poor fell- 
 ows, like those before mentioned, bore their treatment with the 
 greatest good humor. 
 
 Having sailed from Owhyhee, they arrived on the 10th of March 
 off Mowee. On t!ie 13th they were honored with the presence 
 of Titeeree, who was considered as king of all the islands to the 
 leeward of Owhyhee; and that from him Taio derived his author- 
 ity. He came boldly alongside, but entered the ship with a sort 
 of partial confidence, accompanied 'by several chiefs; he was 
 greatly debilitated and emaciated; and, from the color of his skin, 
 they judged his feebleness to have been brought on by an excess- 
 ive use of the ava. Amongst the articles presented to him on 
 this occasion, was a cloak, similar to those given Tamaahmaah, 
 this highly delighted him; and he was also well pleased with the 
 other presents he received. 
 
 After some further interchange of civilities, and much negotia- 
 tion respecting the wished for peace. Captain Vancouver sailed 
 from Mowee the 18th of JMarch, having Tomohomoho on board, 
 and on the 20th reached Whyteetee, in Woahoo. One double 
 canoe only made its appearance. In this came James Coleman, 
 one of the three men they found last year, left by Mr. Kendrick, 
 at Attowai. The 21st, Coleman, with Tomohomoho and Ten- 
 navee, came on board. The two chiefs desired the captain would 
 attend them into the cabin; where, after shutting all the doors, 
 they informed him that the man who had murdered INIr. Hergest, 
 with two others who had been equally active and guilty, were in 
 the fore part of the canoe, and that no time should be lost in se- 
 curing them, lest any thing should transpire, and they should 
 again make tneir escape. On the 22d, a few of the natives were 
 about the ship, but not so many as on the former days. After 
 breakfast, Coleman, with Tomohomoho and Tennavee, came on 
 board. The two latter demanded the immediate execution of 
 the prisoners. This, however, was not complied with, as it was 
 deemed right that they srliould again be accused by their own 
 chiefs, in the presence of all the witnesses, of the crime with 
 which they stood charged in order, if possible, to draw from them 
 23* 
 
270 CAPTAIN 0. VANCOUVER. 
 
 a conlbssion of their puilt, and to renew the opportunity wliich 
 before luul heen jriven them, of producing some evidence in proot 
 of their innocence. Nothing, however, could l)e extorted from 
 any of them, but that tliey were totally ignorant of any such cir- 
 cumstances having ever happened on the island. This very as- 
 sertion amounted almost to self-conviction, as it is not easy to 
 believe, that the execution of their comrades, by Titeeree'g 
 ordeis, for the same offence wi^.h which they had been charged, 
 had not come to their knowledge, or that it coufd have escaped 
 their recollection. JN either th«^ captain nor the officers discovered 
 any reason, from the result of this further examination, to retract 
 or alter their former opinion of their guilt, or of drlivering them 
 over to their own people, to be dealt with according to the direc- 
 tions of their chiefs. 
 
 That the ceremony might be made as solemn and awful as pos- 
 sible, <a guard of seamen and mariners were drawn up on that side 
 of the ship opposite to the shore, where, alongside of the ship, 
 a ranoe was stationed for the execution. The rest of the crew 
 were in readiness at the great guns, lest any disturbance or 
 commotion should arise. One ceremony, however, remained yet 
 to be performed. One of these unfortunate men had long hair; 
 this it was necessary should be cut from his head before he was 
 executed, for the purpose of being presented, as a customary 
 tribute on such occasions, to the king of the island. They were 
 shocked at the want of feeling exhibited by the two chiefs at this 
 awful moment, who, in the rudest manner, not only cut off" the 
 hair, but, in the presence of the poor suffering wretch, without 
 the least compassion for his situation, disputed and strove for the 
 honor of presenting the prize to the king. The odious contest 
 being at length settled, the criminals were taken one by one into 
 a double canoe, where they were lashed hand and foot, and put 
 to death by Tannavee, their own chief, who blew out their brains 
 with a pistol; and sn dexterously was the melancholy office per- 
 formed, that lite fled with the report of the piece, and muscular 
 motion seemed almost instantly to cease. 
 
 They now bade adieu to the Sandwich Islands, and made iiic 
 best of their way for Nootka. The Discf very arrived the 20th of 
 May. Mr. Puget had arrived with the Chatham on the 15th of 
 Aj)ril, and departed thence the 18th of May, according to his in- 
 structions, to proceed in the survey of the coast. In the course 
 of continumg the examination of the coast, they met with some 
 Indians of very different behavior from those they had hitherto 
 seen. The survey was continued sedulously till the 5th of Octo- 
 ber, when botli vessels returned to Nootka. The usual cerenior.ieg 
 of salutes, and other formalities having passed, accompanied by 
 Mr. Puget, Vancouver waited on Senr. Saavadra, the command- 
 ant of the port; who said, that he had not received any intelligence, 
 cither from Euiojr., or from New Spain, since their departurn 
 
CAVTAIN G. VANCOUVER. 271 
 
 from hence in the spring; and that neither the Daedalus, nor any 
 other ship with stores, had been there. 
 
 Having quitted Nootka, nothing of importance occurred till 
 their arrival, on the 19th, in Port St. Francisco. Thej' were suun 
 hailed from the shore, upon which a boat was despatched thither, 
 and immediately returned with their civil and attentive friend, 
 Seignor Sal; who, in addition to the offers of his services and 
 hospitality, gratified them by communicating the interesting in- 
 telhgence of the state of Europe, up to so late a date as the pre- 
 ceding February. In proceeding towards Monterrey, they made 
 so little progress, that they were still at no great distance from St. 
 Francisco ne.\t morning, the 25th; when a vessel was descried 
 to the north-north-west; and, on standing towards her, she proved 
 to be the Daedalus. On the 1st of jNovember, they reached 
 IVIonterrey with tlie Daedalus. 
 
 Having anchored before another Spanish establishment, Van- 
 c.uvcr sent l-ieutenant Swaine to inform the commanding oflicer 
 at the presidio of their arrival. The next morning, accompanied 
 by Lieutenants Puget and Hanson, Vancouver paid his respects 
 on shore to Seignor Don Piielipe Goycochea, the commandant of 
 the establishment of Santa Barbara, and lieutenant in the Spanish 
 infantry. The pleasing society of their good friends at the mission 
 and presidio, was augmented by the arrival of Friar Vinconte 
 Sta. JNIaria, one of the reverend fathers of tiie mission of Buena 
 Ventura; situated about seven leagues from hence, on the sea- 
 coast to the south-eastward. At eiglit in the evening they anchor- 
 ed in fifteen fathoms water, about a league to the westward of 
 Buena Ventura. Their reverend friend expressed great satisfac- 
 tion at the mode of his return to tlie mission; and said, that hi» 
 voyage hither would probably lay the foundation for removing the 
 absurd and deep-rooted prejudice that had ever existed amongst the 
 several tribes of Indians in his neighborhood, who, from their earli- 
 est infancy, had invariably regarded all strangers as their enemies 
 
 Nothing of consequence occurred till their arrival, on the 8th 
 of January, 1794, at Owhyhee, olf the Bay of Whyealea, where 
 their return was proclaimed by shouts of joy, and they were visited 
 by Tamaahmaah, rejoiced to meet his friends at this his favorite 
 part of the island. Their course was now directed round the east 
 point of the island, and as they worked into the bay of Karakakooa, 
 many of the inhabitants were assembled on the shores, who an- 
 nounced their congratulations by shouts of joy; many of their 
 former friends, particularly of the fair sex, lost no time in testify- 
 ing the sincerity of the public sentiment in their favor. Young 
 and Davis they had likewise the pleasure of finding in the exercise 
 of those judicious principles they had so wisely adopted, and 
 which, by their example and advice, had so uniformly been car- 
 r cd into effect. 
 
 On Tharsdav the 30th, they were favored with the company of 
 
27*2 CAPTAIN G. VANCOCVEK. 
 
 Terroc-my-tec, Ciymain;iIioo, Tianna, and some other <;hief9 
 from the distant parts of the island. Tiioir arrival had been in 
 consequence of a summons from the king, who had called the 
 <>rand council of the island, on the subject of its cession to the 
 crown of Great Britain, which was unaniYnously desired. 1'hese 
 chiets brought intelligence, that a quantity of timber, which had 
 been sent for at the captain's request, was on its way hither, it 
 had been cut down under the direction of an Englishman, named 
 IJoyd, formerly mate of the sloop Washington, but who had re- 
 linquished that way of life, and had entered into the service of 
 Tamaahmaah. He appeared in the character of a shipwright, 
 and had undertaken to build, with these materials, a vessel for 
 the king, after the European fashion; but both himself and hia 
 comrades. Young and Davis, were fearful of encountering too 
 many ditlicultics, especially as they were all much at a loss in the 
 lirst outset, that of laying down the keel. This afforded Van- 
 couver an opportunity of conferring on Tamaahmaah a favor that 
 he valued far beyond every other obligation, by permitting his 
 carpenters to begin the vessel, from whose example, and the as- 
 sistance of these three engineers, he was in hopes that his people 
 would hereafter be able to build boats and small vessels for them- 
 selves. On Saturday, the 1st of February, they laid down the 
 keel, and began to prepare the frame-work of his Owhyhean 
 majesty's first man-of-war. The length of its keel was thirty-six 
 feet, the extreme breadth of the vessel nine feet and a quarter, 
 and the depth of her hold about five feet; her name was to be 
 The Britannia, and was intended as a protection to the royal per- 
 son of Tamaahmaah; and few circumstances in his life ever af- 
 forded him more satisfaction. 
 
 Some solemn religious rites being now to take place, Captain 
 Vancouver had frequently expressed to Tamaahmaah a desire of 
 being present on some of these occasions; and he now informed 
 him he had obtained the consent of the priests, provided he would, 
 during the continuance of the interdiction, attend to all the restric- 
 tions which their religion demanded. The restraints imposed con- 
 si*. 2d chiefly in four particulars: first, a total seclusion from the 
 company of women; secondly, partaking of no food but such as 
 \>as previously consecrated; thirdly, being confined to the land, 
 and not being afloat or wet with sea-water; and fourthly, not re- 
 ceiving, or even touching, the most trivial article from any one 
 who had not attended the ceremonies at the moral. Their prayers 
 seemed to have some regularity and form, and they did not omit 
 to pray for the wellare of his Britannic ir.aiesty, and their safe and 
 happy refurn to their native country. The intermediate day, the 
 l.lth, and the second night, were passed in prayer, during which 
 they found no difficulty in complying with the prescribed regula- 
 tions, and soon after the sun rose, the 1 4th, they were absolved 
 from any further attention to their sacred injunctions 
 
CAPTAIN G. VANCOUVER. 273 
 
 The cession of Owhyhee to his Britaniiic iriajesty became now 
 an object of serious concern. Some little delay and difficulty, 
 however, arose from the absence of two chiefs, Comnia;)ov.-, who 
 from local circumstances could not quit his government, and Ta- 
 maahmooto, chief of Coarra, the person who had captured the 
 Fair American schooner. 
 
 At one of their evening amusements the captain was very well 
 entertained. This was a performance by a single young woman 
 of the name of Packoo, whose person and manners were both very 
 agreeable. Her dress, notwith.-tanding the heat of the weather, 
 consisted of an immense quantity of thin cloth, wliich was wound 
 lound her waist, and extended as low as her knees. This was 
 plaited in such a manner as to give a pretty etlect to the varie- 
 gated pattern of the cloth; and was otherwise disposed with 
 great taste. Her head and neck were decorated with wreaths of 
 black, red, and yellow feathers; but, exce|)ting these, she wore 
 oo dress from the waist upwards. Her ankles, and nearly half 
 •vay up her legs, were decorated with several folds of clotii, wide- 
 ning upwards, so that the upper parts extended trom the leg at 
 least four inches all round, this was encompassed by a piece of 
 net-work, wrought very close, from the meshes of which were 
 hung the small teeth of dogs, giving this part of her dress the ap- 
 pearance of an ornamental funnel. On her wrists she wore brace- 
 lets made of the tusks from the largest hogs. These were highly 
 polished and fixed close together in a ring, the concave sides of 
 ♦he tusks being outwards; arvd their ends reduced to an uniform 
 length, curving naturally each way from the centre, were by no 
 means destitute of ornamental effect. Thus equipped, her ap- 
 pearance on the stage, before she uttered a single word, excited 
 considerable applause from the numerous spectators, who observ- 
 ed the greatest good order and decorum. In her performance, 
 which was in the open air, she was accompanied by two men, who 
 were seated on the ground in the character of musicians. Their 
 instrumentr were both alike, and were made of the outsides or 
 shells of large gourds, open at the tops; the lower ends ground 
 perfectly flat, and as thin as possible, without endangering their 
 splitting. These were struck on the ground, covered with a small 
 quantity of dried grass, and in the interval between each stroke, 
 they beat with their hands and fingers on the sides of these instru- 
 ments, to accompany their vocal exertions, which, with the variou? 
 motions of their hands and body, and the vivacity of their counte- 
 nances, plainly demonstrated the interest they had, not only in 
 excelling in their own parts, but also <n the applause which the 
 lady acquired by her performance advancmg or retreating from 
 the musicians a few short steps in various directions, as the .<a- 
 ture of the subject, and the nume.ous gestures and motions of 
 her person demanded. Her speech, or poem, was first began in 
 a slow, and somewhat solemn manner, and gradually became en 
 
274 CAPTAIN c;. VAN CO U VEIL 
 
 ergeiic, probably as the subject lualtiM- became interesting; until 
 at length, like a true actress, the liveliness of her imagination 
 produced a vociterous oration, accompanied by violent emotions. 
 These were received with shouts of great applause; and although 
 they were not sulliciently acquainted with the language to com- 
 prehend the sul)ject, yet they could not help being pleased in a 
 liigli degree with the performance. 
 
 On the '25th of February, Tamaahmaah, King of Owhyhee, in 
 council with the principal chiefs of the island, assembled on board 
 thf Discovery, in Karaitakooa bay, and in the presence of George 
 V.iMcouver, her commander, and JJeutenant Peter Puget, com- 
 Hiandcr of the armed tender the Chatham, and the other officers 
 oftiie Discovery, after due consideration, unanimously ceded the 
 island of Owhyhee to his Britannic majesty, and acknowledged 
 themselves to be subjects of Great Britain. 
 
 Thus concluded their transactions at Owhyhee, to which they 
 bade adieu about three in the morning of the 3d of March. They 
 left here, however, a banditti of renegadoes, that had quitted 
 diderent trading vessels in consequence of disputes with their re- 
 spective commanders, who had resorted to this island since the 
 preceding year, under American or Portuguese colors. Amongst 
 them was one Portuguese, one Chinese, and one Genoese, but 
 all the rest appeared to be the subjects of Great Britain, as seemed 
 also the major part of the crew of the brig Washington, although 
 they called themselves Americans. With Kavaheeroo also re- 
 sided a person by the name of Howell, who had come to Owhyhee, 
 in the capacity of a clerk on board the Washington; he appeared 
 lo possess a good understanding, with the advantages of an uni- 
 »ersity education, and had been once a clergyman in England, 
 but had now secluded himself from European society, so that with 
 Voung, Davis, and Boyd, there were now eleven white men on 
 the island; but, excepting from these latter, there Owhyhean 
 friends will have little reason to rejoice in any advantages they will 
 receive from their new civilized companions. 
 
 After visiting some other parts of the Sandwich Islands, the 
 ships finally bade them adieu on the 15th of March, from which 
 period, till the end of August, the whole time was occupied in a 
 very extensive and minute survey of the coast of North-west 
 America. Suffice it to say, that one great object of the voyage 
 was, namely, to ascertain the existence of a north-west passage. 
 or any water communication navigable for shipping. The North 
 Pacific, and the exterior of the American continent, within these 
 limits, were completely examined, and it was proved that no such 
 communication did exist, notwitiistanding the assertions of Fuca, 
 Fonte, and otJiers, on that subject. On the 2d of September, the 
 i )iscovery anchored in Friendly Cove, Nootka Sound, w-heie 
 ^ ere three of his Catholic majesty's armed vessels, and some 
 English and American traders. 
 
X VISIT TO ROCKALL. 275 
 
 At Monterrey they arrived on the ild of November. Havin-g 
 on the 2d of December quitted it, and proceeded southward, they 
 passed the three Marias Islands, and afterwards the rich but un- 
 inhabited island of Cocos. Its produce is luxurious and abundant, 
 as are also fowl and fish. They afterwards successively passed 
 the Gallipagos Islands, Massafuero, and Juan Fernandes. On 
 the 24th of March they gained a distant view of the lofty coast 
 of Chili to the westward, in latitude 32 deg. 53 min., and at a 
 supposed distance of forty leagues, the immense mountains of the 
 Andes. Their destination was, however, the bay of Valparaiso, 
 which they reached next day. 
 
 Nothing particular happened in the voyage :ound Cape Horn, 
 and thence to St. Helena, where the Discovery arrived on the 
 2d of July, the Chatham having got thither before her. Here, in 
 consequence of the hostilities with Holland, Captain Vancouver 
 took a Dutch East Indiaman, the jNIacassar. On the 12th of 
 September, made the western coast of Ireland; when having seen 
 the Discovery safely moored in the Shannon, he proceeded to 
 London, resigning the command of the ship to Lieutenant Baker, 
 and taking with him such books, papers, and charts, as were 
 necessary to lay before the Lords of the Admiralty, relative to 
 the services performed. In the course of this long voyage of four 
 years eight months and twenty-nine days, the Discovery lost by 
 disease, out of one hundred men, only one, and five by accidents; 
 and in the Chatham not one died from disease or otherwise 
 
 A VISIT TO ROCKALL 
 
 By Captain Hall. 
 
 It was a fine autumnal morning, just a week after we had sailed 
 from Lough Swilly, to cruise off the North of Ireland, a sail was 
 reported on the leebeam. We bore up instantly, but no ono 
 tould make out what the chase was, nor which way she was 
 standing — at least, no two of the knowing ones could be found to 
 agree upon these matters. These various opinions, however 
 presently settled into one, or nearly so — for there were still sonio 
 of the high-spyers who had hon«stly confessed they were puzzled. 
 The general opinion was, that it must be a brig with very white 
 sails aloft, while those below weie quite dark — as if the royals 
 were made of cott-jii, and the courses of tarpawling, — a strange 
 anomaly in seamanship, it is true, but still the best theory we 
 could form to explain appearances. A short time served to dispe' 
 
276 
 
 A VISIT TO ROCKAI.:., 
 
 these fancies; lor we discovered, on running close to our mystex 
 rious vessel, that we had been actually chasing a rock — not a ship 
 of oak and iron, but a solid block of granite, growing as it were, 
 out of the sea, at a greater distance from the main land than, I 
 believe any othc-r island, or inlet, or rock of the same diminutive 
 size, is to be found in the world. This mere speck on the sur- 
 face of the waters — for it seems to float on the sea — is only 
 seventy feet high, and not more than a hundred yards in circum- 
 ference. The smallest point of a pencil could scarcely give it a 
 phice on any map which should not exaggerate its proportion to 
 the rest of the islands in that stormy ocean. It lies at the 
 distance of no fewer than one hundred and eighty-four milea 
 very nearly due west of St. Kilda, the romotest part of the 
 Hebrides, two hundred and ninety from the nearest part of the 
 main coast of Scotland, and two hundred and sixty from the north 
 of Ireland. Its name is Rockall, and is well known to those Bal 
 
 » Rockali. 
 
 ttc traders, which go north about. The stone of which this 
 curious peak is composed, is a dark colored granite, but the top 
 being covered with a coating as white as snow, from having beeir 
 for ages the resting-place of myriads of sea-fowl, it is constantly 
 mistaken for « vessel under all sail. We were deceived by it 
 several tijnes during the same cruise, even after we had been put 
 on our guard, and knew its place well. I remember boarding three 
 vessels in one day, each of which in reckoning the number of 
 vessels in sight counted Rockall as one, without detecting their 
 mistake till I pointed their glasses to the spot 
 
A VISIT TO ROCKALL. 277 
 
 As we had nothing belter on our liands it was resolved to make 
 an exploring expedition to visit this little islet. Two boats were 
 accordingly manned for the purpose; and wiiile the ship stood down 
 to the leeward of it, the artists prepared their sketch books and 
 the geolo'gists their hammers, for a grand scientific field day. 
 
 When we left the ship, the sea appeared so unusually smooth, 
 that we anticipaicd no difficulty in landing; but on reaching the 
 spot, we found a swell rising and falling many feet, which made 
 it exceedingly troublesome to accomplish our purpose. One 
 side of the rock was perpendicular and smooth as a wall. The 
 others though steep and slippery, were sufficiently varied in their 
 surface to admit of our crawling up when once out of the boat. 
 
 But it required no small confidence in our footing, and a dash 
 of that kind of faith which carries a hunter over a five-bar gate, 
 to render the leap at all secure. A false step, or a faltering 
 carriage, after the spring was resolved on, might have sent the 
 explorer to investigate the secrets of the deep, in tiiose fathomless 
 regions where the roots of this mysterious rock connect it with 
 the solid earth. In time, however, we all got up, hammers, 
 sketch-books, and chronometers inclusive. 
 
 As it was considered a point of some moment to determine not 
 only tiie position, but the size of the rock by actual observations 
 made upon it, all hands were set busily at work — some to chip 
 off specimens — others to measure the girt by means of a cord — 
 while one of the boats was sent to make sounding in those direc- 
 tions where the bottom could be reached. 
 
 A.l'ter we had been em])loyed for some time in this manner, we 
 observed a current sweeping past us, at a considerable rate, and 
 rather wondered that the ship, which was fast drifting away from 
 us did not fill and make a stretch, so as to preserve her distance. 
 But as the day was quite clear, we cared less about this addition 
 to the pull, and went on with our operations. I forget exactly at 
 what hour a slight trace of haze first came across the field of 
 view. This soon thickened into a fog, which felt like a drizzle, 
 and put some awkward apprehensions into our heads. It was im- 
 mediately decided to get into the boats and return to the Endy- 
 mion; for, by this time, we had finished all our real work, and 
 were only amusing ourselves by scrambling about the rock. 
 
 The swell had silently increased in the interval to such a 
 height, liiat the i>perati'on of returning to the boats was rendered 
 twice as difficult as that of di -embarking; and what was a great 
 deal worse, occupied twice as much time. It required t!.e greater 
 part of half an hour t) tumble our whole partv back again This 
 proceeling. difficult at any season, I suppose, was now reduced 
 to a sort of somerset or flying leap; for the adventurer, whoso 
 turn it wa-. to spring, had to dash off the rock towards the boat. 
 Vusting m^re to the chance of being caught by his companion* 
 than to any skill of his own. Some of our Dutch-built gentry, 
 21 
 
KitJ A \1S1T TO nOCIvALL. 
 
 known in (he cockpit by ti-.o ii:i:iie of Iioiivy-sterned Christians 
 •^ame llouiulering amongst tlic thwarts and oars with such a crash, 
 tl;at we IkiU" e\[icct(Hl t!»oy would make a clear breach through 
 the boat's bottom. 
 
 As none of these minor accidents occurred, wc pushed cfT, 
 with ou comiiiemont entire, towards the ship; but, to our aston- 
 ishment and dismay, no Endymion could now be seen. Some 
 said "only a minute ago she was tl^ere!" others asserted, as 
 positively, that they had seen her in a totally different direction. 
 In short, no two of us agreed as to where the frigate had last 
 been seen, though all, unhappily, were of one mind as to the disa- 
 greeable fact ot" her being now invisible. She had evidently 
 drifted off to a considerable distance; and, as the first thickening 
 of tiie air had destroyed its transparency, we could see nothing in 
 the slightest degree, even like what is called the boom of a vessel. 
 The horizon was visible — indistinctly indeed; but it was certainly 
 not the same horizon along which we had seen the ship sailing 
 but half an hour before. The atmosphere had something of that 
 troubled look which is given to a glass of water by dropping a 
 little milk into it. So that, although there was no fog as yet, 
 properly so called, there was quite enough of moisture to serve 
 the unpleasant purpose of hiding the object of our search; and we 
 remained quite at a loss what to do. We rowed to some Qistan<'.c 
 from the rock, supposing it possible that some condensation of 
 vapor, incident to the spot, might have cast a veil over our eyes. 
 But nothing was to be seen all round. 
 
 It then occurred to some of our philosophers that as dense air, 
 by its very definition (as they gravely put it), is heavier than 
 light air, it might so happen that the humid vapors had settled 
 down upon the surface of the sea, and that, in fact, we were 
 groping about in a shallow stratum of untransparent matter. 
 The top of the rock, which was seventy feet higher, it was 
 thought, might be in the clear region, and the ship's mast heads, 
 if not her hull, be visible from thence. There was a sort of 
 pedantic plausibility about the technology of these young savans, 
 which induced the commanding officer of the party — a bit of r, 
 dabbler himself in these scientific mysteries — to decide upon try- 
 ing the experiment. At all events, he thought it might amuse 
 and occupy the party. So one of the men was landed, the most 
 alert of our number, who skipped up the rock like a goat. 
 
 All eyes were now turned on our look-out man, who no sooner 
 reached the summit, than he was asked what he saw, with an im- 
 patience that betrayed more anxiety on the part of the oflicers 
 than they probably wished should be perceived by the boats' 
 crews. 
 
 " I can see nothing all round," cried the man, " except some- 
 thing out thereabouts" — pointing with his hand. 
 
 "What does it look like?' 
 
A ir.SST TO ROC if ALL. 279 
 
 " I am afraid, sir, it is a fog ba:^k coming down upon us." And 
 BO it proved. 
 
 The experienced eye of the sailor, who in his youth had been 
 a fisherman on the banks of Newfoundhind, detected a strip or 
 extended cloud, hanging along the verge of the horizon, like the 
 first appearance of a low coast. This gradually swept down to 
 leeward, and, at length, enveloped rock, boats, and all, in a 
 mantle of fog, so dense that we could not see ten yards in any 
 direction. 
 
 Although our predicament may now be supposed as hopeless 
 as need be, it was curious to observe the ebbs and flows in human 
 thought as circumstances changed. Half an hour before, we had 
 been provoked at our follv in not having left the rock sooner; but 
 it was now a matter of rejoicing that we possessed such a fixed 
 point to stick by, in place of throwing ourselves adrift altogether. 
 We reckoned with certainty upon the frigate's managing, sooner 
 or later, to regain the rock; and as that was the only mark a' 
 which she could aim, it was evidently the best for us to keep near 
 
 We had been cruising tor some time off the north of Ireland, 
 during which we observed that these fogs sometimes lasted a 
 couple of days or even longer; and, as we had not a drop of 
 water in the boats, nor a morsel of provisions, the most unpleas- 
 ant forebodings began to beset us. The wind Was gradually 
 rising, and the waves, when driven against the rock, were divided 
 into two parts, which, after sweeping round the sides, met again 
 to leeward, near the spot where we lay, and dashed themselves 
 into such a bubble of a sea, that the boats were pitched about 
 like bits of cork in a mill-lead. Their motion was disagreeable 
 enough, but our apprehension was, that we should be dislodged 
 altogether from our place of refuge; while the gulls and sea- 
 mews, as if in contempt of our helpless condition, or offended at 
 our intrusion, wheeled about and screamed close to us, in notes 
 most grating to our ears. 
 
 While we were waiting in this state of anxiety in the boats 
 below, our faithful watchman perched on the peak of the rock, 
 suddenly called out, " I see the ship!" This announcement wa." 
 answered by a simultaneous shout from the two boat's crews, 
 which sent the flocks of gannets and sea-mews screaming to the 
 right and left, far into the bosom of the fog. 
 
 An opening or lane in the mist had occurred, along which we 
 could now see the frigate, far ofl', but crowding all sail, and evi- 
 dently beating to windward. We lost as little time as possible 
 in picking our shivering scout off the rock, an operation which 
 cost nearly a quarter of an hour. This accomplished, away we 
 rowed, at the utmost stretch of our oars towards the ship. 
 
 We had hardly proceeded a quarter of a mile before the fog 
 began to close behind our track, so as to shut out Rockall from 
 our view. This we cared little about, as we not only still saw thp 
 
280 A VISIT TO ROCKALL 
 
 eliip, but trusted, from lier movements, that slic likewise saw the 
 boats. Just at the moment, however she tacked, thereby prov- 
 ii.^ that slie had seen neither boats lor rock, but was merely 
 groping about in search of her lost sheep. Had she continued 
 on the course she was steering when we Hrst saw her, she might 
 have picked us up long betbre the fog came on again; but wiien 
 she went about, this hope was destroyed. In a few minutes more 
 we, of course, lost sight of the frigate in the fog; and there we 
 were, in a pretty mess, with no ship to receive us, and no island 
 lo hung on by! 
 
 It now became necessary to take an immediate part; and we de- 
 cided at once to turn back in search of the rock It was certain- 
 ly a moment of bitter disappointment when we pulled round; and 
 the interval between doing sq and our regaining a resting-place, 
 was one of great anxiety. Nevertheless we made a good land- 
 fall, and there was a wonderful degree of happiness attendant 
 even upon this piece of success. Having again got hold of 
 Rockall, we determined to abide by our firm friend till circum- 
 stances should render our return to the ship certain. In the 
 meantime we amused ourselves in forming plans for a future resi- 
 dence on this desolate abode, in the event of the ship being blown 
 away during the night. If the weather should become more 
 stormy, and that our position to leeward was rendered unsafe, in 
 consequence of the divided waves running round and meeting, it 
 was resolved, that we should abandon the heaviest of the two 
 boats, and drag the other up to the brow of the rock, so as to form, 
 when turned keel upwards, a sort of hurricane house. These, and 
 various other Robinson Crusoe kind of resources, helped to oc- 
 cupy our thoughts, half in jest, half in earnest, till, by the increas- 
 ed gloom, we knew that the sun had gone down. It now became 
 indispensable to adopt some definite line of operations, for the 
 angry looking night was setting in fast. 
 
 Fortunately, we were saved from farther trials of patience or 
 mgenuity by the fog suddenly rising, as it is called — or dissipa- 
 ting itself in the air, so completely, that, to our great joy, we gain- 
 ed sight of the ship once again. 
 
 It appeared afterwards that they had not seen our little island 
 from the Endymion nearly so soon as we discovered her; and she 
 ^\as, in consequence, standing almost directly away from us, evi- 
 dently not knowing exactly whereabouts Rockall lay. This, 1 
 think, was the most anxious moment during the whole adventure; 
 nor shall I soon forget the sensation caused by seeing the jib-sheet 
 let fly, accompanied by other indications that the frigate wag 
 coming about. 
 
 I need not spin out this story any longer. It was almost dart" 
 when we got on board. Our first question was the reproachfu' 
 one, " Why did you fire no guns to give us notice of yom 
 position.^" 
 
THE SUBTERRANEAN STREAM. £3 
 
 "Fire guns?" said they — "why, we have done nothing hu 
 blaze away every ten minutes for these last five or six hours." 
 Yet strange to say, we had not heard a single discharge! 
 
 THE SUBTERRANEAN STREAM 
 
 BY MRS. HEMANS. 
 
 Darkly thou glidest onward 
 Thou deep and hidden wave ! 
 
 The laughing sunshine hath not looked 
 Into thy secret cave. 
 
 Thy current makes no music — 
 
 A hollow sound we hear, 
 A muffled voice of mystery, 
 
 And know that thou art near ! 
 
 No brighter line of verdure 
 
 Follows thy lonely way ! 
 No fairy moss, or lily's cup, 
 
 Is freshened by thy play. 
 
 The halcyon doth not seek thee, 
 
 Her glorious wings to lave ; 
 Thou know'st no tint of the summer akj 
 
 Thou dark and hidden wave ! 
 
 Yet once will day behold thee, 
 
 When to the mighty sea. 
 Fresh bursting from their caverned veins 
 
 Leap thy lone waters free. 
 
 There wilt thou greet the sunshine 
 
 For a moment, and be lost. 
 With all thy melancholy sounds. 
 
 In the Ocean's billowy host. 
 
 Oh ! art thou not, dark river ! 
 
 Like the fearful thoughts untold, 
 Which haply in the hush of night 
 
 O'er many a soul have rolled .' 
 
 Those earth-born strange misgivings 
 
 Who hath not felt their power ? 
 
 Yet who hath breathed them to his frien<i 
 Ev'n in his fondest hour ? 
 
 They hold no heart-communion. 
 
 They find no voice in song, 
 They dimly foHow far from earth 
 
 The grave's departed throncr. 
 
 j:4* 
 
2*1^ CATTAIN l.NGI.EriEI.D S NAKRATIVK 
 
 Wild is tiirir course and lonely, 
 And friiilli'ss in man's breast; 
 
 They come arid go, and leave no trace 
 Of llieir niyslorious quest. 
 
 Yet surely must their wanderings 
 At lonijth be like thy way ; 
 
 Their sliadows, as thy waters lost, 
 In one bright flood of day 
 
 CAPTAIN INGLEFIELD'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 The Centaur, captain Inglcfield, and four ships of the line, 
 part of a large convoy from Jamaica to England, foundered at 
 sta, in a dreadful hurricane, in September 1782. 
 
 Captain Inglefield, and the officers and crew, did every thing 
 possible for the preservati an of their lives and ship, from the 16th 
 to the 23d of September; when the Centaur, by repeated storms, 
 became a wreck, and was in a sinking state. Some of the men 
 appeared perfectly resigned to their fate, and requested to be 
 lashed in their hammocks; others lashed themselves to gratings 
 and small rafts, but the most prominent idea was, that of putting 
 on iheir best and cleanest clothes. The booms were cleared, and 
 the cutter, pinnace, and yawl were got over the ship's side. 
 Capiain Inglefield and eleven others made their escape in the 
 pinnnce; but their condition was nearly the same with that of those 
 who remained in the ship; and at best appeared to be only a pro- 
 longAiion of a miserable existence. " They were in a leaky boat, 
 with one of the gunwales stove, in nearly the middle of the ocean, 
 without compass, quadrant, sail, great coat, or cloak; all very 
 thinly olothed, in a gale of wind, with a great sea running." In 
 half an hour they lost sight of the ship; but before dark a blanket 
 was discovered in the bout, of which they made a sail, and scudded 
 under it all night, expecting to be swallowed up by every wave. 
 They were two hundred and fifty or two hundred and sixty leagues 
 from Fayal. 
 
 Their stock consisted of " a bag of bread, a small ham a single 
 piece of pork, two quart-bottles of water, and a few French cor- 
 dials." Their situation became truly miserable, from cold and 
 hunger. On the tilth day their bread " was nearly all spoiled by 
 salt water; and it was necessary to go to allowance — one biscut* 
 divided into twelve morsels, for breakfast; the same for dinner. 
 The neck of a bottle broke off, with the cork in, served for a 
 glass; and this filled with water, was the allowance foi- twenty- 
 four hours for each n\iin. This was done without paitiality or 
 distinction. But they must have perished ere this, had they not 
 
CAPTAIN INGLEFIELd's NARRATIVE. 283 
 
 caught six quarts of rain-water: and this they could not have been 
 blessed with, had they not found in the boat a pair of sheets, 
 which by accident had been put there," 
 
 On the fifteenth day that they had been in the boat, tl\ey had 
 only one day's bread, and one bottle of water remaining of a 
 second supply ofrain. Captain Ingleiield states: " Our suflerings 
 were now as great as human strength could bear; but we were 
 convinced that good spirits were a better support than great 
 bodily strength; for on this day Thomas Matthews, quarter- 
 master, the stoutest man in the boat, perished from hunger and 
 cold. On the day before, he had complained of want of strength 
 in his throat, as he expressed it, to swallow his morsel; and in 
 the night drank salt water, grew delirious, and died without a 
 groan. 
 
 " As it became next to a certainty that we should all perish in 
 the same manner in a day or two, it was somewhat comfortable 
 to reflect, that dying of hunger was not so dreadful as our imag- 
 ination had represented. Others had complained of the symptom? 
 in their throats; some had drunk their own urine; and all but my 
 self had drunk salt water." 
 
 Despair and gloom had been hitherto successfully prohil)ited; 
 and the men, as the evenings closed in, had been encouraged b} 
 turns to sing a song, or relate a story, instead of a supper. This 
 evening it was found impossible to do either. At night they were 
 becalmed, but at midnight a breeze sprung up; but being afraid 
 of running out of their course, they waited impatiently lor the 
 rising sun to be their compass. 
 
 On the sixteenth day their last bread and water had been serv- 
 ed for breakfast; when John Gregory, tUe quarter-master, declared 
 with much confidence, he saw land in the south-east, at a great 
 listance. They made for it, and reached Fayal at about mid- 
 night, having been conducted into the road by a fishing-boat: 
 but they were not, by the regulation of the port, permitted to land 
 till examined by the health officers. 
 
 They got some refreshments of bread, wine, and water in the 
 boat, and in the morning of the seventeenth day landed; where 
 they experienced every friendly attention from the Englisli consul, 
 whose wliole employment for many days was contriving the best 
 means of restoring them to health and strength. Some of the 
 stoutest men were obliged to be supported through the streets; and 
 for several days, with the best and most comfortable provisions, 
 they ratiier grew worse than better. 
 
 A court-martial was held at Portsmouth on the 21st of January 
 1783, on the loss of the Centaur; when the court hone ably ac- 
 quitted Canlaiii Ingleiield, as a cool, resolute, and experienced 
 ofiicer; and that he was well supported by his officers and ship's 
 company; and that their united exertions appeared to have been 
 «o great and nianly^, as to reflect the highest honor on the whole. 
 
284 A mu.\ki:y ikick-. 
 
 and to leave the deepest impression on tlie minds of the court,— 
 that more could not have possibly been done to preserve the Cen- 
 taur from her melancholy fate. 
 
 A MONKEY TRICK. 
 
 In 1818, a vessel that sailed between Whitehaven and Jamaica 
 embarked on her homeward voyage, and among other passengers, 
 carried a female, who had at the breast a child only a few weeks 
 old. One beautiful afternoon, the captain perceived a distant sail, 
 and after he had gratified his curiosity, he politely otfered his 
 glass to his passenger, that she might obtain a clear view of the 
 object. Mrs. B. had the baby in her arms; she wrapped her shawl 
 about the little innocent, and placed it on a sofa upon which she 
 had been sitting. Scarcely had she ap|)lied her eye to the glass, 
 when the helmsman exclaimed, "Good God! see what the mis- 
 chievous monkey has done." The reader may judge of the 
 female's feelings, when, on turning round, she beheld the animal 
 in the act of transporting her beloved child apparently to the very 
 top ol" ihe mast! Tlie monkey was a very large one, and so 
 strong and active, that wiiile it grasped the infant (irmly with the 
 one arm, it climbed the shrouds nimbly by the other, totally un- 
 embarrass(!d by the weight of its burden. One look was sufficient 
 for tlie ti-rnlied mother, and that look had well nigh been her last, 
 and had it not been for the assistance oi" those around her, she 
 would iiave fallen prostrate on the deck, where she was soon 
 afterwards stretched apparently a lifeless corpse. The sailors 
 could climb as well as the monkey, but the latter watched their 
 motions narrowly; and as it ascended higher up the mast the mo- 
 ment they attempted to put a foot on the shrouds, the captain 
 became afraid that it would drop the child, and endeavor to escape 
 by leaping from one mast to another. In the meantime the little 
 innocent was heard to cry; and though many thought it was suffer- 
 ing pain, their fears on this point were speedily dissipated when 
 they observed the monkey imitating exactly the motions of a 
 nurse, oy dandling, soothing, and caressing its charge, and even 
 endeavoring to hush it asleep. From the deck the lady was con- 
 veyed to the cabin, and gradually restored to her senses. In the 
 meantime, the captain ordered every man to conceal himself 
 below, and quietly took his own station on the cabin stair, where 
 he could see ail that passed without being seen. This plan hap- 
 pily succeeded; the monkey, on perceiving that the coast was 
 clear, cautiously descended from his lofty perch, and replaced the 
 infant on the sofa, cold, fretful, and perhaps frightened, but in 
 
CAPTAIN KENNEDY S NARRATIVE 
 
 every other respect as free from harm as when he took it up 
 The humane seaman had now a most grateful task to perform, 
 the babe was restored to its mother's arms, amidst tears, and 
 thanks, and blessings. 
 
 CAPTAIN KENNEDY'S NARRATIVE. 
 
 \We sailed from Port Royal, in Jamaica, on the 21st day of 
 December, 1818, bound for Whitehaven; but the twenty-third 
 day having met with a hard gale at north, we were obliged to lay- 
 to under a foresail for the s|)ace of ten hours, which occasioned 
 the vessel to make more water than she could free with both 
 pumps. Under this situation we set sail, in hopes of being able 
 to make the island of Jamaica again, which from our reckoning 
 we judged lay about ten leagues to the eastward. But in less 
 than an hour's time the water overflowed the lower deck; and we 
 could scarcely get into the yawl (being thirteen in number) before 
 the vessel sank; having only with much difliculty been able to take 
 out a keg containing abi)Ut sixteen pounds of biscuit, ten pounds 
 of cheese, and two bottles of wine; with which small pittance we 
 endeavored to make the land. But the wind continuing to blow 
 hard from the north, and the sea running high, we were obliged, 
 after an unsuccessful attempt of three days, to bear away tor 
 Honduras, as the wind seemed to favor us for that course, and it 
 being the only visible means we had of preserving our lives. 
 On the seventh day we made Swan's island; but being destitute 
 of a quadrant, and other needful helps, we were uncertain what 
 land it was. However, we went on shore, under the flattering 
 hopes of finding some refreshments; but, to our unspeakable re- 
 gret and heavy disappointment, we only found a few quarts of 
 brackish water in the hollow of a rock, and a (P\v wilks. Not- 
 withstanding there was no human nor visible prospect of finding 
 water, or any other of the necessaries of life, it was with the ut- 
 most reluctance the people quitted the island; but being at length 
 prevailed upon, with much difficulty and through persuasive 
 means, we embarked in the evening, with only six quarts of water, 
 for the Bay of Honduras. Between the seventh and fourteenth 
 days of our being in the boat, we were most miraculously suj)- 
 ported, and at a time when nature was almost exhausted, having 
 nothing to eat or drink. Yet the Almighty Author of our being 
 furnished us with supplies, which, when seriously considered, not 
 only serve to display his beneficence, but fill the mind with admi- 
 ration and wonder. Well may we cry out, with the Royal Wise 
 Man — ' Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the 
 son of man, that thou visites^him.''' 
 
S86 CAPTAIN KENXnnv's NAIIRATIVE, 
 
 " Tn the evening the wild sea-fowls hovered over our heads, hnd 
 lighted on our hands when lield up to receive them. Of these 
 our people eat the flesli and drank the blood, declaring it to be aa 
 palatable as new milk, I eat twice of the flesh, and thought it 
 very ^ood. 
 
 " It may appear very remarkable, that, though I neither tasted 
 food nor drink for eight days, I did not feel the sensations of hunger 
 or thirst, but on the fourteenth, in the evening, my drought often 
 required me to gargle my mouth with salt water; and on the 
 fifteenth it increased; when, happily for usi we made land, which 
 proved to be d*' island called Ambergris, .\ying at a small distance 
 from the riain lahv., ^nd about fourteen leagues to the northward 
 of St. Ge^.ge's Quay (where the white people reside) in the Bay 
 of Honduras; though the want of a quadrant and other necessa- 
 ries left us still in suspense. We slept four nights on this island, 
 and every evening picked up wilks and conchs for next day's 
 provision, embarking every mornmg, and towing along the shore 
 to the southward. On the first evening of our arrival here we 
 found a lake of fresh water, by which we lay all night, and near 
 it buried one of our people. 
 
 "On walking along the shore we found a few cocoa-nuts, 
 which were full of milk. The substance of the nuts we eat with 
 the wilks, instead of bread, thinking it a delicious repast, although 
 eaten raw — having no implements whereby to kindle a fire. 
 From the great support received by this shell-fish, I shall ever 
 revere the name. 
 
 " On the third day after our arrival at this island, we buried 
 another of our people, which, with four who died on the passage, 
 made six who perished through hunger and fatigue. 
 
 "On the fifth day after our arrival at Ambergris, we happily 
 discovered a small vessel at some distance, under sail, which we 
 made for. In the evening got on board her; and in a few hours 
 (being the tenth of January), we arrived on St. George's Quay, 
 in a very languid ^tate. 
 
 " I cannot conclude without making mention of the great ad- 
 vantage I received from soaking my clothes twice a day in salt 
 water, and putting them on without wringing. 
 
 " It was a considerable time before I could make the people 
 comply with this measure; though, from seeing the good efl^ects 
 it produced, they afterwards, of their own accord, practised it 
 twice a day. To this discovery I may with justice impute the 
 preservation of my own life, and that of six other oersons, who 
 must have perished but for its being put in use. 
 
TOM crinole's loo. 9gf 
 
 LB FAST AND FAR O'ER WAVES WE FLY 
 
 As fast and far o'er waves we fly, 
 And seen beneath the distant sky 
 
 Our native land's deep shadows fade, 
 We gaze upon the wave and sigh, 
 
 And think upon the absent maid 
 Who sits and listens to the wind, 
 And turns the dark thought in her mind, 
 Of what may be 
 Our lot at sea, 
 Till the breeze freshening to a gale 
 Calls us aloft to shorten sail. 
 Then duty bids our wishes move. 
 And toil diverts our souls from love. 
 
 Sharply its breath the vessel feels, 
 Down on her groaning side she heela; 
 
 Another reef is taken in — 
 Loudly the dreadful thunder pealB. 
 
 Old Ocean echoes to the din : 
 Beneath the blow 
 She rises slow 
 As smart the helmsman luffs her, the« 
 We think no more, but feel like men^ 
 But cheerly to our duly move, 
 And leave the future hour of love. 
 
 'T is past ; top-gallant masts ascend, 
 O'er top sail yards we gaily bend ; 
 
 The loosened sail abroad we shake; 
 Top gallant sails aloft we send ; 
 
 No more the surges o'er us break ;— 
 Awhile with flowing sheet we glide, 
 Till slow we feel the swell subside. 
 
 And the sea slumber like a lake. 
 Then thoughts of home 
 Across us come, 
 With recollections warm and clear, 
 Our anxious hearts we fondly cheer; 
 Our duty o'er — our wishes move 
 Again from toil to ease and love. 
 
 TOM CRINGLE'S LOG. 
 
 We had refitted, and been four days at sea, on our voyage to 
 /p.niaica, when the gun-room officers gave our mess a blow out. 
 
 The increased motion and rushing of the vessel through the 
 water, the groaning of the masts, the howling of the gale, and the 
 freruent trampling of the watch on deck, were prophetic of wet 
 
say TOM CRINGLE'S LOti 
 
 jackets to some of us; still, midshipman-like, we v. ere as happy 
 Qs a good dinner and some wine could make us, until the old gun- 
 ner shoved his weather beaten phiz and bald pate in at the door 
 *' Beg pardon Mr. Splinter, but if you will spare Mr. Cringle or 
 the forecastle an hour, until the moon rises " — ("Spare," quotha, 
 
 ' is his majesty's oflicer a joint stool.^") — " Why, Mr. Kennedy, 
 why.^ hewj, man, take a glass of grog." " I thank you sir." "1* 
 LS coming on a roughish night, sir; the running ships should be 
 crossing us hereabouts; indeed, more than once I thought there 
 was a strange sail close ai)oard of us, the scud is flying so low 
 and in such white flakes; and none of us have an eye like Mr 
 Cringle, unless it be John Crow, and he is all but frozen.' 
 " Well, Tom, 1 suppose you will go" — Anglice, from a first liev 
 tenant to a mid — 
 
 drusn nstanter " 
 Having changed n.y uniform for shag trousers, pea-jacket, and 
 j(Duth-west cap, 1 went forward and took my station, in no pleas* 
 ant humor, on tlic slowed jib, with my arm around the stay. ] 
 had been half an hour there, the weather was getting werse, the 
 rain was beating in my face, and the spray from the stern was 
 splashing over me, as it roared through the waste of sparkling and 
 hissing waters. 1 turned my back to the weather for a moment 
 to press my hands on my straining eyes. When I opened them, 
 I saw the gunner's gaunt, high-featured visage thrust anxiously 
 
 orward; his profile looked as if rubbed over with phosphorus, and 
 his whol*) person as if we had been playing at snap dragon. 
 " What has come over you Mr. Kennedy? who's burning the blue 
 light now?" " A wiser man than 1 must tell you that; look for- 
 ward Mr. Cringle — look there; what do your books say to that .'" 
 I looked forth, and saw at the extreme end of the jib boom, 
 what I have read of, certainly, but never expected to see, a pale, 
 greenish, glow-worm colored flame, of the size and shape of the 
 frosted glass shade over the swinging lamp in the gun-room. It 
 drew out and flattened as the vessel pitched and rose again, and 
 as she sheered about, it wavered round the point that seemed to 
 attract it, like a soap suds bubble blown from a tobacco pipe, be- 
 fore it is shaken into the air; at the core it was comparatively 
 bright, but faded into a halo. It shed a baleful and ominous light 
 on the surrounding objects; the group of sailors on the forecastle 
 looked like spectres, and they shrunk together, and whispered 
 when it began to roll slowly along the spar where the boatswain 
 was sitting at my feet. At this instant something slid down the 
 stay, and a cold clammy hand passed around my neck. I v/aa 
 within an ace of losing my hold and tumbling overboard. " Hea- 
 ven I ave mercy on me what's that?" " It's that sky-larking son 
 of a gun, Jem Sparkle's monkey, sir. You Jem, you'll nevei 
 rest till that brute is made slia^k's bait of" But Jacko vanished 
 up th ^«tay again, chuckling and grinning in the ghastl'- radian je , 
 
TV1M cr.irun.E s log 289 
 
 as if he had been 'the S^jirit of the Lamp.' The light was still 
 there, hut a cloud of mist, like a hurst of vapor from a steam boiler, 
 came down upon the gale and flew past, wiien it disappeared. 1 
 followed the white mass as it sailed down the wind; it did not, as 
 it appeared to me, vanisli iu the darkness, but seemed to r-emain 
 in siglit to leeward, as if checked by a sudden flaw; yet none of 
 our sails were taken aback, A thought flashed on me. I peered 
 still mure intensely into the night. 1 was not certain. " A sail, 
 broad on the ice btw." The captain answered from the quarter 
 deck — " Thank you, Mr. Cringle. How shall we steer?" " Rtep 
 her away a couple of points, sir, steady." " Steady," sung the 
 man at the helm; and a slow melancholy cadence, although a fa- 
 miliar sound to me, now moaned through the rushing wind, and 
 smote upon my heart as if it had been the wailing of a spirit. I 
 turned to the boatswain, who was now standing beside me, " Is 
 that you or Davy steering, Mr. Ni])per? if you had not been there 
 bodily at my side, I could have sworn that was your voice." — 
 When the gunner made the same remark, it started the poor fe 
 low; he tried to take it as a joke, but could not. " There may 
 be a laced hammock with a shot in it, for some of us ere morning. " 
 
 At this moment, to my dismay, the object we were chasing 
 shortened, — gradually fell abeam of vs, and finally disappeared. 
 " The Flying Dutchman." " 1 can't see her at all now." " Slie 
 will be a fore and aft rigged vesse' that has ta.cked, sir." And 
 sure enough, after a few seconds I saw the white object length- 
 en and draw out again abaft our beam. " The chase has tacked, 
 sir; put the helm down, or she will j^o to windward of us." We 
 tacked also, and time it was we did so, for the rising moon now 
 showed us a large schooner with a crowd of sail. We edged 
 down on her, when finding her manoeuvre detected, she brailedup 
 her flat sails and bore up hefore the wind. This was our best 
 point of sailing, and we cracked on, the captain rubbing his hands 
 — " It's my turn to be the big un this time." Although blowing 
 a strong nortii-wester, it was now clear moon-light, and we ham- 
 mered away from our bow guns, but whenever a shot told amongst 
 the rigging, the injury was repaired as if by magic. It was evi- 
 dent we had repeatedly hulled her, from the glimmering white 
 streaks along her counter and across her stern, occasioned by the 
 splintering of the timber, but it seemed to produce no ell'ect. 
 
 At length we drew well upon her quarter. She continued all black 
 hull and white sail, not a soul to be bcen on deck, exccjU a dark 
 object which we took for the man at the helm. " What schooner 
 is that.'" No answer " Heave to, or I'll sink you." Still all 
 silent. " Serjeant Armstrong, do you think you can pick off' that 
 chap at the wheel?" The mariner jumped on the forecastle, and 
 levelled his piece, when a musket-shot from the schooner crushed 
 through his skull, and he fell dead. The old skipper's blood was 
 up. " Forecastle there! Mr. Nipper, clap a canister of grape 
 25 
 
290 TO.M en <r.i.r, s utg. 
 
 over the round s]iof, in ihc bow gim, and fjive it to Iiim." " Ay 
 ay, sir!" glc.'riilly roi;)incd llie boatswain, l'( vfrcttinij \\\g augnry 
 and every thing else, in tiie excitement ot' the moment, ii . a 
 twinkling, the square foresail — tojjgallant — royal, and'siuddit.g- 
 sail haulyards, were let go by the run on board the schooner, aa 
 if they had been shot away; and he put his helm hard aport, us 
 •f to roiuid to. " ilake htm, sir, or give him the stern. JIo has 
 not surrendered. 1 know their game. Give him your broadside, 
 sir, or he is off to windward of you, like a shot. No, no, we have 
 him now; heave to, Mr. Splinter, heave to!" We did so, and that 
 so suddenly, that the studding sail booms snapped like pipe sliauks 
 short off by the irons. Notwithstanding, we had shot two hun- 
 dred yards to the leeward, before we could lay our maintopsail to 
 the mast. I ran to windward. The schooner's yards and rigging 
 were now black with men, clustering like bees swarming, her 
 square sails were being close furled, her fore and aft sails set, and 
 away she was, dead to windward of us. " So much for under- 
 valuing our American friends," grumbled INIr. Splinter. 
 
 We made all sail in chase, blazing away to little purpose; we 
 had no chance on a bowline, and when our ' Amigo ' had satisfied 
 himself of his superiority by one or two short tacks, he deliberately 
 took a reef in his mai-iisail, hawled down his flying jib and gaff top- 
 sail, triced up the bunt of his foresail, and fired his long thirty-two 
 at us. The shot came in our third aftermost port or the starboard 
 side, and dismounted the carronade, smashing the slide, wounding 
 three men. The second missed, and as it was madness to remain 
 to be peppered, probably winged, whilst every one of ours fell 
 short, we reluctantly kept away on our course, having the gratifi- 
 cation of hearing a clear well blown bugle on board the schooner 
 play up " Yankee Doodle." As the brig fell off, our long gun 
 was run out to have a parting crack at her, when the third and 
 last shot from the schooner struck the sill of the midship port, and 
 made the white splinters fly from the solid oak like bright silver 
 sparks in the moonlight. A sharp, piercing cry rose in the air 
 — my soul identified that death-shriek with the voice that I had 
 heard, and I saw the man who was standing with the lanyard of 
 the lock in his hand drop heavily across the breech, and discliarge 
 the gun in his fall. Thereupon a blood-red glare shot up in the 
 cold blue sky, as if a volcano had burst forth from beneath the 
 mighty deep, followed by a roar, and a scattering crash, and a 
 mingling of unearthly cries and groans, and a concussion of tho 
 air and the water as if our whole broadside had been fired at 
 once. — Then a solitary splash here, and a dip there, and short 
 •narp yells, and low choking bubbling moans, as the hissing frag 
 ments of the noble vessel we had seen fell into the sea, and me 
 last of her gallant crew vanished forever beneath that pale brcid 
 moon. IVe ivere alone ; and once more all was dark, wild and stormv 
 Fearfully had that ball sped, fired by a dead man's hdnd. But 
 
S9r 
 
 what is it that clings, black and doubled, across the fatal cannon 
 dripping and heavv, and choking the scuppers with clotting gore, 
 and swaying to and fro with the motion of the vessel, like a 
 bloody fleece? "Who is it that was hit at the gun there?*' 
 " Mr. JYipper, the boatsioain, sir, the last shot has cut him in two. ' 
 
 NELSON. 
 
 Horatio, son of Edmund and Catharine Nelson, was born 
 Sept. 29, 1753 — in the parsonage house of Burnham Thorpe, a 
 village in the county of Norf)lk, England. He was never of a 
 strong body ; and at the age of twelve years, when he entered 
 the service of his country, the ague, which at that time was on* 
 of the most common diseases in England, had greatly reduced 
 his strength; yet he had already given proofs of a resolute heart 
 and great nobleness ol" mind. 
 
 His first appointment, was on board the Raisonnal)le, com- 
 manded by his uncle, Capt. JNIaurice Suckling. The Raisonnablo 
 was lying in the Medway. He was put into the Chatham stage, 
 and on its arrival was set down with the rest of the passengers, 
 and left to find his way on board as he could. After wandering 
 about in the cold, without being able to reach the ship, ah ofhcer 
 observing the forlorn appearance of the boy, questioned him; and 
 happening to be acquainted with his uncle, took him home, and 
 gave him some reiVeshments. — When he got on board, Capt. 
 Suckling was not in the ship, nor had any person been apprised 
 of the boy's coming. He paced the deck the whole remainder 
 of the day, without being noticed by any one; and it was not till 
 the second day that somebody, as he expressed it, " took compas- 
 sion on him." 
 
 The Raisonnable having been paid off" shortly afterwards, he 
 was removed to tlie Triumph, a seventy-four, then stationed as a 
 guard-ship in th« Thames; but this being considered too inactive 
 a life for a boy, he was sent a voyage to the West Indies, and re- 
 turned a practical seaman, but with a hatred of the king's service, 
 and a saying then common among sailors — " aft the most honor, 
 forward the better man." Being reconciled to the service, he 
 was received on board his old ship, the Triumph, where he had 
 not been many months, before his love of enterprise was excited 
 by hearing that two ships were fitting out for a voyage of discov- 
 ery towards the North Pole. By his uncle's interest, he was 
 admitted as coxswain under Capt. Lutwidge, second in command 
 They sailed from the Nore on the 4th of June 1773, and were 
 away about three years, suffering many hardships and braving 
 
CO:: ^•^.!..«o^. 
 
 many tlangcrs, in which Nelson, young as he was, displayed 
 many of those qualities, for which he afterwards became so re- 
 maritable. After they liad carefully surveyed the barrier of ice 
 extending for more than twenty degrees between the latitudes 
 of 80° and 81°, without the smallest appearance of any opening, 
 they returned to England and were paid off. 
 
 Nelson was then appointed to the Seahorse, of twenty guns, 
 then going out to the East Indies; but in about eighteen months, 
 he experienced the effects of that climate, so perilous to Euro- 
 pean constitutions; and was carried home, with a body broken 
 down by sickness, and spirits which had sunk with his strength 
 His health being somewhat improved, he was appointed acting- 
 .ieutenant in the Worcester, sixty-four, then going out with con- 
 voy to Gibraltar, and on his return, passed his examination for a 
 lieutenancy, on the 8th of April, 17t7. 
 
 The next day Nelson received his commission as second lieu- 
 tenant of the Lowestoffe frigate and sailed for Jamaica. On the 
 8th of December, 1778, he was appomted commander of the 
 Badger brig. While the Badger was lying in Montego Bay, 
 Jamaica, the Glasgow, of twenty guns came in and anchored 
 there, and in two hours was in flames, the steward having set fire 
 to her while stealing rum out of the after-hold. Her crew were 
 leaping into the water, when Nelson came up in his boats, made 
 them throw their powder overboard, and point their guns upward; 
 and, by his presence of mind and personal exertions, prevented 
 the loss of life which would otherwise have ensued. On the 1 1th 
 of June, 1779, he was made post into the Hinchinbrook, of twen- 
 ty-eight guns; so that we find him, before he had attained the age 
 of twenty-one, with that rank that brought all the honors of the 
 service within his reach; thoroughly master of his profession, and 
 his zeal and ability acknowledged wherever he was known. He 
 remained in the VVest Indies about five years, actively employed, 
 until he became so debilitated that he was compelled to ask leave 
 of absence, and returned home with Capt. (afterwards Admiral 
 Cornwallis), to whose care and kindness Nelson believed himself 
 indebted for his life. 
 
 His health was not thoroughly established, when he was sent to 
 the North Seas; and on his return to the Downs, in the Albemarle, 
 while he was ashore visiting the senior officer, there came on so 
 heavy a gale, that almost all the vessels drove, and a store ship 
 came athwart-hawse of the Albemarle. Nelson feared she would 
 drive on the Goodwin Sands: he ran to the beach; but even the 
 Deal boatmen thought it impossible to get on board, such was the 
 violence of the storm. At length, some of the most intrepid of- 
 fered to make the attempt for fifteen guineas; and to the astonish- 
 ment and fear of all the beholders, he embarked during the height 
 of the tempest. With great difficulty and imminent danger, he 
 Bucceeded in reaching her. She lost her bowsprit and foremast 
 
NEi.so.v. 293 
 
 hut escaped farther injury. He next sailed for Canada, and dur 
 ing his lirst cruise on that station, captured a fishing schooner^ 
 which contained, in her cargo, nearly all the property that hei 
 master possessed; and the poor fellow had a large family at borne, 
 anxiously expecting him. Nelson employed him as a pilot in 
 Boston Bay, then restored him the schooner and cargo, and gave 
 him a certificate to secure him against being captured by any 
 other vessel. The man came off afterward to the Albemarle, at 
 the hazard of his life, with a present of sheep, poultry, and fresh 
 provisions. The certilicate was preserved at Boston in memory 
 of an act of unusual generosity; and now that the fame of Nelson 
 has given interest to every thing connected with his name, it is 
 regarded as a relic. On Nelson's arrival at New York, Lord 
 Hood, on introducing him to Prince William Henry, as the Duke 
 of Clarence was then called, told the prince, if he wished to ask 
 any questions respecting naval tactics. Captain Nelson could give 
 him as much information as any officer in the fleet. After cruis- 
 ing some time off the Spanish Main and making many captures, 
 he received intelligence that the preliminaries of peace had been 
 signed, and he returned to England, at the latter part of the 
 year 1783. 
 
 " I have closed the war" said Nelson, in one of his letters. 
 " without a fortune, but there is not a speck in my character. 
 True honor, I hope, predominates in my mind, far above riche«! " 
 He did not apply for a ship, because he was not wealthy enough 
 lo live on board in the manner which was then customary 
 Finding it, therefore, prudent to economise, on his half pay, he 
 went to France. In March 1784 — he was appointed to the 
 Boreas twenty-eight guns, going to the Leeward Islands on the 
 peace establishment. On the 11th, INIarch 1787, he was married 
 to the widow of Dr. Nisbet, who was niece to JNIr. Herbert, the 
 President of Nevis — then in her eighteenth year; Prince William 
 Henry, being present, gave away the bride. During his stay 
 upon this station he had ample opportunity of observing the 
 scandalous practices of the contractors, prize-agents, and other 
 persons in the West Indies connected with the naval service. 
 These accounts he sent home to the different departments 
 which had been defrauded; but the peculators were too powerful; 
 and they succeeded not merely in impeding inquiry but even in 
 raising prejudices against Nelson at the board of Admiralty, 
 wiiich it was many years before he could subdue. He returned to 
 Enghxnd and remained principally in the country, with his famijy 
 and friends. 
 
 On the 30th of January 1793, he was appointed to the Aga- 
 memnon of sixty-tour guns, and ordered to the Mediterranean 
 under Lord Hood, by whom he was sent with despatches tq .Sir 
 William Hamilton, at the court of Naples. Here, that acq,«pip|- 
 ance with the. Neapolitan court commencedj which led totlieiooly 
 25* 
 
294 NKLSO.V. 
 
 blot upo 1 1^. son's pul)lic cliaracter. Having accomplifehed this 
 mission Nelson received orders to join Commodore Lihzie at 
 Tnnis, and was detached with a small squadron, to cooperate with 
 General Paoli and the Anti-Gallican party in Corsica. After a 
 successful attack of the fort of Bastia, at the siege of Calvi, a 
 shot struck the ground near him, and drove the sand and small 
 gravel into one of his eyes. He spoke of it lightly at the titne, 
 but the sight was lost. Falling in with the Ca- Ira, of eighty-four 
 guns, and Censeur, seventy-four, he engaged and captured both 
 of them. In 1795, Nelson was made colonel of marines. Sir 
 John Jervis had now arrived to take the command of the Medi- 
 terranean fleet. Nelson sailed from Leghorn, and joined the 
 admiral in Fiorenzo Bay, and the manner in which he was re- 
 ceived is said to have excited much envy. During this long 
 course of services in the Mediterranean, the whole of his conduct 
 had exhibited the same zeal, the same indefatigable energy, the 
 same intuitive judgment, the same prompt and unerring deci- 
 sion, which characterized his after career of glory. On oct; 
 occasion, and only one, Nelson was able to impede Buonaparte 
 Six vessels, laden with cannon and ordinance-stones for the siege 
 of Mantua, sailed from Toulon for .St. Pier d' Arena. He drove 
 them under a battery, pursued them, silenced the batteries, and 
 captured the whole. Nelson was now ordered to hoist his broad 
 pennant on board the Minerve frigate and proceed to Porto 
 Ferrajo. On his way, he captured the Sabina, Spanish frigate, 
 after an action of three hours, during which the enemy lost one 
 hundred and sixty-four men. Another enemy's frigate coming 
 up, compelled him to cast off the prize, and after half an hour's 
 trial of strength, this new antagonist wore and hauled off. He 
 sailed from Porto F'errajo with a convoy for Gibraltar and fell in 
 with the Spanish fleet off the Straits, on the 13th of February 
 1797, and communicated this intelligence to the Admiral. 
 
 He was now directed to shift his broao pennant on board the 
 Captain, seventy-four. Captain R. W. Miller; and, before sun- 
 set, the signal was made to prepare fo action, and to keep, dur- 
 ing the night, in close order. At daybreak the enemy were in 
 sight. The British fbrce consisted of two ships of one hundred 
 guns, two of ninety-eight, two of ninety, eight of seventy-four, 
 and one sixty-four: fifteen of the line in all; with four frigates, a 
 sloop and a cutter. The Spaniards had one four-decker, of one 
 hundied and thirty-six guns; six three-deckers, of one hundred 
 and twelve; two eighty-fours; eighteen seventy-fours; in all, 
 twenty-seven ships of the line, with ten frigates and a brig. 
 When the morning of the 14th broke, and discovered the English 
 fleet, a fog for some time concealed their number. Soon after day- 
 light the Spanish fleet were seen very much scattered, while the 
 British ships were in a compact little body. Before the enemy 
 epuld form a regular order of battle, Sir J. Jervis, by carrying 
 
NELSON. 29a 
 
 a press of sail, came up with them, passed through their fleet, then 
 tacked, and thus cut off nine of their ships from the main body. 
 These ships attempted to form on the larboard tack, either with a 
 design of passing through the British line, or to leeward of it, 
 and thus rejoining their friends. Only one of them succeeded ir 
 this attempt; and that only because she was so covered with 
 smoke that her intention was not discovered till she had reached 
 the rear: the others were so warmly received, that they put about, 
 took to flight, and did not appear again in the action till its close. 
 The admiral was now able to direct his attention to the enem^'3 
 /laia body, which was still superior in number to his whole fleet, 
 and more so in weight of metal. He made signal to tack in suc- 
 cession. Nelson, whose station was in the rear of the British 
 line, perceived that the Spaniards were bearing up before the 
 wind, with an intention of forming their line, going large, and 
 joining their separated ships, or else, of getting off" without an 
 engagement. To prevent either of these schemes, he disobeyed 
 the signal without a moment's hesitation, and ordered his ship to 
 be wore. This at once brought him into action with the Santissi- 
 ma Trinidad, one hundred and thirty-six, the San Joseph, one 
 hundred and twelve, the Salvador del IMundo, one hundred and 
 twelve, the St. Nicolas, eighty, the San Isidro, seventy-four 
 another seventy-four, and another first-rate. Captain Trowbridge, 
 in the Culloden, immediately joined, and most nobly supported 
 him, and for nearly an hour did the Culloden and Captain main- 
 tain what Nelson called " this apparently, but not really, unequal 
 contest;'' — such was the advantage of skill and discipline, and 
 the confidence which brave men derive from them. — The Blenheim 
 then passing between them and the enemy, gave them a respite, 
 and poured in her fire upon the Spaniards. The Salvador del 
 Mundo and S. Isidro dropped astern, and were fired into, in a 
 masterly style, by the E.\cellent Captain Collingwood. The S. 
 Isidro struck; and Nelson thought that the Salvador struck also; 
 "But Collingwood," says he, "disdaining the parade of taking 
 possession of beaten enemies, most gallantly pushed up, with 
 every sail set, to save his old friend and messmate, who was, to 
 appearance, in a critical situation," for the Captain was at this 
 time actually fired upon by three first-rates, by the S. Nicolas, 
 and by a seventy-four within about pistol-shot of that vessel 
 The Blenheim was ahead, the Culloden crippled and astern 
 Collingwood ranged up, and hauling up his mainsail just astern, 
 passed within ten feet of the S. Nicolas, giving her a most tre- 
 mendous fire, then passed on for the Santissima Trinidad. The 
 S. Nicolas luffing up, the S. Joseph fell on board her and Nelson 
 resumed his station abreast of them, and close along-side. The 
 Captain was now incapable of farther service either in the line or 
 n chase: she had lost her fore-topmast; not a sail, shroud, or 
 ope was left, and her wheel was shot away. N'elson, thorefors. 
 
29G .NCi.so.N. 
 
 directed Captain Miller to put the helm a-starboard, and, calling 
 for the borders, ordered theni to board. Captain Herry, who had 
 lately been Nelson's lirst lieutenant, was tht^ first man who leap 
 ed into the enemy's mizen-chains. Miller, when in the very act 
 of going, was ordered by Xelson to remain. Berry was support- 
 ed iVom the spritsail-yard, wliich locked in the S. Nicolas's main 
 rigging. A soldier of the sixty-ninth broke the upper (juarter- 
 gallcry window, and jumped in, followed by the Commodore him- 
 self, and by others as fast as possible. The cabin-doors were 
 fastened, and the Spanish officers fired their pistols at them 
 through the window: the doors were soon forced, and the Span- 
 ish brigadier fell while retreating to the quarter-deck. JNelson 
 pushed ou, and found Berry in possession of the poop, and the 
 Spanish ensign hauling down. He passed on to the forecastle, 
 where he met two or three Spanish officers, and received their 
 swords. — The English were now in full possession of every part 
 of the ship; and a fire of pistols and musketry opened upon them 
 from the admiral's stern gallery of the San Joseph. Nelson 
 having placed sentinels at the difterent ladders, and ordered Cap- 
 tain 5liller to send more men into the prize, gave orders for 
 boarding that ship from the San Nicolas. Berry assisted hiin 
 into the main-chains; and at that moment a Spanish officer looked 
 over the quarter-deck-rail, and said they surrendered. It was 
 not long before he was on the quarter-deck, where the Spanish 
 captain presented to him his sword, and told him the admiral 
 was below, dying of his wounds. There, on the quarter-deck of 
 an enemy's fiist-rate, he received the swords of the officers; giv- 
 ing them, as they were delivered, one by one, to William Fearney, 
 one of his old Agamemnon's, who, with the utmost coolness, put, 
 them under his arm; " bundling them up," in the lively expres- 
 sion of Collingwood, " with as much composure, as he would 
 have made a fagot, though twenty-two sail of their line were stih 
 within gunshot." Twenty-four of the Captain's men were killed 
 and fifty-six wounded; a fourth part of the loss sustained by the 
 whole squadron lalling upon this ship. Nelson received only p 
 few bruises. The Spaniards had still eighteen or nineteen ships 
 which had suffered little or no injury; but they declined continu- 
 ing the action; and the British admiral made signal to brinp 
 to. Nelson went on board the admiral's ship, and Sir John Jervis 
 received him on the quarter deck, took him in his arms, and said 
 lie could nnt sufficiently thank him. For this victory, the com- 
 mander-in-chief was revvarded with the title of Earl St Vincenr 
 Nelson, who, before the action was known in England, had been 
 advanced to the rank of rear-admiral, had the Order of the Batb 
 given him. 
 
 Sir Horatio, who had now hoisted his flag as rear-admira of 
 the blue in the Theseus, was employed in the command of the 
 inner squadron at the blockade of Cadiz. During this service 
 
NELSOX 297 
 
 the most perilous action occurred in which he was ever engaged 
 Making a night-attack upon the S| anish gunboats, his barge was 
 attacked by an armed launch, unil< their commander, D. Miguel 
 Tregoyen, carrying twenty-six men. Nelson had with him only 
 his ten bargemen, Captain Freemantle, and his coxswain, John 
 Sykes, an old and faithful follower, who twice saved the life of hia 
 admiral, by parrying the blows that were aimed at him, and, at 
 last, actually interposed his own head to receive the blow of a 
 Spanish sabre, which he could not by any other means avert; — 
 thus dearly was Nelson beloved. Nelson always considered that 
 his personal courage was more conspicuous on this occasion than 
 on any other during his whole life. Notwithstanding the great 
 disproportion of numbers, eighteen of the enemy were killed, all 
 the rest wounded, and their launch taken. 
 
 Twelve days after this rencounter, Nelson sailed at the head 
 of an expedition against Teneriffe. Owing to disadvantages of 
 wind and tide, this expedition did not prove entirely successfuL 
 In the act of stepping out of one of the boats, Nelson received a 
 shot through the right elbow, and fell. He was placed at the 
 bottom of the boat, and on being conveyed on board the Theseus, 
 exclaimed " Tell the surgeon to make haste and get his instru- 
 ments. I know I must lose my right arm, so the sooner it is oflf 
 the better." Nelson made no mention of it in his official des- 
 patches. The total loss of the English, in killed, wounded and 
 drowned, amounted to two hundred and fifty — After his arrival 
 in England, his sufferings from the lost limb were long and 
 painful. 
 
 Early in the year 1798, Nelson hoisted his flag in the Vanguard, 
 and was ordered to rejoin Earl St. Vincent. Immediately on his 
 rejoining the fleet, he was despatched to the Mediterranean, to 
 ascertain, if possible, the object, of the great expedition which at 
 that time was fitting out, under Buonaparte, at Toulon. The arma- 
 ment at Toulon consisted of thirteen ships of the line, seven 
 forty-gun frigates, with twenty-four smaller vessels of war, and 
 nearly two hundred transports. Nelson sailed from Gibraltar on 
 the 9th of May, with three seventy-fours; four frigates; and one 
 sloop of war; to watch this formidable armament. On the lOth, 
 the fleet experienced much damage from a tempestuous gale, in 
 the Gulf of Lyons. While in the harbor of St. Pietro, he receiv- 
 ed a reinforcement from Earl St. Vincent of the best ships of his 
 fleet; the Culloden, seventy-four. Captain T. Trowbridge; Goliah, 
 seventy-four, Captain T. Louis; Defence, sevcntv-four. Captain 
 John Peyton; Bellerophoa, seventy-four, Captain H. D. E. Darby; 
 Majest'c, seventy-four, Captain G. B. VV'estcott; Zealous, seventy- 
 fuur, C iptain S. Hood; Swiftrure, seventy-four, Caj)tain B. Hal- 
 lowell; Theseus, seventy-four. Captain Davidge Gould. The 
 Leander, fifty, Captain T. B. Thompson, was afterward added 
 The first pews of the enemy's armament was, that it had surprised 
 
298 NELSON. 
 
 Malta, but on the '22<1 of June, intelligence was received that th« 
 French had left that island on the IGth, the day aft:er their arrival. 
 Nelson arrived oil" Alexandria on the 28th, and the enemy were 
 not there; he then shaped his course to the northward, but baifled 
 in his pursuit, returned to Sicily. Vexed, however, and disap- 
 pointed as he was, Nelson, with the true spirit of a hero, was 
 Btill tuU of hope. On the 25th of July, he sailed from Syracuse 
 for the JMorea. The squadron made the Gulf of Coron on the 
 28th, Trowbridge entered the port, and returned with intelligence 
 that the French had been seen about four weeks before, steering to 
 the south-east from Candia. The British fleet accordingly, with 
 every sail set, stood once more for the coast of Egypt. On the 
 1st of August, about ten in the morning, they came in sight 
 of Alexandria, the port had been vacant and solitary when they 
 saw it last: it was now crowded with ships; and they perceived, 
 with exultation, that the tricolor flag was flying upon the walls. 
 At four in the afternoon. Captain Hood, in the Zealous, made the 
 signal for the enemy's fleet. The French fleet arrived at Alex- 
 andria on the 1st of July; and Brueys, not being able to enter the 
 port, which time and neglect had ruined, moored his ships in 
 Aboukir Bay, in a strong and compact line of battle. The plan 
 which Nelson intended to pursue, therefore, was to keep entirely 
 on the outer side of the French line, and station his ships, as far 
 as he was able, one on the outer bow, and another on tlje outer 
 quarter, of each of the enemy's. 
 
 As the squadron advanced, they were assailed by a shower of 
 shot and shells from the batteries on the island, and the enemy 
 opened a steady fire from the starboard side of their whole line, 
 within half gun-shot distance, full into the bows of the van ships. 
 It was received in silence: the men on board every ship were 
 employed aloft in furling sails, and below in tending the braces, 
 and making ready for anchoring. Captain Foley led the way in 
 the G'-liaii, out-sailing the Zealous, which for some minutes dis- 
 puted this point of honor with him. He had long conceived that 
 if the enemy were moored in line of battle in with the land, the 
 best plan of attack would be, to lead between them and the shore, 
 because the French guns on that side were not likely to be man 
 ned, nor even ready lor action. Intending, therefore, to fix him- 
 self on the inner bow of the Guerrier, he kept as near the edge 
 of the bank as the depth of water would admit; but his anchor hung, 
 and having opened his fire, he drifted to the second ship, the Con- 
 jitcrant, before it was clear; then anchored by the stern, inside 
 of her, and in ten minutes shot away -her mast. Hood, in the 
 Zealo js, perceiving this, took the station \^hich the Goliah intend- 
 ed to have occupied, and totally disabled the Guerrier in twelve 
 minutes The third shi-> which doubled the enemy's van was the 
 Orion, Sir I. Saumarez; she passed to windward of the Zealous, 
 nd opened her larboard guns as long as she bore on the Guerrier^ 
 
NELSON. 299 
 
 Chen passing inside the Goliah, sunk a fiigate which annoyed her^ 
 hauled round towards the French line, and anchoring inside, be- 
 twroii the fifth and sixth ships from the Guerrier, took her station 
 on tliu larboard bow of the FranliHn and the quarter of the Peuple 
 Souverctin, receiving and leturning the fire of both. The .sun 
 was now nearly down. The Audacious, Captain Gould, pouring 
 a heavy fire into the Guerrier and the Conquerant, fixed herself 
 on the 'larboard bow of the latter, and when that ship struck, pas- 
 sed on to the Peuple Souvcrain. The Theseus, Captain IMilier, 
 followed, brought down the Guerrier's remaining main and mizen 
 masts, then anchored inside of the Spartiate, the third in the 
 French line. While these advanced ships doubled the French 
 line, the Vanguard was the first that anchored on the outer side 
 of the enemy, within half-pistol-shot of their third ship, the Sparti- 
 ate. Nelson veered half a cable, and instatitly opened a tremen- 
 dous fire; under cover of which the other four ships of his division, 
 the Minotaur, Bellero|)hon, Defence, and Majestic, sailed on 
 ahead of the admiral. In a few minutes every man stationed at 
 the first six guns in the fore part of the Vanguard's deck was 
 killed or wounded: the^se guns were three times cleared. Captain 
 Louis, in the Minotaur, anchored next ahead, and took off" the fire 
 of the Jiquilon, the fourth in the enemy's line. The Bellerophon, 
 Captain Darl)y, passed ahead, and dropped his stern anchor on 
 the starboard bow of the Orient, seventh in the line, Bruey's own 
 ship, of one hundred and twenty guns, whose difference of force 
 was in proportion of more than seven to three, and whose weight 
 of ball, from the lower deck alone, exceeded that from the whole 
 broadside of the Bellerophon. Captain Peyton, in the Defence, 
 took his station ahead of the Minotaur, and engaged the Franklm, 
 the sixth in the line; by which judicious movement the British line 
 remained unbroken. The Majestic, Captain Wcstcot, got en- 
 tangled with the main rigging of one of the French ships 
 astern of the Onent, and suffered dreadfully from that three-deck- 
 er's fire: but she swung clear, and closely engaging the fJenreux, 
 the ninth ship on the starboard bow, received also the fire of the 
 Tonnant, which was the eighth in the line. The other four ships 
 of the British squadron, having been detached previous to the dis- 
 covery of the French, were at a considerable distance when the 
 action began. It commenced at half after six; about seven, night 
 closed, and there was no other light than that from the fire of the 
 contending fleets. The first two ships of the French line had 
 been dismasted within a quarter of an hour after the commence- 
 ment of the action; and the others had in that time suffered so 
 severely, that victory was already certain. The third, fourth, and 
 fiflh were taken possession of at half past eight. Meantime, Nel- 
 son received a severe wound on the head from a piece of langridgo 
 %hoi. When he was carried down into the cockpit, the surgeon, 
 -with a natural and pardonable eagerness, quitted the poor fellow 
 
500 Nni.bO.v. 
 
 tlicii under his liandri, that he inioht isistandy attend the admiral 
 " ]Vo!" said Nelson, " I will lake my turn with my brave fellows.' 
 Jt was soon alter nine, that a lire broUe out on board ihe Orient. 
 Bruges was dead. The llaincs soon mastered his ship. By the 
 prodigious light of this conflagration, the situation of the two fleets 
 could now be perceived, tlie colors of both being clearly di.-stin- 
 guishabie. About ten o'clock the ship blew uj), with a shock 
 which was felt to the very bottom of every vessel. This tremen- 
 dous explosion was followed by a silence not less awful. Altout 
 seventy of the Oricnt^s crew were saved by the English boats. 
 Four French vessels were all that escaped. The British loss, in 
 killed and wounded, amounted to eight hundred and Jiinety-five. 
 Three thousand one hundred and live of the French, including 
 the wounded, were sent on shore by cartel, and live thousand 
 two hundred and twenty-five perished. Nelson was now at the 
 summit of glory: congratulations, rewards, and honors were 
 showered upon him by all the states, and princes, and powers to 
 whom his victory gave a respite. In England he was created 
 Baron Nelson of the Nile, and a pension of £'2000 per. annum 
 for his own life, and those of his tw(7 immediate successors award- 
 ed him. Having sent the six remaining prizes forward, unde? 
 Sir James Saumarez, Nelson left Captain Hoorf ir> thr^ Zea!c>n3, 
 oft' Alexandria, with the Swiftsure, Goi..c«.., ^i.c-mene, ZealoAi 
 and Emerald, and .stood out to sea himself on the seventeenth day 
 after the battle. On his way back to Italy he was seized with 
 fever. For eighteen hours his life was despaired of. On the 
 approach of the I'rcnch to Naples, on the 21st of December 1799 
 — Nelson landed at night, and brought out the whole royal family 
 embarked them in three barges, and carried theni safely, through 
 a tremendous seu. to the Vanguard. The next day a more violent 
 «tonn arose than Nelson had ever encountered. OntheSoth, the 
 royal family were landed at Palermo. Nelson assisted in expe! 
 ling the French from the Neapolitan and Roman Territories 
 The Sicilian Court, duly sensible of the services of Nelson — evinc 
 ed their gratitude by giving him tlje dukedom and domain of 
 Bronte, worth about £3000 a year. Nelson soon after arrived 
 in England. 
 
 In 1800, Nelson who had beeii made vice-admiral of the blue 
 was sent to the Baltic, as second in command, under Sir Hyde 
 Parker The licet sailed on the 12th of March; and on the 21st 
 arrived in the sound. One of the fleet, the Invincible, seventy- 
 four, was wrecked on a sand-bank, as she was coming cut of Yar- 
 mouth; four hundred of her men perished in her. Nelson, who 
 was now appointed to lead the van. shifted his flag to the Elephant, 
 Orders had been given to pass the Sound as soon as the wind 
 would permit; and in the afternoon of the 29th, the ships were 
 cleared for action. The signal was made, and the fleet moved on 
 m order of battle; Nelson's division in the van. The Sound being 
 
NELSGX 301 
 
 jhe only frequented entrcince to the BiiU.c, t'ae great ^lediterra- 
 nean of the North, few parts of the sea display so frequent a 
 navigation. iVever had so splendid a scene been exhibited there 
 as on this day, when the British Heet prepared to force that pas- 
 sage, where, till now, all ships had lowered their topsails to the 
 flag of Denmark. The whole force consisted of fitty-one sail of 
 various descriptions; of which sixteen were of the line. As sooa 
 as the Monarch, which was the leading ship, came abreast of the 
 Danish batteries, a fire was opened from about a hundred pieces 
 of cannon and mortars, but the shot fell full a cable's length 
 short of its destined aim. The whole fleet passed and anchored 
 between the island of Huen and Copenhagen. On the 1st of 
 April, 1801, the fleet removed to an anchorage within two leagues 
 of the town. At five minutes after ten, the next morning, the 
 action began. The first half of the fleet was engaged in about 
 half an hour; and, by half past eleven, the battle became general. 
 The plan of attack had been complete: but seldom has any plan 
 been more disconcerted by untoward accidents. Of twelve ships 
 of the line, one was entirely useless, and two others in a situation 
 where they could not render half the service which was required 
 of them. The action continued along the line with unabated 
 vigor, and with the most determined resolution on the part of 
 the Danes. Between one and two, the fire of the Danes slack- 
 ened; about two it ceased from the greater part of their line, and 
 some of their lighter ships were adrifl. By half past two the 
 action had ceased along that part of the line which was astern of 
 the Elephant, but not with the ships ahead and the Crown Batte- 
 ries, which continued for some time longer — It was a murderous 
 action. The British fleet lost nine hundred and fifty-three, in 
 killed and wounded. The loss of the Danes, including prisoners, 
 amounted to about six thousand. Nelson bore willing testimony 
 to the valor of his foes. " The French," he said, " fought bravely; 
 but they could not have stood for one hour the fight which the 
 Danes had supported for four." Six line-of-battle ships and eight 
 prames had been taken. For the battle of Copenhagen. Nelson 
 was raised to the rank of viscount. He remained on the coast 
 of Zealand, till despatches arrived from home, on the othof May, 
 recalling Sir Hyde, and appointing Nelson commander-in-chief 
 Nelson visited some of the Russian ports, and then returned to 
 England. He had not been many weeks on shore before he was 
 called upon, to undertake a service, t) watch the preparations 
 which Buonaparte was making on a great scale for the invasion 
 of England. Having hoisted his flag in the 3Iedusa frigate, he 
 went to reconnoitre Boulogne, and made an unsuccessful attempt 
 upon the flotilla, at that place. After which, he returned to Eng- 
 land, and retired to his house at Merton, in Surrey, which he 
 called his place of residence and rest 
 
 War was soon renewed, lyd Nelson departed to take the con> 
 26 
 
302 Nhi.s;o.\. 
 
 fiiand < ftlic Mcditcnaiicaii lleet. He ttx.k liis station immediately 
 oil' To jloii ; and then, with incessant vigilance, waited for the 
 comiiij^ out oftiic eiumy. War between Spain and England was 
 now declared; and, on the eighteenth of January, the Toulon 
 fleet, having the Spaniaids to cooperate with them, put to soa. 
 
 Nelson wad at anchor off the coast of Sardinia when, at thre« 
 in the afternoon, on the 19th of January, the Active and Seahorse 
 frigates brought this long-hoped for intelligence. iNel.son beat 
 about the Sicilian seas for ten days, and baffled in his pursuit, 
 oore up for JNIalta. From the 21st of January the fleet had re- 
 mained ready for battle, without a bulk-head up night or day. 
 On the 4th of April, he met the Phebe, with news that Villen- 
 euve had put to sea on the last of March with eleven ships of the 
 line, seven frigates, and two brigs. When last seen, they were 
 steering towards the coast of Africa. After five days, a neutral 
 gave intelligence that the French had been seen off Cape de 
 Galle on the 7th. It was soon after ascertained that they had 
 passed the Straits of Gibraltar on the day following. IS'elson 
 received certain knowledge that the combined Spanish and French 
 Heets were bound for the West Indies. May 15th, he made 
 Madeira, and on June 4th, reached Barbadoes, where he found 
 accounts that the combined fleet had been seen from St. Lucia 
 on the 23th, standing to the Southward, and that Tobago and 
 Trinidad were their object. Advices met him, that the combined 
 fleets, were then at Martinique. On the 9th Nelson arrived off 
 that island; and there learned that they had passed to leeward of 
 Antigua the preceding day, and taken a homeward bound convoy 
 That they were flying back to Europe he believed, and for Europe 
 he steered in pursuit on the 13th. On the 17th of July he came 
 in sight of Cape St. Vincent, and steered for Gibraltar where he 
 arrived on the 19th; " and on the 20th," says he, " I went on shore 
 for the first time since June 16, 180S; not having had my foot out 
 of the Victory, for two years, wanting ten days." On the 15th of 
 August, he joined Admiral Cornwallis off Ushant. No news had 
 yet been obtained of the enemy; arfd on the same evening he re- 
 ceived orders to proceed, with the Victory and Superb, to Ports- 
 mouth. At Portsmouth, Nelson, at length, found news of the 
 combined fleet. Sir Robert Calder, had fallen in with them on 
 the 22d of July, and after an action of four hours, captured an 
 eighty-four and a seventy-four. 
 
 Nelson offered his services once more, which were willingly 
 accepted, and he was desired to choose his own officers. Un- 
 remitting exertions were made to equip the ships which he had 
 chosen, and especially to refit the Victory, which was once more 
 to bear his flag. Early on the following morning he reachec' 
 Portsmouth; and arrived off Cadiz on the 29th of Septemi)ei 
 The station which Nelson had chosen was some fifty or sixty miles 
 lo the west of Cadiz, near Cape St. Mary's. There was no* 
 
KELSOX. 3CW 
 
 every indication that the enemy would speedily venture out. On 
 the 9th of October, Nelson sent Collingwood his plan of attack. 
 The order of sailing was to be the order of buttle: the fleet in 
 two lines, with an advanced squadron of eight of the fastest sail- 
 ing two-deckers. The second in command, having the entire 
 direction of his line, was to break through the enemy, about the 
 twelfth ship from their rear: he would lead through the centre, 
 and the advanced squadron was to cut off' three or four ahead of 
 the centre. One of the last orders of this admirable man was, 
 that the name and family of every oflSeer, seaman, and marine, 
 who might be killed or wounded in action, should be as soon as 
 possible returned to him, in order to be transmitted to the chair- 
 man of the patriotic fund, that the case might be taken into con- 
 sideration, for the benefit of the sufferer or his family. 
 
 About two in the afternoon of the 19th, the repeating shipg 
 announced, that the enemy were at sea. At daybreak on the 
 next day the combined fleets were distinctly seen from the Victo- 
 ry's deck, formed in a close line of battle ahead, on the starboard 
 tack, about twelve miles to leeward, and standing to the south. 
 Nelson's fleet consisted of twenty-seven sail of the line, and four 
 frigates; theirs of thirty-three, and seven large frigates. Their 
 superiority was greater in size, and weight of metal, than in 
 numbers. They h-ad four thousand troops on board; and the best 
 riflemen who could be procured. On the 21st of October, soon 
 after daylight. Nelson came upon deck. The wind was now 
 from the west, light breezes, with a long heavy swell. Signal 
 was made to bear down upon the enemy in two lines; and the 
 fleet set all sail. Collingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, led the 
 lee line of thirteen ships; the Victory led the weather line of 
 fourteen. Having seen that all was as it should be. Nelson re- 
 tired to his cabin, and wrote the following prayer: "May the 
 great God, whom I worship, grant to my country, and for the 
 benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory, and 
 may no misconduct in any one tarnish it; and may humanity after 
 victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet! For my- 
 self, individually, I commit my life to Him that made me; and 
 may his blessing alight on my endeavors for serving my country 
 faithfully! To him I resign myself, and the just cause which is 
 intrusted to me to defend. Amen, Amen, Amen." About si.\, 
 he appeared to be in good spirits, but very calm, with his whole 
 attention fixed on the enemy. They tacked to the northward, 
 and formed their line on the larboard tack, thus bringing the 
 shoals of Trafalgar and St. Pedro under the lee of the j>ritisn, 
 and keeping the port of Cadiz open for themselves. This was 
 judiciously done: and Nelson, aware of all the advantages which 
 it gave them, made signal to prepare to anchor. Villeneuve v/aa 
 a skilful seaman. His plan of defence was as well conceited, 
 and as original as the plan of attack He formed the fleet in s 
 
\504 NELSON. 
 
 doul)le line, every alternate ship being about a cable's len/rtb to 
 windward of her second ahead and astern. 
 
 Nelson's last signal was now nmde: — " Eivglano expects 
 EVF.UY MAN TO 1)0 HIS ouTv!" He wore tliat day, us usu;»l. liis 
 admiral's frock, bearing on the left breast four stars, of the dif- 
 ferent orders with which he was invested. It was known that 
 there were riflemen on board the French ships; and it coukl not 
 be doubted but that his life would be particularly aimed at. This 
 was a point upon which TSJelson's officers knew that it was hope- 
 less to remonstrate or reason with him; but Blackwood, and his 
 own captain Hardy, represented to him how advantageous to the 
 fleet it would be for him to keep out of action as long as posnible; 
 and he consented at last to let the I^eviathan and the Temeraire, 
 which were sailing abreast of the Victory, be ordered to pass 
 ahead. Yet even here the last infirmity of this noble mind was 
 indulged, for these ships could not pass ahead of the Victory who 
 continued to carry all her sail; and .so far was Nelson from 
 shortening sail, that it was evident he took pleasure in pressing 
 on, and rendering it impossible for them to obey his own orders. 
 The French admiral, on beholding Nelson and Collingwood each 
 leading his line, is said to have exclaimed, pointing them out to 
 his oflicers, that such conduct could not fail to be successful. 
 
 At ten minutes before twelve the action commenced. Eight or 
 nine of the ships immediately ahead of the Victory, and across 
 her bows, fired single guns at her, to ascertain whether she was 
 yet within their range. Nelson's column was steered about two 
 points more to the north than Collingwood 's, in order to cut olT 
 the enemy's escape into Cadiz: the lee line, therefore, was first 
 engaged. The Royal Sovereign, steered right for the centre of 
 the enemy's line, cut tnrough it astern of the Santa Anna, three- 
 decker, and engaged her at the muzzle of her guns on the star- 
 board side. The enemy continued to fire a gun at a time at the 
 Victory, till they saw that a shot had passed through her main- 
 top-gallant-sail; then they opened their broadsides, aiming chiefly 
 ut her rigging. The enemy showed no colors till late in the 
 action. For this reason, the Santissima Trinidad, was distinguish- 
 ed only by her four decks; and to the bow of this opponent he 
 ordered the Victoiy to be steered. Meantime an incessant rak- 
 'ng fire was kept up upon the Victory. The Admiral's secretary 
 was one of the first who fell. Presently a double-headed nhot 
 struck a party of marines, who were drawn up on the poop, ^nd 
 liilled eight of them. A few minutes afterwards a shot strucli the 
 fore brace bits on the quarter deck, and passed between Nel'-.on 
 and Hardy, a splinter from the bit tearing off Hardy's buckle 
 and bruising his foot. Nelson then smiled, and said, " Tliie is 
 too warm work. Hardy, to last long." 
 
 I'he Victory had not yet returned a single gun; fifty of h'ii 
 men had been by this time killed or wounded, and her /nain-tojp- 
 
^'EI.so^•. 303 
 
 mast with all her studoing-sails and lier booms, shot away. At 
 four minutes after twelve, she opened her lire from both sides of 
 her deck. The master was ordered to put the helm to p-'^rt. and 
 she ran on board the Redoubtable, just as her tiller ropes were 
 shot away. The French ship received her with a broadside; 
 then instantly let down her lower-deck ports, for fear of beincj 
 boarded through them, and never afterward fired a great gun 
 during the action. Her tops, like those of all the enemy's ships, 
 were tilled with riflemen. Captain Hai-vey, in the Temeraire, 
 fell on board the Redoubtable on the other side. Another enemy 
 was in like manner on board the Temeraire; so that these four 
 ships formed as compact a tier as if they had been moored 
 together, their heads lying all the same way. The lieutenants 
 of the Victory, seeing this, depressed their guns of the middle 
 and lower decks, and tired with a diminished charge, lest the shot 
 should pass through, and injure the Temeraire. An incessant 
 fire was kept up from the Victory from both sides; her larboard 
 guns playing upon the Bucentaur and the huge Santissima Trin- 
 idad. 
 
 It had been part of Nelson's prayer, that the British fleet 
 might be distinguished by humanity in the victory he expected. 
 He twice gave orders to cease firing upon the Redoubtable, sup- 
 posing that she had struck. From this ship, which he had thus 
 twice spared, he received his death. A ball fired from her 
 mizen-top, which, in the then situation of the two vessels, was 
 not more than fifteen yards from that part of the deck where he 
 was standing, struck the epualette on his left shoulder, about a 
 quarter after one, just in the heat of the action. He fell upon his 
 tace, on the spot which was covered with his poor secretary's 
 blood. He was taken down into the cockpit, and it was perceiv- 
 ed, upon examination, that the wound was mortal. This, how- 
 ever, was concealed from all, except Captain Hardy, the chaplain, 
 and the medical attendants. All that could be done was to fan 
 hirn with paper, and frequently to give him lemonade to aPeviate 
 his intense thirst. He was m great pain, and expressed much 
 anxiety for the event of the action, which now began to declare 
 itself. As often as a ship struck, the crew of the Victory huzza- 
 ed, and at every huzza, a visible expression of joy gleamed in the 
 eyes, and marked the countenance of the dying hero. Nelson 
 desired to be turned on his right side, when his articulation 
 became difficult, but he was distinctly heard to say, "Thank 
 God, I have done my duty." These words he repeatedly pro- 
 nounced: and they were the last words which he uttered. He 
 expired at thirty miiuites after four, three hours and a quarter 
 after he had receivfid his wound. The man who had given the 
 fatal wound, was recognised, and did not live to boast of what he 
 nad done. When the Redoubtable was taken possession of, he 
 was found dead in the mizen top, with one ball through bis head 
 26* 
 
>06 
 
 CASARIAXCA. 
 
 and another tlirougli lius breast. The Spaniards began tlie ballk 
 with less vivacity than their unworthy allies, but they continued 
 it with greater firmness. Once, amid his suflerings, JNel.son liod 
 e.\})re;^sed a wish that he were dead; but immediately the spirit 
 subdued the pains of death, and he wished to live a little longer; — 
 doubtless that he might hear the completion of the victory which 
 he had seen so gloriously begun. That consolation — that joy — 
 that triumph was aflbrded him. He lived to know that the victory 
 was decisive; and the last guns which were fired at the fiying 
 enemy were heard a minute or two before he expired. The ships 
 whicii were thus flying were four of the (enemy's van, all French, 
 under Rear-Admiral Dumanoir, who were afterwards captured by 
 Sir Richard Strachan. 
 
 The total British loss in the Battle of Trafalgar amounted to 
 one thousand five hundred and eighty-seven. Twenty of the 
 enemy struck; but it was not possible to anchor the fleet, as 
 Nelson had enjoined; a gale came on from the south-west; some 
 of the prizes went down, some went on shore; one effected its 
 escape into Cadiz; others were destroyed; four only were saved 
 and these by the greatest exertions. The Spanish vice-admiral 
 Alava, died of his wounds. Villeneuve was sent to England, and 
 permitted to return to France. It is almost superfluous to add, 
 that all the honors which a grateful country could bestow, were 
 heaped upon the memory of Nelson. A public funeral was de- 
 creed and a public monument. The leaden coffin, in which he 
 was carried home, was cut in pieces, which were distributed as 
 relics of Saint Nelson, — so the gunner of the Victory called 
 them; — and when, at his interment, his flag was about to be 
 lowered into the grave, the sailors, who assisted at the ceremony, 
 with one accord rent it in pieces, that each might preserve a 
 fragment while he lived. There was reason to suppose, from the 
 appearances upon opening the body, that, in the course of nature, 
 he might have attained, like his father, to a good old age. Yet 
 he cannot be sa d to have fallen prematurely, whose work was 
 done; nor ought he to be lamented, who died so full of honors 
 and at the height of human fame. 
 
 CASABIANCA.* 
 
 The boy atood on the burning deck, 
 Whence all but him had flied ; 
 
 The flame that lit the battle's wreck, 
 Shone round him o'er the dea;l. 
 
 • VoungCajabianca,!! boy about thirteen years old, son loihe admiral of the Orient, remain- 
 ed at his post (in the battle of the Nile,) after the ship had taken fire, and all the euiis haJ 
 been abandoi id ; and perislied in the explosion of the ve»sel, when the Hames had re.icnei 
 the Dov'du 
 
THE CUMoERLAND PACKET. 5l)7 
 
 Yet beautiful and bright he stood, 
 
 As born to rule the storm ; 
 A creature of tieroic blood, 
 
 A proud, though childlike form. 
 
 The flame* rolled on — he would not go, 
 
 Without his father's word ; 
 That father, faint in death below, 
 
 His voice no longer heard. 
 
 He called aloud — " Say, father, say 
 
 If yet my task is done .■'" 
 He knew not tliat tlie chieftain lay 
 
 Unconscious of his son. 
 
 " Speak, father!" once again he cried, 
 
 " If I ma\' yet be gone !" 
 — And but the booming shots replied, 
 
 And fast the flames rolled on. 
 
 Upon his Ijrow he felt their breath, 
 
 And in his waving hair ; 
 And looked from that lone post of death, 
 
 In still, yet brave despair. 
 
 And shouted but once more aloud, 
 
 " My father ! must 1 stay .'" 
 While o'er him fast, throujjh sail and shroud 
 
 The wreathing fires ma3e way. 
 
 They wrapped the ship in splendor wild, 
 
 Tiiey caught the flag on high, 
 And streamed above the gallant child. 
 
 Like banners in the sky. 
 
 There came aburst of thunder souna— 
 
 The boy — oh ! wr.ere was he .' 
 — Ask of the winds that far around 
 
 With fragments strewed the sea". 
 
 With mast, and helm, and pennon fair. 
 
 That well had borne their part — 
 But the noblect thing that perished there, 
 
 Was that young faithful heart 
 
 THE CUMBERLAND PACKET 
 
 i_n the (ireadful hurricane which took place at Antigua, on the 
 4lh of September, 1804, several vessels were lost; and among 
 others, the Duke of Cumberland Packet. Every precaution had 
 been taken, by striking the yards and masts, to secure the vessel; 
 and the cable had held so long, that some aint hope began to be 
 
SOS T 1 1 r, c u M :i i: ii i . \ n d f a c k i;t . 
 
 entertained of riding out the gale, when several of the crc.v were 
 so indiscreet, as to quit the deck for some refreshment; no soonei 
 had they sat down, than a loud groan from the rest of the crew 
 summoned them on deck. The captain ran forward, and exclaim- 
 ed, "All's now over: lord God have mercy upon us!" The 
 cable had parted; the ship hung about two minutci^ by tiie stream 
 and kedgc, and then began to drive broadside on. At this mo- 
 ment (he seamen, torn by despair, seemed for a moment to forget 
 themselves; lamentations for their homes, their wives, and their 
 children, resounded through the ship. Every man clung to a 
 rope, and determined to stick to it as long as the ship remained 
 entire. For an hour they drifted on, without knowing whither, the 
 men continued to hold fast by the rigging wtiile their bodies were 
 beaten by the heaviest rain, and lashed by every wave. The 
 most dreadful silence prevailed. Every one was too intent on his 
 own approaching end, to be able to communicate his feelings 
 to another; and nothing was heard but the howling of the tempest. 
 The vessel drove towards the harbor of St. John's, and two alarm 
 guns were fired, in order that the garrison might be spectators of 
 their fate, for it was in vain to think of assistance. They soon 
 drove against a large ship, and went close under her stern. A 
 faint hope now appeared of bein^' stranded en a sandy beach; and 
 the captain therefore ordered the carpenter to get the hatchets all 
 ready to cut away the masts, in order to make a raft for those who 
 chose to venture upon it. The vessel however drove with extreme 
 violence on some rocks, and the cracking of her timbers below 
 was distinctly heard. Every hope now vanished, and the crew 
 already began to consider themselves as beings of another world. 
 In order to ease the vessel, and if possible prevent her from 
 paiting, the mizen-mast was suffered to remam, to steady the 
 vessel. The vessel had struck about two o'clock, and in half 
 an hour afterwards the water was up to the lower deck. Never 
 was daylight more anxiously wished for, than by the crew of this 
 vessel. After having hung so long by the shrouds, they were 
 forced to cling three hours longer before the dawn appeared. The 
 sea was making a complete breach over the ship, whicli was lay- 
 ing on her beam ends; and the crew, stiff and benumbed, could 
 with difficulty hold against the force of the waves, every one of 
 which struck and nearly drowned them. 
 
 The break of day discovered to the wretched mariners all the 
 horrors of their situation; the vessel was lying upon large rocks 
 at the foot of a craggy overhaniring precipice, twice as high as 
 the ship's mainmast; the wind and rain beat upon the crew with 
 unabated violence, and the ship lay a miserable wreck. The .^rst 
 thoughts of the crew in the morning were naturally directed lo 
 the possibility of saving their lives; and they all agrer-rl, that their 
 only chance of doing so, was by means of the mizen mast. The 
 top-mast and top-gallant-mast were launched out, and r^eachcd 
 
THE CUMBERLAND PACKET. 
 
 309 
 
 within a few feet of the rock. An attempt was made by oi.e of the 
 crew, to throw a rope with a noose to the top of the rock; but in- 
 stead of holding by the bushes, it brought them away. Another 
 seaman, who seemed from despair to have imbibed an extraordi- 
 nary degree of courage, followed the first man out on the mast, 
 with the intention of throwing himself from the end upon the mercy 
 of the rock; he had proceeded to the extremity of the top-gallant- 
 mast, and was on the point of leaping among the bushes, when 
 the pole of the mast, unable to sustain his weight, gave way, and 
 precipitated him into the bosom of the waves, from a height of 
 forty feet. Fortunately he had carried down with him the piece 
 of the broken mast, and instead of being dashed to pieces, as wa? 
 expected, he kept himself above water until he was hoisted up 
 
 Loss iifthe Cumberland Packet. 
 
 All hopes of being saved by the mizen-mast were now at an end, 
 and while the crew were meditating in sullen silence on their situa- 
 tion, INIr. Doncaster, the chief mate, unknojvn to any one, weal 
 out on the bowsprit, and having reached the end of the jib-boom, 
 threw himself headlong into the water. He had scarcely fallen, 
 wiien a tremendous wave threw him upon the rock, and left him 
 dry; there he remained motionless, until a second wave waslied 
 him still farther up, when clinging to some roughness in the clitf, 
 he began to scramble up the rock; and in about half an hour, he 
 with infinite difficulty reached the summit of the cliff. I'he crew 
 anxiously watched every step he took, and prayed for his safety, 
 conscious that their own preservation defended solely upon it, 
 Mr. Doncaster immediately went round to that part of the preci- 
 pice nearest the vessel, and received a rope thrown from the maiii 
 
810 CAPTAIN d'e.ntrkcasteaux. 
 
 top, \vli{ch he fastened to some trees. By means of this rope, tna 
 whole of the crew were, in the space of three hours, hoisted to 
 the top of the chfl". 
 
 The wl\ole of the ship's compan} having assembled on the 
 rock, bent their steps towards town. The plain before them had, 
 inconsequence of the heavy rains, become almost impassable; 
 but aller wading about three miles through fields of canes, and 
 ol'ton plunged up to the neck in water, they reached St. John's in 
 safety; where they would have died for want of food and necessa- 
 ries, had it not been for the kind offices of a Mulatto tailor, who 
 supplied them with clothes, beds, and provisions, and did thena 
 other kind offices of humanity 
 
 CAPTAIN D'ENTRECASTEAUX. 
 
 On September 28th, 1791, in the two sloops. La Recherche 
 4%lind L'Esperance, of sixteen guns, and one hundred and ten men 
 each, they weighed from the harbor of Brest, completely equip- 
 ped for a voyage of circumnavigating the globe. The conduct 
 of the expedition was assigned to Captain D'Entrecasteaux. The 
 leading object of the voyage was to endeavor to procure intelli- 
 gence relative to Captain La Perouse, who had long been missing 
 in the South Seas, and to make a complete tour of New Holland; 
 an island, by far the largest in the world; comprehending an 
 immense circuit of at least three thousand (French) leagues. 
 The accomplishment of this last point was essential to the history 
 of geography, and what had not been effected by either Cook or 
 La Perouse. 
 
 The first port they mads was Santa Cruz in Teneriffe; they 
 arrived there on the 17th of October, and having taken in wines 
 and provisions, proceeded on their route to the Cape of Good 
 Hope; and while they continued there, the expedition sustained a 
 considerable misfortupe in the death of the astronomer Bertrand, 
 February 16th, 1792, they left the Cape, and bore away for the 
 island of New Guinea, some parts of which they explored; they 
 reached the islands Arsacides on July the 9th, and New Ireland 
 the 17th ditto. They afterwards made for Amboyna, one of the 
 ]Molucca islands, and arrived Sept. 6th. — October 11th, they left 
 Amboyna, and sailed immediately for the west part of New Hol- 
 land. December 3d, 1792, they arrived at the Cape, which is at 
 the south-west extremity of New Holland, and sailed along the 
 southern shore, till January 3d, having by this means traced and 
 ascertairted about two-thirds of the whole extent of the southern 
 *oast On the 11th of March, they passed very near the North 
 
CAPTAIN D'ENtRECASTEAUX. SH 
 
 cape of New Zealand, and making for the shore, several cano ^g 
 came along-side. On the 16th, they discovered two little islanos, 
 at a little distance from each other. The most eastern one lies 
 in 30 deg. 17 min. south latitude, and in 179 deg. 41 min. east 
 longitude. — On the 17th, discovered an island about five leagues 
 in circumference, conspicuous by its elevated situation. It lies 
 in 29 deg. 3 min. south latitude, and in 179 deg. 54 min. east 
 longitude. — On the 2d of March they saw Ebona, the most south 
 westerly of the Friendly Islands. The ne.xt day anchored at 
 Tongataboo, the largest of the Friendly Islands. Among these 
 islanders they frequently met with men six feet high, their limbs 
 shaped in the most comely proportion. The fertility of the soil, 
 which exempted them from the necessity of extreme labor, may 
 conduce not a little to the unusual perfection of their forms. 
 Their features have a strong resemblance to those of Europeans 
 A burning sky has impressed a slight discolor on their skins. 
 Those, among the wotnen, who are but little exposed to the rays 
 of the sun, are sufficiently fair. Some of them are distinguished 
 by a beautiful carnation, which gives a vivacity to their whole 
 figure. A thousand nameless graces are visible in their gestures, 
 when engaged in the slightest enoloyments. In the dance their 
 movements are enchanting. 
 
 The language of this people bears an analogy with the gentle- 
 ness of their manners; it is well adapted to music, for which they 
 hav J a peculiar taste. Their concerts wherein every one performs 
 hif part, demonstrate the just ideas which they entertain of har- 
 iTiOny. The women, as well as the men, have their shoulders and 
 oreasts naked. A cotton cloth, or rather a piece of stuff, manu- 
 factued with the bark of mulberry-tree into paper serves them for 
 apparel. It forms a beautiful drapery, reaching from a little 
 above the waist down to the feet. These islands produce a 
 species of nutmegs, which differs very little in form from those 
 of the Moluccas. It is not, however, aromatic, and is almost 
 twice as large. They also procured the bread-fruit tree, for the 
 purpose of transporting it into the West India Islands. We 
 must not confound these excellent species of bread-fruit tree with 
 the wild species of it found in the Moluccas, and observed for a 
 long time past in the Isle of France. In this second sort the 
 grains do not miscarry, while in the good fruit-tree they are re- 
 placed by a food truly delicious, when baked under ashes or in 
 the oven. In other respects it is a most wholesome viand, afford- 
 ing a pleasant repast during the whole time of their continuance 
 on this island, and for which they willingly relinquished the 
 ship's stock of baker's bread. The Molucca sort produces thirty 
 or forty small fruits; while every tree of the Friendly Islands 
 produces three or four hundred extremely large, of an oval form, 
 v,he greatest diameter being from nine to ton inches, and the 
 smallest from seven to eight. A tree would be oppressed with 
 
512 CAPTAIN d'eNTIIKCASTEAIIX. 
 
 such an enormous load, if the fruit were to ripen all at once; bu 
 sagacious nature has so ordered it, that the Cruil succeed each 
 otiier, during eigiit months of the year, thus providing the natives 
 witii a food equally salubrious and plentiful. Every tree occupies 
 a circular space of about thirty feet in diameter. A single acre 
 occupied by tiiis vegetable would supply the wants of a number of 
 i'amilies. iN'othing in nature exhibits a similar fecundity. As il 
 produces no seeds, it has a wonderful faculty of throwing out 
 suckers; and its roots frequently force their way up to the surfacti 
 of tlie carlh, and there give birth to fresh plrmts. It thrives ex- 
 ceedingly in a tropical climate, in a soil somewhat elevated above 
 the level of the sea; and suits very well with a marly soil, in 
 which a mixture of argillaceous clay preponderates. 
 
 'J'hey quilted the Friendly Islands on the 10th of April, 1793. 
 April 15th saw Enouan, the most eastern of the islands of the 
 Arcl)ipelago of the Moly Ghost, and afterwards that of Anaton 
 The eruptions of the volcano of Tana, presented in the night a 
 spectacle truly sublinie. April 27th, steering for New Cale- 
 donia; in a night darker than usual, they ran among some 
 islands surrounded with breakers, not noticed till then by navi- 
 gators; they were only apprised of danger by an uncommon 
 circumstance; the llight of a tlock of sea- fowl over their heads 
 about three in the morning. This indication of the proximity of 
 land induced the oilicer upon watch to slacken sail, and lie-to, at 
 a critical juncture, when an hour's more sailing must have dashed 
 them to pieces against the rocks. These new discovered islands 
 lie about thirty leagues north-east of New Caledonia, where they 
 anchored April iGth. 
 
 After the description that Cook and Forster have given of the 
 inhabitants of New Zealand, they expected to find realized the 
 advantageous portrait given of them by those celebrated voyagers. 
 They had reason, however, partly to suspend their belief of those 
 accounts, when they afterwards observed a number of human bones, 
 broiled, which the savages were devouring, eagerly fastening on 
 the smallest tendinous parts which adhere to them. This fact at 
 least suffices to prove, that the New Zealanders are cannibals. 
 They often attacked their boat; but the good countenance exhibit- 
 ed prevented their assailing or massacring any of their cosnpany. 
 Notwithstanding these hostilities, the ship was every day visited 
 oy numerous bodies of the islanders. The soil being every Jiliere 
 warren, they perceived but few vestiges of any taste for agricul- 
 'ure; still, however, they observed in some gardens the Colocasia, 
 the Caribbee cabbage, the banana-tree, and the sugar-cane. 
 The barbarous customs of the natives did not prevent their reite- 
 rated excursions into the interior parts of the country. On these 
 occasions they kept together to the number of twenty, always 
 well armed. As evening came on, they commonly took their sta- 
 tion on some elevated post in the mountains, where they passea 
 
C\?TA!:\ D'r.NTREt^ASTEAUX 313 
 
 the nigiit in a siluatioa which protected them from hostile as- 
 sauhs. To guard against surprise, they i<ept watch by turns. 
 
 May 9th, they weighed anchor, and sailed before the wind for 
 the north. In their course, observed the eastern part of the reefs 
 and islands, the western side of which they saw the year before. 
 May 21st. were close on the island of St. Croix, and sent in two 
 boats to look out for an anchoring place. While the sailors were 
 employed in sounding, one of the natives, at the distance ot" up- 
 wards of eighty paces, lanced an arrow, which slightly wounded 
 the forehead of one of them. A volley of firearms, however, 
 soon dispersed the group of canoes which had surrounded the 
 boats, and from which the lance proceeded. Although the wound 
 was apparently so inconsiderable, it was attended with a tetanus, 
 which proved mortal to the unfortunate sailor after only eight 
 days. The arrow did not appear to have been poisoned, as it is 
 well known that beasts pierced with the same weapons do not ex- 
 perience any fatal symptoms. In India, it is no uncommon thing 
 to see the slightest puncture followed by a spasm, which is a cer- 
 tain forerunner of death. 
 
 July 16th and 17th, they sailed in view of the Anchoret Islands 
 of Bougainville. On the 20th they lost D'Entrecasteaux, the 
 captain. He died of convulsions, every fit of which was suc- 
 ceeded by a speechless stupor. August 16th, 1793, in 129 
 deg. 14 mia. of east longitude, and so near the equator, that they 
 were only half a minute to the south. Here the inhabitants 
 brought very large sea-turtles, the soup of which they experienced 
 to be a salutary remedy for the scurvy, which was now prevalent 
 among them. In this island they procured a number of interesting 
 objects, and quitted it August the 29th, and sailed for Bouao, 
 where they anchored September the 3d, 1793. In this mountain- 
 ous isle, where the productions of nature are extremely varied, 
 they had a favorable opportunity of continuing their botanical 
 researches, &.c. Here several of the men died of a contagious 
 bilious dysentery, contracted in the low marshy grounds of the 
 country. 
 
 October 28, 1793, cast anchor in the road of Sourabaya, in the 
 Isle of Java. Here divisions broke out among the crews, in 
 consequence of gaining intelligence of the further progress of the 
 French revolution. D' Auribeau hoisted the v/hite flag Feb. 19th, 
 1794, and surrendered the two vessels to the Dutch. He also 
 seized all the journals, charts, and memoirs, which were connected 
 with the voyage, and arrested all those of the ship's companies 
 that were obnoxious to his own political sentiments. One journal, 
 however, was fortunately saved, by having been stowed in a box 
 of tea. In this hazardous, yet important voyage, of two hundred 
 and fifteen persons, thirty-six lost their lives; the astronomer, 
 Pearson, died at Java; and Ventenat at the Isle of Fr.mce. 
 [liche, the naturalist, remained at Java, as veW a.s Billadioro. 
 
?14 THE iMAtiiM.u's An;'i;r.sN ro if.'s r.iisf:', l;.^'). 
 
 Lahay, the botanist, also stopped tliPie; having Tinder his cara 
 the bread-fruit trees, brouj^lit Ironi tlie Friendly Islands. Tison, 
 the painter, tarried with the governor of Sourabaya; but after- 
 Tvards returned to Europe, and published an account of th« 
 voyage. 
 
 THE MARINERS ADDRESS TO HIS MISTRESS 
 
 When clouds are dark and winds blow high, 
 Thou'lt surely think of me — 
 Whose fate is in that stormy sky, 
 Or on the raging sea. 
 
 And ofl thou'lt think at eventide, 
 When flowers perfume the breeze. 
 Of him v?ho would be by thy side. 
 But still must roam the seas. 
 
 Thou'lt think, too, when the stars shine bright 
 Out o'er the azure sky, 
 Of one who views their hallowed light 
 And dreams that thou art nigh. 
 
 He sees thee in that one bright star, 
 Pure emblem of our love ; 
 That minds us as it beams afar. 
 Our vows are sealed above. 
 
 And still his wandering eye shall catch 
 Its loved and stilly light, 
 And think of thee, who too dost watch 
 Love's altar pure and bright. 
 
 Its incense is the sweet sea-breeze, 
 That bears his vows to shore, 
 Or visions poured on the seas, 
 To meet and part no more. 
 
 The merry sea-boy trolls his lay, 
 And lightly laughs at sadness ; 
 The soldier sings war's roundelay 
 its notes respond his gladness. 
 
 The mariner still views his chart, 
 Or looks upon the pole, 
 Who93 star will guide him to hie mart 
 Howe'er the billows roll. 
 
 Another sighs in secret sorrow 
 O'er those lie lefl behind ; 
 The ship rides on to-day. To-«iorrow 
 Tbsir forms have left lus mind 
 
CAPTAIN RILEY. flfl 
 
 Their joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, 
 Are transient as the wind ; 
 Eyes bright in hope, or dim with fears, 
 Are emblems of their mind. 
 
 Ambition's lure or gainful trade 
 Still lead them on their way ; 
 Not so for me — my soul was made 
 To seek another stay. 
 
 My spirit turns toward that shore, 
 4 wand'rer though I be, 
 And hopes to meet and part no more, 
 From all it loves — from thee. 
 
 CAPTAIN RILEY 
 
 There is not, perhaps, in the annals of shipwreck, a personal 
 narrative more deeply distressing, or more painfully interesting 
 than that of Captain Riley. Were there not the most ample 
 testimony to his excellent moral character and unimpeachable 
 veracity, we might be led to withhold our belief from some parts 
 of his narrative, on the simple ground, that human nature on the 
 one hand, was utterly incapable of inflicting, and on the other, of 
 enduring such hardships and sufferings as this gentleman and his 
 poor shipwrecked companions had to undergo — sufferings which, 
 as Captain Riley truly says, have been as great and as various as 
 ever fell to the lot of humanity. 
 
 The American Brig, Commerce, commanded by Captain Riley, 
 with a crew of ten persons, was wrecked on the coast of Africa, 
 on the 28th of August, 1315. With some difficulty the crew 
 reached the shore, and secured a small quantity of provisions and 
 tools, to repair their boat, in which they hoped to reach the Cape 
 de Verd Island. All hopes of this were, however, soon rendered 
 abortive by the appearance of a party of Arabs; who burnt their 
 trunks and chests, carried oft" their provisions, and stove tn the 
 wine and water casks. The crew escaped to their boat, but ]Mr. 
 Riley was left behind. One of the Arabs seized hold of him by 
 t!ie throat, and with a scimitar at his breast, gave him to under- 
 stand there was money on board, and it must instantly be brought 
 ashore. 
 
 When the ship was wrecked, .Mr. Riley had divided the dollars 
 among the crew. On being informed of the demands of the Arabs 
 he hailed the men, and told them what the savages required; a 
 bucket was accordingly sent on shore with about a thousand dol- 
 lars. An old Arab instantly laid hold of it, and forcing Riley to 
 %ccornpanv him, they all went behind the sand hills to divide the 
 
SIR CATTAIN KII.F.T. 
 
 Spoil. Ill this situation he felt hitnself very uneasy, and in order 
 to regain the heach, he made signs that there was still more money 
 remaining in the ship. The hint succeeded; and under the idea 
 of getting it they allowed him again to hail his people; when, 
 instead of money, he desired them to send on shore Antonio 
 INIichael (an old man they had taken in at New Orleans), as the 
 only possible means left for him of effecting his own escape. The 
 Arabs finding, on his reaching the shore, that he had brought no 
 money with him, struck him, pricked him with their sharp knives, 
 and stripped him of all his clothes. Mr. Riley seized this op- 
 portunity of springing from his keepers, and plunged into the sea. 
 On rising through the surf, he perceived the old Arab within ten 
 feet of him, up to his chin in water, with his spear ready to strike 
 him; but another surf rolling at that instant over him, saved his 
 life, and he reached the lee of the wreck in safety. The re- 
 morseless brutes wreaked their vengeance on poor Antonio, by 
 plunging a spear into his body, which laid him lifeless at their 
 feet. 
 
 The wreck was, by this time, going raj)idly to pieces; the long 
 boat writhed like an old basket. The crew had neither provisions 
 nor water; neither oars nor a rudder to the boat; neither compass 
 nor quadrant to direct their course ; yet, hopeless as their situation 
 was, and expecting to be swallowed up by the first surf, they re- 
 solved to try their fate on the ocean, rather than to encounter death 
 from the relentless savages on shore. By great exertion, they 
 succeeded in finding a water cask, out of which they filled four 
 gallons into a keg. One of the seamen. Porter, stole on shore 
 by the hawser, and brought on board two oars, with a small bag 
 of money which they had buried, containing about four hundred 
 dollars. They also contrivf^d to get together a few pieces of salt 
 pork, a live pig, weigtiing about twenty pounds, about four pounds 
 of figs, a spar for the boat's mast, a jib, and a main sail. Every 
 thing being ready, the crew went to prayers; and the wind ceas- 
 ing to blow, the l)oat was launched through the breakers. In this 
 miserable boat they determined to stand out in the wide ocean 
 After being six days at sea, it was driven on the rocks, and com 
 pletely stove, but the crew again reached the shore. 
 
 On the next morning they set out from the place where they 
 had been cast, which, as it afterwards appeared, was Cane 
 Barbas, not far from Cape Blanco. They proceeded easterly 
 close to the water's edge, for three days, when they encountered 
 a large company of Arabs who were watering their camels. The 
 shipwrecked mariners bowed therpselves to the ground with every 
 mark of submission, and by signs implored their compassion, biijt 
 in vain. The whole party were in an instant stripped naked to 
 the skin, and the Arabs began to fight most furiously for the booty, 
 and especially for getting possession of the prisoners. " Six or 
 eight of them," says Captain Riley, whose narrative we now 
 
OAPTAIN RILEY. 317 
 
 quote, "were about me, one hauling me one way, and one another. 
 The one who stripped us, stuck to us as his lawful property signi- 
 fying, "you may have the others, these are mine." — They cut 
 at each other over my head, and on every side of me, with their 
 bright weapons, which fairly whizzed through the air within an 
 inch of my naked body, and on every side of me, now hacking 
 each other's arras apparently to th* bone; men laying their riLts 
 bare with gashes, while their heads, hands, and thighs received a 
 full share of cuts and wounds. The blood streaming from every 
 gash, ran down their bodies, coloring and heightening the natural 
 hideousness of their appearance. 1 had expected to be cut to 
 pieces, in this dreadful atfray, but was not injured. 
 
 "The battle over, I saw my distressed companions divided 
 among the Arabs, and all going towards the drove of camels, 
 though they were at some distance from me. We too were deliv- 
 ered into the hands of two old women, who urged us on with sticka 
 towards the camels. Naked and barefooted, we could not go very 
 fast, and I showed the women my mouth, which was parched 
 white as frost, and without a sign of moisture. When we got 
 near the well, one of the women called for another, who came to 
 us with a wooden bowl that held, I should guess, about a gallon 
 of water, and setting it on the ground, made myself and Dick 
 kneel down and put our heads into it like camels. 1 drank, I sup- 
 pose, half a gallon, though I had been very particular in caution- 
 ing the men against drinking too much at a time, in case they 
 ever came to water. I now e.xperienced how much easier it was 
 to preach, than to practise aright. They then led us to the well, 
 the water of which was nearly as black and disgusting as stale 
 bilge water. A large bowl was now filled with it, and a little sour 
 camel's milk poured from a goat skin into it; this tasted to me de- 
 licious, and we all drank of it till our stomachs were literally fill- 
 ed. We now begged for something to eat, but these Arabs had 
 nothing for themselves, and seemed very sorry it was not in their 
 power to give us some food. There were at and about the well, 
 I should think, about one hundred persons, men, women, and 
 children, and from four to five hundred camels, large and smail. 
 The sun beat fiercely upon us, and our skins seemed actually to 
 fry like meat before the fire. These people continued to draw 
 water for their camels, of which the animals drank enormous 
 quantities." 
 
 The party travelled south-east over a plain covered with small 
 sharp stones, which lacerated their feet dreadfully. About mid- 
 night they halted, and for the first time got about a pint of pure 
 camel's milk each. The wind was chilling cold; they lay on 
 sharp stones, perfectly naked ; their bodies blistered and mangled, 
 and the stones piercing their naked flesh to the ribs. On the morn- 
 ing of the 1 Ith (September), a pint of milk was divided among four 
 of them, and they got nothing more until midnight, when they 
 27* 
 
318 CAPTAIN RILET. 
 
 were allowed a litilc inilk and water. They continued travelling' 
 in the desert, eiiduring all the miseries of liunger, thirst, and 
 fatigue, with every addition Ara!) cruelty could iiiflicv, until they 
 reached Wadnoon. Sidi JIaniet, an African trader, wlio had pur 
 chased them of the old Arab, however, became the means of their 
 deliverance. He told Mr. Riley, that he must write a letter to 
 his friend at Suara, desiring him to pay the money for the ransom 
 of himself and people, when they should be free. A scrap oi' pa- 
 per, a reed, and some black liquor, was then brought to Mr. Riley, 
 who brieliy wrote the circumstances of the loss of the ship, his cap- 
 tivity, &{.c. adding, " worn down to the bone by the most dreadl'ul of 
 all sullerings, naked, and a slave, I implore your pity, and trust that 
 such distress will not be suffered to plead in vain." The letter 
 was addressed, " To the English, French, Spanish, or American 
 Consuls, or any Christian merchant in Mogadore." The anxiety 
 of the captives may be well imagined. For seven days after Ha- 
 met's departure, they were shut up in a yard during the day, where 
 cows, sheep, and asses, rested; and locked up all night in a dreary 
 cellar. 
 
 On the evening of the eighth day, a Moor came into the inclosure^ 
 and brought a letter from Mr. Wiltshire, the English Consul, 
 stating, that he had agreed to the demand of Sidi Harriet, whom 
 he kept as an hostage for their safe appearance, and that the 
 bearer would conduct them to Mogadore. He had also sent them 
 clothes and provisions; and thus accoutred and fortilied, they set 
 out under their new conductor, who brought them safe to Moga- 
 dore, where they were most kindly received by Mr. Wiltshire, 
 who took each man by the hand, and welcomed him to life and 
 liberty. He conducted them to his house, had them all washed, 
 clothed, and fed, and spared no pains nor expense in procuring 
 svery comfort, and in administering with his own hand, night and 
 
 lay, such refreshment as their late sufferings and debility required. 
 Of the miserable condition to which these unfortunate men had 
 ^een reduced, one act will witness. "At the instance of Mr. 
 Wiltshire," says Mr. Riley, " I was weighed, and fell short of 
 ninety pounds, though my usual weight for the last ten years had 
 been over two hundred pounds; the weight of my companions was 
 'ess than I dare to mention, for 1 apprehended it would not be be- 
 
 leved that the bodies of men, retaining the vital spark, should not 
 
 lave weighed Jorly poundi 
 
ADVENTUKES OF CAPTAIN WOODWARD. 311* 
 
 ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN WOODWARD AND FIVE 
 SEAMEN IN THE ISLAND OF CELEBES 
 
 In the year 1791, Woodward sailed from Boston for the Ei-.st In- 
 dies.* On his arrival there he was employed in making ctvintry 
 voyages until the 20th of January, when he sailed as chief /- ie 
 in an American ship from Batavia bound to Manilla. 
 
 In passing through the straits of Macassar, they found the win i 
 4nd current both against them, and after beating up for six weeks 
 they fell short of provision. Captain Woodward and tive seamen 
 were sent to purchase some from a vessel about four leagues dis- 
 tant. They were without water, provisions, or compass, — having 
 on board the boat only an a.xe, a boat hook, two penknives, a use- 
 less gun and forty dollars in cash. 
 
 They readied the ship at sunset, and were told by the captain 
 that he had no provision to spare as he was bound to China and 
 was victualled for only one month. He advised them to stay until 
 morning, which they did. But when morning dawned, their own 
 ship was out of sight even from the mast head, and with a fair 
 wind for her to go through the straits of Macassar. Being treat- 
 ed coolly by the captain, they agreed wiUi one voice to lea.'e the 
 ship in search of th^ir own. On leaving the vessel, the ca[)tain 
 gave them twelve musket cartiidges and a round bottle of brandy, 
 but neither water nor provisions of any sort. 
 
 They rowed till twelve o'clock at night, in hopes of seeing their 
 own vessel, and then drawing near an island they thought it pru- 
 dent to go there to get some fresh water. They landed and made 
 d large fire in hopes their ship might see it. But not being able 
 to see any thing of her in the morning and finding no water or 
 provisions on the island, they continued their course in the middle 
 of the straits si.xdays longer, without going on shore or tasting of 
 any thing but brandy. They soon had the shore of Celebes in 
 sight, where they determined to go in search of provisions and 
 then to proceed to Macassar. 
 
 As they approached the shore they saw two proas full of natives, 
 who immediately put themselves in a posture of defence. The 
 sailors made signs to them that they wanted provisions, but instead 
 of giving it the Malays began to brandish their cresses or steel 
 daggers. Three of the men jumj)ed on board a proa to beg some 
 Indian corn, and got three or fjur small ears. The chief seemed 
 quite friendly and agreed to sell captain Woodward two cocoa nuts 
 for a dollar, but as soon as he had received the money, he imme- 
 diately began to strip him in search of more. Captain Woodward 
 defended himself with a hatchet and ordered the boat to be shov- 
 
 * In the ship Robert Morris, Captain Hny. 
 
120 ADVENTUKLS OF CA1T.\I.\ WOODWARD. 
 
 ed oil the chief levelled a musket ;it liirn, but fortunately it missed 
 him. 
 
 They then stood off", went round a point of land and landed out 
 of sij^lit of the proas, wlien tiiey found a plenty of cocoa-nut trees. 
 Captain Woodward while engaged in cutting them down, hoard the 
 man whom lie had left to take care of the boat scream out in a 
 most bitter manner. He ran imiriediately to the beach where he 
 saw his own boat ofl'at some distance full of Malays and the poor 
 fellow who was guarding it lying on his back with his throat cut 
 and his body stabbed in several places. 
 
 They now fled immediately to the mountains, and finding that 
 they had lost their boat, money, and most of their clothes, they 
 concluded that their only chance of escape was to get to Macassar 
 by land. Being afraid to travel in the day time, they set out in the 
 evening taking a star for their guide bearing south. But they 
 soon lost sight of the star and at day light found themselves within 
 a few rods of the ])!ace, where they liad set out. They had travel- 
 led on the side of a mountain, and had gone quite round it instead 
 of going straight over it. They started again and travelled by the 
 sea shore six nights successively, living on berries and water 
 found in the hollows of trees. 
 
 On the sixth they arrived at a bay where they saw a party of 
 the Maylays fishing. Here Captain Woodward found some yellow- 
 ish berries which were to him quite palatable, but his men not 
 liking them eat some of the leaves. On the next day they con- 
 cluded to make a raft and g-o to the small island on which they 
 first landed, thinking that they might be taken off from it by some 
 ship passing that way. But they were obliged to abandon this 
 prf.j-ect, for in the evening the men who had eaten the leaves, were 
 attacked with violent pains and were crying out in torture during the 
 whole night. Although they got better towards evening yet they 
 were so weak and dejected that Captain Woodward was convinced 
 that they could not reach the island and asked them if they were wit- 
 ting to surrender themselves to the Malays. On reflection they all 
 thought this the best course wliich they could take; and forthwith 
 proceeded to the bay where they had seen the Malays in the morn- 
 ing, in order at once either to' find friends or to meet their fate. 
 At first they saw no one, but Captain Woodward soon saw three of 
 the natives approaching him; and ordering his men to keep quiet, 
 he advanced alone until he had come within a short distance of 
 them, where they stopped and drew out their cresses or knives. 
 Captain Woodward fell on his knees and begged for mercy. The 
 Malays looked at him for about ten minutes with their knives 
 drawn when one of them came towards him, knelt in tiie same 
 manner and offered both his hands. More natives now came up 
 and stripped them of their hats and handkerchiefs and even the 
 buttons on their jackets, which they took for money. 
 
 They were now taken to Travalla and carried to the court-hous© 
 
ADVENTURES OF CAPTAI.v AVOODWARD 321 
 
 or judgment ball, accompanied by a great concourse of people, 
 including women and children who made a circle at some distance 
 from tbem. The chief soon entered, looking as wild as a mad- 
 nian, carrying in his hand a large drawn cress or knife, the blade 
 of which was two feet and a half long and very bright. Captain 
 Woodward approached so near to him as to place the foot of the 
 chief on his own head, as a token that he was completely under 
 his power and direction. The chief after holding a short consul- 
 taliun, returned to his house and brought out five pieces of betel 
 nut, which he gave to the sailors as a token of friendship. 
 
 They were now permitted to rest until about eight o'clock 
 when they were carried to the Rajah's house, where they found a 
 supper provided for them of sago-bread and peas, but in all 
 hardly enough for one man. Their allowance afterwards was for 
 each man a cocoa nut and an ear of Indian corn at noon, and the 
 same at night. In this manner they lived about twenty days, but 
 were not allowed to go out except to the water to bathe. But the 
 natives soon began to relax their vigilance over them, and in 
 about four months, they were conveyed to the head Rajah of Par- 
 low. They had not been there long when the head Rajah sent to 
 a Dutch port called Priggia, which is at the head of a deep bay 
 on the east side of the island and which is under the care of a 
 commandant. In a few days the commandant who was a French- 
 man, and had been thirty years in the Dutch service, arrived at 
 Parlow and sent for Captain Woodward. He wished him to go 
 with him to Priggia where he resided, but Captain Woodward re- 
 fused, being apprehensive that he should be forced into the Dutch 
 service. The commandant then inquired where he intended to 
 go. He answered to Batavia or Macassar and thence to Bengal 
 He did not offer Captain Woodward or his people either money, 
 assistance, or clothes, but seemed quite affronted. 
 
 The Rajah now gave him the liberty of returning to Travalla, 
 taking care, however, to send him in the night for fear that he 
 should get sight of Dungally, wiiere there lived a iNIahomedan 
 priest called Juan Hadgee. This priest had been at Travulla, 
 and offered a ransom for Captain Woodward and his men, but the 
 natives were unwilling to take it, and were fearful that their cap- 
 tives would try to escape to the town where the priest lived. It 
 happened, however, that they were becalmed off Dungally, so that 
 Captain Woodward could observe its situation. On arriving at 
 Travalla, he attempted to escape alone by water, but the canoe 
 being leaky, he came very near losing his life. But not discour- 
 aged, he started immediately for Dungally by land, and reached 
 it just as the day dawned. 
 
 Juan Hadgee received him kindly and provided him with food 
 and clothing. In the course of three days the chief of Travalla 
 learning that he had gone to Dungally, sent after him, but the old 
 priest and the Rajah of Dungally refused to let him go They 
 
322 ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN WOODWARD 
 
 told liim that in the course of three nioaths tliey would convey 
 him to Batiivici or Macassar, and also desired liim to send for the 
 lour men he had left at Travaila. This he did by means of a Jot- 
 ter which he wrote with a pen of bamboo, and sent by the captain 
 of a |)roa. who delivered it secretly. The men made their es- 
 cape liom Parlow at the time of a feast, early in the evening, 
 and arrived at Dungally at about twelve o'clock the next day. 
 Tliey were received with great rejoicing by the natives, who im- 
 mediately brought them plenty of victuals. And this fortunate 
 circumstance revived their hopes of reaching some European 
 settlement, after many narrow escapes and difficulties. 
 
 Juan Hadgee now informed Captain Woodward that he should 
 set oil' in about two months, but that he must first make a short 
 voyage for provisions, which he did, leaving Captain Woodward 
 in his house with his wife and two servants. 
 
 They soon began to suffer exceedingly for the want of provi 
 sions, so that the natives were obliged to convey them up the 
 country, there to be supplied by some of the same tribe, who 
 regularly went from the village into the country at a certain sea- 
 son to cultivate rice and Indian corn. But the Rajah of Parlow 
 making war on the Rajah of Dungally, because the latter would 
 not deliver them up, they were soon brought back to Dungally. 
 There was but one engagement, and then the men of Parlow 
 were beaten and driven back to their own town. 
 
 Provisions again growing scarce, Juan Hadgee wos bound for 
 another port called Sawyah, situated about two degrees north of 
 the line. He gave Captain Woodward permission to accompany 
 him, provided the Rajah was willing, but the latter refused, saying 
 that he must stay there and keep guard. Captain Woodward now 
 mustered his men and taking their guns they went to the house 
 of the Rajah and told him they would stand guard no longer for 
 they wished to go to Macassar. He immediately replied that 
 they should not. Being determined not to live longer in this 
 manner, and finding no other means of escaping, Captain Wood- 
 ward came to the resolution of stealing a canoe, to which all the 
 men agreed. They were lucky enough to obtain one and seemed 
 in a fair way to make their escape, but just as they were getting 
 into it they were surrounded by about twenty natives and carried 
 before the Rajah, who ordered them to account for their conduct. 
 They told him that they could get nothing to eat, and were deter- 
 mined to quit the place on the first opportunity that ofiered. 
 Nothing of consequence resulted from this. Knowing the lan- 
 guage and people they had now become fearless of danger. 
 
 The Rajah refusing to let them go with Juan Hadgee they de- 
 termined to run away with him, which they were enabled to do, as 
 the old man set out at twelve o'clock at night, and there happen- 
 ed luckily to be a canoe on the beach near his own. This they 
 took and followed him as well as they could, but they soon parted 
 
ADVENTURES OF CAl'TAIN WOODWARD 325 
 
 Irom him, and in the morning discovered a proa close by them fill- 
 ed with Malays. They told them that they were bound with the 
 old man to Sawyah. The Malays took them at their word and 
 C-. ried them there instead of to Dungally, which was a lucky 
 escape to them for that time. Whilst residing at Sawyah the old 
 priest carried Captain Woodward to an island in the bay of Saw- 
 yah, which he granted to him, and in compliment called it Steers- 
 man's island; steersman being the appellation by which Captain 
 Woodward was distinguished by the natives. After staying some 
 time in Sawyah and making sago, which they bartered for fish and 
 cocoa-nuts, they left the place and proceeded to Dumpol'3, a little 
 to the southward of Sawyah. Juan Hadgee soon left his place 
 for Tomboo about a days' sail south, where he had bus.ness. 
 Here Captain Woodward and his men also followed him. The old 
 priest was willing to assist them to escape from here, but was evi- 
 dently unable to do it, Tomboo being under the direction of the 
 Rajah of Dungally. 
 
 Fortunately they succeeded in stealing a canoe in the night, 
 and once more shoving off, they directed their coarse to a small 
 island in the bay, where they landed at daybreak. Not being able 
 to tind water here as they expected, they landed at another point 
 of land, which they knew to be uninhabited. Having obtained 
 water and repaired their canoe, they directed their course to Ma- 
 cassar, which was then about five degrees to the southward. 
 After coasting along the island for the space of eight days, during 
 which time they were twice very nearly taken by the Malays, 
 they arrived at a part of the island of Celebes, which was very 
 thickly inhabited. 
 
 They passed many towns and saw many proas within the har- 
 bors. Having observed a retired place, they landed to procure 
 some freshwater, but they had hardly got a draught each, when two 
 canoes were seen coming to the very place where they were. 
 They iramediaiely shoved off and kept on their course all day. 
 Just as the sun went down they discovered two canoes not far 
 from them fishing. As soon as the natives saw them they made 
 the best of their way to the shore. Captain Woodv.ard wished to 
 inquire the distance to Macassar, but not being able to stop them 
 he made for one of two canoes wbich he saw at a distance lying 
 at anchor. Being told that the cajitain was below and asleep 
 he went down and awaicenei" him. He came on deck with three 
 or four men all armed with shears, and inquired where they were 
 going. Captain Woodward tiid him to jViacassar and inquired of 
 him the distance to that place. He answered that it would take 
 a morUh and a day to reach it. Captain Woodward told him it was 
 not true, and made the best of his way ofl*. The Malays however 
 rnade chase, but Captain Woodward and his men by putting out to 
 sea and makmg great exertion, soon lost sight of them and were 
 able again to stand in towards the land. 
 
32-1 ADVE.NTUKES OF CAPTAIN UOODWARD. 
 
 At dayliylit tlioy discovered a number of fishing canoes, two 
 of which made towards them. They let them come alongside as 
 there was only one man in each. One of them came on board 
 and Captain Woodward put tlic same question to him respecting 
 Macassar. Jle first suid it would take thirty days to reach there 
 afld asked them to go on shore and see the Rajah. But they de- 
 clined doing this, and he afterwards acknowledged that a proa 
 could go there in two days. 
 
 They then left the canoe and sailed along the coast. At 
 evening they perceived a proa full of Malay men set off from the 
 shore. It was soon along side, and four or five of them jumping 
 into the boat they nearly upset her, and thus Captain AVoodward 
 and his men were again prisoners of tiie Malays. Ihey were 
 carried to a town called Pamboon and then conducted to the 
 Rajah's house. The Rajah demanded of them whence they came 
 and whither they were going. Caotain Woodward answered the 
 same as before; he also told him tliat they must go immediately, 
 and must not be stopped. They had now become so familiar with 
 dangers and with captures, and were also so much nearer Macas- 
 sar, than they could have expected after so many narrow escapes 
 that they became more and more desperate and confident, frorp 
 the persuasion that they slioidd at last reach their destined port. 
 
 In the morning Captain Woodward again waited on the Rajah 
 and begged to be sent to Ma^^assar; telling him that the Govern- 
 or had sent for them, who would stop all his proas at Macassar 
 if he detained them. After thinking on it a short time, he callea 
 the captain of a proa, and delivered the prisoners to him, telling 
 him to carry them to Macassar, and if he could get any thing for 
 them, to take it, but if not to let them go. The proa not being 
 ready they stayed in their canoe three days, quite overcome by 
 their many hardships and fatigues. Captain Woodward having 
 had no shirt, the sun had burnt his sliouider so as to lay it quite 
 bare and produce a bad sore. Here ue caught cold, and was soon 
 attacked with a violent fever, so tliat by the time the proa was 
 ready to sail he was unable to stand. He was carried and 
 laid on the deck without a mat or any kind of clothing. The 
 cold nights and frequent showers of rain would without doubt 
 have killed hiu), had he not been kept alive by the hopes of reach- 
 ing Macassar, the thoughts of which kept up all their spirits. 
 
 They landed at Macassar on the loth of June 1795, after a 
 voyage of about nineteen days from Tomboo, and after having 
 been two years and five months in captivity; the reckoning which 
 Captain W^oodward kept during that time, being wrong only one 
 day 
 
SHIPWRECK OF THE BL'.NDENHALI,. 326 
 
 SHIPWRECK OF THE BLINDENHALL ON THE 
 INACCESSIBLE ISLAND. 
 
 After fortune and victory had finally abandoned Napoleon on 
 the field of Waterloo, and it had been determined by the bellige- 
 rent powers that the fortress of St. Helena should be tlio lifft 
 prison of the fallen Emperor, the British government deemed it a 
 measure of prudence to occupy Tristan Da Cunha, situated about 
 twenty degrees south of St. Helena, and which, in the event of 
 any plot for a rescue, it was apprehended might have afforded a 
 secure rendezvous, and offered considerable facilities for com- 
 bined and ulterior arrangements. In pursuance of that determi- 
 nation, a company of artillery was stationed on Tristan da Cunha, 
 a temporary framed barrack was erected, a fort constructed, 
 provisions were laid up, a few milch cows and calves were landed, 
 and the British flag waved over the melancholy waste! 
 
 About thirty-five miles from Tristan da Cunha stands, on abase 
 of solid rock, the Inaccessible Island. 
 
 In 1820-1, the Blindenhall, free trader, bound for Bombay, 
 partly laden with broadcloths, was prosecuting her voyage, and 
 being driven by adverse winds and currents, more to the westward 
 and southward than her course required, it became desirable to 
 make Tristan da Cunha, in order to ascertain and rectify the 
 reckoning. It was while steering to effect this purpose, that one 
 morning a passenger, who chanced to be on dock earlier than 
 usual, observed great quantities of sea-weed occasionally floating 
 alongside. This excited some alarm, and a man was immediately 
 sent aloft to keep a good look-out. The weather was then ex- 
 tremely hazy, though moderate; the weeds continued — all were 
 on the alert; they shortened sail, and the boatswain piped for 
 breakfast In less than tqn minutes, " Breakers a-head!" startled 
 every soul, and in a moment all were on deck. " Breakers star- 
 board! — breakers larboard! — breakers all around!" was the omin- 
 ous cry a moment afterwards, and all was confusion. The words 
 were scarcely uttered, when — and before the helm was up — the 
 ili-fated ship struck, and, after a few tremendous shocks against 
 the sunken reef, she parted about midship. Ropes and stays 
 were cut away — ail rushed forward, as if instinctively, and had 
 barely reached the torecastle, when the stern and quarter broke 
 asunder with a violent crash, and sunk to rise no more. Two of the 
 seamen miserably perished; the rest, including officers, passen- 
 gers, and crew, held on about the head and bows; — the struggle 
 was for life! 
 
 At this moment the Inaccessible Island, which till then had 
 been veiled in o'ouds and thick mist, appeared frosvning above the 
 
526 SUirAVIJKCK 01' the nUNUUNUALr. 
 
 haze. Till) wiTck \v;is iiiok- tiiuti two liiilcs fr.jtn the frighlfiij 
 shore. The base of the Ishmd was still buried in impenetrable 
 gloom In l!. is |)crilous extremity one was for cutting away the 
 anriior, which had horn got up to the cat-head in time of need; 
 anotlier was for cutting down the foremast, (the l"oreto|)mast being 
 already by the board). 'J'he fog totally disappeared, and the 
 black rocUy island stood in all its rugged deformity before their 
 eyes! Sudd<Mily the sun broke out in full splendor, as if to ex- 
 pose more clearly to the view of the sufferers their dreadful pre- 
 dicament. Despair was in every bosom; death, arrayed in all its 
 terrors, sectned to hover over the wreck. But exertion wag 
 required, and Providence inspired unhopedfor fortitude; — every 
 thing that human energy could devise was effected; and the 
 wreck on which all eagerly clung, was miraculously drifted by 
 the tide and wind, between ledges of sunken rocks and thunder 
 ing breakers, until after tlve lapse of six hours, it entered Ihe onlij 
 spol on the island where a landing was possibly practicable, for 
 all the other parts of the coast consisted of perpendicular cliffs 
 of granite rising from amidst deafening surf, to the height of 
 twenty, forty, and sixty feet. As the shore was neared, a raft 
 was prepared, and on this a few paddled for the cove; — at last the 
 wreck drove right in; ropes were instantly thrown out; and the 
 crew and passengers (except two who had been crushed in 
 the wreck,) including three ladies and a female attenaant, were 
 providentially snatched from the watery grave, which a tew short 
 hours before had appeared inevitable,-^ — and safely landed on the 
 beach. Evening had now set in, and every effort was made to 
 secure whatever could be saved from the wreck: bales of cloth, 
 cases of wine, a few boxes of cheese, some hams, the carcass of 
 the milch cow that had been washed on shore, buckets, tuba", 
 butts, a seaman's chest (containing a tinder-box, and needles and 
 thread), with a number of elegant mahogany turned bed-posts, 
 part of an investment for the India market, were got on shore. 
 The rain poured down in torrents, all hands were busily at work 
 to procure a shelter from the weather, and with the bed-posts and 
 broadcloths, and part of the foresail, as many tents were soon 
 pitched as there were individuals in the island. 
 
 Drenched with the sea and with the rain,— hungry, cold, and 
 comfortless, thousands of miles from their native land, almost be- 
 yond expectation of human succor, hope nearly annihilated, the 
 shipwrecked voyagers retired to their tents, some devoutly to 
 prostrate themselves in humble thankfulness before that merciful 
 Being who had so wonderfully delivered them from destruction, 
 others to rest after the dreadful i'atigue by which they were 
 exhausted, and some to drown their cares in wine. In the jnorn- 
 ing the wreck had gone to pieces; and planks and spars and 
 ivhatever had floated in, were eagerly dragged on shore. No 
 Booner was the unfortunate ship broken up, than, deeming them- 
 
SHIPWRECK OP THE BLINDENHALL. 32/ 
 
 selves freed from the bonds of authority, many bcg;.n to secure 
 whatever came to land; and the captain, officers, passengers and 
 crew, were now reduced to the same level, and obliged lo take 
 their turn to fetch water, and explore the island for food. The 
 work of exploring was soon over: there was not a bird, nor a 
 quadruped, nor a single tree to be seen I All was barren and 
 desolate. The low parts were scattered over with stones and 
 sand, and a few stunted weeds, reeds, fern and other plants. 
 The top of the mountain was found to consist of a fragment of 
 original table-land, very marshy, and full of deep sloughs, inter- 
 sected with small rills of water, pure and pellucid as crystal, and 
 a profusion of wild parsley and celery. The prospect was one 
 dreary scene of destitution, without a single ray of hope to re- 
 lieve the misery of the desponding crew. After some days the 
 dead cow, hams and cheese were consumed, and from one end of 
 the Island to the other, not a morsel of food could be seen. Even 
 the celery began to fail. A few bottles of wine, which, for security, 
 had been secreted under ground, only remained. Famine now I* 
 gan to threaten; — every stone near the sea was examined for shell 
 fish, but in vain. In this extremity, as the Quarter-master's wife 
 was sitting at her tent door, with the child crying at her breast, 
 faint and exhausted, — a group of half starved seamen passed by, 
 when one of them turning round exclaimed " by — that will make 
 a drop of broth, if nothing else turns upV The observation spoke 
 daggers to the poor creature. On the return of night, as- the 
 poor hungry wretches were squatting in sullen dejection round 
 their fires, on a sudden hundreds of birds from seaward came 
 actually flying through the flames; many fell dead, scorched or 
 suffocated, and thus were the sufferers again rescued for a time 
 from the horrors which so imminently beset them. For several 
 nights in succession, similar flocks came in, and by multiplying 
 their fires, a considerable supply was secured. 
 
 These visits however ceased at length, and the wretched party 
 were again exposed to the most severe privation. When their 
 stock of wild fowl had been exhausted for more than two days, 
 each began to fear they were now approaching that sad point of 
 necessity, when between death and casting lots who should be 
 sacrificed to serve for food for the rest, no alternative remains. 
 While horror at the bare contemplation of an extremity so repulsive 
 occupied the thoughts of all, the horizon was observed to be sud- 
 denly obscured, and presently clouds of penguins lighted on the 
 island. The low grounds were actually covered; and before the 
 evening was dark, the sand could not be seen for the numbers of 
 eggs, which like a sheet of snow, lay on the surface of the earth! 
 The penguins continued on the island four or five days, when, aa 
 if by signal, the wtiole took their flight, and were never seen 
 again. A few were killed, but the flesh was so extremely rank 
 and oauseous. that it coul d not be eaten. The egtrs were roJ- 
 
3Jy Tin; CLIFFS of novF.u. 
 
 lectcd, and dressed in all manner of ways, and supplied abundance 
 of food for upwards of three weeks. At the expiration of that 
 period, famine once nmrc seemed inevitable; the third morning 
 began to dawn upon the unfortunate company, alter their stock 
 of eggs were exhausted; they had now been without food for 
 more tiian forty hours, and were fainting and dejected, — when, as 
 though this desolate rock were really a land of miracles, a man 
 came running up to the encampment, with the unexpected and 
 joyful tidings, that " millions of sea-c^^ws had came on shore!" 
 'J'he crew climbed over the ledge of rocks which flar.ked their 
 tents, and the sight of a shoal of manatees immediately beneatb. 
 them gladdened their hearts. These came in with the flood, and 
 were left in the puddles between the broken rocks of the cove. 
 This supply continued for two or three weeks. The flesh was 
 mere blubber and quite unfit for food, for not a man could retain 
 it on his stomach, but the liver was excellent, and on this they 
 subsisted. In the meantime, the carpenter with his gang had 
 constructed a boat, and tour of the men had adventured in her 
 for Tristan da Cunha, in hopes of ultimately extricating their 
 fellow sufferers from their perilous situation. Unfortunately the 
 boat was lost, whether carried away by the violence of the cur- 
 rents that set in between the islands, or dashed to pieces against 
 the breakers, was never known, for no vestige of the boat or the 
 crew was ever seen. Before the manatees, however, began to 
 quit the shore, a second boat was launced; and in this, an ofli- 
 cer and some seamen made a second attempt, and happily 
 succeeded in effecting their landing, after much labor, on the 
 island of Governor Glass. He received them most cordially, and 
 with humanity, which neither time, nor place, nor total seclusion 
 from the world had enfeebled or impaired; he instantly launched 
 his boat, and, unawed by considerations of personal danger, 
 hastened, at the risk of his life, to deliver his shipwrecked coun- 
 trymen from the calamities they had so long endured. He made 
 repeated trips, surmounted all difficulties, and fortunately succeed- 
 ed in safely landing them on his own island, after they had been 
 exposed for nearly three months to the horrors of a situation 
 almost unparalleled in the recorded sufferings of seafaring men 
 
 THE CLIFFS OF DOVER 
 
 Dover, a seaport town of England, in the county of Kent, is 
 Bituated on a small stream which falls into the harbor. It lies ir 
 ft valley almost surrounded by chalky cliffs, from the precipitation 
 »f »on)e of which serious accidents have ensued. Dover consist* 
 
THE CLIFFS OF DOVER 
 
 329 
 
 chiefly of tnree long streets converging to one point; the upper 
 part called the town, and the lower the pier. It is defended by 
 a strong and spacious castle, including an area of about thirty- 
 five acres; and all the neighboring heights are fortified. It or 
 cupies a lofty eminence, steep and rugged towards the town and 
 harbor, and presents a precipitous clilf three hundred and twenty 
 feet higher than the sea. Some antiquaries have ascribed its 
 origin to the Romans under Julius; atid it is certain that a Roman 
 pharos, or watch-tower, whose site exhibits a modern redoubt, 
 stood in the neighborhood It consists of numerous edifices, 
 
 :>^^^^^fcr--i^=-- 
 
 Dover Castle 
 
 among which are many towers, erected at different times, ani al. 
 designated by particular names. The keep, which stands in the 
 upper court is ninety-two feet high, is in good preservation, 
 and is used as a magazine. Water is drawn from wells three 
 hundred and seventy ioet deep to supply the garrison. 
 
 The castle makes a distinguished figure in history, and \ra3 
 once deemed impregnable; but it was surprised and taken i)y a 
 very small party of the parliamentary forces in the ign of 
 Charles I. Near the edge of the cliff there is a beautiful piece 
 of brass ordnance, twenty-four feet long, and carrying a twelve 
 pound ball: it is finely ornamented by figures in has relief, and 
 was made at Utrecht in la44. Among the recent improvements, 
 and tiirtificaiions resulting from the apprehension of invasion by 
 the French, are subterraneous works and casematea capable of 
 accommodating two thousand men. 
 
 Dover is one of the Cinque Ports. The harbor can receive 
 vessels of four hundred or five hundred tons, and is defended bv 
 i>3* 
 
S30 THE makinehs h;'mn. 
 
 strong batteries. It is the principal place of crii'oarkation to 
 France, and employs twenty-seven packets for that purpose. The 
 chnnnol is about twenty-two miles wide. There are hot and cold 
 baths here, and the town is much resorted to in summer for sea- 
 bathing. Sar>\phire is still gathered from the cliffs as in the days 
 of Shakspear»j, and employed in making a fine flavored pickle. 
 
 About six miles from Dover, between Bologne and Folkstone 
 IS a narrow submarine hill, called the Rip-raps, about a quarter 
 of a mile broad, and ten miles long, extending eastward, towards 
 the Goodwin sands. Its materials are boulder-stones, adventitious 
 to many strata. The depth of water on it, 'n very low spring 
 tides, is only fourteen feet. The fishermen from Folkstone have 
 often touched it with a fifteen feet oar: so that it is justly the 
 dread of navigators. INIany a tall ship has struck on it, and sunk 
 instantly into twenty-one fathoms of water. In Tuly, 1782, the 
 Belleisle, of sixty-four guns, struck and lay on it during three 
 hours; but, by starting her beer and water, got clear off. It ig 
 said that the breadth of the straits between Dover and Calais, is 
 diminishing; and that they are two miles narrower than they were 
 in ancient times. An accurate observer for fit^y years remarks 
 that the increased height of water, from a decrease of breathh, 
 lias been apparent, even in that space. 
 
 THE MARINER'S HYMN. 
 
 Launch thy bark. Mariner ! 
 Christian ! God speed thee — 
 Let loose the rudder-bands — 
 Good angels lead thee ! 
 Set thy sails warily, 
 Tempests will come — 
 Steer thy bark steadily, 
 Christian ! steer home ' 
 
 Look to the weather-bow, 
 Breakers are round thee — 
 Let fall thy plummet now, 
 Shallows may ground thee 
 Reef in the foresail, there ' 
 Hold the helm fast! — 
 So — let the vessel wear — 
 There swept the blast. 
 
 What of the night, watchuMB.' 
 What of the night? 
 " Cloudy — all quiet — 
 No land' yet — all's right' 
 
AV ACCOUNT OF THE WHALE-FISHERY SSI 
 
 Be wakeful — be vig.l;int— 
 Danger may be 
 At an hour when all seemest 
 Securest to thee. 
 
 How gains the leak so fast ? 
 Clear out the hold — 
 Hoist up the merchandise- 
 Heave out thy gold! 
 There — let the ingots go ! 
 Now the ship rights — 
 Huzza ! the harbour's near — 
 Lo I the red lights I 
 
 Slacken not sail yet 
 At inlet or island ; 
 Straight for the beacon steer, 
 Straight for the high-land : 
 Crowd all thy canvass on, 
 Cut tlirough the foam — 
 Christian ! Cast anc.ior now — 
 Heaven is thy home I" 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE WHALE-FISHERY; 
 
 WITH ANECDOTES OF THE DANGERS &C. ATTENDING IT. 
 
 Historians, in general, have given to the Bis-cayans the CFedit 
 of having first practised the fishery for the whale; the English, 
 and afterwards the Dutch are supposed to have followed ia 
 the pursuit. It was prosecuted by the Norwegians so early as 
 the ninth century, and by the Icelanders about the eleventh. It 
 was not till the seventeenth century, however, that the whale fish- 
 ery was engaged in by the maritime nations of Europe as an im 
 portant branch of commerce. 
 
 The crew of a whale-ship usually consists of forty to fifty men, 
 comprising several classes of officers, such as harpooners, boat- 
 steerers, line-managers, &.c., together with fore-mast-men, land- 
 men, and apprentices. As a stimulus to the crew in the fishery, 
 every individual, irom the master down to the boys, besides his 
 monthly pay, receives either a gratuity for every size fish caught 
 during the voyage, or a certain sum for every ton of oil which the 
 cargo produces. Masters and harpooners receive a small sum 
 belure sailing, in place of monthly wages; and if they procure no 
 'largo whfitever, they receive nothing more for their voyage; but 
 in the event of a successful fishing, their advantages are consid- 
 » fable. 
 
 The cviyw^s nesl is an apparatus placed on the main-top-mast, or 
 
S-'W AN ACCOU.Vr OK THE Wll A LH-FiSII KIIY. 
 
 top-gallant-mast head, as a watch tower for the oflicer on the look 
 out. It is closely defended from the wind and cold, and is fur- 
 nished with a speaking-trumpet, a telescope, and rifle. The most 
 favorable opportunity tor prosecuting tlie fishery in the Greenland 
 seas, commonly occurs with north, north-west or west winds. At 
 such times the sea is smooth, and the atmosphere, though cloudy 
 and dark, is generally tree from fog and snow. The fishers pre- 
 fer a cloudy to a clear sky; because in very bright weather, the 
 sea becomes illuniinated, and the shadows of the whale-boats are 
 so deeply impressed in the water by the beams of the sun that the 
 whales are apt to take the alarm. Fogs are only so far unfavora- 
 ble as being liable to endanger the boats by shutting out the sight 
 of the ship. A well constructed whale-boat floats lightly and 
 safely on the water, — is capable of being rowed ^vith great speed, 
 and readily turned round, — it is of such capacity that it carries 
 six or seven men, seven or eight hundred weight of whale-lines, 
 and various otlier materials, and yet retains the necessary prop- 
 erties of safety and speed. Whale-boats being very liable to 
 receive damage, both from whales and ice, are always carver- 
 built, — a structure which is easily repaired. The instruments of 
 general use in the capture of the whale, are the harpoon and 
 lance. There is, moreover, a kind of harpoon which is shot from 
 a gun, but being difiicult to adjust, it is seldom used. Each boat 
 is likewise furnirhed with a " jack " or flag fastened to a pole, 
 inteuded to be displayed as a signal whenever a whale is harpoon- 
 ed. The crew of a whale-ship are separated into divisions, equal 
 in number to the number of the boats. Each division, consisting 
 of a harpooner, a boat-steerer, and a line manager, together with 
 three or four rowers, constitutes a " boat's crew." 
 
 On fishing stations, when the weather is such as to render the 
 fishery practicable, the boats are always ready for instant service. 
 The crow's nest is generally occupied by one of the officers, who 
 keeps an anxious watch for the appearance of a whale. The mo- 
 ment that a fish is seen, he gives notice to the " watch upon deck,' 
 part of whom leap into a boat, are lowered down, and push ofT 
 towards the place. If the fish be large, a second boat is despatch- 
 ed to the support of the other; and when the whole of the boats 
 are sent out, the ship is said to have " a loose fall." There are 
 several rules observed in approaching a whale to prevent the 
 .inimal from taking the alarm. As the whale is dull of hearing, 
 but quick of sight, the boat-steerer always endeavors to get be- 
 hind it; and, in accomplishing this, he is sometimes ustified in 
 taking a circuitous rout. In calm weather, where guns are not 
 used, the greatest caution is necessary before a whale can tie 
 reached; smooth careful rowing is always requisite, and sometimes 
 sculling is practised. It is a primary consideration with the har- 
 pooner, always to place his boat as near as possible to the spot 
 in which he exoects the fish to rise, and he conceives himself sue- 
 
AN ACCOUiNT OF THE \VHALE-FI«HERY. 333 
 
 cessful in the attempt when the fish " comes up witliin a start,' 
 that is, within the distance of abuuttwo hundred yards. 
 
 Whenever a whale lies on the surface of the water, unconcioiis 
 of the approach of its enemies, the hardy fisher rows directly upon 
 it; and an instant before the boat touches it, buries his harpoon 
 in its back. Tlie wounded whale, in the surprise and agony of 
 the moment, makes a convulsive effort to escape. Then is the 
 moment of danger. The boat is subjected to the most violent 
 blows from its head, or its fins, but particularly from its ponderous 
 tail, which sometimes sweeps the air with such tremendous fury, 
 that both boat and men are exposed to one common destruction. 
 
 The head of the whale is avoided, because it cannot be pene- 
 trated with the harpoon; but any part of the body, between the 
 head and the tail, will admit of the full length of the instrument, with- 
 out danger of obstruction. The moment that the wounded whale 
 disappears, a flag is displayed; on sight of which, those on watcl 
 in the ship, give the alarm, by stamping on the deck, accompani 
 ed by shouts of" a tail." At the sound of this, the sleeping crew 
 are roused, jump from their beds, rush upon deck, and crowd 
 into the boats. The alarm of" a fall," has a singular effect on 
 the feelings of a sleeping person, unaccustomed to hearing it. It 
 has often been mistaken as a cry of distress. A landsman, see- 
 ing the crew, on an occasion of a fall, leap into the boats in their 
 shirts, imagined that the ship was sinking. He therefore tried to 
 get into a boat himself, but every one of them being fully manned^ 
 he was refused. After several fruitless endeavors to gain a place 
 among his comrades, he cried out, in evident distress, " VVhat 
 shall 1 do? — Will none of you take me in?" 
 
 The first effort of a " fast-fish," or whale that bas been struck, 
 is to escape from the boat by sinking under water. After this, 
 it pursues its course directly downward, or reappears at a little 
 distance, and swims with great celerity, near the surface of the 
 water. It sometimes returns instantly to the surface, and gives 
 evidence of its agony by the most convulsive throes. The down- 
 ward course of a whale is, however, the most common. A whale, 
 struck near the edge of any large sheet of ice, and passing under- 
 neath it, will sometimes run the whole of the lines out of one boat. 
 The approaching distress of a boat, for want of line, is indicated 
 Dy the elevation of an oar, to which is^ added a second, a third, or 
 even a fourth, in proportion to the nature of the exigence. The ut- 
 most care and attention are requisite, on the part of every person 
 in the boat, when the lines are running out; fatal consequences 
 qaving been sometimes produced by the most trifling neglect 
 When the line happens to " run foul," and cannot be cleared on 
 ^he instant, it sometimes draws the boat under water; on which, if 
 no auxiliary boat, or convenient piece of ice, be at hand, the crew 
 are plunged ioto the sea, and are obliged to trust to their oars of 
 their skill in swimming, for supporting themselves on the surface 
 
33-1 AN ACCOUNT OF THE UHALE-FISHERT. 
 
 Captain Scoresby relates an accident of this kind, which hap- 
 pened on his tirst voyage to the whale-fishery. A thousand fath- 
 oms of line were already out, and the fast-boat was forcibly pres- 
 sed against the side of a piece of ice. The harpooncr, in his anx- 
 iety to retard the flight of the whale, applied too many turns of 
 the line round the bollard, which, getting entangled, drew the 
 boat beneath the ice. Another boat, providentially was at hand, 
 into which the crew had just time to escape. The whale, with 
 near two miles' length of line, was, in consequence of the acci- 
 dent, lost, but the boat was recovered. 
 
 The average stay under water, of a wounded whale, is ibout 
 thirty minutes. When it le-appears, the assisting boats make 
 for the place with their utmost speed, and as they reach it, each 
 harpooner plunges his harpoon into its back, to the amount of 
 three, four, or more, according to the size of the whale. It is 
 then actively plied with lances, which are thrust into its body, 
 aiming at its vitals. The sea to a great extent around is dyed 
 with its blood, and the noise made by its tail in its dying struggle, 
 may be heard several miles. In dying, it turns on its back or 
 DH its side; which circumstance is announced by the capturers 
 svith the striking of their flags, accompanied with three lively 
 huzzas! 
 
 Whales are sometimes captured, with a single harpoon, in the 
 space of fifteen minutes. Sometimes they resist forty or fifty hours, 
 and at times they will break three or four lines at once, or tear 
 themselves clear off the harpoons, by the violence of their strug- 
 gles. Generally the capture of a whale depends on the activity 
 of the hai'pooner, the state of the wind and weather, or the pecu- 
 liar conduct of the animal itself Under the most favorable cir- 
 cumstances, the length of time does not exceed an hour. The 
 general average may be stated at two hours. Instances have oc 
 cured where whales have been taken without being struck at all, 
 simply by entangling themselves in the lines that had been used 
 to destroy others, and struggling till they were drowned or died 
 of exhaustion. 
 
 The fishery for whales, when conducted at the margin of those 
 wonderful sheets of ice, called fields, is, when the weather is fine, 
 and the refuge for ships secure, the most agreeable and some- 
 times the most productive of all other ways. When the fish can 
 be observed " blowing " in any of the holes in a field, the 
 men travel over the ice and attack it with lances, to turn it 
 back. As connected with this subject. Captain Scoresby re- 
 lates the following circumstance, which occurred under his own 
 observation. 
 
 On the eighth of July 1813, the ship Esk lay by the edge of a 
 arge sheet of ice, in which there were several thin parts, and 
 some holes. Here a whale being heard blowing, a harpoon, with 
 ft line fastened to it, was conveyed across the ice. from a boat <sd 
 
AN ACCOUNT OF THE WHALE-FISHEUT. f>".5 
 
 guard, and the harpooner succeeded in striking the whale, al the 
 distance of three hundred and fifty yards from tlie verge. It drag- 
 ged out ten lines, (2400 yards,) and was supposed to be seen 
 blowing in different holes in the ice. After some time it made itg 
 appearance on the exterior, and was again struck, at the moment 
 it was about to go under the second time. About rn hundred 
 yards fron the edge, it broke the ice where it was a foot thick, 
 with its head, and respired through the opening. It then pushed 
 forward, breaking the ice as it advanced, in spite of the lances 
 constantly directed against it. At last it reached a kind of basin 
 in the field, where it floated on the surface without any incum- 
 brance from ice. Its back being fairly exposed, the harpoon 
 struck from the boat on the outside, was observed to he so slightly 
 entangled, that it was ready to drop out. Some of the othcers 
 lamented this circumstance, and wished that the harpoon might 
 bo better/rts<; at the same time observing that if it should slip out, 
 either the fish would be lost, or they would be under the necessity 
 of flinching it where it lay, and of dragging the blubber over the 
 ice to the ship; a kind and degree of labor every one was anxious 
 to avoid. No sooner was the wish expressed, and its importance 
 explained, than a young and daring sailor stepped forward, and 
 offered to strike the harpoon deeper. Not at all intimidated by 
 the surprise manifested on every countenance at such a bold pro- 
 posal, he leaped on the back of the living whale, and cut the har 
 poon out with his pocket knife. Stimulated by his gallant exam- 
 ple, one of his companions proceeded to his assistance. While 
 one of them hauled upon the line and held it in his hands, the 
 other set his shoulder against the end of the harpoon, and though 
 it was without a stock, contrived to strike it again into the fish 
 more effectually than at first! The whale was in motion before 
 they had finished. After they got off' its back, it advanced a con- 
 siderable distance, breaking the ice all the way, and survived this 
 novel treatment ten or fifteen minutes. This daring deed was oJ 
 essential service. The whale fortunately sunk spontaneously 
 after it expired; on which it was hauled out under the ice by the 
 line and secured without farther trouble. It proved a mighty 
 whale; a very considerable prize. 
 
 When engaged in the pursuit of a large whale, it is a necessary 
 precaution for two boats at all times to proceed in company, that 
 the one may be able to assist the other, on any emergency. 
 With this principle in view, two boats from the Esk were sent 
 out in chase of some large whales, on the 13th of June 1814. 
 No ice was within sight. The boats had proceeded some time 
 together, when they separated in pursuit of two whales, not far 
 distant from each other; when, by a singular coincidence, the 
 harpooners each struck his fish at the same moment. They were 
 a mile from the ship. Urgent signals for assistance were display- 
 ed by each boat, and in a few minutes one of the harpooners was 
 
536 AN ACCOUNT OK THE WHAl.E FISIIF.RT. 
 
 obliged to sii|) tho end ol" his Hue. Fortunately tlie otlier fish did 
 not descend so deep, and the lines in the boat jiroved adequate 
 for the occasion. One of the iisli ijoiufj tiien supposed to he lost, 
 five of the boats out of seven attended on the fish which yet re 
 mained entangled, and speedily killed it. A short time afterwards, 
 the other lish supjjosed to be lost, was descried at a little distance 
 from the place where it was struck; — three boats proceeded 
 against it; — it was immediately struck, and in twenty minutes also 
 killed. Thus were fortunately captured two whales, both of which 
 had been despaired of They produced near forty tons of oil, 
 value, at that time 1400/, The lines attached to the last fish wero 
 recovered with it. 
 
 Uefore a whale can be flensed, as the operation of taking off the 
 fat and whalebone is called, some preliminary measures are requi- 
 site. These consist in securing the whale to a boat, cutting away 
 the attached whale-lines, lashing the fins together, and towing it 
 to the ship. Some curious circumstances connected with these 
 operations, may be mentioned here. 
 
 In the year 18 IG, a fish was, to all appearance killed by the 
 crew of the Esk. The fins were partly lashed, and the tail on the 
 point of being secured, and all the lines excepting one, were cut 
 away, the fish meanwhile lying as if dead. To the alarm, how- 
 ever, of the sailors, it revived, began to move, and pressed for- 
 ward in a convulsive agitation; soon after it sunk in the water to 
 some depth, and then died. One line fortunately remained attach- 
 ed to it, by which it was drawn to the surface and secured. 
 
 A suspension of labir is generally allowed after the whale huA 
 been secured aside of the ship, and before the commencement of 
 the operation oi' flensing. An unlucky circumstance once occurred 
 in an interval of this kind. At that period of the fishery, (forty 
 or fiity years ago,) when a single stout whale, together with the 
 bounty, was found sufficient to remunerate the owners of a ship 
 for the expenses of the voyage, great joy was exhibited on the 
 capture of a whale, by the fishers. They were not «mly cheered 
 by a dram of spirits, but sometimes provided with some favorite 
 *' mess," on which to regale themselves, before they commenced 
 the arduous task of flensing. At such a period, the crew of an 
 English vessel had captured their first whale. It was taken to 
 the ship, placed on the lee-side, and though the wind blew a strong 
 breeze, it was fastened only by a small rope attached to the fin. 
 In this state of supposed security, all hands retired to regale them- 
 eelves, the captain himself not excepted. The ship Ijeing at a 
 distance from any ice, and the fish believed to be fast, they made 
 no great haste in their enjoyment. At length, the specksioneer, 
 or chief harpooner, having spent sufficient time in indulgence and 
 equipment, with an air of importance and self-confidence, pro- 
 ceeded on deck, and naturally turned to look on the whale. To 
 his astonishment it was not to be seen. In some alarm he looked 
 
AN ACCOUNT Or THE V.IULE FlbHERT. 337 
 
 a-stcrn, a-head, on the other side, but his search was useless: the 
 ship drifting fast, had pressed forcibly upon the whale, the rope 
 broke, the tish sunk and was lost. The mortification of this event 
 may be conceived, but the termination of their vexation will not 
 easily be imagined, when it is known, that no other opportunity 
 of procuring a whale occurred during the voyage. The ship '^«- 
 turned home clean. 
 
 Flensing in a sivell is a most difficult and dangerous undertak- 
 ing: and when the swell is at all considerable, it is commonly im- 
 practicable. No ropes or blocks are capable of bearing the jerk 
 of the sea. The harpooners are annoyed by the surge, and re- 
 peatedly drenched in water; and are likewise subject to be wound- 
 ed by the breaking of ropes or hooks of tackles, and even by 
 strokes from each other's knives. Hence accidents in this kind of 
 flensing are not uncommon. The harpooners not unfrequently 
 fall into the whale's mouth, when it is exposed by the removal of 
 a surface of blubber; where they might easily be drowned, but 
 for the prompt assistance which is always at hand. 
 
 One of the laws of the fishery universally adhered to, is, that 
 whenever a whale is loose, whatever may be the case or circum- 
 stances, it becomes a free prize to the first person who gets hold 
 of it. Thus, when a whale is killed, and the flensing is prevent- 
 ed by a storm, it is usually taken in tow; if the rope by which it 
 is connected with the ship should happen to break, and the people 
 of another ship should seize upon it while disengaged, it becomes 
 their prize. The following circumstance, which occurred a good 
 many years ago, has a tendency to illustrate the existing Green- 
 land laws. 
 
 During a storm of wind and snow several ships were beating 
 to windward, under easy sail, along the edge of a pack. When 
 the storm abated and the weather cleared, the ships steered to- 
 wards the ice. Two of the fleet approached it, about a mile asun- 
 der, abreast of each other, when the crews of each ship accident- 
 ally got sight of a dead fish at a little distance, within some loose 
 ice. Each ship now made sail, to endeavor to reach the fish be- 
 fore the other; which fish being loose, would be a prize to the first 
 who could get possession of it. Neither ship could out sail the 
 other, but each contrived to press forward towards the prize. The 
 •ittlc advantage one of them had in distance, the other compensa- 
 ted with velocity. On each bow of the two ships, was stationed a 
 piincipal officer, armed v/ith a harpoon in readiness to discharge. 
 But it so happened that the ships came in contact with each other 
 when within a few yards of the fish, and in consequence of the 
 shock with which their bows met, they rebounded to a considera- 
 ble distance. The officers at the same moment discharged their 
 harpoons, but all of them fell short of the fish. A hardy fellow 
 who was second mate of the leeward ship immediately leaped over- 
 board and with great de.xterity swam to the whale, sc. zed it by the 
 29 
 
338 AN ACCOC.NT OK TIlH uu.u.i; liSIir.U . 
 
 tin, and proclnimcd it his piizo. It whs, however, so swollerv 
 that he was unable to climb upon it, but was obli<jed to r"iuaia 
 shiveriuj; in the water until assistance should be sent. His cap- 
 tain elated with his good luck, i'orgot, or at least neglected hia 
 brave second mate; and before he thought of sending a boat to 
 release him from his disagreeable situation, prepared to moor his 
 ship to an adjoining piece of ice. Meanwhile the other ship 
 tacked, and the master himself stepped into a boat, pushed ofi" 
 and rowed deliberately towards the dead fish. Observing the 
 trembling seaman still in the water holding by the fin, he address- 
 ed him with, " Weil my lad, you have got a fine fish here," — to 
 which after a natural reply in the affirmative, he added, ' but 
 Qo'nt you find it very cold.'" — "Yes," replied the shivering 
 sailor, " I' m almost starved. I wish you would allow me to come 
 into your boat until our's arrive." This favor needed no second 
 solicitation; the boat approached the man and he was assistea into 
 it. The fish being again loose and out of possession, the captain 
 instantly struck his harpoon into it, hoisted his flag, and claimed 
 his prize! Mortified and displeased as the other master felt at 
 this trick, for so it certainly was, he had nevertheless no redress, 
 but was obliged to permit the fish to be taken on board of his 
 competitor's ship, and to content himself with abusing the second 
 mate for want of discretion, and condemning himself for not 
 having more compassion on the poor fellow's feeling, which would 
 have prevented the disagreeable misadventure. 
 
 Those employed in the occupation of killing whales, are, when 
 actually engaged, exposed to danger from three sources, viz. fronv 
 the ice, from the climate, and from the whales themselves. The 
 ice is a source of danger to the fishers, from overhanging masses 
 falling upon them, — from the approximation of large sheets of ice 
 to each other, which are apt to crush or upset the boats, — from 
 their boats being s.ove and sunk by large masses of ice, agitated 
 by a swell, — and from the boats being enclosed and beset in a 
 pack of ice, and their crews thus prevented from joining their 
 ships. 
 
 On the commencement of a heavy gale of wind, May llth. 
 1813, fourteen men put oflf'in a boat from the Volunteer of Wh-i- 
 by, with the view of setting an anchor in a large piece of ice, *o 
 which it was their intention of mooring the ship. The ship 
 approached on a signal being made, the sails were clewed up, 
 and a rope fixed to the anchor; but the ice shivering with the vio- 
 lence of the strain when the ship fell astern, the anchor flew oat 
 and the ship went adrift. The sails being again set, the ship was 
 reached to the eastward (wind at north' the distance of about 
 two miles; but in attempting to wear and return, the ship, inscead 
 of performing the evolution, scudded a jonsiderable distance ta 
 the leeward, and was then reaching out to sea; thus leaving lour- 
 teen of her crew to a fate most dreadful, che fulfil nenl of w^icn 
 
AN ACCOUNT OP THE WHALE FISHERT. 3S9 
 
 seemed almost inevitable. The temperature of the air was 15" 
 or 16^ ot Fahr., when these poor wretches were left upon a de- 
 tached piece of ice, of no considerable magnitude, without food, 
 without shelter from the inclement storm, deprived of every means 
 of refuge except in a single boat, which, on account of the num- 
 ber of men, and the violence of tiie storm, was incapable of 
 conveying them to their ship. Death stared them in the face 
 whichever way they turned, and a division in opinion ensued. 
 Some were wishful to remain on the ice, but the ice could afford 
 them no shelter to the piercing wind, and would probably be 
 broken to pieces by the increasing swell: others were anxious to 
 attempt to join their ship while she was yet in sight, but the 
 force of the wind, the violence of the sea, the smallness of the 
 boat in comparison to the number of men to be conveyed, were 
 objections which would have appeared insurmountable to any 
 person but men in a state of despair. Judging, that by remaining 
 on the ice, death was but retarded tor a few hours, as the extreme 
 cold must eventually benumb their faculties, and invite a sleep 
 which would overcome the remains of animation, — -they determin- 
 ed on making the attempt of rowing to their ship. Poor souls, 
 •what must have been their sensations at that moment, — when the 
 spark of hope yet remaining was so feeble, that a premature 
 death even to themselves seemed inevitable. They made the 
 daring experiment, when a kw minutes' trial convinced them, 
 that the attempt was utterly impracticable. They then with long- 
 ing eyes, turned their efforts towards recovering the ice they 
 had left, but their utmost exertions were unavailing. Every one 
 now viewed his situation as desperate; and anticipated, as certain, 
 the fatal event which was to put a period to his life. How great 
 must have been their delight, and how overpowering their sensa- 
 tions, when at this most critical juncture a ship appeared in sight' 
 She was advancing directly towards them; their voices were ex- 
 tended and their fiag displayed. But although it was impossible 
 they should be heard, it was not impossible they should be seen, 
 'fheir flag was descried by the people on board the ship, their 
 mutual courses were so directed as to form the speediest union, 
 and ifl a few minutes they found themselves on the deck of the 
 Lively of Whitby, under circumstances of safety! They receiv- 
 ed from their townsmen the warmest congratulations; and while 
 each individual was forward in contributing his assistance towards 
 the restoration of their benumbed bodies, each appeared sensible 
 that their narrow escape from death was highly providential. The 
 forbearance of God is wonderful. Perhaps these very men a few 
 hours before, were impiously invoking their own destruction, oi 
 venting imprecations upon their fellow beings! True it is tha'. 
 the goodness of the Almighty extendeth over all his works, ancj 
 that while ' IMeroy is his darling attribute,' — 'Judgment is hi « 
 strange work.' 
 
^10 AN ACCOC.NT OF TIIF. WH.VI.F, KISHRRT. 
 
 The most ext(Misive source of danger to the whale-fishcr, «\'hen 
 actively enga<rcil in his occupation, arises from the object of hig 
 pursuit. Excepting when it has young under its protection, the 
 whale generally exliihits remarkable timidity of character. A 
 bird perching on its back alarms it; hence, the greater part of 
 the accidents which happen in the course of its capture, must be 
 attributed to adventitious circumstances on the part of the whale,, 
 or to mismanagement or fool-hardiness on the part of the fishers. 
 
 A harpooner belonging to the Henrietta of Whitby, when en- 
 gaged in lancing a whale, into which he had previously struck a 
 harpoon, incautiously caet a little line under his feet that he had 
 just hauled into the boat, after it had been drawn out by the fish. 
 A painful stroke of his lance induced the whale to dart suddenly 
 downward; his line began to run out from beneath his feet, and 
 in an instant caught him by a turn round his body. He had but 
 just time to cry out, " Clear away the line," — " O dear!" when 
 he was almost cut asunder, dragged overboard, and never seen 
 afterwards. The line was cut at the moment, but without avail. 
 The fish descended a considerable depth, and died; from whence 
 it was drawn to the surface by the lines connected with it, and 
 secured. 
 
 While the ship Resolution navigated an open lake of water, in 
 he 81st degree of north latitude, during a keen frost and strong 
 north wind, on the '2d of June 1806, a whale appeared, and a boat 
 putofT in pursuit. On its second visit to the surface of the sea, it 
 was harpooned. A convulsive heave of the tail, which succeeded 
 fhe wound, struck the boat at the stern; and by its reaction, pro- 
 jected the boat-steerer overboard. As the line in a moment 
 dragged the boat beyond his reach, the crew threw some of theii 
 oars towards him for his support, one of which he fortunately 
 seized. The ship and boats being at a considerable distance, and 
 the fast-boat being rapidly drawn away from him, the harpooner 
 cut the line, with the view of rescuing him from his dangerous 
 iituation. But no sooner was this act performed, than to their 
 extreme mortification they discovered, that in consequence of 
 some oars being thrown towards their floating comrade, and 
 others being broken or unshipped by the blow from the fish, one 
 oar only remained; with which, owing to the force of the wind, 
 they tried in vain to approach him. A considerable period 
 elapsed, before any boat from the ship could afford him assistance, 
 though the men strained every nerve for the purpose. At length, 
 when they reached him, he was found with his arms stretched 
 over an oar, almost deprived of sensation. On his arrival at the 
 ship, he was in a deplorable condition. His clothes were frozen 
 like mail, and his hair constituted a helmet of ice. He was im- 
 mediately conveyed into the cabin, his clothes taken off, his limbs 
 and body dried and well rubbed, and a cordial administered to him 
 which he drank. A dry shirt and stockings were then put upon 
 
AN ACCOUNT OF THE UHALE FISHERY. 341 
 
 him, and he was laid in the captain's bed. After a few hours, 
 sleep he awoke, and appeared considerably restored, but com- 
 plained of a painful sensation of cold. He was, therefore, re- 
 moved to his own birlli, and one of his messmates ordered to lie 
 on each side of him, whereby the diminished circulation of the 
 bliod was accelerated, and the animal heat restored. Tiie shock 
 on his constitution, however, was greater than was anticipated 
 He recovered in the course of a few days, so as to be able to en- 
 gage in his ordinary pursuits; but many months elapsed, before 
 his countenance exhibited its wonted appearance of health. 
 
 The Aimwell of Whitby, while cruising the Greenland seas, 
 in the year 1810, had boats in chase of whales on the 26th of 
 May. One of them was harpooned. But instead of sinking 
 immediately on receiving the wound, as is the most usual manner 
 of the whale, this individual only dived for a moment, and rose 
 again beneath the boat, struck it in the most vicious manner with 
 its fins and tail, stove it, upset it, and then disappeared. The 
 crew, seven in number, got on the bottom of the boat; but the 
 unequal action of the lines, which for some time remained entan- 
 gled with the boat, rolled it occasionally over, and thus plunged 
 the crew repeatedly into the water. Four of them, after each 
 immersion, recovered themselves and clung to the boat; but the 
 other three, one of whom was the only person acquainted with 
 the art of swimming, were drowned before assistance could ar- 
 rive. The four men on the boat being rescued and conveyed to 
 the ship, the attack on the whale was continued, and two moi 3 
 harpoons struck. But the whale irritated, instead of being ener 
 vated by its wounds, recommenced its furious conduct. The sea 
 was in a foam. Its tail and fins were in awful play; and in a 
 short time, harpoon after harpoon drew out, the fish was loosened 
 from its entanglements and escaped. 
 
 In the fishery of 1812, the Henrietta of Whitby suffered a 
 similar loss. A fish which was struck very near the ship, by a 
 blow of its tail, stove a small hole in the boat's bow. Every in 
 dividual shrinking from the side on which the blow was impressed, 
 aided the influence of the stroke, and upset the -boat. They all 
 clung to it while it was bottom up; but the line having got entan- 
 gled among the thwarts, suddenly drew the boat under water, and 
 with it part of the crew. Excessive anxiety among the people in 
 the ship, occasioned delay in sending assistance; so that when 
 the first boat arrived at the spot, two survivors only out of six 
 men were found. 
 
 During a fresh gale of wind in the season of 1809, one of the 
 Resolution's harpooners struck a sucking whale. Its mother be- 
 ing near, all the other boats were disposed around, with the hope 
 of entangling it The old whale pursued a circular route round 
 its cub, and was followed by the boats; but its velocity was so 
 considerable, that they were unable to keep pace with it Being 
 29 « 
 
34:2 AN ACCOUNT OK THE UllALE FISHERT. 
 
 in t'le capacity of harpooner on tliis occnsion myself, I proceeded 
 to tlie cluise, after liaviiig carefully marked the proceedings uf 
 the (isli. 1 selected a situation, in wliicli 1 conceived the whale 
 would make its a[)pearance, and was in the act of directing my 
 crew to cease rowing, when a terrible blow was struck on the 
 boat. The whale 1 never saw, but the eflect of the blow was too 
 important to be overlooked. About fifteen square feet of the bot- 
 tom of the boat were driven in; it filled, sunk, and upset in a 
 moment. Assistance was providentially at hand, so that we were 
 all taken up witiiout injury, after being but a few minutes in the 
 water. The whale escaped; the boat's lines fell out and were 
 lost, but the boat was recovered. 
 
 A remarkable instance of the power which the whale possesses 
 in its tail, was exhibited within my own observation, in the year 
 1807. On the'i9th of May, a whale was harpooned by an officer 
 belonging to the Resolution. It descended a considerable depth; 
 and, on its re-appearance, evirtced an uncommon degree of irrita- 
 tion! It made such a display of its fins and tail, that few of the 
 crew were hardy enough to approach it. The captain, (Captain 
 Scoresby's father,) observing their timidity, called a boat, and 
 himself struck a second harpoon. Another boat immediately 
 followed, and unfortunately advanced too far. The tail was again 
 reared into the air, in a terrific attitude, — the impending blow was 
 evident, — the harpooner, who was directly underneath, leaped 
 overboard, — and the ne.xt moment the threatened stroke was im- 
 pressed on the centre of the boat, which it buried in the water. 
 Happily no one was injured. The harpooner who leaped over- 
 bof.rd, escaped certain death by the act, — the tail having struck 
 the very spot on which he stood. The effects of the blow were 
 ast mishing. The keel was broken, — the gunwales, and every 
 ph ak, e.xcepting two, were cut through, — and it was evident that 
 th' boat would have been completely divided, had not the tail 
 sti jck directly upon a coil of lines. The boat was rendered 
 us -less. 
 
 Instances of disasters of this kind, occasioned by blows from 
 th ; whale, could be adduced in great numbers, — cases of boats 
 being destroyed by a single stroke of the tail, are not unknown, 
 — instances of boats having been stove or upset, and their crews 
 wholly or in p".rt drowned, are not unfrequent, — and several 
 cases of wiitAes having made a regular attack upon every boat 
 which came near them, dashed some in pieces, and killed or 
 drowned some of the people in them, have occurred v.'ithin a few 
 years, even under my own observation. 
 
 The Dutch ship Gort-Moolen, commanded by Cornelius Gerard 
 Ouwekaas, with a cargo of seven fish, was anchored in Greenland 
 in the year 1660. The captain, perceiving a whale a-head of 
 his ship, beckoned his attendants, and threw himself into a boat 
 He was the first to approach the whale; and was fortunate 
 
AN ACCOUNT OF THE WHALE FISHBRT. 343 
 
 enough to harpoon it before the arrival of the second boat, which 
 was on the advance. Jacques Vienkes, who had the direction of 
 it, joined his captain immediately afterwards, and prepared to 
 make a second attack on the lish, when it should remount again 
 to the surface. At the moment of its ascension, the boat of 
 Vienkes happening unlbrtunately to be perpendicularly above it, 
 was so suddenly and forcibly lifted up by a stroke of the head of 
 the whale, that it was dashed to pieces before the harpooner could 
 discnarge his weapon. Vienkes flew along with the pieces of tho 
 boat, and fell upon the back of the animal. This intrepid sea- 
 man, who still retained his weapon in his grasp, harpooned the 
 whale on which he stood; and, by means of the harpoon and the 
 line, which he never abandoned, he steadied himself tirmly upon 
 the tish, notwithstanding his hazardous situation, and regardless 
 of a considerable wound that he received in his leg, in his fall 
 along with the fragments of the boat. All the eflx)rts of the other 
 boats to approach the whale, and deliver the harpooner, were 
 futile The captain, not seeing any other method of saving his 
 unfortunate companion, who was in some way entangled with the 
 line, called to him to cut it with his knife, and betake himself to 
 swimming. Vienkes, embarrassed and disconcerted as he was,^ 
 tried ia vain to follow this counsel. His knife was in the pocket 
 of his drawers; and, being unable to support himself with one 
 hand, he could not get it out. The whale, meanwhile, contin- 
 ued advancing along the surface of the water with great rapidity, 
 but tortunately never attempted to dive. While his comrades 
 despaired of his life, the harpoon by which he held, at length dis- 
 engaged itself from the body of the whale. Vienkes being thus 
 liberated, did not fail to take advantage of this circumstance; he 
 cast himself into the sea, and, by swimming, endeavored to regain 
 the boats which continued the pursuit of the whale. When his 
 shipmates perceived him struggling with the waves, thev redoubled 
 their exertions. They reached him just as his strength was ex- 
 hausted, and had the happiness of rescuing this adventurous har- 
 pooner from his perilous situation. 
 
 Captain Lyons of the Raith of Leith, while prosecuting the 
 whalp-fishery on the Labrador coast, in the season of 1802, dis- 
 covered a large whale at a short distance from the ship. Four 
 boats were despatched in pursuit, and two of them succeeded in 
 approaching it so closely together, that two harpoons were stiucU 
 at tiie same moment. The iish descended a few fathoms in the 
 direction of another of the boats, which was on the advance, rose 
 accidentally beneath it, struck it with its head, and threw the boat 
 men, and apparatus, about lifleen feet into the air. It was invert- 
 ed bv ♦.he stroke, and fell into the water with its keel upwards. 
 All the people were picked up alive by the fourth boat, which 
 was just at hand, excepting one man, who having got entangled 
 «. the boat, fell beneath it and was unfortunately drowned Tha 
 
SI4 
 
 AS ACCOUNT OF Till; WIIALK FISHEhT 
 
 fish was soon afterwards killed. The following cugravi; 
 illustrative of this remarkable accident. 
 
 Perhaps one of the most remarkable instances of the destruc- 
 tion of a vessel by a whale, is that of the ship Essex, which sailed 
 from Nantucket about the year 1820. She was commanded by 
 Captain Pollard, and had entered the Pacific Ocean, where she 
 was employed some time in catching whales. One day the sea- 
 men harpooned a young whale. In this species the affection of 
 the mother towards its young, is very strong; as was evinced in a 
 remarkable manner on this occasion. When the mother of the 
 young whale found that her progeny was killed, she went to some 
 distance from the ship, and then, rushing through the water, came 
 against the stern of the vessel with the greatest violence. So 
 tremendous was the force of the shock, that several of the timbers 
 were loosened, and the vessel pitched and reeled on the water, as 
 if struck by a whirlwind. Nor was the whale satisfied with this. 
 Again she went to the distance of more than a mile, and then, 
 shooting through the waves with incredible swiftness, came like a 
 thunderbolt upon the bow of the vessel. The timbers were in- 
 stantly beaten in, and the ship began to fill with water. Scarcely 
 bad the crew sufficient time to get into their boat, before she went 
 down. In this sudden and frightful situation, the poor seamen 
 now found themselves. They were upon the wide-heaving and 
 perilous o, .can in an- open boat, and far from any land. If the 
 whale had come upon them in the condition they were now in, 
 they must have inevitably perished. But they saw no raoreof th« 
 
AN ACCOUNT OF THE WHALE FISHERY. 343 
 
 m mster. Captain Pollard and his men for several days suffered 
 severe hardships from the weather, and from a want of water and 
 food. At length the delightful vision of another ship broke upon 
 t\ eir sight. They were all taken on board, and tinally reached 
 their native country in safety. 
 
 In 182-2, two boats belonging to the ship Baffin went in pursuit 
 of a whale. John Carr was harpooner and commander of one of 
 them. The whale they pursued led them into a vast shoal of his 
 own species; they were so numerous that their blowing was in- 
 cessant, and they believed that they did not see fewer than an 
 hundred. Fearful of alarming them without striking any, they 
 remained for a while motionless. At last, one rose near Carr's 
 boat, and he approached, and fatally for himself, harpooned it. 
 When he struck, the fish was approaching the boat; and, passing 
 very rapidly, jerked the line out of its place over the stern, and 
 threw it upon the gunwale. Its pressure in this unfavorable 
 position so careened the boat, that the side was pulled under 
 water, and it began to fill. In this emergency, Carr, svho was a 
 brave, active man, seized the line, and endeavored .0 relieve tne 
 boat by restoring it to its place; but, by some circumstance which 
 was never accounted for, a turn of the line flew over his arm, 
 dragged him overboard in an instant, and drew him under the 
 water, never more to rise. So sudden was the accident, that only 
 one man, who was watching him, saw what had happened; so that 
 when the boat righted, which it immediately did, though half full 
 of water, the whole crew on looking round inquired what had 
 become of Carr. It is impossible to imagine a death more awful- 
 ly sudden and unexpected. The invisible bullet could not have 
 effected more instantaneous destruction. The velocity of the 
 whale at its first descent is from thirteen to fifteen feet per sec- 
 ond. Now as this unfortunate man was adjusting the line at the 
 water's very edge, where it must have been perfectly tight, owing 
 to its obstruction in running out of the boat, the interval between 
 the fastening the line about him and his disappearance could not 
 have exceeded the third part of a second of time, for in one sec- 
 ond only he must have been dragged ten or twelve feet deep 
 Indeed he had not time for the least exclamation; and the person 
 who saw his removal, observed that it was so exceeding quick, 
 that though his eye was upon him at the moment, he could 
 scarcely distinguish his figure as he disappeared. 
 
 As soon as the crew recovered from their consternation, they 
 applied themselves to the needful attention which the lines re- 
 quired. A second harpoon was struck from the accompanying' 
 boat on the raising of the whale to the surface, and some lances 
 were applied, but this melancholy occurrence had cast such a 
 damp on all present, that they became timid and inactive in their 
 subsequent duties. The whale when nearly exhausted was allow 
 ed to remain some minutes unmolested, till having recovered somt 
 
546 THE LOSS OF THE PF.GCT. 
 
 dcgrse of energy, it made a violent efiort and tore itself awuy 
 from both harpoons. The exertions of the crews thus proved 
 fruitless, and wore attended with serious loss. 
 
 Innumerable instances might be adduced of the perils and dis- 
 asters to which our whalemen are sul)ject; of their never tiring 
 fortitude and daring enterprise; but we believe the examples we 
 have given alone will sulficiently convey a full and correct idea 
 of the customs and dangers of the whale-fishery. 
 
 THE LOSS OF THE PEGGY. 
 
 On the 28th of September, 1785, the Peggy, 'commanded by 
 Captain Knight, sailed from the harbor of Waterford, Ireland, 
 for tlie port of New York, in America. 
 
 Here it is necessary to observe, that the Peggy was a large 
 unwieldy Dutch-built ship, about eight hundred tons burden, and 
 had formerly been in the Norway, and timber trade, for which, 
 indeed, she seemed, from her immense bulk, well calculated. 
 There being no freight in readiness for America, we were under 
 the necessity of taking in ballast: which consisted of coarse gravel 
 and sand, with about fifty casks of stores, fresh stock, and vege- 
 tables, suflicient to last during the voyage; having plenty of room, 
 and having been most abundantly supplied by the hospitable 
 neighbourhood, of which we were about to take our leave. 
 
 We weighed anchor, and with the assistance of a rapid tide and 
 pleasant breeze, soon gained a tolerable offing: we continued 
 under easy sail the remaining part of the day, and towards sun- 
 set lost sight of land. 
 
 Sept. 29th, made the old head of Kingsale; the weather con 
 tinuing favorable, wc shortly came within sight of Cape Clear, 
 from whence we took our departure from the coast of Ireland. 
 
 Nothing material occurred for several days, during which time 
 we traversed a vast space of the Western Ocean. 
 
 Oct. 12th, the weather now became hazy and squally; — all 
 hands turned up to reef top-sails, and strike top-gallant-yardy. — 
 Towards night the squalls were more frequent, indicating an ap- 
 proaching gale: — We accordingly clued, reefed top-sails, and 
 struck top-gallant-masts; and having made all snug aloft, the ship 
 weathered the night very steadily. 
 
 On the I3th the crew were imployed in setting up the rigging, 
 and occasionally pumping, the ship having made much water 
 during the night. The gale increasing as the day advanced, 
 occasioned the vessel to make heavy rolls, by which an accident 
 Lappened, which was nea joing much injury to the captain's 
 
THE LOSS OF THE PEGGY. 347 
 
 cabin. A puncheon of rum, which was lashed on the larboard 
 side of the cabin, broke loose, a sudden jerk having drawn asunder 
 tlie cleets to which it was fastened, iiy its velocity it stove in 
 the scare rooms, and broke several utensils of the cabin furniture. 
 The writer of this, with much difficulty, escaped with whole limbs: 
 but not altogether unhurt, receiving a painful bruise on the right 
 foot: having, however, escaped from the cabin, the people on deck 
 were given to understand that the rum was broke loose. The 
 word )-M/n soon attracted the sailors' attention, and this cask being 
 the ship's only stock, they were not tardy (as may be supposed) 
 m rendering their assistance to double lash, what they anticipated 
 — the delight, of frequently splicing the main-brace therewith dur- 
 |ig their voyage. 
 
 On the 14th the weather became moderate, and the crew were 
 employed in making good the stowage of the stores in the hold, 
 which had given way during the night; — shaking reefs out of the 
 top-sails, getting up top-gallant-masts and yards, and rigging out 
 studding-sails. All hands being now called to dinner, a bustle 
 and confused noise took place on deck. The captain (who was 
 below) sent the writer of this to discover the cause thereof, but 
 before he could explain, a voice was crying out in a most piteous 
 and vociferous tone. The captain and chief mate jumped on deck, 
 and found the crew had got the cook laid on the windlass, and 
 were giving him a raost severe cobbing with a flat piece of his 
 own fire wood. As soon as the captain had reached forward, he 
 was much exasperated with them fur their precipitate conduct, in 
 punishing without his knowledge and permission, and having 
 prohibited such proceedings in future cases, he inquired the cause 
 of their grievance. The cook, it seems, having been served out 
 fresh water lo dress vegetables for all hands, had inadvertently 
 used ii lor some other purpose, and boiled the greens in a copper 
 of salt water, which rendered them so intolerably tough, that they 
 were not fit for use; consequently the srJIors had not their ex- 
 pected garnish, and a general murmur taking place, the above 
 punishment was inflicted. 
 
 A sready breeze ensuing, all sails filled, and the ship made 
 way, with a lofty and majestic air; and at every plunge of her 
 bows, which were truly Dutcli-built, rose a foam of no small ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 During four days the weather continued favorable, which flat- 
 tered the seamen with a speedy sight of land. 
 
 On the 19th we encountered a very violent gale, with an unusual 
 heavy sea: — The ship worked greatly, ai.d took in much water 
 through her seams; — the pumps were kept li^quently going. At 
 m.d-day, while the crew were at dinner, a tren>-^ndous sra struck 
 the ship right aft, which tore in the cabin wino.-^ws, upset the 
 whole of the dinner, and nearly drowned the captain, mate, ana 
 myself, who was at that time holding a dish on the table, while 
 
848 TflF. LOSS OF THE PEGGT. 
 
 the captain was busily employed in carving a fine goose, which 
 much to our discomfiture, was entirely drenched by the salt water. 
 Some of the coops were washed from the quarter-deck, and several 
 of the poultry destroyed. 
 
 In consoquence of the vessel shipping so great a quantity of wa- 
 ter, the pumps were doubly manned, and soon gained on hor. The 
 gale had not in the least abated during tfje night. The well 
 was plummed, and there was found to be a sudden and alarming in- 
 crease of water. The carpenter was immndiately ordered to ex- 
 amine the ship below, in order to find the cause of the vessel's ma- 
 king so mucli water. Flis report was, she being a very old vessel, 
 her seams had considerably opened by her laboring so much, there- 
 fore, could devise no means at present to prevent the evil. He also 
 reported, the mizen-mast to be in great danger. 
 
 The heel of the mizen-mast being stepped between decks (a 
 very unusual case, but probably it was placed there in order to 
 make more room for stowage in the after-jiold) was likely to work 
 from its step, and thereby might do considerable damage to the 
 ship. 
 
 The captain now held a consultation with the officers, when it 
 was deemed expedient to cut the mast away without delay : this 
 was accordingly put into execution the following morning, as soon 
 as the day, made its appearance. The necessary preparations 
 having been made, the carpenter began hewing at the mast, and 
 quickly made a deep wound. Some of the crew were stationed 
 ready to cut away the stays and lanyards, whilst the remaining 
 part was anxiously watching the momentary crash which was to 
 ensue ; the word being given to cut away the weather-lanyards, 
 as the ship gave a lee-lurch, the whole of the wreck plunged, with- 
 Dut further injury, into the ocean. 
 
 The weather still threatening a continuance, our principal em- 
 ploy was at the pumps, which were kept continually going. The 
 sea had now rose to an alarming height, and frequently struck the 
 vessel with great violence. Towards the afternoon, part of the star- 
 ■board bulwa-k was carried away by the shock of a heavy sea, which 
 made the ship broach-to, and before she could answer her helm 
 again, a sea broke through the fore-chains, and swept away the ca- 
 boose and all its utensils from the deck ; fortunately for tlie cook 
 he was assisting at the pumps at the time, or he inevitably must 
 have shared the same fate as his galley. 
 
 Notwithstanding the exertions of the crew, the water gained 
 fast, and made its way into the hold, which washed a great quan- 
 tity of the ballast through the timber-holes into the hull, by which 
 the suckers of the pumps were much damaged, and thereby fre- 
 quently choked. By such delays the leaks increased rapidly. 
 We were under the necessity of repeatedly hoisting the pumps 
 on deck, to apply different means which were devised to keep the 
 tand from entering, br.t all our efTorts proved ineffectual, and th» 
 
THE LOSS oF THE FEGGT. 349 
 
 pumps were deemed of no further utility^ There was now no 
 time to be lost; accordingly it was agreed that the allowance of 
 fresh water should be lessened to a print a man; the casks were 
 immediately hoisted from the hold, and lashed between decks. Aa 
 the water was started from two of them, they were sawed in two, 
 and formed into buckets, there being no other casks on board fit 
 for that purpose; the whips were soon applied, and the hands 
 be^an baling at the fore and after hatchways which continued 
 without intermission the whole of the night, each man being suf- 
 fered to take one hour's rest, in rotation. 
 
 The morning of the 22d presented to our view a most dreary 
 aspect, — a disnial horizon encircling — not the least appearance 
 of the gale abating — on the contrary, it seemed to come with re- 
 doubled vigor — the ballast washing from side to side of the ship 
 at each roll, and scarce a prospect of freeing her. Notwithstanding 
 these calamities, the crew did not relax their efforts. The mam 
 liatchway was opened and fresh buckets went to work; the captain 
 and mate alternately relieving each other at the helm. The 
 writer's station was to supply the crew with grog, which was 
 plentifully served to them every two hours. By the motion of 
 the ship the buckets struck against the combings of the hatch- 
 ways with great violence, and in casting them in the hold to fill, 
 they frequently struck on the floating pieces of timber which were 
 generally used as chocks in stowing the hold. By such accidents 
 the buckets were repeatedly stove, and we were under the neces- 
 sity of cutting more of the water casks to supply their place. 
 Starting the fresh vyater overboard was reluctantly done, particu- 
 larly as we now felt the loss of the caboose, and were under the 
 necessity of eating the meat raw, which occasioned us to be very 
 thirsty. Night coming on, the crew were not allowed to go be 
 low to sleep; each man, when it came to his turn, stretched himsell 
 on the deck. 
 
 Oct. 23. Notwithstanding the great quantity of water baled frorr 
 the vessel, she gained so considerably that she had visibly settled 
 much deeper in the water. All hands were now called aft, in 
 order to consult on the best measures. It was now unanimously 
 resolved to make for the island of Bermudas, it being the nearest 
 land. Accordingly we bore away for it, but had not sailed many 
 leagues before we found that the great quantity of water in the 
 vessel had impeded her steerage so much that she would scarcely 
 answer her helm; and making a very heavy lurch, the ballast 
 slrifted, which gave her a great lift to the starboard, and rendered 
 it very difricult to keep a firm footing on deck. The anchors 
 which were stowed on the larboard bow were ordered to be cut 
 away, and the cables which were on the orlop deck to be hove 
 overboard in order to right her; but all this had a very trifling 
 effect, for the ship was now become quite a log. 
 
 The crew were still employed in baling; one of whom, in pro- 
 30 
 
S50 
 
 THE LOSS OK THE PEGOr. 
 
 venling a bucket from being st;»vo against the combings, let g« 
 i.rw iiold, and fell down the hutcliway; with great difficulty he 
 escaped being drowned or dashed against the ship's sides. Hav- 
 ing got into a bucket which was instantly lowered, he was orovi- 
 dentiaiiy hoisted on deciv without any injury. 
 
 During the night the weatliei became more moderate, and on 
 the following morning, {Oct. ^5), the gale had entirely subsided, 
 but left a very heavy swell. Two large whales approached closo 
 to the ship. They sported round the vessel the whole of the day, 
 and alter dusk disappeared. 
 
 Having now no further use of the helm, it was lashed down, 
 and the captain and mate took their spell at the buckets. My 
 assistance having been also required, a boy of less strength, 
 whose previous business was to attend the cook, now took my for- 
 mer station of serving the crew with refreshments. This lad had 
 not long tilled his new situation of drawing out rum from the cask, 
 before he was tempted to taste it, and which having repeatedly 
 done he soon became intoxicated, and was missed on deck foi 
 some time. I was sent to look for him. The spigot I perceived 
 out of the cask, and the liquor running about, but the boy I could 
 not see for some time; however looking down the lazeretto (the 
 trap-door of which was lying open), I found him fast asleep. He 
 had luckily fallen on some sails which were stowed there, or he 
 must have perished. 
 
 On the 2Gth and 27th of October the weather continued quite 
 clear, with light baffling winds. A man was constantly kept aloft 
 to look out for a sail. The rest of the crew were employed at 
 the whips. 
 
 On the 28th the weather began to lower, and appeared inclined 
 for rain. This gave some uneasiness, being apprehensive of a 
 i;ale. The captain therefore directed the carpenter to overhaul 
 the long-boat, caulk her, and raise a streak which orders were 
 immediately complied with: but when he went to his locker for 
 oakum, he found it plundered of nearly the whole of his stock — 
 all hands were therefore set to picking, by which means he was 
 soon supplied. 
 
 It was totally clear on the 29th, with a fresh breeze, but the 
 ship heeled so much that her gunwale at times Avas under water, 
 and the crew could scarcely stand on deck. All hands were now 
 ordered to assemble aft, when the captain, in a short address, 
 poin ed out the most probable manner by which they couW be 
 saved. All agreed in opinion with him, and it was resolved that 
 the long-boat should be hoisted out as speedily as possible, and 
 such necessaries as could be conveniently stowed, to be placed 
 in her. Determined no longer to labor at the buckets, the vessel, 
 which could not remain above water many hours after we had 
 ceased baling, was now abandoned to her fate 
 
 1 now began to reflect ou the small chance we had of being 
 
THE LOSS OF THE PEGGY. 35l 
 
 saved — twenty-two people in an open boat — upwards of three hun- 
 dred miles from land — in a boisterous climate, and the whole crew 
 worn out with fatigue! The palms of the crew s hands were al- 
 ready so flayed it could not be expected that they could do much 
 execution with the oars— ^while thus reflecting on o ir perilous 
 situation, one uf our oldc.>t seamen, who at this moment was stand 
 mg near me, turned his head aside to wipe away a tear — I could not 
 refrain from sympathizing with him — my heart was already fjU! 
 — The captain perceiving my despondency bade me be of good 
 cheer, and called me a young lubber. 
 
 The boat having been hoisted out, and such necessaries placed 
 in her as were deemed requisite, one of the hands was sent aloft 
 to lash the colors downwards to the main-top-mast shrouds; which 
 naving done, he placed himself on the cross-trees, to look around 
 him, and almost instantly hallooed out, — " A sail." — It would be 
 impossible to describe the ecstatic emotions of the crew: every 
 man was aloft, in order to be satisfied; though, a minute before, 
 not one of the crew was able to stand upright. 
 
 The sail was on our weather-bow, bearing right down on U3 
 with a smart breeze. She soon perceived us, but hauled her 
 wind several times, in order to examine our ship. As she ap- 
 proached nearer she clearly perceived our calamitous situation, 
 and hastened to our relief 
 
 She proved to be a Philadelphia schooner, bound to Cape 
 Francois, in St. Domingo. The captain took us all on board in 
 the most humane and friendly manner, and after casting our boat 
 adrift, proceeded on his voyage. When we perceived our ship 
 from the vessel on which we were now happily on board, her ap- 
 pearance was truly deplorable. 
 
 The captain of the schooner congratulated us on our fortunate 
 escape, and expressed his surprise that the ship should remain so 
 long on her beam ends, in such a heavy sea, without capsizing. 
 We soon began to distance the wreck, by this time very low in 
 tne water, and shortly after lost sight of her. 
 
 The evening began to approach fast, when a man loosing the 
 main-top-sail, descried a sail direcflv in the same course on our 
 quarter. We made sail for hot .iiid soon came within hail of her. 
 She proved to be a brig from Glasgow, bound to Antigua. It was 
 now determined, between the captains, that half of our people 
 should remain in the schooner, and the captain, mate, eight of 
 the crew, and myself, should get on board the brig. On oui a 
 rival at Antigua we met with much kindness and humanity 
 
963 
 
 THE MEDUSA. 
 
 THE MEDUSA. 
 
 Ir Jul/, 1816, the French frigate the Medusa was wrecked on 
 the coast of Africa, when part of the ship's company took to their 
 hoats; and the rest, to the number of one hundred and fitly, had 
 1 (.-course to a raft hastily lashed together. In two hours after 
 pushing off for the shore, the people in the boats had the cruelty 
 to boar away and leave the raft, already laboring hard amid the 
 waves, and alike destitute of provisions, and instruments for navi- 
 gation, to shift for itself. " From the moment," says M. Sevigne^ 
 from whose affecting narrative this account is chiefly taken, " that 
 I was convinced of our being abandoned, I was strongly impres- 
 sed with the crowd of dark and horrible images that presented 
 themselves to my imagination; the torments of hunger and thirst, 
 the almost positive certainty of never more seeing my country or 
 friends, composed the painful picture before my eyes; mry knees 
 sunk under me, and my hands mechanically sought for something 
 to lay hold on; I could scarcely articulate a word. This state 
 soon had an end, and then all my mental faculties revived. Hav- 
 ing silenced the tormenting dread of death, I endeavored to pour 
 consolation into the hearts of m} unhappy companions, who were 
 almost in a state of stupor around me. No sooner, however, were 
 the soldiers and sailors roused from their consternation, than they 
 abandoned themselves to excessive despair, and cried furiously 
 out tor vengeance on those who had abandoned them; each saw 
 his own ruin inevitable, and clamorously vociferated the dark re- 
 flections that agitated him." Some persons of a finer character 
 joined with M. Sevigne in his humane endeavors to tranquillize 
 the minds of these wretched sufferers; and they at last partially 
 succeeded, by persuading them that they would have an oppor- 
 tunity in a few days of revenging themselves on the people' in the 
 boats. " I own," says M. Sevigne, " this spirit of vengeance ani- 
 mated every one of us, and we poured vollies of curses on the 
 boat's crew, whose fatal selfishness exposed us to so many evils 
 and dangers. We thought our sufl^erings would have been less 
 cruel, had they been partaken by the frigate's whole crew. Nothing 
 is more exasperating to the unhappy, than to think that those who 
 plunged them into misery, should enjoy every favor of fortune." 
 
 After the first transports of passion had subsided, the sole efforts 
 of their more collected moments were directed to the means of 
 gaining the land, to procure provision. All that they had on board 
 the raft, consisted of twenty-five pounds of biscuit and some hogs- 
 heads of wine. The imperious desire of self-preservation silenced 
 every fear for a moment; they put up a sail on the raft, and every 
 one assisted with a sort of delerious enthusiasm: not one of them 
 foresaw the real extent of the peril by which they were surrounded 
 
THE MEDUSA. Hn.l 
 
 The aay passed on quietly enough; but night at length came 
 on; the heavens were overspread with black clouds; the winda 
 unchained, raised the sea mountains high; terror again rode tri- 
 umphant on the billow; dashed from side to side, now suspended 
 betwixt life and death, bewailing their misfortune, and though cer- 
 tain of death, yet struggling with the merciless elements ready to 
 devour them, the poor off-casts longed for the coming morn, as 
 if it had been the sure harbinger of safety and repose. Often was 
 the last doleful ejaculation heard of some sailor or soldier weary 
 of the struggle, rushing into the embrace of death. A baker and 
 two young cabin boys, after taking leave of their comrades, dilib- 
 erately plunged into the deep. " fVe are off," said they, and in- 
 stantly disappeared. Such was the commencement of that dread- 
 ful insanity which we shall afterwards see raging in the most cruel 
 manner, and sweeping off a crowd of victims. In the course of 
 the first night, twelve persons were lost from the raft. 
 
 "The day coming on," says ]\I. Sevigne, "brought back a 
 little calm amongst us; some unhappy persons, however, near me, 
 were not come to their senses. A charming young man, scarcely 
 sixteen, asked me every moment, ' When shall we eat?' He 
 stuck to me, and followed me every where, repeating the same 
 question. In the course of the day, INIr. Griften threw himself 
 into the sea, but I took him up again. His words were confused; 
 I gave him every consolation in my power, and endeavored to per- 
 suade him to support courageously every privation we were sufi'er- 
 ing. But all my care was unavailing; I could never recall him 
 to reason; he gave no sign of being sensible to the horror of our 
 situation, in a few minutes he threw hiuiself again into the sea; 
 but by an eftbrt of instinct, held to a piece of wood that went be- 
 yond the raft, and he was taken up a second time." 
 
 The hope of still seeing the boats come to their succour, enabled 
 them to support the torments of hunger during this second day; 
 but as the gloom of night returned, and every man began, as it 
 were, to look in upon himself, the desire of food rose to an ungov- 
 ernable height; and ended in a state of general delirium. The 
 greater part of the soldiers and sailors, unable to appease the hun- 
 ger that preyed upon them, and persuaded that death was now in- 
 evitable took the fatal resolution of softening their last moments 
 by drinking of the wine, till tliey could drink no more. Attack- 
 ing a hogshead in the centre of the raft, they drew large libations 
 from it; the stimulating liquid soon turned their delirium into 
 frenzy; they began to quarrel and fight with one another; and 
 ere long, the few planks on which they were floating, between time 
 and eternity, became the scene of a most bloody contest for 
 momentary pre-eminence. ]No loss than si.xty-three men lost their 
 lives on this unhappy occasion. 
 
 Shortly after, iranquillity was restored. " We fell," says M. 
 Sevigne, " into the ?Hme state as before: this insensibllitv was sa 
 30* 
 
354 THE m::dusa 
 
 great, tliat next day I thought myself waking out of a disturbed 
 sleep, asking the people round me if they had seen any tumuli, 
 or heard any cries of despair? Some answered, that they too had 
 been torncnted with the same visions, and did not know how to 
 explain them. INIany who had been most furious during the night, 
 were now sullen and motionless, unable to utter a single word. 
 Two or three plunged into the ocean, coolly bidding fheir com- 
 panions farewell; others would say. 'Don't despair; I am going 
 to bring you relief; you shall soon see me again.' Not a few 
 even thought themselves on board the Medusa, amidst every thing 
 ihey used to be daily surrounded wkli. In a conversation with 
 one of my comrades, he said to me, ' I cannot think we are on a 
 raft; I always suppose myself on board our frigate.' My own 
 judgment, too, wandered on these points. M. Correard imagined 
 himself going over the beautiful plains of Italy. M. Griflen said 
 very seriously, ' I remember we were forsaken by the boats; but 
 never fear, I have just written to Government, and in a few hours 
 we shall be saved.' M. Correard asked quite as seriou.^ly, ' and 
 have you then a pigeon to carry your orders so fast?' " 
 
 It was now the third day since they had been abandoned, and 
 hunger began to be most sharply felt; some of the men, driven to 
 desperation, at length tore oiT the flesh from the dead bodies that 
 covered ♦he raft, and devoured it. " The officers and passengers," 
 says M. Sevigne, " to whom I united myself, could not overcome 
 ihe repugnance inspired by such horrible food; we however tried 
 to eat the belts of our sabres and cartouch boxes, and succeeded 
 in swallowing some small pieces; but we were at last forced to 
 abandon these expedients, which brought no relief to the anguish 
 caused by total abstinence." 
 
 In the evening they were fortunate enough to take nearly two 
 hundred flying fishes, which they shared immediately. Having 
 found some gunpowder, they made a fire to dress them? but their 
 portions were so small, and their hunger so great, that they added 
 hunan flesh, which the cooking rendered less disgusting; the offi- 
 cers were at last tempted to taste of it. The horrid repast was fol- 
 lowed with another scene of violence and confusion; a second 
 engagement took place during the night, and in the morning only 
 thirty persons were left alive on the fatal raft. On the fourth 
 night, a third fit of despair swept off fifteen more; so that, finally, 
 the number of miserable beings was reduced from one hundr^jd 
 and fifty, to fifteen. 
 
 "A return of reason," says M. Se\igne, "began now to 
 enlighten our situation. I have no longer to relate the furious 
 actions dictated by dark despair, but the unhappy state of fifteen 
 exhausted creatures reduced to frightful misery. Our gloomy 
 thoughts were fixed on the little wine that was left, and we con- 
 templated with horror the ravages which despair and want had 
 oaade amongst us. ' You are much altered,' said one of my 
 
THE MEDUSA. S55 
 
 companions, seizing my hand, and melting nto tears. Eight days 
 torments had rendered us no longer like ourselves. At length, 
 seeing ourselves so reduced, we summoned up all our strength,. 
 and raised a kind of stage to rest ourselves upon. On this new 
 theatre we resolved to wait death in a becoming manner. We 
 passed some days in this situation, each concealing his despair 
 from his nearest companion. Misunderstanding, however, again 
 took place, on the tenth day oiler being on board the raft. After 
 a distribution of wine, several of our companions conceived thtj 
 idea of destroying themselves after tinishing the little wine that 
 remained. ' When people are so wretched as we,' said they, 
 ' they have nothing to wish for but death.' We made the 
 strongest remonstrances to them; but their diseased brains could 
 only fix on the rash project which they had conceived; a new 
 contest was therefore on the point of commencing, but at length 
 they yielded to our remonstrances. Many of us, after receiving 
 our small portion of wine, fell into a state of into.xication, and 
 then great misunderstandings arose. 
 
 "At other times we were pretty qiHet, and sometimes our 
 natural spirits inspired a smile in spite of the horrors of our situa- 
 tion. Says one, ' if the brig is sent in search of us, let us pray 
 to God to give her the eyes of Argus,' alluding to the name of 
 the vessel which we supposed might come in search of us. 
 
 " The nth in the morning, thirteen days after being forsaken, 
 while each was enjoying the delights of his poor portion of wine, 
 a captain of infantry perceived a vessel in the horizon, and an- 
 nounced it with a shout of joy. For some moments we were sus- 
 pended between hope and fear. Some said, they saw the ship 
 draw nearer; others, that it was sailin" away. Unfortunately, 
 ♦hese last were not mistaken, for the brig soon disappeared. 
 f!'"'rom excess of joy, we now sunk into despair. For my part, 
 I was so accustomed to the idea of death, that I saw it approach 
 with indifference. I had remarked many others teiminate their 
 existence without great outward signs of pain; they first became 
 quite delirious, and nothing could appease them; after that, they 
 fell into a state of imbecility that ended their existence, like a lamp 
 that goes out for want of oil. A boy twelve years old, unable 
 to support these privations, sunk under them, alter our being for- 
 saken. All spoke of this fine boy as deserving a better fate; his 
 angelic face, his melodious voice, and his tender years, inspired 
 us with the tenderest compassion, for so young a victim devoted 
 to so frightful and untimely a death. Our oldest soldiers, and, 
 indeed, every one, eagerly assisted him as far as circumstances 
 permitted. Bui, alas! it was all in vain; neither the v/ine, nor 
 any other consolation, co Id save him, and he expired in M. 
 Coudin's arms. As long as he was able to move, he was con- 
 tinually running from one side of the raft to the other, calling out 
 for his mother, for water, and for food. 
 
556 THE MAI.N-TKLCiv, Oil A LEAP FOR LIFE, 
 
 "About six o'clock, on the 17th, one of our companion* 
 looking out, on a sudden stretcliing his hands forwards, and scarce 
 \y able to breathe, cried out, ' Here's the bris; almost alongside; 
 and, in fact, she was actually very near. VVe threw ourselvesi 
 on each otiier's necks with frantic transports, while tears trickled 
 down our withered checks. She soon bore upon us within pistol 
 shot, sent a boat, and presently took us all on board. We had 
 scarcely escaped, when some of us became delirious again; a 
 military ofiic-er was going to leap into the sea, as he said, to take 
 up his pocket book; and would certainly have done so, but for 
 those about him; others were aflected in the same manner, but in 
 a less degree. 
 
 " Fifteen days after our deliverancee, I felt the species of men- 
 tal derangement which is produced by great misfortunes; my mind 
 was in a continual agitation, and during the night, I often awoke, 
 thinking myse'lf still on the raft; and many of my companions 
 experienced the same effects. One Fran<^ois became deaf, and 
 remained for a long time in a state of idiotism. Another frequent- 
 ly lost his recollection; and my own memory, remarkably good 
 before this event, was weakened by it in a sensible manner. 
 
 " At the moment in which I am recalling the dreadful scenes 
 to which I have been witness, fliey present themselves to nly im- 
 agination like a frightful dream. All those horrible scenes from 
 which 1 so miraculously escaped, seem now only as a point in my 
 existence. Restored to health, my mind sometimes recalls those 
 visions that tormented it, during the fever that consumed it. In 
 those dreadful moments we were certainly attacked with a cere- 
 bral fever, in consequence of excessive mental irritation. And 
 even now, sometimes in tiie night, after having net with any 
 disappo'ntment, and when the wind is high, my mind recalls the 
 fatal rafi I see a furious ocean ready to swallow me up; hands 
 uplifted to strike me, and the whole train of human passions let 
 loose; revenge, fury, hatred, treachery, and despair, surrounding 
 
 THE MAIN-TRUCK, OR A LEAP FOR LIFE 
 
 " Stand still! How fearful 
 And dizzy 't is to cast one's eyes so low!" 
 
 " The imirniuriiig surge. 
 That on til' unmiinlKTed idle pel)bles diafes, 
 Cannot be lieanl so high: — 1 '11 look no more; 
 Lest my l)iain tuiii, ajid the tielicient sight 
 Toppit; down headlong." — Shakspeare. 
 
 Among the many agreeable associates whom my different cruis 
 ings and wanderings have brought me acquainted with, I can 
 •carcely call to mind a more pleasant and companionable on© thaa 
 
 i 
 
THE MAIN-TRUCK, OR A LEAF FOR LIFE. 357 
 
 rem Scupper. Poor fellow! he is dead and gont now — a viotiin 
 io that code of false honor which has robbed the navy of too 
 many of its choicest officers. Tom and I were messmates during 
 a short and delightful cruise, and, for a good part of the time, we 
 belonged to the same watch. He was a great hand to spin yarns, 
 which, to do him justice, he sometimes told tolerably well; and 
 many'^a long mid-watch has his fund of anecdotes and sea stories 
 caused to slip pleasantly away. We were lying, in the little 
 schooner to which we were attached, in the open roadstead of 
 Laguyra, at single anchor, when Tom told me the story which I 
 am about to relate, as nearly as I can remember, in his own 
 words. A vessel from Baltimore had come into Laguyra that 
 day, and by her I had received letters from home, in one of which 
 there was a piece of intelligence that weighed very heavily on 
 my spirits. For some minutes after our watch commenced, Tom 
 and I walked the deck in silence, which was soon, however, in- 
 terrupted by my talkative companion, who perceiving my depres- 
 sion, and wishing to divert my thoughts, began as follows: 
 
 The last cruise I made in the Mediterranean was in old Iroo 
 sides, as we used to call our gallant frigate. We had been back- 
 ing and filling for several months on the western coast of Africa, 
 from the Canaries down to Messurado, in search of slave traders; 
 and during that time we had had some pretty heavy weather. 
 When we reached the Straits, there was a spanking wind blowing 
 from about west-south-west; so we squared away, and, without 
 coming-to at the Rock, made a straight wake for old Mahon, the 
 general rendezvous and place of refitting for our squadrons in 
 the Mediterranean. Immediately on arriving there, we warped 
 m alongside the Arsenal quay, where we stripped ship to a girt- 
 line, broke out the holds, tiers, and store-rooms, and gave her a 
 regular-built overhauling from stem to stern. For awhile, every 
 body was busy, and all seemed bustle and confusion. Orders 
 and replies, in loud and dissimilar voices, the shrill pipings of the 
 different boatswain's mates, each attending to separate duties, 
 and the mingled clatter and noise of various kinds of work, all 
 going on the same time, gave something of the stir and animation 
 of a dock-yard to the usually quiet arsenal of Mahon. The 
 boatswain and his crew were engaged in fitting a new gang of 
 rigging; the gunner in repairing his breechings and gun-tackles; 
 ihe fo'castle-men in calking; the top-men in sending down the 
 5-ards and upper spars; the holders and waisters in whitewashing 
 and holy stoning; and even the poor marines were kept busy, like 
 Oeasts of burden, in carrying breakers of water on their hacks 
 On the quay, near the ship, the smoke of the armorer's forge 
 which had been hoisted out and sent ashore, ascended ir. a thin 
 black column through the clear blue sky; from one of the neigh- 
 boring white stone warehouses the sound of saw and hammer told 
 that the carpenters were at work; near by, a livelier rattling 
 
B5h THE MAIN-TRUCK, OR A LEAP TOR MFB, 
 
 drew attention to the cooper, who in the open air was tightning 
 the water-casks; and not iar removed, under a temporary shed, 
 formed of spare studding-sails and tarpauHns, sat the saihnaker 
 and his assistants, repairing the sails, which had been rent or in- 
 jured by the many storms we had encountered. 
 
 Many hands, however, make light work, and in a very few daya 
 all was accomplished: the stays and shrouds were set up and new 
 rattled down; the yards crossed, the running rigging rove, and 
 sails bent; and the old craft, fresh painted and all a-taunt-o, look- 
 ed as fine as a midshipman on liberty. In place of the storm- 
 stumps, which had been stowed away among the booms and other 
 spare spars, amidships, we had set up cap to 'gallant-masts, and 
 royal-poles, with a sheave for skysails, and hoist enough for sky- 
 scrapers above them: so you may judge the old frigate looked 
 pretty taunt. There was a Dutch line-ship in the harbor; but 
 though we only carried forty-four to her eighty, her main-truck 
 would hardly have reached to our royal-mast-head. The side- 
 boys, whose duty it was to lay aloft and furl the skysails, looked 
 no bigger on the yard than a good-sized duff for a midshipman's 
 mess, and the main-truck seemed not half as large as the Turk's- 
 head-knot on the main-ropes of the accommodation ladder. 
 
 When we had got every thing ship-shape and man-of-war fash- 
 ion, we hauled out again, and took our birth about half way 
 between the Arsenal and Hospital island; and a pleasant view it 
 gave us of the town and harbor of old Mahon, one of the safest 
 and most tranquil places of anchorage in the world. The water 
 of this beautiful inlet — which though it makes about four miles 
 into the land, is not much over a quarter of a mile in width — is 
 scarcely ever ruffled by a storm; and on the delightful afternoon 
 to which I now refer, it lay as still and motionless as a polished 
 mirror, except when broken into momentary ripples by the pad- 
 dles of some passing waterman. What little wind we had had in 
 the fore part of the day, died away at noon, and, though the first 
 dog-watch was almost out, and the sun was near the horizon, not 
 a breath of air had risen to disturb the deep serenity of the 
 scene. The Dutch liner^ which lay not far from us, was so 
 clearly reflected in the glassy surface of the water, that there 
 was not a rope about her, from her main-stay to her signal hal- 
 liards, which the eye could not distinctly trace in her shadowy and 
 inverted image. The buoy of our best bower floated abreast our 
 larboard bow; and that, too, was so strongly miaged, that its en- 
 tire bulk seemed to lie above the water, just resting on it, as if 
 upborne <i\ a sea of molten lead; except when now and then, the 
 wringing of a swab, or the dashing of a bucket overboard from the 
 head, broke up the shadow for a moment, and showed the sub- 
 stance but half its former apparent size. A small pok cca craft 
 had got underway from Mahon in the course of the forenoon, in- 
 tending to stand over to Barcelona • but it fell dead calm just 
 
THE MAIN-TRUCK, JR A LEAP FOR LIFE. 559 
 
 ocfore she reached the chops of the harbor; and there she lay aa 
 motionless upon the blue surface, as if she were only part of a 
 mimic scene, from the pencil of some accomplished painter. Her 
 broad cotton lateen-sails, as they hung drooping from the slanting 
 and taper yards, shone with a glistening whiteness that contrasted 
 beautifully with the dark flood in which they were reflected; and 
 the distant sound of the guitar, which one of the sailors was 
 listlessly playing on her deck, came sweetly over the water, and 
 harmonized well with the quiet appearance of every thing around. 
 The whitewashed walls of the lazaretto, on a verdant headland at 
 the mouth of the bay, glittered like silver in the slant rays of the 
 sun; and some of its windows were burnished so brightly by the 
 level beams, that it seemed as if the whole interior of the edifice 
 were in flames. On the opposite side, the romantic and jictur- 
 esque ruins of fort St. Philip, faintly seen, acquired double 
 beauty from being tipped with the declining light; and the clusters 
 of ancient-looking windmills, which dot the green eminences 
 along the bank, added, by the motionless state of their wings, to 
 the effect of the unbroken tranquillity of the scene. 
 
 Even on board our vessel, a degree of stillness unusual for a 
 man-of-war prevailed among the crew. It was the hour of theii 
 evening meal; and the low hum that came from the gun-deck 
 had an indistinct and buzzing sound, which, like the tiny song of 
 bees of a warm summer noon, rather heightened than diminished 
 (he charm of the surrounding quiet. The spar-deck was almost 
 deserted. The quarter-master of the watch, with his spy-glass 
 in his hand, and dressed in a frock and trousers of snowy white- 
 ness, stood aft upon the tafllrel, erect and motionless as a statue, 
 keeping the usual look-out. A group of some half a dozen sailors 
 had gathered together on the fo'castle, where they were supinely 
 ying under the shade of the bulwarks; and here and there, upon 
 the gun-slides along the gangway, sat three or four others — one, 
 with his clothes-bag beside him, overhauling his simple wardrobe; 
 another working a set of clues for some favorite officer's hammock ; 
 and a third engaged, perhaps, in carving his name in rude letters 
 upon the handle of a jack-knife, or in knotting a laniard with 
 which to suspend it round his neck. 
 
 On the top of the boom cover, and in the full glare of the level 
 sun, lay black Jake, the jig-maker of the ship, and a striking 
 sperimen of African peculiarities, in whose single person they 
 were all strongly developed. His flat nose was dilated to unusual 
 width, and his ebony cheeks fairly glistened with delight, as he 
 looked up at the gambols of a large monkey, which, clinging to 
 (he main-stay, just above Jake's woolly head, was chattering and 
 giinning back at the negro, as if there existed some means of 
 mHtual intelligence between them. It was my watch on deck 
 and I had been standing several minutes leaning on the main fife- 
 rail, amusing myself by observing the antics of the black and Lia 
 
560 THE MAIN-TRUCK, OR A LEAP FOR LIFE. 
 
 congenial playmate; but at length, tiring of the rude mirth, had 
 turned towards tiie tafTrcl, to gaze on the more agreeable features 
 of that scene which I have feebly attempted to describe. Just at 
 that moment a shout and a merry laugh burst upon my ear, and 
 looking quickly round, to ascertain the cause of the unusual 
 sound on a frigate's deck, I saw little Bob Stay (as we called our 
 commodore's son) standing half the way up the main-hatch lad- 
 der, clapping his hands, and looking aloft at some object that 
 seemed to inspire him with a deal of glee. A single glance to 
 the main-yard explained the occasion of his merriment. He had 
 been coining up iiom the gun-deck, when Jacko, perceiving him 
 on the ladder, dropped suddenly down from the main-stay, and 
 running along the boom-cover, leaped upon Bob's shoulder, 
 seized his cap from his head, and immediately darted up the 
 main-topsail siieet, and thence to the bunt of the mainyard 
 where he now sat, jticking threads from the tassal of his prize, 
 and occasionally scratching his side, and chattering, as if with 
 exultation for the success of his mischief. But Bob was a 
 s-prightly, active little fellow; and though he could not climb 
 quite as nimble as a monkey, yet he had no mind to lose his cap 
 without an effort to regain it. Perhaps he was the more strongly 
 incited to make chase after Jacko, from noticing me to smile at 
 his plight, or by the loud laugh of Jake, who seemed inexpressibly 
 delighted at the occurrence, and endeavored to evince, by tumb- 
 ling about the boom-cloth, shaking his huge misshapen head, and 
 sundry other grotesque actions, the pleasures for which he had no 
 words. 
 
 " Ha, you d — n rascal. Jocko, hab you no more respec' for de 
 young officer, den to steal his cab? We bring you to de gang- 
 way, you black nigger, and gib you a dozen on de bare back for 
 a tief " 
 
 The monkey looked down from his perch as if he understood 
 the threat of the negro, and chattered a sort of defiance in an- 
 swer. 
 
 " Ha, ha! Massa Stay, he say you mus' ketch him 'fore you 
 flog him; and it's no so easy for a midshipman in boots to ketch 
 a monkey barefoot." 
 
 A red spot mounted to the cheek of little Bob, as he cast one 
 glance of offended pride at Jake, and then sprang across the deck 
 to the Jacob's ladder. In an instant he was half-way up the rig- 
 ring, running over the ratlines as lightly as if they were an easy 
 flight of stairs, whilst the shrouds scarcely quivered beneath hig 
 elastic motion. In a second more his hand was on the futtocks, 
 
 "Massa Stay!" cried Jake, who som&times, from being a 
 favorite, ventured to take liberties with he younger officers, 
 •'Massa Stay, you best crawl through de lubber's hole — it take 
 a sailor to climb a futtock shroud." 
 
 But he had scarcely time to utter his pretended caution, before 
 
THE :!Ai:-.-Tn;cK. ok. a leap for life. 58. 
 
 Bob was in the top. The monkey in the meanwhile had awaited 
 his approach, until he had got nearly up the rigging, when it 
 Buddenly put the cap on its own head, and running along the 
 vard to the opposite side of the top, spi.'^ng up a rope, and thence 
 to the topmast backstay, up which it rai. to the topmast cross- 
 trees, where it again quietly seated itself, and resumed its work 
 of picking the tassel to pieces. For several ninutes I stood 
 watching my little messmate follow Jacko from one piece of rig- 
 ging to another, the monkey, all the while, seeming to e.\ert only 
 so much agility as was necessary to elude the pursuer, and paus- 
 ing whenever the latter appeared to be growing weary of the 
 cliasc. At last, by this kind of manoeuvring, the mischievous 
 animal succeeded in enticing Bob as high as the royal-mast- 
 head, when springing suddenly on the royal-stay, it ran nimbly 
 down to the fore-to'gallant-mast head, thence down the rigging to 
 the fore-top, when leaping on the foreyard, it ran out to the yard- 
 arm, and hung the cap on the end of the studding-sail boom, 
 where, taking its seat, it raised a loud and exulting chattering. 
 Bob by this time was completely tired out, and, perhaps, unwilling 
 to return to the deck to be laughed at for his fruitless chase, he 
 sat down on the royal cross-trees; while those who had been 
 attracted by the sport, returned to their usual avocations or 
 amusements. The monkey, no longer the object of pursuit or 
 attention, remained but a little while on the yard-arm; but soon 
 taking up the cap, returned in towards the slings, and dropped it 
 down upon deck. 
 
 Some little piece of duty occurred at this moment to engage 
 me, as soon as which was performed I walked aft, and leaning 
 vay elbow on the taffrel, was quickly lost in the recollection of 
 scenes very different from the small pantomime I had just been 
 witnessing. Soothed by the low hum of the crew, and by the 
 quiet loveliness of every thing around, my thoughts had travelled 
 far away from the realities of my situation, when I was suddenly 
 startled by a cry from black Jake, which brought me on the instant 
 back to consciousness. 
 
 " ]\Iy God! Massa Scupper," cried he, " Massa Stay is on de 
 main-truck!" 
 
 A cold shudder ran through my veins as the word reached Qiy 
 ear. I cast my eyes up — it was too true! The adventurous boy, 
 after resting on the royal cross-trees, had been seized with a wish 
 to go etill higher, and impelled by one of those impulses bv which 
 :nen are sometimes instigated to place themselves in situations 
 of imminent peril without a possibility of good resulting from the 
 exposure, he had climbed the skysail-pole, and, at the moment of 
 my looking up, was actually standing on the main-truck! a small 
 circular piece of wood on the very summit of the loftiest mast, 
 and at a height so great from the deck that my brain turned dizzy 
 as I looked up at him The reverse of Virgil's line >^«s true in 
 ^31 
 
this instance. Tl was comparatively easy to ascend — \>ut to Je< 
 Bcend — mv heiul swam round, and my stomach felt sick at thought 
 of the perils comprised in thai one word. There was nothmg 
 above him or around l)ini but the empty air — and beneath him, 
 nothing; but a point, a mere point — a small, unstable wl eel, that 
 seemed no bigger from the deck than the button on tlve end of a 
 foil, and the taper skysail-pole itself scarcely larger than the 
 i)lade. Dreadful temerity! If be should attempt to stoop, what 
 could he take hold of to steady his descent.^ His feet quite 
 covered up the small and fearful platform that be stood upon, and 
 beneath that, a long, smooth, naked spar, which seemed to bend 
 with his weight, was all that upheld hi"m from destruction. An 
 attempt to get down from "that bad eminence," would be almost 
 certain death; he would inevitably lose his equilibrium, and be 
 precipitated to the deck a crushed and shapeless mass. Such 
 was the nature of the thoughts that crowded through my mind as I 
 first raised my eye, and saw the terrible truth of Jake's e.vcla- 
 niation. What was to be done in the pressing and horrible exi 
 gency.' To tiail him, and inform him of his danger, would be 
 but to ensure his ruin. Indeed, I fancied that the rash boy 
 already perceived the imminence of his peril; and I half thought 
 that I could see his limbs begin to quiver, and his cheek turn 
 deadly pale. Every moment I expected to see the dreadful catas- 
 trophe. I could not bear to look at him, and yet could not with- 
 draw my gaze. A film came over my eyes, and a faintness over 
 my heart. The atmosphere seemed to grow thick, and to tremhle 
 and waver like the heated air around a furnace; the mast appeared 
 to totter, and the ship to pass from under my feet. I myself had 
 the sensations of one about to fall from a great height, and making 
 a strong effort to recover myself, like that of a dreamer who 
 fancies he is shoved from a precipice, I staggered up against the 
 bulwarks. 
 
 When my eyes were once turned frofn the dreadful object to 
 which they iiad been riveted, my sense and consciousness came 
 back. I looked around me — the deck was already crowded with 
 people. The intelligence of poor Bob's temerity had spread 
 through the sliip like wild-fire — as such news always will — and 
 the oificers and crew were all crowding to the deck to behold the 
 appalling — the heart-rending spectacle. Every one, as he lookea 
 up, turned ))ale, and his eye became fastened in silence on the 
 truck — like that of a spectator of an execution on the gallows— 
 Mith a steadfast, unblinking and intense ret abhorrent gaze, as 
 if momently expecting a fatal termination to th.e awful s jspenso 
 JVo one made a suggestion — no one spoke. Every feeling, every 
 faculty seemed to be absorbed and swallowed up in one deep, ii' 
 tense emotion of agony. Once the first lieutenant seized the 
 trumpet, as if to hail poor Bob, but he had scarce raised '* to his 
 lips when his arm dropped again, and sunk listlessly down beside 
 
THE MAIN-TRUCK, OR A LEAP FOR LIFE. 36S 
 
 him, as if from a sad consciousness of the utter inutility of what 
 he had been going to say. Every soul in the ship was now on 
 the spar-deck, and every eye was turned to the main-truck. 
 
 At this moment there was a stir among the crew about th-e 
 gangway, and directly after another face was added to those ou 
 tli« quarter-deck — it was that of the commodore, Bob's father 
 He had come alongside in a shore boat, without having been 
 noticed by a single eye, so intense and universal was the interest 
 that had fastened every gaze upon the spot where poor Bob stood 
 trembling on the awfid verge of fate. The commodore asked 
 not a question, uttered not a .syllable. He was a dark-faced, 
 austere man, and it was thought by some of the midshipmen that 
 he entertained but little affection for his son. However that 
 might have been, it was certain that he treated him with precisely 
 the same strict discipline that he did the other young officers, or 
 if there was any difference at all, it was not in favor of Bob. 
 Some, who pretended to have studied his character closely, af- 
 firmed that he loved his boy too well to spoil him, and that, in- 
 tending him for the arduous profession in which he had himself 
 risen to fame and eminence, he thought it would be of service 
 to him to experience some of its privations and hardships at the 
 outset. 
 
 The arrival of the commodore changed the direction of 
 several eyes, which now turned on him to trace what emotions 
 the danger of his son would occasion. But their scrutiny was 
 foiled. By no outward sign did he show wnat was passing with- 
 in. His eye still retained its severe expression, his brow the 
 slight frown whi^ it usually wore, and his lip its haughty curl. 
 Immediately on reaching the deck, he had ordered a marine to 
 hand him a musket, and with this stepping aft, and getting on the 
 lookout-block, he raised it to his shoulder, and took a deliberate 
 aim at his son, at the same time hailing him, without a trumpet, 
 in his voice of thunder. 
 
 "Robert!" cried he, "jump! jump overboard! or I'll fire at 
 you." 
 
 The boy seemed to hesitate, and it was plain that he was totter- 
 ing, for his arms were thrown out like those of one scarcely able 
 to retain his balance. The commodore raised his voice again, 
 and in a quicker and more energetic tone cried, 
 
 " Jump! 't is your only chance for life." 
 
 The words were scarcely out of his mouth, before the body 
 was seen to leave the truck and spring out into the air. A sound, 
 between a shriek and groan burst from many lips. The fathei 
 spoke not — sighed not — indeed he did not seem to breathe. 
 For a moment of intense agony a pin might have been heard to 
 drop on deck. With a rush like that of a cannon ball, the body 
 descended to the water, and before the waves closed over it, 
 twenty stout fellows, among them several officers, had dived from 
 
364 THE IlAni'OO.VF,!! TUANSPOflT. 
 
 the bulwarks. Another short period of bitter suspense eneucJ 
 It rose — he wna uhve! his arms were seen to move! — he struck 
 out towards the sliip! — and despite tlie discipline of a man-of-war 
 tliree loud huz/.as, an outburst of unfeigned and unrestrainable. 
 joy from the hearts of our crew of five hundred men, pealed 
 through the air, and made the welkin ring. Till this moment, 
 the old commodore had stood unmoved. The eyes, that glisten- 
 ing with pleasure, now sought his face, saw that it was ashy palQ. 
 He attempted to descend the horse-block, but his knees bent 
 under him; he seemed to gasp for breath, and put up his hand, aa 
 if to te.ar open his vest; but before he accomplished his object, 
 he staggered forward, and would have fallen on the deck, had he 
 I ot been caught by old Black Jake. He was borne into his 
 cabin, where the surgeon attended him, whose utmost skill waa 
 required to restore his mind to its usual equability and self-com- 
 mand, in which he at last happily succeeded. As soon as he 
 recovered from the dreadful shock, he sent for Bob, and had a 
 long confidential conference with him; and it was aoticed when 
 the little fellow left the cabin thai he was in tears. The next day 
 we sent down our taunt and dashy poles, and replaced them with 
 the stump-to'gallant-masts; and on the third, we weighed anchor, 
 and made sail for Gibraltar, 
 
 THE HARPOONER TRANSPORT. 
 
 The hired transport Har])ooner, was lost near Newfoundland, 
 in November, 1818; she had on board three hundred and eighty 
 five men, women, and children, including the ship's company. 
 The passengers consisted of detachments of several regiments, 
 with their families, who were on their way to Quebec. On Sat- 
 urday evening, ISovember 10th, a few minutes after nine o'clock, 
 the second mate on watch called out, " the ship's aground;" at 
 which she slightly struck on the outermost rock of St. Shotts, in 
 the Island of Newfoundland. She beat over, and proceeded a 
 short distance, when she struck again, and lilled; encircled among 
 rocks, the wind blowing strong, the night dark, and a \ery heavy 
 eea rolling, she soon fell over on her larboard beam end; and, to 
 heighten the terror and alarm, a lighted candle communicated 
 fire to some spirits in the master's cabin, which, in the confusion, 
 ivas with difficulty extinguished^ 
 
 The ship still driving over the rocks, her masts were cut away^ 
 by which some men were carried overboard. The vessel drifted 
 oyer, near the high rocks, towards the main. In this situation 
 every one became terrified: the suddeness of the sea rushing in, 
 
THE HAUrOONER TRANSPORT, 36i 
 
 carried away the births and slauncheons between decks, when 
 men, women, and children, were drowned, and many were killed 
 by the force with which they were driven against the lose bag- 
 gage, casks, and staves, which floated below. All that possibly 
 could, got upon deck, but from the crowd and conClision thtit 
 prevailed, the orders ot" the officers and master to the soldiers 
 and seamen were unavailing; death staring every one in the face; 
 the ship striking on the rocks, as though she would instantly 
 upset. The shrieking and pressing of the people to the starboard 
 side was so violent, that several were much hurt. About eleven 
 o'clock, the boats on the deck were washed overboard by a heavy 
 sea: but even from the commencement of the disaster, the hopes 
 of any individual being saved were but very small. 
 
 From this time, until four o'clock the next morning, all on the 
 wreck were anxiously praying for the light to break upon them. 
 The boat from the stern was in the meanwhile lowered down, 
 when the first mate and four seamen, at the risk of their lives, 
 pushed off" to the shore. They with difficulty eflected a landing 
 upon the main land, behind a high rock, nearest to where the 
 stern of the vessel had been driven. The log-line was thrown 
 from the wreck, with a hope that they might lay hold of it; but 
 darkness, and the tremendous surf that beat, rendered it imprac- 
 ticable. During this awful time of suspense, the possibility of 
 sending a line to them by a dog occurred to the master: the ani- 
 mal was brought aft, and thrown into the sea with a line tied round 
 his middle, and with it he swam towards the rock upon which the 
 mate and seamen were standing,. It is impossible to describe 
 the sensations which were excited at seeing this faithful dog strug- 
 gling with the waves; and on reaching the summit of the rock 
 repeatedly dashed back again by the surf into the sea; until at 
 length, by unceasing exertions, he effected a landing. One end 
 of the line being on boar4, a stronger rope was hauled and fastened 
 to the rock. 
 
 At about six o'clock in the morning of the 11th, the first person 
 was landed by this means; and afi;erwards, by an improvement in 
 rigging the rope, and placing each individual in slings, they were 
 with greater facility extricated from the wreck; but during this 
 passage, it was with the utmost difficulty that the unfortunate 
 Butferers could maintain their hold, as the sea beat over them and 
 some were dragged to the shore in a state of insensibility. Lieu- 
 tenant Wilson was lost, being unable to hold on the rnj)e with 
 his hands; he was twice struck by the sea, fell backwards out of 
 the slings, and after swimming for a considerable time amongst 
 the floating wreck, by which he was struck on the head, he per- 
 ished. Many who threw themselves overboard, trusting for their 
 safety to swimming, were lost: they were dashed to pieces by the 
 Burf on the rocks, or by the floating pieces of the wreck 
 
 The rope at length, by constant working, and by swinging 
 3.* 
 
366 THE lIAKPOONKll TRANSrOIlT 
 
 across llio sharp rock, was cut in two; and tlierc jeing no means 
 of replacing it, tlie spectacle bocanio more than ever terrilic; the 
 sea beating over the wreck with great violence, washed numbers 
 overboard; and at last the wreck, breaking up at the stern from 
 niidshii)s and forecastle, precipitated all that remained into one 
 conimoti destruction. 
 
 'Tlie parting of the ship was noticed by those on shore, and 
 signilied with the most dreadful cry of "Go Forward!" — It is 
 ditlicult to paint the horror of the scene; — children clinging tc 
 their |)arents for help; parents themselves struggling with death, 
 and stretching out thoir feeble arms to save their children, dying 
 within their grasp. 
 
 The total number of persons lost was two hundred and eight, 
 and one hundred and seventy-seven were saved. 
 
 Lieutenant Mylrea, of the 4th Veteran Battalion, one of the 
 oldest subalterns in the service, and then upwards of seventy 
 years of age, was the last person who quitted the wreck; when 
 he had seen every other person either safe, or l)cyond the power 
 of assistance, he threw himself on to a rock, from which he was 
 afterwards rescued. 
 
 Among the severest sufferers, was the daughter of Surgeon 
 Armstrong, who lost on this fatal night her father, mother, brother, 
 and two sisters! 
 
 The rock which the survivors were landed upon, was about one 
 hundred feet above the water, surrounded at the flowing of the 
 tide. On the top of this rock they were obliged to remain during 
 the whole of the night, without shelter, food, or nourishment, ex- 
 posed to wind and rain, and many without shoes. The only 
 comfort that presented itself was a fire, which was made from 
 pieces of the wreck that had been washed ashore. 
 
 At daylight on the morning of the l^th, at low water, their 
 removal to the opposite land was effected, some being let down by 
 a rope, others slipping down a ladder to the bottom. After they 
 crossed over, they directed their course to a house or fisherman's 
 shed, distant about a mile and a half from the wreck, where they 
 remained until the next day; the proprietor of this miserable shed 
 not havi-ng the means of supjjlying relief to so considerable a num- 
 ber as took refuge, a party went over land to Trepassy, about 
 fourteen miles distant, through a marshy country, not inhabited 
 by any human creature. This party arrived at Trepassy, and re- 
 Dorted the event to Messrs. Jackson, Burke, Sims, and the Rev. 
 Mr. Brown, who immediately took measures for alleviating the 
 distressed, by despatching men with provisions and spirits, and 
 to assist in wringing all those forward to Trepassy who could 
 walk. 
 
 On the 13th, in the evening, the major part of the survivors 
 (assisted b}' the inhabitants, who', during the journey carried 
 the weak and feeble upon their backs) arrived at Trepassy where 
 
COMMODORE BARNEY. 367 
 
 they were billeted, by order of the magistrate, proportionably 
 upon each house. 
 
 There still remained at St. Shotts, the wife of a serjeant of tha 
 Veteran Battalion; with a chiW, of which she was delivered on 
 the top of the rocks shortly after she was saved. A private, whose 
 {eg was broken, and a woman severely bruised by the wreck, were 
 also necessarily left the/e. 
 
 Immediately after the arrival at Trepassy, measures were adopt- 
 ed for the comfort and refreshment of the detachments, and boats 
 were provided for their removal to St. John's, where they ultimate- 
 ly arrived in safety. 
 
 COMMODORE BARNEY. 
 
 " The old Commodore, 
 
 Tlie fighting old Coininodore lie," 
 
 No old Triton who has passed his calms under the bows :t the 
 long boat could say of Joshua Barney that he came into a master's 
 berth through the cabin windows. He began at the rudimepts, 
 and well he understood the science. All his predilections were 
 for the sea. Having deserted the counting room, young Barney, 
 at the age of twelve, was placed for nautical instruction in a pilot 
 boat at Baltimore, till he was apprenticed to his brother-in-law. 
 At the age of fourteen, he was appointed second mate, with the 
 approbation of the owners, and before he was sixteen he was call- 
 ed upon to take charge of his ship at sea, in which the master 
 died. This was on a voyage to Nice. The ship was in such a 
 state that it was barely possible to make Gibraltar, where for 
 necessary repairs he pledged her for £700, to be repaid by the 
 consignee at Nice, who however declined, and called in the aid 
 of the Governor to compel Barney to deliver the cargo, which he 
 had refused to do. He was imprisoned, but set at large on somes 
 intimation that he would do as desired, but when he came on board, 
 he struck his flag, and removed his crew, choosing to consider 
 his vessel as captured. He then set out for JNIilan, to solicit the 
 aid of the British Ambassador there, in which he succeeded so 
 well, that the authorities of Nice met him on his return to apolo- 
 gi7C for their conduct. The assignees paid the bond, and Bar- 
 ney sailed for Alicant, where his vessel was detained for the use 
 of the great armada, then fitting out against Algiers, the fate of 
 which was total and shameful defeat. On his return home, his 
 employer was so well satisfied with his conduct, that he became 
 his firm friend ever after. He soon offered himself as second in 
 command on board the sloop Hornet, of ten guns, oneof twu ves 
 
368 CO.MMODOllC BARXET. 
 
 sels then preparing for a cruise under Commodore Hopkins, foi 
 this was in the early part of the revolution. The sloop fell in 
 with a British tender, which she might have captured, hut for 
 the timidity of the American captain. The tender, mistaking her 
 jnemy, ran alongside and cxi)osed herself to much danger. Bar- 
 ney, stood hy one of the guns as the enemy came near, and was 
 ahout to apply the match, when the bold commander commanded 
 lum to desist. Barney, whose spirit revolted at such a cause, 
 threw his match-stick at the captain, with such force that the iron 
 point stuck in the door of the round-house. This, in a youth not 
 seventeen, argued well for the pugnacity of the man. At the end 
 of this cruise, he volunteered on board the schooner Wasp, in 
 which he soon had a brush with the Koebuck and another liigate, 
 and with the aid of some galleys in which he had a command, the 
 enemy was forced to retreat, with more loss than honor. Barney, 
 for his good conduct in this aflair, was appointed to the conunand 
 of the sloop S.n.chem, with the commission of Lieutenant, before 
 he was seventeen. Before the cruise, however, Captain Robin- 
 son took command of the Sachem, M'hich soon had an action with 
 a letter-of-maique of superior force and numbers. It was well con- 
 tested, and nearly half the crew of the brig were killed or wound- 
 ed. In about two hours the letter-of-marciue struck. The captors 
 secured a valuable prize, in a cargo of rum, and also a magnificent 
 turtle, intended as a present to Lord North, whose name was 
 marked on the shell. This acceptable West-Indian, Lieutenant 
 Barney presented to a better man than it had been designed for, 
 i or he gave it to the Hon. R. Morris. On the return of the Sa- 
 ohem, both officers were transferred to a fine brig of fourteen 
 guns, the Andrew Doria, which forthwith captured the Racehorse, 
 of twelve guns, and a picked crew. This vessel was of the Royal 
 Navy, and had been detached by the Admiral purposely to take 
 the Doria; but, saith the proverb, if two men ride the same horse, 
 one must ride behind. 
 
 On this voyage a snow was captured, in which the Lieutenant 
 went as prize master, making up his crew partly of the prisoners. 
 Being hard by an enemy's ship, he discovered signs of mutiny 
 among his crew, and shot the ringleader in the shoulder; a pro- 
 ceeding that offered so little encouragement to his comrades, that 
 they obeyed orders, and made sail, but it was too late to escape 
 The purser of the frigate which captured him, was, on a subse- 
 quent occasion, so much excited as to strike Barney, who knocked 
 him down, and went further in his resentment than fair fighting 
 permits, for he kicked him down the gangway. — The commander 
 obliged the purser to apologize to Barney. Having been cap- 
 ured in the Virginia frigate, which ran aground at the Capes, 
 and was deserted by her commander, Barney, with five hundred 
 other prisoners, was sent round, in the Sf. Albans frigale, t( New 
 York. As the prisoners were double .n number to the crew 
 
COMMODORE BARNEY. 3b3 
 
 Barney formed a plan of taking tlie ship, wnich was defeated or 
 prevented, by the treachery of a Frenchman. 
 
 " O for a curse to kill the slave, 
 
 Whose treason, like a dendl >' blight, 
 Comes o'er the councils of the brave, 
 
 To blast them in the hoar of might." 
 
 Barney was a prisoner at New York, for five months, after 
 which he took the command of a schooner of two guns, and eight 
 men, witli a cargo of tobacco for St. Eustatia, for he was better 
 pleased to do a little than to do nothing. He was, however, taken, 
 after a running fight, by boarding, by a privateer of four large 
 guns and sixty men. His next cruise was with his friend Robin- 
 son, in a private ship of ten guns and thirty-five men, in which 
 they encountered the British privateer Rosebud of si.vteen guns 
 and one hundred and twenty men. On the return, a letter-of- 
 marque of sixteen guns and seventy men was captured. The 
 Lieutenant had now prize money enough to be converted, on his 
 
 eturn, into a large bundle of continental bills, which he stowed 
 away in a chaise box, on taking a journey, but which he could 
 not find when he arrived at his destination. He kept his own 
 secret, however, and " went to sea again," second in command 
 of the United States' ship Saratoga, of sixteen nine-pounders. 
 The first prize was a ship of twelve guns, captured alter an action 
 of a few minutes. On the next day, the Saratoga hoisted Eng- 
 lish colors, and came along side a ship which had two brigs in 
 company; then running up the American ensign, she poured in a 
 broad side, while Lieutenant Barney, with fifty men, boarded the 
 enemy. The immediate result was, the conquest of a ship of thirty 
 two guns and ninety men. The two brigs, one of fourteen, ano 
 the other of four guns, were also captured. The division of prize 
 money would have made the officers rich, but no division took 
 place, for all but the Saratoga were captured by a seventv-four 
 and several frigates. Lieutenant Barney was furnished with bed 
 and board, on deck, and, with him, bed and board were synony- 
 mous terms, but he was allowed to choose the softest plank he 
 could find. In England he was confined in prison, from which he 
 escaped, and, after various adventures, arrived at Beverly, Massa- 
 chusetts, and, as soon as he landed, was olfered the command of 
 a privateer of twenty guns. On his arrival at Philadelphia, he 
 accepted the command of one of several vessels, cruising against 
 the enemies' barges, and the refugee boats, that infested the 
 Delaware River and Bay. His ship was the Hyder Ally, a small 
 vessel of sixteen six-pounders. As a superior vessel of the enemy 
 was approaching, Barney directed his steersman to interpret hid 
 command by the ride of contraries. 
 
 When the enemy were ranging alongside, Barney cried out, 
 
 ' Hard a-port." The helmsman clapped his helm the other way, 
 and the enemy's ib-boom caught in the fore rigging, and held her 
 
370 COMMOUOKE nAUNEV, 
 
 in a position to bo raked, nnd never was the operation of raking 
 more suddenly or efl'ectually performed. The British flag came 
 down in less than half an hour, and the captors made little delay 
 for compliments, for a frigate from the enemy was rapidly ap- 
 proaching. 'J'he prize was the general Marie, of the Royal Navy, 
 with twenty nine pounders, and one hundred and thirty-six men; 
 nearly double the force and metal of the captors. Atiter the peace. 
 Commodore 13arney made a partial settlement in Kentucky, and 
 became a favorite with the old hunters of that pleasant land. He 
 was appointed Clerk of the District Court of Maryland, and also 
 an auctioneer. He also engaged in commerce, when his business 
 led him to Cape Francois during the insurrection, and where he 
 armed his crew, and fought his way, to carry off some specie 
 which he had secreted in barrels of coffee. 
 
 On his return he was captured by a pirate, which called herself 
 an English privateer. Barney, however, was a bad prisoner, and 
 with a couple of his hands rose upon the buccaneers and captured 
 their ship. In this situation it was no time for Argus himself to 
 sleep, with more than an eye at a time. The Commodore slept 
 only by day in an armed chair on deck, with his sword between his 
 legs, and pistols in his belt, while his cook and boatswain, well 
 armed, stood the watch at his side. On another occasion, he was 
 captured in the West Indies, by an English frigate, where he re- 
 ceived the usual British courtesies, and he was tried in Jamaica 
 for piracy, &c. It is needles* to say that, though in an enemy's 
 country, he was acquitted by acclamation. This accusation origi- 
 nated with the commander of the frigate, who, however, prudently 
 kept out of sight; though an officer in the same frigate, expressed 
 at a Coffee House, a desire to meet Barney, without knowing 
 that he was present, that he might have an opportunity to settle 
 accounts with the rascal. The rascal bestowed upon the officer 
 the compliments that were usual on such occasions, and tweakec 
 that part of his head that is so prominent in an elephant. 
 
 We cannot follow the Commodore through his subsequent for- 
 tunes and adventures, but refer to the book for a more interesting 
 account of them. In France he received the hug fraternal of the 
 President of the Convention, and the commission of Captain of 
 the highest grade in the Navy. He fitted out several vessels of 
 his own to harass the British trade, in which he was very success- 
 ful. He received the command of two frigates, which were al- 
 most totally wrecked in a storm, though he succeeded in saving 
 them In the last war, his services are more immediately in our 
 memories. The Memoir of Commodore Barney, from which 
 vhese particulars are taken, is ji:st published by Gray andBowen, 
 and it is a va uable additior ;o our naval biography. — Boston 
 Courier. 
 
NAVAl DATTLES. 371 
 
 NAVAL BATTLES 
 
 OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The depradations committed on American commerce in the 
 Mediterranean, by the piratical corsairs of the Barbary powers, 
 induced Congress, in 1794, to authorise the formation of a naval 
 force for its protection. Four ships of forty-four guns each and 
 two of thirty-six were ordered to be built. Captain Tho.^ias 
 Truxto.v was one of the first six captains appointed by the Presi- 
 dent, at the organization of the naval establishment, in 1794. 
 He was appointed to the command of the Constellation of thirty- 
 six guns, and ordered to protect the commerce of the United 
 States in the West Indies from the ravages of the French. On 
 the ninth of February, 1799, he captured the French frigate 
 Insurgente, of which twenty-nine of the crew were killed and 
 forty-four wounded. The Constellation had but one man killed 
 and two wounded. 
 
 In 1800, the Constellation engaged with the French frigate 
 Vengeance of fifty-four guns, near Guadaloupe; but owing to 
 the darkness of the night the latter escaped, after having thrice 
 struck her colors and lost one hundred and sixty men. 
 
 The same year, the United States frigate Boston captured the 
 French national corvette Le Berceau. 
 
 In the month of August, 1801, Captain Sterrett of the United 
 States schooner Enterprize, of twelve guns, and ninety men, fell 
 in, off Malta, with a Tripolitan cruiser of fourteen guns, and 
 eighty-five men. In this action the Tripolitans thrice hauled 
 down her colors, and thrice perfidiously renewed the conflict. 
 Fifty of her men were killed and wounded. The Enterprize did 
 not lose a man. Captain Stcrrett's instructions not permitting 
 him to make a prize of the cruiser, he ordered her crew to throw 
 overboard all their guns and powder, &c, and to go and tell their 
 countrymen the treat>nent they might expect from a nation, deter- 
 mined to pay tribute only in powder and ball. On her arrival at 
 Tripoli, so great was the terror produced, that the sailors aban- 
 donea me cruisers then fitting out. and not a man could be pro- 
 cured to navigate them. 
 
 The Tripolitan cruisers continuing to harass the vessels of the 
 U. States, Congress determined, in 1803, to fit out a flict that 
 should chastise their insolence. The squadron consisted of the 
 Constitution, 44 guns; the Philadelphia, 44; the Argus, 18; the 
 Siren, 16; the Nautilus, 16; the Vixen, 16; and the Enterprize, 
 14. Commodore Preble was appointed to the command of thig 
 squadron, in May, 1803, and on the 13th of August, sailed in 
 he Co istitutic n for 3he Mediterranean. Having adjusted the 
 
fj72 NA\AI. BATTLES. 
 
 diflicullies which Iiad S|)riiii<r up u ith tliu emperor of Morocco 
 he turned his whole attention to Tripoli. The season was, how 
 ever, too far advanced for active operations. 
 
 On the 31st of Octoher, the I^hiladelphia, being, at nine o'clock 
 in the morning, about live leagues to the westward of Tripoli, 
 discovered a sail in shore, standing before the wind to the east- 
 ward. Ihe Philadelphia iniinediately gave chase. The sai. 
 hoisted Tripolitan colors, and continued her course near tho 
 shore. The Philadelphia opened a fire upon her, and continued 
 it, till half past eleven; when, being in seven fathoms water, and 
 finding her lire could not prevent the /essel entering Tripoli, she 
 gave up the pursuit. In beating off, she ran on a rock, not laid 
 down in any chart, distant four and a half miles from the town. 
 A boat was immediately lowered to sound. The greatest depth 
 of water was found to be astern. In order to back her o^f, al" 
 sails were then laid aback; the top-gallant-sails loosened; three 
 anchors thrown away from the bows; the water in the hold started; 
 and all the guns thrown overboard, excepting a few abaft to de- 
 fend the ship against the attacks of the Tripolitan gun-boats, 
 then firing at her. All this, however, proved ineffectual; as did 
 also the attempt to lighten her forward by cutting away her fore- 
 mast. The Philadelphia had already withstood the attack of the 
 numerous gun-boats for four hours, when a large reinforcement 
 coming out of Tripoli, and being herself deprived of every means 
 of resistance, and defence, she was forced to strike, about sunset 
 The Tripolitans imniediafaly took possession of her, and made 
 prisoners of the otiicers and men, in number three hundred. 
 Forty-eight hours afterwards, the wind blowing in shore, the Tri- 
 politans got the frigate off, and towed her into the harbor. 
 
 On the 14th of December, commodore Preble sailed from 
 Malta, in company with the Enterprize, commanded by lieutenant 
 Stephen Decatur. When the latter was informed of the loss of 
 the Philadelphia, he imniediatcly formed a plan of recapturing 
 and destroying her, wiiich he proposed to commodore Preble. At 
 first the commodore thought the projected enterprise too hazar- 
 dous; but at length granted his consent. Lieutenant Decatur 
 then selected for the enterprise the ketch Intrepid, lately captured 
 by him. This vessel he manned with seventy volunteers, chiefl) 
 of his own crew; and ori the 3d of February sailed from Syra 
 case, accompanied by the brig Siren, lieutenant Stewart. 
 
 After a tempestuous passage of fifteen days, the two vessels ar- 
 rived off the harbor of Tripoli, towards the close of day. It was 
 determined that at ten o'clock in the evening the Intrepid should 
 enter the harbor, accompanied by the boats of the Siren. But a 
 iliangc of wind had separated the two vessels six or eight miles. 
 As delay might prove fatal, lieutenant Decatur entered the har- 
 bor alone about eight o'clock. The Philadelphia lay within half 
 gun shot of the Bashaw's castle and principal battery. On hcJ 
 
NAVAL BATTLES. ? H 
 
 starboard quarter lay two Tripolitan cruisers within two cablou 
 length ; and on the starboard bow a number of gun-boats within 
 half gun-shot. All her guns were mounted and loaded. Three 
 hours were, in consequence of the lightness of the wind, consum- 
 ed in passing three miles, when, being within two hundred yardg 
 of the Philadelphia, they were hailed from her, and ordered to 
 anchor on peril of being fired into. The pilot on boara the 
 Intrepid was ordered to reply, that all their anchors were lost 
 The Americans had advan^( d within fifty yards of the frigate, 
 when the wind died away into a calm. Lieutenant Decatur 
 ordered a rope to be taken out and fastened to the fore chams c 
 the frigate, which was done, and the Intrepid warped alongside. 
 It was not till then the Tripolitans suspected them to be an 
 enemy; and their confusion in consequence was great. As soon 
 as the vessels were sufficiently near, lieutenant Decatur sprang on 
 board the frigate, and was followed by midshipman Morris. It 
 was a minute before the, remainder of the crew succeeded in 
 mounting after them. But the Turks, crowded together on th<j 
 quarter deck, were in too great consternation to take advantage 
 of this delay. As soon as a sufficient number of Americans gained 
 the deck they rushed upon the Tripolitans; who were soon over- 
 powered; and about twenty of them were killed. AUer taking 
 possession of the ship, a firing commenced from the Tripolitau 
 batteries and castle, and from two corsairs near the frigate; a 
 number of launches were also seen rowing about in the harbor; 
 whereupon lieutenant Decatur resolved to remain in the frigate, 
 for there he would be enabled to make the best defence. But 
 perceiving that the launches kept at a distance, he ordered the 
 frigate to be set on fire, which was immediately done, and so ef- 
 fectuall)', that with dilficulty was the Intrepid preserved. A 
 favorable breeze at this moment sprang up, which soon carried 
 them out of the harbor. None of the Americans were killed, 
 and only four wounded. For this heroic achievement lieutenant 
 Deca ur was promoted to the rank of post captain. His commis- 
 sion was dated on the day he destroyed the Philadelphia. 
 
 After the de.^tru(tion of the Philadelphia frigate, commodore 
 Preble was, during the spring and early part of the simimer, 
 employed in keeping up the blockade of the harbor of Tripoli, in 
 preparing for an attack upon the town, and in cruising. A prize 
 that had been taken was put in commission, and called the Scourge 
 A loan of six gun-boats and two bomb-vessels, completely fitted 
 for service, was obtained from the king of Naples. Permission 
 was also given to take twelve or fifteen Neapolitans on board 
 each boat, to serve under the American flag. 
 
 With this addition to his force, the commodore, on the 21st of 
 July, joined the vessels olF Tripoli. The number of men engag- 
 ed in the service amounted to one thousand and sixty. 
 
 On the Tripolitan castle and batteries, one hundred and fifteen 
 32 
 
874 NAVAL nATTl-Ks. 
 
 guns were ninuntcd: firty-Hvo of wliicli wt-re pieces of heavv 
 ordnance; the others long eighteen and twelve pounders. In the 
 harbor were nineteen iriin-boiits, carrying each a long brass eigh- 
 teen or tsventy-lbur pounder in the bow, and two howitzers abaft: 
 also two schooners of eight guns each, a brig of ten, and two 
 galleys, of four guns each. In addition to the ordinary Turkish 
 garrison, and tlie crews of the armed vessels, estimated at tliree 
 thousand, upwards of twenty thousand Arabs had been asseubled 
 for the defence of the city. 
 
 The weatiier prevented the squadron from approaching the city 
 until the 28th, when it anchored within two miles and a half of 
 the Ibrtitications; but tlie wind suddenly shifting, find increasing 
 to a gale, the commodore was compelled to return. On the .3d 
 of August, he again approached to within two cr three miles of 
 the batteries. Having observed that several of the enemy's boats 
 were stationed without the reef of rocks, covering the entrance 
 of the harbor, he resolved to take advantage of this circumstance. 
 He made signal for the squadron to come within speaking dis- 
 tance, to conuuunicate to the several commanders his intention 
 of attacking tlie shipping and batteries. The gunboats and 
 bomb-ketches were immediately manned, and prepared for af.tion 
 The former were arranged in tv.o divisions of three each At 
 half past one, the squadron stood in for the batteries. At two, 
 the gun -boats were cast off". At half past two, signal was i lade 
 for the bomb-ketches and gun-boats to advance and attack At 
 three quarters past two, the signal was given for a general action 
 It commenced by the bomb-ketches throwing shells into the town 
 A tremeiidous fire immediately commenced from the enemy's bat- 
 teries and vessels, of at least two hundred guns. It was immedi- 
 ately returned by the American squadron, now within musket-shot 
 of the principal batteries. 
 
 At this moment, captain Decatur, with the three gun-boats under 
 his command, attacked the enemy's eastern division, consisting of 
 nine gun-boats. He was soon in the midst of them. The fire of 
 the cannon and musketry was immediately changed to a desperate 
 attack with bayonet, spear, sabre, &c. Captain Decatur having 
 grappled a Tripolitan boat, and boarded her with only fifteen 
 Americans; in ten minutes her decks were cleared, and she was 
 captured. Three Americans were wounded. At this moment 
 captain Decatur was informed that the gun-boat commanded by 
 his brother, had engaged and captured a boat belonging to the 
 enemy; but that his brother, as he was stepping on board, was 
 treacherously shot by the Tripolitan commander, who made oil 
 with his boat. Captain Decatur immediately pursued the mur 
 derer, who was retreating within the lines; having succeeded in 
 coming along side, he boarded with only eleven men. A doubtful 
 contest of twenty minutes ensued. Decatur immediately attacked 
 the Tripolitan jommander, who was armed with a spear and cut- 
 
NAVAL B..TTLE3 S75 
 
 ass. In parrying the Turk's spear, Decatur broke his sword 
 close to the hilt, and received a sUght wound in tlie right arm and 
 breast; but having seized the spear he closed; and, after a 
 violent struggle, both fell, Decatur uppermost. The Turk then 
 drew a dagger irom his belt; but Decatur caught hold of hi^ 
 arm, drew a pistol from his pocket, and shot him. While they 
 were struggling, the crew of both vessels rushed to the assistance 
 of their commanders. And so desperate had the contest around 
 them been, that it was with difficulty Decatur could e\triv.ate 
 himself from the killed and wounded that had fallen around him. 
 In this affair an American manifested the most heroic courage 
 and attachment to his commander. Decatur, in the struggle, was 
 attacked in the rear by a Tripolitan; who had aimed a blow at his 
 head, which must have pro\ed fatal, had not this generous-minded 
 tar, then dangerously wounded and deprived of the use of both his 
 hands, rushed between him and the sabre, the stroke of which he 
 received in his head wheieby his scull was fractured. This hero, 
 however survived, and afterwards received a pension from his 
 grateful country. All the Americans but four were wounded 
 Captain Decatur brought both his prizes safe to the American 
 squadron. 
 
 Two successive attacks were afterwards made upon Tripoli; 
 and the batteries effectually silenced. The humiliation of this 
 barbarous power was of advantage to all nations. The Pope 
 made a public declaration, that, "the United States, though 
 in their infancy, had, in this affair, done more to humble the 
 anti-christian barbarians on that coast, than all the European 
 States had done for a long series of time." Sir Alexander Ball, 
 a distinguished commander in the British navy, addressed his 
 congratulations to commodore Preble. 
 
 After the junction of the two squadrons, commodore Prebl« 
 obtained leave to return home. This he did with the greater pleas- 
 ure, as it would give the command of a frigate to captain Decatur. 
 On his return to the United States, he was received and treated 
 every where with that distinguished attention, which he had so 
 fully merited. Congress voted him their thanks, and requested 
 the President to present him with an emblematical medal. 
 
 Our limits will only allow us to glance briefly at a few of the 
 remaining victories of the American navy. A formal declaration 
 of war against Great Britain was passed by Congress on the 13th 
 of June, 1812. On the 19th of August the memorable capture 
 of the British frigate Guerriere by the Constitution under captain 
 Hull, took place. On the 18th of October the British sloop of 
 war Frolic was taken by the Wasp, commanded by captain Jacob 
 Jones; before the latter could escape, however, with her prize, 
 Deing in a very disabled state, she was captured by the British 
 seventy-four, Poictiers. On the 25th of October, the United 
 States under commodore Decatur, fell in with and captu'td, off 
 
576 NAVAL BATFJ-ES. 
 
 the Western Isles the British frigate JMaccdonian, mountng 
 forty-nine guns and carrying three hundred and six men. The 
 Macedonian had one huii(lre<l and six men kilh'd and wounded' 
 the United States live killed and seven wounded. The victory 
 of the Constitution over the Java followed; and was succeeded 
 by tiiat of the Jlornct, commanded by Captain Lawrence, over 
 the l^eacock. The loss of that brave oificer in the subsequent 
 engagement between the Chesapeake and the Shannon, has been 
 mentioned in a previous notice of his life. On the 1st of Sep- 
 tember, 1813, the British brig Boxer of fourteen guns, was cap 
 tured by the United States brig Enterprize, commanded by 
 lieutenant William Burrows, who fell in the engagement. We 
 n>ust close our notice of American naval history, by a brief sketch 
 of some of the most interesting cruises and engagements. 
 
 CRUISE OF THE WASP 
 
 On the 1st of May 1814, the United States sloop of war Wasp, 
 of eighteen guns and one hundred and seventy-three men, cap- 
 tain Blakely commander, sailed from Portsmouth, N. H. on a 
 cruise, and on the 28th of June, in latitude 48. 36, longitude 
 1 1. 15, after having made several captures, she fell in with, engag- 
 ed, and after an action of nineteen minutes, captured his Britan- 
 ic majesty's sloop of war Reindeer, William Manners, esquire, 
 commander. The Reindeer mounted sixteen twenty-four pound 
 carronades, two long six or nine pounders, and a shifting twelve 
 pound carronade, with a complement on board of one hundred 
 and eighteen men. She was literally cut to pieces in a line with 
 her ports; her upper works, boats and spare spars were one 
 complete wreck, and a breeze springing up the day after the action, 
 her foremast went by the board; when the prisoners having been 
 taken on board the Wasp, she was set on fire and soon blew up. 
 
 The loss on board the Reindeer was twenty-three killed and 
 forty-two wounded, her captain being among the former. On 
 board the Wasp five were killed and twenty-one wounded 
 More than one half of the wounded enemy were, in consequence 
 of the severity and extent of their wounds, put on board a Portu- 
 guese brig and sent to England. — The loss of the Americans, 
 although not as severe as that of the British, was owing, in a 
 degree, to the proximity of the two vessels during the action, and 
 the extreme smoothness of the sea, but chiefly in repelling 
 boarders. 
 
 On the 8th of July, the Wasp put into L'Orient, France, alter 
 capturing an additional number of prizes, where she remained 
 until the 27th of August, when she again sailed on a cruise. Oo 
 the 1st of September she fell in with the British sloop of war 
 Avon, of twenty guns, commanded by captain Abuthnot, and 
 after an action of forty-live minutes, compelled her to surrender, 
 
•I AVAL RAlTI.fcS. 371 
 
 her crew being nearly all killed and wounded. The guns were, 
 then ordered to be secured, and a boat lowered from the Wasp in 
 order to take possession of the prize. In the act of lowering the 
 boat, a second enemy's vessel was discovered astern and standing 
 towards the Wasp. Captain Blakely immediately ordered hig 
 crew to their quarters, prepared every thing for action, and 
 awaited her coming up. In a few minutes after, two additional 
 sail were discovered bearing down upon the Wasp. Captain 
 Blakely stood off with the expectation of drawing the first from 
 its companions; but in this he was disappointed. She continued 
 to approach until she came close to the stern of the Wasp, when 
 she hauled by the wind, fired her broadside, (which injured the 
 Wasp but trifling,) and retraced her steps to join her consorts. 
 Captain Blakely was now necessitated to abandon the Avon, 
 which had by this time become a total wreck, and which soon 
 after sunk, the surviving part of her crew having barely time to 
 «scape to the other enemy's vessels. 
 
 On board the Avon forty were killed and sixty wounded. The 
 loss sustained by the Wasp was two killed and one wounded. 
 
 The Wasp afterwards continued her cruise, making great hav- 
 ock among English merchant vessels and privateers, destroying 
 an immense amount of the enemy's property. From the first of 
 May until the 20th of September, she had captured fifteen vessels, 
 most of which she destrovcd. 
 
 HORNET AND PENOCIN. 
 
 On the 23d of March, 1815, as the Hornet, commanded by 
 captain Biddle, was about to anchor off tiie north end of the 
 island of Tristan d'Acuna, a sail was seen to the southward; 
 which, at forty minutes past one, hoisted English colors, and 
 fired a gun. The Hornet immediately lufled to, hoisted an en- 
 sign, and gave the enemy a broadside. A quick and well directed 
 fire was kept up from the Hornet, the enemy gradually drifting 
 nearer, with an intention, as captain Biddle supposed, to board. 
 The enemy's bowsprit came in between the main and mizen rig- 
 ging on the starboard side of the Hornet, giving him an opportu- 
 nity to board, if he had wished, but no attempt was made. There 
 was a considerable swell, and as the sea lifted the Hornet ahead, 
 the enemy's bowsprit carried away her mizzen shrouds, stern 
 davits, and spanker booms, and hung upon her larboard quarter 
 At this moment an officer called out tliat they had surrendered 
 Captain Biddle directed the marines to stop firing, and, while 
 asking if they had surrendered, received a wound in the neck. 
 The enemy just then got clear of the Hornet; and his foremast 
 and bowsprit being both gone, and perceiving preparations to 
 give him another broadside, he again called out that he had sur- 
 rendered. It was with great difficulty that Captain Biddle could 
 32* 
 
378 NAVAI, I!\TTLF.S 
 
 restain liis crew from firing into liiin again, as it was certain that 
 he had fired into the Hornet after having surrendered. From the 
 firing of tht first gnn to llie hist time tlie enemy cried out that he 
 had surrendered, was exactly twenty-two minutes. The vessel 
 proved to he the British hrig Penguin, of twenty guns, a remarka- 
 hiy li:ic vessel of her class, and one hundred and thirty-two men; 
 twelve of them supernumeraries from the Medway seventy-four, 
 received on board in consequence of their being ordered to cruise 
 for the privateer Young Wasp. 
 
 The Penguin had fourteen killed and twenty-eight wounded. 
 Among the killed was captain Dickenson, who fell at the close 
 of the action. As she was completely riddled, and so crippled as 
 to be incapable of being secured, and being at a great distance 
 from the United States, Captain Biddle ordered her to be scuttled 
 and sunk. 
 
 The Hornet did not receive a single round shot in her hull; 
 and though much cut in her sails and rigging, was soon made 
 ready for further service. Her loss was one killed and eleven 
 wounded. 
 
 ALGERINE WAR. 
 
 Immediately after the ratification of peace with great Britam, 
 in February 1815, Congress, in consequence of the hostile con- 
 duct of the regency of Algiers, declared war against that power. 
 A squadron was immediately fitted out, under the command of 
 commodore Decatur, consisting of the Guerriere, Constellation, 
 and Macedonian frigates, the Ontario and Epervier sloops of war, 
 and the schooners Spark, Spitfire, Torch, and Flambeau. Anoth- 
 er squadron, under commodore Bainbridge, was to follow this 
 armament, on the arrival of which, it was understood, commodore 
 Decatur would return to the United States in a single vessel, 
 leaving the command of the whole combined force to commodore 
 Bainbridge. 
 
 The force under commodore Decatur rendezvoused at New 
 York, from which port they sailed the 20th d.ay of May, 1815, 
 and arrived in the Bay of Gibraltar in twenty-five days, after 
 having previously communicated with Cadiz and Tangier. In 
 the passage, the Spitfire, Torch, Firefly, and Ontario, separated 
 at different times from the squadron in gales, but all joined again 
 at Gibraltar, with the exception of the Firefly, which sprung her 
 masts, and put back to New York to refit. Having learned at 
 Gibraltar that the Algerine squadron, which had been out into the 
 Atlantic, had undoubtedly passed up the straits, and that informa- 
 tion of the arrival of the American force had been sent to Algiers 
 by persons in Gibraltar, commodore Decatur determined to pro- 
 ceed without delay up the Mediterranean, in the hope of inter* 
 cepting the enemy before he could return to Algiers, or gain a 
 neutral port. 
 
NAVAL BATTLES. 379 
 
 The 17th of June, olTCape de Gatt, he fell in with and captur- 
 ed the Algerine frigate Mazouda, in a running fight of twenty- 
 five minutes. After two broadsides the Algerines ran below. 
 The Guerriere had four men wounded by musketry — the Algerines 
 about thirty killed, according to the statement of the prisoners, 
 who amounted to four hundred and six. In this affair the famous 
 Algerine admiral, or Rais, Hammida, who ha.d long been the ter- 
 ror of this sea, was cut in two by a cannon shot. On the 19th 
 of June, off cape Palos, the squadron fell in with and captured 
 an Algerine brig of twenty-two guns. The brig was chased 
 close to the shore, where she was followed by the Epervier, Spark, 
 Torch, and Spitfire, to whom she surrendered, after losing twenty- 
 three men. No Americans were either killed or wounded. The 
 captured brig, with most of the prisoners on beard, was sent into 
 Carthagena. From cape Palos, the American s«|uadron proceed- 
 ed to Algiers, where it arrived the ^8th of June. 
 
 The treaty which captain Decatur finally succeeded in negotia- 
 ting with the Dey, was highly favorable. The principal articles 
 were, that no tribute under any pretext or in any form whatever, 
 flhould ever be required by Algiers from the United States of 
 America — that all American* in slavery should be given up with- 
 out ransom — that compensation sliould be made for American 
 vessels captured, or property seized or detained at Algiers — that 
 the persons and property of American citizens found on board an 
 enemy's vessel should be sacred — that vessels of either party 
 putting into port should be supplied with provisions at market 
 price, and, if necessary to be repaired, should land their cargoes 
 without paying duty — that if a vessel belonging to either party 
 should be cast on shore, she should not he given up to plunder — 
 or if attacked by an enemy within cannon shot of a fort, should 
 be protected, and no enemy be permitted to follow her when she 
 went to sea within twenty-four hours. In general, the rights of 
 Americans on the ocean and land, were fully provided for in every 
 instance, and it was particularly stipulated that all citizens of the 
 United States taken in war, should be treated as prisoners of war 
 are treated by other nations, and not as slaves, but held subject 
 to an exchange without ransom. After concluding this treaty, so 
 highly honorable and advantageous to this country, the conmiis- 
 eioners gave up the captured frigate and brig, to their former 
 owners. 
 
 Commodore Decatur despatched captain Lewis in the Eper- 
 vier, bearing the treaty to the United States, and leaving Mr 
 Shaler at Algiers, as consul-general to the Barbarv states, pro- 
 ceeded with the rest of the squadron to Tunis, with the exception 
 of two schooners under captain Gamble, sent to convoy the 
 Algerine vessels home from Carthagena. Having obtained from 
 the bashaw of Tunis a full restoration in money, for certain out- 
 rages which had been sustained by American citizens the squad- 
 
380 
 
 NAVAI. CATTl.r.!* 
 
 ron proceeded to Tripoli, where coniinodore Decatur made a 
 similar demand for a similar violation of the treaty subsisting 
 between the United States and tiic bashaw, who had permitted 
 two American vessels to be taken from under the guns of his 
 castle by a JJritish sloop of war, and refused protection to an 
 American cruiser lying within his jurisdiction. Restitution of the 
 full value of these vessels was demanded, and the money 
 amountino- to twenty-five thousand dollars, paid by the bashaw 
 into the hands of the American consul. After the conclusion of 
 this ailair, the American consular Hag, which Mr. Jones, the 
 consul, had struck, in consequence of the violation of neutrality 
 above mentioned, was hoisted in the presence of the foreign 
 agents, and saluted from the castle with thirty-one guns. In ad- 
 dition to the satisfaction thus obtained, for unprovoked aggres- 
 sions, the commodore had the pleasure of obtaining the release 
 of ten captives, two Danes, and eight Neapolitans, the latter of 
 whom he landed at Messina 
 
 View of 
 
 After touching at Messina and Naples, the squadron sailed for 
 Carthagena on the 31st of August, where commodore Decatur 
 was in expectation of meeting the relief squadron, under commo- 
 dore Bainbridge. On joining that officer at Gibraltar, he relin- 
 quished his command, and sailed in the Guerriere for the Uniteo 
 States, where he arrived on the 12th of November, 1815. Every 
 thing being done previous to the arrival of the second division of 
 Lhe squadron, under commodore Bainbridge, that gallant officer 
 bad no opportunity of distinguishing himself Pursuant to his 
 
THE AMERICAN FLAG 381 
 
 Instructions he exhibited this additional force before Algiers, 
 Tunis, and Tripoli, where they were somewhat surprised at the 
 appearance of the Independence seventy-four. Commodore 
 Bainbridge sailed from Gibraltar thirty-six hours before th? 
 Guerriere, and arrived at Boston the 15th of November 
 
 THE AMERICAN FLAG. 
 
 When Freedom from her mountain height. 
 
 Unfurled her standard to the air, 
 Slie tore the azure robe of night. 
 
 And set the stars of glory tiiere ; 
 She mingled with the gorgeous dyes 
 The milky baldric of the skies, 
 And striped its pure celestial white, 
 With streakings of the inorning light, 
 Then, from his mansion in the sun, 
 She called her eagle-bearer down, 
 And gave into his mighty hand 
 The symbol of her chosen land. 
 
 Majestic monarch of the cloud. 
 
 Who rearest aloft thy regal form 
 To hear the tempest trumping loud, 
 And see the lightning lances driven. 
 
 When stride tlie warriors of the stona 
 And rolls the thunder drum of heaven, — 
 Child of th(! Sun, to thee 't is given, 
 To guard the banner of the free 
 To hover in the sulphur smoke. 
 To ward away the battle stroke, 
 And bid its blendings shine afar. 
 Like rainbows on the cloud of war, 
 The harbinger of victory. 
 
 Flag of the brave, thv folds shall fly, 
 '.'he sign of hope and triumph, high. 
 When speaks the signal trumpet-tone, 
 And the long line comes gleaming on, 
 (Ere yet the hfe-blood, warm and wet, 
 Has dimmed the glistening bayonet,) 
 Each soldier's eye shall brightly turn 
 To where thy meteor-glories burn, 
 And, as his springing steps advance 
 Catch war and vengeance from the glanc* ' 
 And, when the cannon-mouthings loud 
 Heave, in wild wreaths, the battle shroud, 
 And gory sabres rise and fall, 
 Like shoots of flame on midnight's pall ! 
 There shall thy victor glances glow. 
 
 And cowering foes shall sink beneath 
 Each gallant arm that strikes below 
 
 That lovely messenger of death. 
 
881 CAPTAIN PARRT 
 
 Flag nfllip spas, on ocean's wave 
 Thy stars sliall glitter o'er the brave, 
 When death, careering on the gale, 
 Sweeps darkly round the bellied sail, 
 And frightened waves rush wildly back 
 Before liie broad-side's reeling rack, 
 The dying wanderer of the sea 
 Shall look at once to heaven and thee, 
 And smile to see thy splendors fly, 
 In triumph, o'er his closing eye. 
 
 Flag of the free hearts' only home, 
 
 By angel-hands to valor given. 
 Thy stars have lit the welkin dome, 
 
 And all thy hues were born in heaven. 
 Forever float that standard sheet ! 
 
 Where breathes the foe, but falls before as 
 With freedom's soil beneath our feet, 
 
 And Freedom's banner streaming o'er ub' 
 
 CAPTAIN PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE OF 
 DISCOVERY. 
 
 On the I6th» of January, 1819, Lieutenant Parry was appointed 
 to the command of his Majesty's ship Hecla, a bomb of three 
 hundred and seventy-five tons; and the Griper, gun brig, one 
 hundred and eighty tons, commissioned by Lieutenant Matthew 
 Liddon, was at the same time directed to put herself under his 
 orders. The object of the expedition was to discover a north 
 west passage into the Pacific. Every individual engaged in the 
 expedition was to receive double pay. They took in provisions 
 for two years, and also a supply of fresh meats and soups preserved 
 in tin cases, essence of malt and hops, and other stores adapted 
 to cold climates and a long voyage. The ships were ballasted 
 entirely with coals, and the men were supplied with an abundance 
 of warm clothing. 
 
 Captain Parry was to pass, if possible, through Lancaster's 
 Sound to Behring's Strait. If he succeeded, he was to proceed 
 to Kanitschatka and return to England round Cape Horn. Other 
 instructions were given, but much was left to his own discretion. 
 He sailed in the beginning of May, and proceeded up the straits 
 of Davis, where he found the ice close packed. As he was making 
 his way towards the western shore, on the 25th of Jane, the ice 
 closed round the ships and arrested their progress. Here the ice 
 was so close, that the whales could not descend in the usual way, 
 but were obliged to go down tail first, much to the amusement of 
 he Greenland sailors. Their situation during the 28th was ver; 
 
CAPTAIN PARRY. 303 
 
 .jnpleasant, and would have been dangerous to ships built in the 
 ordinary way. Each roll of the sea forced the heavy masses of 
 ice against the rudder and counter with great violence; but being 
 so well strengthened, they escaped without damage. While in tiiia 
 state, a large white bear approached the Griper, attracted by the 
 Btnell of some red herrings, which the men were frying at the time. 
 They killed him, but he sunk between ihe pieces of ice, and they 
 were unable to obtain him. On the 30th, the ice began to slacken a 
 little about the ships, and after two hour's heaving, they succeeded 
 in moving the Hecla about her own length to the eastward; and 
 the ice continuing open afler eight hours' incessant labor, they 
 hauled both ships into open water. 
 
 Captain Parry having failed in his first attempt to approach the 
 western shore, came to the determination of trying to effect this 
 object, about the latitude of mount Raleigh, which forms one 
 side of the narrowest part of Davis's Strait. They kept on during 
 the 1st and 2d of July, without finding any opening. On the third 
 day, the wind having shifted to the south-west, another large chain 
 of icebergs was seen to the northward. They could find no bot- 
 tom near these icebergs with one hundred and ten fathom of line. 
 At four A. M. on the 4th, they came to a quantity of loose ice 
 floating among the bergs. The breeze blew lightly from the 
 southward, and wishing to avoid going to the eastward, they push- 
 ed the Hecla into the ice, in hopes of being able to make way 
 through it. But it immediately fell calm and the ship becoming 
 perfectly unmanageable, was for some time at the mercy of the 
 swell, which drifted her fast towards the bergs. The Griper's 
 signal was made not to enter the ice, and after two hours' hard 
 pulling, they succeeded in getting the Hecla clear of the icebergs, 
 which it is very dangerous to approach whenever there is a swell. 
 
 The ice was now so close that they found it impossible to pro- 
 ceed further westward; and they made the best way they could, 
 by beating to the northward, until the 10th, when a thick fog came 
 on, which made it necessary to use great caution in sailing to avoid 
 the icebergs. The reflection of light, however, is so strong from 
 these vast bodies of ice, that in the thickest fog they can be seen 
 at a sufficient distance to enable the navigator, if in smooth water, 
 to keep clear of them. The people succeeded in killing a large 
 bear, which was seen near them on a piece of ice and towed it 
 on board. These animals sink immediately on being wounded, 
 and to secure them, it is necessary to throw a rope over the neck, 
 at which the Greenland seamen are very expert. After encounter 
 ing many difficulties from the tenacity of the ice, on the 21st 
 Captain Parry reached latitude 73°. As he was unwilling to in- 
 crease his distance from Lancaster's Sound, he determined to 
 enter the ice here. He accordingly ran in among the floes, and 
 on the evening of the 22d, the ships were so beset, that no open 
 water could be seen from the mast-head. T\e weather being 
 
CAPTAIN rAiiuy 
 
 clear on the next day, and a few narrow lanes of water appearing 
 to the westward, they proceeded to warp the ships tlirough the ice. 
 At eight P. INI., they had advanced four miles to westward, and 
 having come to the end of clear water, they secured the ships m 
 a deep bight, or bay in a floe, called by the sailors, natural dock! 
 On the next day, a boat was sent to try to find a lane of clear water 
 leading to the westward. She returned without success, and the 
 weather was so foggy, that it was with difficulty she found her 
 way ba(^k to the shi[)s by means of muskets and other signals. 
 
 On Tuesday "JTth, the clear water had made so much to the 
 westward, tliat a narrow neck of ice was all that separated the sliips 
 from a large open space in that quarter. The men were just 
 ordered out to saw oli'the neck, when the floes suddenly opened, 
 and allowed the Griper to push through under all sail. Although 
 they lost no time in attempting to get the Hecla through after her, 
 yet before they could eiTect it, the passage was completely blocked 
 up by a piece of floating ice, which was drawn after the Griper, by 
 the eddy produced in her motion. Before they could haul it out 
 of the channel, thc'floes pressed together and wedged it immovea- 
 bly, and although the saws were used with great effect, it was not 
 until after seven hours' labor, that they succeeded in getting the 
 Hecla into the lanes of clear water, which opened towards the 
 westward. They now perceived with pleasure, a pitching motion 
 of the vessel, which, from the closeness of the ice, does not often 
 occur in those regions, as a sure indication of an open sea. The 
 wind breezing up by one o'clock P. M., the ice had all disappear- 
 ed, and the sea was free from obstructions of any kind. Here 
 they found the whales so numerous, that no less than eighty-two 
 are mentioned in this day's log. It is commonly thought by the 
 Greenland fishermen, that the presence of ice is necessary to in- 
 sure the finding of whales; but no ice was seen this day, when 
 they were most numerous. At half past five P. M., the highland 
 about Possession bay came insight. Lancaster's Sound was now 
 open to the westward, and the experience of a former voyage had 
 given Captain Parry reason to believe that the two best months 
 lor the navigation of those seas were yet to come. This, together 
 with the magnificent view of the lofty Byaur Martin Mountains, 
 which recalled forcibly to his mind the events of the preceding 
 year, animated him with expectation and hope. On the 3 1 st, they 
 anchored in Possession bay, and discovered a flag staff which had 
 been erected on the former expedition. The only animals found 
 here were a fox, a raven, some ring plovers, snow-buntings, and 
 t wild bee. Several tracks of bears and reindeers were also seen 
 upon the moist ground. Three black whales were seen in the bay, 
 and the crown bones. of several others were lying near the beach. 
 The tide rises here about eight feet, and the flood seems to come 
 from the northwest. 
 
 On the first of August, Captain Parry finding that the Griper 
 
cArv.\i:; r.vRnt. 383 
 
 could not keep up with the Ilecla, determined to "leave he.-. He 
 appointed the middle of Lancaster Sound as a place of rendezvous, 
 and crowding all sail on the Hecla, he came towards evening in 
 sight of the northern shore of the sound; and the nsit day had a 
 «. iear view of both sides of it 
 
 Having run due west nearly out of sight of lae Griper, the 
 Ilecla hove to for her to come up in longitude S5'^ 12' west from 
 Cirtenwich, there being not the slightest appearance of land to 
 tiu" westward. The only ice met consisted of a few large bergs, 
 much worn by the washing of the sea. Whales were seen, and 
 tiie wind increased so that the *op-gallant-yards were taken ifL 
 On the 4th, Lieutenant Beechy discovered, from the crow's nest, 
 breakers to the northward They sounded, and found bottom 
 with forty-five fathoms of line. The Griper coming up, the vessels 
 bore away to the westward. The sea was here so clear of ice, 
 that they began to flatter themselves, that they had indeed 
 entered the Polar Sea. Their vexation was therefore extreme, 
 when, towards evening, land was seen ahead. At eight P. M., 
 they came to a stream of ice extending several miles in a direction 
 parallel to their course; and after sailing for two hours along the 
 edge of the ice, they found it proceeded from a compact body of 
 floes, which completely cut off their passage. The weather here 
 was calm and foggy, and the men amused themselves in pursu- 
 ing white whales, which were swinuning about the ships in great 
 numbers. But these animals were so wary, that they seldom suf- 
 fered the boats to approach within thirty or forty yards of them, 
 without diving. They also saw for the first time, one or two 
 Bhoals of nar-whales, called by the sailors sea-unicorns. Finding 
 that the sound or strait was closed, excepting in one place to the 
 southward, to this opening they directed their course. They had 
 sailed but a few hours, however, when it fell calm; ^"d the 
 Griper, having spread both her top-masts, advantage w;. i^...-ii of 
 the calm weather to shift them. The Hecla's boats were at the 
 same time employedin bringing aboard ice to be used as water. 
 Berge-ice is preferred for this purpose, but that of floes which is 
 in fact the ice of sea water, is also used. One of the boats was 
 upset by the fall of a mass of ice, but fortunately no injury was 
 sustained. A breeze springing up from the north-north-west, they 
 made sail and stood to the southward. After sailing a short time 
 they discovered that they were entering a large inlet about teu 
 leagues wide at its mouth, and n the centre of which, no land 
 could be distinguished. The Wv-stern shore was so encumbered 
 with ice, that it was impossible to sail near it. They therefore ran 
 along between the ice and the eastern shore, where there was a 
 broad channel, with the intention of seeking a lower latitude or a 
 clearer passage to the westward. Since they had first entered 
 Lancaster's Sound, the sluggishness of the compasses, and the 
 irregularity produced by the attraction of the ship's iron, had been 
 33 
 
586 
 
 c.\rr.'. i.v r.vi 
 
 found to iiicrc;jsc rapidly as thoy proceeded to the xv^irfward 
 'I'lio irrcjjularity increased as tliey advanced to the southward 
 which rendered it not improbable that they wtre approaching the 
 magnetic pole. The compasses therefore were no longer lit lor 
 the purposes of navigation, and the binacles were removed as 
 useless lumber into the carpenter's store-room, where they remain- 
 ed during the rest of the season. Being desirous of obtaining alf 
 the magnetic observations they were able, on a spot which appear- 
 ed so full of interest in this department of science, two boats wer« 
 dispatched from each ship to the nearest eastern shore, under 
 the command of Lieutenant Beechy ana Iloppner, who, togethe? 
 with Captain Sabine, were directed to make the necessary obser- 
 vations. As soon as the boats returned, the ships hove lo the 
 southward, along tiie edge of the ice, and by midnight the channel 
 was narrowed to about five miles. They could find no soundings v 
 the weather was serene and the sun for the second time that sea- 
 son just dipped below the northern horizon, and reappeared a few 
 moments after. They had hoped to find a passage to the south 
 of the ice., especially as the inlet widened considerably as they 
 advanced in that direction; but on the morning of the 8tti, they 
 perceived that the ice ran close in with a point of land, which 
 seemed to form the southern extremity of the eastern shore. Tho 
 prospect from the crow's nest began to assume a very unpromising 
 appearance. The whole western horizon from north round to 
 south by east, being completely covered with ice, beyond which 
 no indication of water was visible. Captain Parry therefore de- 
 termined, as the season was fast advancing, to return immediate- 
 ly to the northward, in the hope of finding the channel between 
 Prince Leopold's Isles and Maxwell Bay, more open than when 
 they left it, in which there could be little doubt of effecting a 
 passage to the westward. They had sailed to the southward in 
 this inlet about one hundred and twenty miles, Cape Kater 
 being by the observations in latitude 71^ 53' 30" longitude 90° 03' 
 45". They returned to the northward with a light but favorable 
 breeze. On the 10th, the weather was thick with snow, which 
 was succeeded by rain and fog. The ships moored to a floe, but 
 when the weather cleared, they found themselves drifting with the 
 doe upon another body of ice to leewaid. They therefore cast 
 off and beat to the northward, which was very difficult to do, on 
 account of the drift ice with which the whole inlet was now cover- 
 ed. Although several days were thus passed in contending with 
 fogs, head winds, and all the difhculties of arctic navigation, y*^t 
 neither officers nor crews lost health or spirits. They repined 
 not at the dangers and difficulties of their situation, but because 
 the accomplishment of their hopes was dciayed. 
 
 A light southern L-rceze enabled theni to steer towards Prince 
 Leopo d's Isles, which they found more fucumbercd with ice than 
 before Hvjro they sawagreat number of nar-whales, lying wit& 
 
CAPTAIN PARRY. 38? 
 
 their backs above the water in the same manner as the iv'hale, 
 and frequently with their horns erect and quite stationary for 
 several minutes together. Three or four miles to the northward, 
 they discovered an opening, having every ajjpearance of a harbor, 
 with an island near the entrance. It was named Jackson's Bay. 
 The whole of the 14th was consumed in the attempt to find an 
 opening in the ice, but as it remained perfectly close and compact, 
 on the 15th Captain Parry went on shore to make observations. 
 He landed in one of the numerous valleys, which occur on this 
 part of the coast, very much resembling bays, being bounded by 
 high hills, which appear like bluff head-lands. He ascended the 
 hill on the south side of the ravine, which is very steep, and cov 
 ered with detached blocks of lime-stone, some of which are con- 
 stantly rolling down, and which afford a very insecure footing. 
 From the top of the hill no water could be seen over the ice to the 
 northwest; and the whole space comprised between the islands 
 and the northern shore, was covered with a bright dazzling blinh 
 It was a satisfaction, however, to find that no land appeared 
 and Captain Parry was too well aware of the suddenness with 
 which obstructions, occasioned by the ice, are often removed, to 
 be at all discouraged by present appearances. On the top of this 
 hill, he deposited a bottle containing a short notice of his visit, 
 3Hid raised over it a small mound of stones. The wind was light 
 the next day, and the ice being close, the ships scarcely changed 
 their position. Despairing of being able to penetrate westward, 
 in the neighborhood of Prince Leopold isles. Captain Parry de- 
 termined to stand towards the northern shore again, and after 
 beating for some hours among the drift ice, the ships got into clear 
 water near the coast. They had just light enough at midnight, 
 to see to read and write in the cabin. Passing along the shore, 
 they left the ice behind them, and on the 21st they had nothing 
 to hinder their passage westward, but want of wind. But the 
 wind freshening soon after, all sail was made to the westward, 
 where the prospect began to wear a more and more interestijog 
 appearance. It was soon perceived that the land along which 
 they were sailing, and which had appeared to be continuous from 
 Baffin's Bay, began now to trend much to the northward, leaving 
 an open space between that coast, and a distant land to the west- 
 ward, whichappeared like an island, of which the extremes to the 
 north and south were distinctly visible. The latter was a remark- 
 able headland, and was named Cape Hotham. They discovered 
 also several headlands on the eastern land; between the northern- 
 most of which and the island to the westward, there was a chan- 
 nel of more than eight leagues in width, in which neither land nof 
 ice could be seen from the mast head. The arrival off this nobl« 
 channel, to which Captain Parry gave the name of Wellington, 
 was an event for which they had all been anxiously looking; for 
 the continuity of land to the norlh'vard, had always been a sourc* 
 
iSC c/.rTAi.v I'Annv. 
 
 of uiitasiness to tlioin, from tlie possil)iUty that it might take a 
 turn to the southward, and unite with the coast of America. 
 Every <>ne thought that tiiey were now fuiaily disentangled from 
 the land, which forms the western side of Baffin's Bay; and that 
 in fact they had actually entered the Polar Sea. Fully impressed 
 with this idea, Captan Parry gave to this opening the name of 
 Barrow's Strait. 
 
 Two thirds of the month of August had now elapsed, and tlioy 
 expected the sea would remain navigahle six weeks more. TJie 
 ships had suffered no injury, they had a plenty of provisions, the 
 crews were in high health and spirits, and the sea before them, 
 if not open, was at least navigable. On the 2.3d, a fresh breeze 
 sprung up, and although Wellington channel was open to the north- 
 ward. Captain Parry judged it best to try a large opening south of 
 Cornwallis's Island. But their disappointment was extreme, when 
 it was suddenly reported from the crow's nest, that their passage 
 was obstructed by a body of ice. Lieutenant Beechy discovered, 
 however, that one part of the barrier consisted of loose pieces of 
 ice, and the Hecla being immediately pushed into this part of i*, 
 succeeded, after a quarter of an hour's ' boring,' in forcing her 
 way through the neck. The Griper followed, and they continued 
 their course to the westward, having once more a navigable sea 
 before them. At two P. M. having reached longitude 95" 67 min., 
 they came to two extensive floes, which obliged the ships to tack, 
 as there was no passage between them. They then beat to the 
 northward in search of a passage, but none was found. After 
 several unsuccessful attempts to force a passage, they at last 
 succeeded by ' boring' through several heavy streams, and at 
 midnight were enabled to pursue their course to the westward. 
 
 The ships made very little way this night, but in the morning 
 they advanced with more speed, and more land was seen to the 
 westward The space to westward was now so broad, that Captain 
 Parry thought best to appoint a place where the Griper could 
 find the Hecla in case of separation. But about seven P. M., 
 this precaution was found to have been needless, for the ice 
 stretched across the strait, and barred the passage. Captain 
 Parry now resolved to seek a passage along the northern shore 
 As the vessels were rounding the eastern side of the island. Cap- 
 tain Sabine was despatched to make observations, and examine 
 the natural productions of the shore. He reported that he had 
 found the island much more interesting than any other parts of 
 ihe shores of the Polar Regions they had yet visited. The re- 
 mains of Esquimaux habitations were found in four different places. 
 Some of them are described by Captain Sabine, as consisting of 
 Btones rudely placed in an elliptical form. They were from seven 
 to ten feet in diameter, the flat sides of the stones standing verti- 
 cally, and the whole sti ucture being similar to that of the summer 
 nuts of the Esquimaux, which had been seen the preceding year 
 
CAPTAIN PAURT 383 
 
 Attached to each were smaller circles of about four or five ft el 
 in diameter, and from the moss and sand which covered some of 
 the lower stones, the whole encampment appeared to have been 
 deserted for several years. The fogs now froze hard upon the 
 rigging, which made it difficult to work the ship as each rope was 
 increased to twice or three times its proper diameter. 
 
 On the evening of the !29th, a very thick fog came on, and 
 they sailed under such circumstances as have seldom occurrt J n 
 navigation. Observing that the wind always blew some hous 
 steadily from one quarter, the quarter masters steered by the 
 vane at the mast head,, instead of the compass, which v^as here ut- 
 terly useless. At night the ships made fast to a floe, about six or 
 seven feet thick, which was covered with numerous pools of water, 
 all hard frozen. The officers amused themselves in skating upon 
 the pools, and the men in sliding, foot-ball and other games. 
 Thus the ships remained until the 31st, when a new expedient 
 for sailing was adopted. 
 
 Before the fog commenced, and while they were sailing on a 
 course, which they knew to be the right one, the Griper waa 
 exactly astern of the Hecia, at the distance of about a quarter of 
 a mile. The quarter master stood all, near the talTrail, and kept 
 her constantly astern, by which means they were enabled to steer 
 a tolerably straight course to the westward. The Griper, on the 
 other hand, kept the Hecla right ahead, and thus they steered 
 one ship by the other, for the distance of ten miles out of sixteen 
 and a half, which they traversed between one and eleven P. M, 
 The morning of the first of September brought a breeze, and with 
 it a snow storm, so that they were unable to shape their course 
 that afternoon. At one on the 2d, a star was seen, the first that 
 had been vis'b'e for more than two months. The fog came on 
 again, and theie was not wind enough to enable them to keep the 
 ships under command. On the morning of the third, a northern 
 b-reeze enabled them to make considerable progress, and on the 
 4th, at nine P. M., they crossed the meridian of 110'' west from 
 Greenwich, in latitude 74"^. 44 min. 20 sec, by which the ship's 
 company became entitled to a reward of 5000 pounds, offered by 
 the king's order in council "to such British subjects as might 
 penetrate so far west within the Arctic circle." On the 5th, they 
 found the passage blocked up again, and as no change seemed 
 likely to take place, they came to anchor in a tolerable road.stead, 
 a mile and a half from the northern shore. In the evening. Cap- 
 tain Sabine and some of the other officers landed on an island, to 
 which they gave the name of Melville island. Here they saw 
 several flocks of ducks and gulls; tracks of the deer and musk ox 
 were also observed, and some addition made by the gentlemen to 
 their collection of marine insects. The bay of the Hecla and 
 Griper, as they called the roadstead, where the ships lay, was the 
 first place in which they had dropped anchor since leaving Eng- 
 33* 
 
S90 c.vPTAiN r.vp.iiv. 
 
 land. The (lags woro lioistcn in honor of tlio epoch; the first lime 
 that the eye of civilized man had looked on tiiat barren and inhos- 
 pitable re<;ion. In the allernoon the ice was observed to be in 
 motion; and the ship got under way and sailed a sliort distance. 
 liut tinding no opening, the ships were secured to a floe, whish it 
 was necessary to do every night, the weather being too d;uk to 
 allow them to keep under way. Captain Parry, fearing tliat the 
 floes might change their position, determined to remove nearer 
 the shore. Two large masses lay aground, and the vessels were 
 secured between them and the shore. Parties went out and re- 
 turned with a white hare, some fine ptarmigans, a lew snow-bun- 
 tings, skulls of the musk ox, and several reindeer's horns; but they 
 were unable to meet with either of the two latter anunals. Sev- 
 eral lumps of coal were also picked up, and were tound to burn 
 with a clear lively flame, like canalcoal, but witnout splitting 
 and crackling in the same manner. At five A. I>1., on the 10th, 
 a floe ran against the berg, within which the Hecta was secjted 
 and turned it round as an a pivot. 
 
 They were now so surrounded with ice, that all they cojld do 
 was to attend carefully to the safety of the ships. On the 11th, 
 one of the officers killed the first musk ox, that the/ had yet been 
 able to approach. 
 
 The packed ice remained immoveable, and the ' young ice' 
 rapidly forming, farther progress was considered imp<-acticable 
 that season. Captain Parry thought it best to run back to the 
 bay of Hecla and Griper and to pass the winter there. The sig- 
 nal for weighing anchor was given on the 22d, but the cables had 
 become so stiff with frost, that it was five P. M. before tne anchors 
 were brought on board; and they did not reach the anchorage till 
 the evening cf the next day. A proper place being found, the 
 ships dropped anchor on the edge of the bay of ice ii. the evening 
 of the 24th; and on the next day, they commenced cutting a ca- 
 nal. Two parallel lines were marked out a little more than the 
 breadth of the ships apart; along these lines, a cut was then made 
 with an ice saw, and others again at right-angles with them, at 
 intervals of from ten to twenty feet. The pieces thus cut, were 
 again divided diagonally, in order to give room for their being 
 floated out of the canal. The seamen, who are fond of doing 
 things in their own way, took advantage of a fresh northerly 
 breeze, by setting some boat's sails on the pieces of ice, a con- 
 trivance which saved both time and labor. 
 
 At half past seven P. M., they weighed anchor, and began to 
 warp up the canal; but the wind blew so fresh, and the people 
 were so much fatigued, that it was midnight before they reached 
 the termination of their first day's labor. All hands were again 
 get to work on the morning of the 25th, when it was proposed to 
 sink the pie 'es of ice under the floe instead of floating them out. 
 To effect -^ j it was necessary for some to stand on the end of the 
 
CAPTAIN PAKUY. 591 
 
 ^icce of ice, wkich it was intended to sink, while others hauling 
 upon ropes attached to the opposite end, dragged the block under 
 lliat part of the Hoe, on which the peonle stood. The officers 
 took the lead in lliis employ, and ^vere frequently up to thei; kneea 
 in water during the day, with the thermometer generally at 12° 
 and never higher than 16'^. At six P. iNl. the Griper was made 
 fast astern of the Hecla, and the two ships' companies, being 
 divided on each bank of the canal, soon drew the ships to the end 
 of their second day's work. The next day at noon, the whole 
 canal was completed a length of four thousand and eighty-two 
 yards through ice seven inches thick. The wintering ground 
 was called winter harbor, and the group, of which the island form- 
 ed a part, was denominated Georgian Islands, in honor of the 
 reigning soveriegn of Great Britain. 
 
 Having reached the place, where they were probably to pass nine 
 months, and three oi^ them in the absence of the sun, Captain 
 Parry was called upon to act in circumstances, in which no British 
 naval otlicer had ever before been placed. The security of the 
 ships, the preservation of the stores, a regular system for the 
 maintenance of good order, cleanliness, and consequently good 
 health, amusement and employment for the men were all to be 
 attended to. Scientific ob.-ervations were also to be made, and 
 Captain Sabine employed himself immediately in selecting a place 
 for an observatory, which was erected in*a convenient spot, about 
 seven hundred yards to the westward of the ships. The whole of 
 the masts were dismantled, except the lower ones and the Hecla's 
 main-top-mast; the lower yards were lashed fore and a't amid- 
 ships, to support the planks of the housing intended to be erected 
 over the ships; and tlie whole of tliis frame work was afterwards 
 roofed over with a cloth. This done. Captain Parry's whole at- 
 tention was directed to the health and comfort of the officers and 
 men. The surgeon reported that not ihe slightest disposition to 
 scurvy had shown itself in eitlier ship. In order to preserve this 
 healthy state of the crew, arrangements were made for the warmth 
 and dryness of the berths and bedplaces; and finding that when 
 the temperature had fallen considerably below zero, the steam 
 from the coppers began to condense into drops on the beams and 
 the sides, they were obliged to adopt such means for producing 
 a sufficie-it warmth, combined with due ventilation, as might carry 
 off' the vapor and thus prevent its settling on any part of the ship. 
 For this purpose, a large stone oven, cased with cast iron, in 
 which all their bread was baked in the wtnter, was placed on the 
 main-hatch-way, and the stove pipe led fore and atl on one side 
 of the lower deck, the smoke being thus carried up the fore hatch- 
 way. On the opposite side of tlie deck, an apparatus had been 
 attached to the galley-range for conveying a current of heated 
 air between decks For the preservation of health, a few a'tera- 
 iions were m-^de m the quantity and quality of the ursivisiona 
 
392 CATTAIN PAURT. 
 
 issued. The allowance of bread was reduced to two-thirds. A 
 pound of preserved meat, together with a pint of vegetable or 
 concentrated soup per man, was substituted for one pound of salt 
 beef weekly; and a small quantity of sour krout and pickles, 
 with as nnich vinegar as could be used, was issued at regular in- 
 tervals. They were obliged to institute the most rigid economy, 
 with regard to their coals, as they were unable to find any on the 
 island, excepting a few lumps; and the moss which grew in abun 
 dance was found totally unfit !br the purposes of fuel. 
 
 Great attention was paid to the clothing of the men, and one 
 day in the week was appointed for tlie examination of the njen's 
 shins and gums by the medical gentlemen, in order that any slight 
 appearance of the scurvy nii-ght be at once detected and checked 
 by timely and adequate me.ins. 
 
 Under circumstances of leir-ure and inactivity, such as they 
 were now placed in, and uith every prospect of its continuance, 
 Captain Parry was desirous of finding some anmsement lor the 
 men during this long and tedious interval. He proposed, there- 
 fore, to get up a play occasionally on board the Hecla; and his 
 proposal being readily seconded by the ofiicers. Lieutenant 
 Beechy having been chosen manager, the performance was fixed 
 for the .5th of November, to the great delight of the ships' com- 
 panies. In order still further to promote good humor, and to af- 
 ford amusing occupation during the hours of constant darkness, 
 they set on toot a weekly newspaper, which was to be called the 
 North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle, and of which Cap- 
 tain Sabine undertook to be the editor, under the promise of being 
 supported by original contributions from the officers of the two 
 ships. The meridian altitude of the sun was observed, for the 
 last time, on the 16th of October. 
 
 On the 26th the light was sufficient to* allow of reading and 
 writing in the cabins, from half past nine till half past two. The 
 rest of the hours were spent by lamp light. It now became 
 rather a painful experiment to touch any metallic substance in the 
 open air, with the naked hand; the feeling produced by it exactly 
 resembling that occasioned by the opposite extreme of intense 
 heat; and taking off the skin from the part affected. They found 
 it necessary, therefore, to use great caution in handling the sex- 
 tants and other instruments; particularly the eye-pieces of the 
 telescopes, which, if sufTered to touch the face, occasioned an 
 intense burning pain; but this was easily remedied by covering 
 them over with solt leather. The month of November set in with 
 mild weather. The 4th was the last day that the sun, independ- 
 ently of refraction, would be seen above the horizon for ninety-six 
 days; but the weather was too thick for making any observations. 
 On the 5th, their theatre was opened, with the representation of 
 Miss in her teens; which afforded the men a great fund of 
 •musement Even fitting up the theatre and taking it to pieces 
 
CAPTAIN PARllV. 393 
 
 again, was a matter of no small importance*; as it kept tie met 
 employed a day or two before and after each performam 5, which 
 was a considerable object gained. 
 
 On the 11th, the thermometer fell to 26i for the second time. 
 The wolves began to approach the ships boldly, howling most 
 piteously on the beach near, and sometimes coming along side 
 the ships, when every thing was quiet at night; but they seldom 
 saw more than one or two together, and therefore could form no 
 idea of their number. The white foxes Used also to visit the 
 ships at night, and one of these was caught in a trap, set under 
 the Griper's bows. 
 
 The stars of the second magnitude in Ursa Major were percep- 
 tible to the naked eye, a little after noon on the 11th of Decem- 
 ber, and the Aurora Borealis appeared faintly in the southwest 
 at night. The cold continued to mcrease. About the middle of 
 the month, a serious loss took place in the bursting of the bottles 
 of lemon juice; in some bo.xes of which, two thirds ofthec ntents 
 were found to be destroyed. The vinegar also froze in the same 
 manner, and lost much of its acidity, when thawed. A few gal- 
 lons of highly concentrated vinegar, congealed into a consistence 
 like honey. 
 
 Theatrical entertainments took place regularly once a fortnight, 
 and continued to prove a source of infinite amusement to the 
 men; and more than one or two plays were performed, with the 
 thermometer below zero, on the stage on board the Hecla. 
 
 The JVorth Georgia Gazette, which we have already mentioned, 
 was a source of great anmsement, not only to the contributors, 
 but to those who, from dilHdence of their own talents, or other 
 reasons, could not be prevailed on to add their mite to the little 
 stock of literary composition, which was weekly demanded; for 
 those who declined to write were not unwilling to read, and more 
 ready to criticise than those who wielded the pen; but it was 
 that good-humored sort of criticism that could not give offence. 
 
 On Christmas day the weather was raw and cold, with a con 
 siderable snow drift, although the wind was only moderate from 
 northwest. Divine service was performed on board. The men'? 
 usual proportion of fresh meat was increased, as also their allow- 
 ance of grog, and the day passed with much of the same kind of 
 festivity by which it is usually distinguished at home. 
 
 On the first of January scurvy made its appearance among 
 them. Mr. Scallon, gunner of the Hecla, had complained for 
 some days, and the symptoms were now decidedly scorbutic. It 
 was found to be owing to the dampness of his bedding, and proper 
 measures were taken to prevent an increase of the malady. By 
 raising mustard and cress in small boxes near the cabin stove, 
 they were able to give Mr. Scallon and one or two more patienta 
 nearly an ounce of sallad per day. The vegetables thus raised 
 were necessar ly colorless from the privation of light; but they 
 
394 CAPTAIN PARRY. 
 
 had the same taste as if raised in (jidiiKiry circumstances. Sc 
 effectual were they in the case of Mr. Scallon, that he recovered 
 in less than a f()i{iiie;ht. 
 
 Toward the end of the month they began to look out for he 
 sun from the mast head. On the morning of the third of Febru-' 
 ary, the weather being clear, a cross, consisting of the usual 
 vertical and horizontal rays, was seen about the moon. At twenty 
 minutes before noon, the sun was seen from the Hecla's maintop, 
 at the height of fifty-one feet above the sea, being the first time 
 i* had been seen for eighty-four days, twelve days less than its 
 actual stay below the horizon. There was now, from eight 
 o'clock till four, sufficient light for any kind of work, and on the 
 seventh they began to collect ballast for the Hecla, to make up 
 for tlie expenditure of stores. 
 
 The coldest part of the year was now approaching; yet the sun 
 had sufHcient power to affect the thermometer, which rose from — 
 •4\;~ .0 "^5^^ when exposed to its rays. The distance at which 
 sounds were neaiu ... *he open air during the continuance of this 
 intense cold was truly surprising. Conversation carried on a mile 
 off could be distinctly heard. The smoke from the ships, too, 
 owing to the difficulty it has to rise in a low temperature, was 
 carried horizontally to a great distance. On the loth, the mer- 
 cury sunk to 55" below zero, which was the most intense degree 
 of cold observeu uu-in? the winter. Murcury was malleable in 
 this state of the atmospneie 
 
 From this time the temperature gradually rose. The length 
 of the days had so much increased by the 26th of February, that 
 a very sensible twilight was visible in the north. 
 
 For the last three or four days of April, the snow on the black 
 cloth of the housing had begun to thaw a little during a few 
 hours in the middle of the day, and on the 30th so rapid a change 
 took place in the temperature of the atmosphere, that the ther- 
 mometer stood at the freezing, or, as it may more properly be 
 termed in this climate, the thawing point, being the first time that 
 such an event had occurred for nearly eight months, or since the 
 9th of the preceding September. 
 
 This rapid change in the weather revived their hopes of a 
 speedy departure from Melville Island; and they all had sanguine 
 expectations of leaving their winter quarters before July. On 
 the 1st of May, however it blew a gale, and the sun was seen at 
 midnight for the first time that season. On the 6th, the people 
 began the operation of cutting the ships out of the harbor; and 
 on the 17th, the ships were once more affoat. On the 21st, some 
 of the officers took a walk inland, and were able to fill a pint bot- 
 tle with water from a pool of melted snow, which was the firs 
 they had seen; a proof of the extreme severity of the climate. 
 
 A perceptible change had now taken place in the ice. The 
 upper surface was covered with innumerable pools of brackish 
 
CVrXAlN PAURY. 396 
 
 water, so thai the liberation of the sea might be daily expected 
 Being desirous of obtaining as much game as possible during the 
 remainder of the time that must be passed in Winter Harbor, 
 Captain Parry sent out hunting parties to remain ten or t'velve 
 miles ii'land, with orders to send whatever game they might pro- 
 cure, to the ships, and also to observe the ice from the hill tops, 
 and report any change that might take place. 
 
 I'he dissolution of the ice continued daily, and on the 22d, it 
 was observed to be in motion in the offing; setting to the east 
 ward at the rate of a mile an hour. The dissolution of the ice 
 of the harbor went on so rapidly, in the early part of July, that 
 they were greatly surprised, on the 6th, in finding that in several 
 of the pools of water, on its upper surface, holes were washed 
 quite through to the sea beneath. 
 
 On the morning of the 26th, there being a space of clear water 
 for three quarters of a mile to the southward, they took advantage 
 of a northern breeze to run as far as the opening would permit, 
 and then dropped anchor at the edge of the ice, intending to 
 advance step by step as it separated. The ice across the entrance 
 of the harbor in this spot, as well as that in the offing, appeared 
 from the crow's nest quite continuous and unbroken, with the 
 same appearance of solidity as at midwinter. 
 
 On the 30tli, the whole body of the ice was in motion toward 
 the southeast, breaking away, for the first time, from the points 
 at the entrance of the harbor. This rendering it probable that the 
 ships would soon be released, Captain Parry furnished Lieutenant 
 Liddon with instructions for his guidance during the coming sea- 
 son of operations, and appointed places of rendezvous in case of 
 separation. 
 
 On the first of August, the harbor was clear of ice, and there 
 appeared to be water in the direction of their intended course. 
 At one P. M., every thing having been brought on board, they 
 weighed anchor and ran out of Winter Harbor, in which they 
 had passed ten entire months of the year, and a part of the two 
 remaining ones, September and August. 
 
 After a few tacks, they had the mortification to perceive that 
 the Griper sailed much worse than before, though great pains had 
 been taken during iier re-equipment to improve her qualities. 
 By midnight the Hecla had gained eight miles to windward of 
 her, and was obliged to heave to, to avoid parting company. 
 
 A southerly wind springing up the next day, made it probable 
 that the ice would close in upon the ships, and they therefore 
 began to look out for a situation where they might be secured in- 
 shore, behind some of the heavy grounded ice. At one o'clock 
 tiiey perceived that a heavy floe had alreadv closed completely in 
 with the land at a point a little to the westward of them. A 
 proper place havmg been found for their purpose, the ships wero 
 hauled in and secured, the Griper's bow resting on the beach, in 
 
396 C ATTAIN i'AKr.T. 
 
 order to allow f!ie llccla to lie in security without her. Thw 
 place was so completely sheltered liom the accession of the main 
 ice, that Captain l^irry began to tiiink of taking the Griper's 
 crew on board tiie Hccla, and pursuing the voyage in that ship 
 alone. 
 
 Every moment's delay confirmed Captain Parry in the opinion 
 that it was expedient to attemjjt to penetrate to the soutliward, as 
 soon as the ice would allow the ships to move at all, rather than 
 persevere in pushing directly westward. He therefore ordered 
 Lieutenant Liddon to run back a certain distance eastward aa 
 soon as he could, without waiting for the llecla, should that 
 ship still be detained, and to look nut for any opening to the 
 southward, which might seem favorable to the object in view, and 
 then wait for the Hecla. 
 
 On the 15th, Lieutenant Liddon was enabled to sail, in the 
 execution of his orders. Captain Parry, however, observing that 
 the Griper made little or no way, hoisted the signal of recall, 
 with the intention of making one more attempt to penetrate west- 
 ward. The ice had so far separated as to allow him to sail a mile 
 and a half along shore, when he was again stopped. He was 
 fortunate in finding a tolerably secure situation for the Hecla 
 within the grounded ice; but the Griper was left by the wind in a 
 place where, should the ice press upon her, there could be no 
 hope of safety. For fear of the worst, Captair Parry made 
 preparations to send parties to assist the Griper's company, if the 
 wreck should become unavoidable; but they were shortly after 
 relieved from all anxiety on this account, by the recession of the 
 ice from the shore, whereby the Griper was enabled to gain a sta- 
 tion near the tiecla. 
 
 The ice to the west and southwest, as seen from their present 
 station, gave them no reason to expect a speedy opening in the 
 desired direction. It appeared as solid and compact as so much 
 land; to which the inecpiaiities of the surface gave it no small 
 resemblance. Captain Parry, therefore, determined to defer the 
 attempt to try a more southern latitude no longer. 
 
 The point at which the ships were now lying, and which is the 
 westernmost to which Arctic navigation has ever been carried, is 
 in latitude 74" 26 min. 25 sec, and longitude 113° 64 min. 43 
 sec. Cape Dundas seen yet farther west, is in longitude 113° 
 57 min. "^o sec, by which the length of Melville island appears 
 to be abou an hundred and thirty-five miles, and its breadth, at 
 the meridian of Winter Harbor, from forty to fifty miles. 
 
 At nine P. M., they were abreast of the place where they had 
 landed on the 5th, and here perceived that the ice closed with the 
 land a little to the eastward. There was no safety for the ships, 
 unless they could get past one of the small points at the embou- 
 chure of a ravine, against which a floe was setting the smallei 
 pieces of ice, and had blocked up the passage before they arriv 
 
C.VPTAIX PARR?. 891 
 
 ed. Afler heaving two hours at the halsers, they succeeded in 
 getting through, and moored the ships to some very heavy ground- 
 ed ice near the beach. Hares were observed he»e, feeding on 
 the sides of the cliffs, and a few ptarmigans were seen. The 
 place where the Hecla was now secured, being the only one of 
 the kind which could be found, was a little harbor, formed, as 
 usual, ')y the grounded ice, some of which was fixed to the bot- 
 t>ui in ten or twelve fathoms. One side of the entrance to this 
 harbor consisted of masses of floes, very regular in their shape, 
 placed quite horizontally, and broken olTso exactly perpendicular, 
 as to resemble a handsome, well-built wharf. On the opposite 
 side, however, the masses to which they looked for security were 
 themselves rather terrific objects, as they leaned over so mucij 
 towards the ship, as to give the appearance of their being in the 
 act of falling upon her deck; and as a very trifling concussion 
 olten produces the fall of much heavier masses of ice, when in 
 api)earance very firmly fixed to the ground. Captain Parry gave 
 orders that no guns should be fired near the ship during her con- 
 tinuance in this situation. The Griper was of necessity made 
 fast near the beach, in rather an exposed situation, and her rud- 
 der unshipped, in readiness for the ice coming in; it remained 
 quiet, however, though quite close, during the day, the weather 
 being calm and fine. 
 
 In the evening of the 18th, some heavy pieces of grounded 
 ice to which the bow halser of the Hecla was fastened, fell ofl^into 
 the water, snapping the rope without injuring the ship. JVever- 
 theless, as every alteration of this kind must materially change 
 the centre of gravity of the whole mass, it was thought prudent 
 to move the Hecla out of her harbor to the place where the Gri- 
 per was lying, lest some of the bergs should fall upon her deck 
 and crush or sink her. 
 
 On the 20th and 21st, the young ice formed to such a degree, 
 as to cement together all the loose ice about the ships; nor did it 
 thaw on either cf those days, though the sun shone clearly upon 
 it for several hours. The main body remained close and iirm in 
 every direction. The same state of things obtained on the 22d, 
 and in the morning of the 23d, the young ice was an inch and a 
 half thick. A breeze springing up from the westward put it in 
 motion, so that by noon the ships were able to waip out and 
 proceed eastward. In a short time, however, the ice closed so 
 firmly around them that they became wholly immanageable, and 
 received many blows, more severe than any thev had experienced 
 before. After having drifted with the ice six miles, they were 
 made fast to some grounded ice 
 
 The situation in which the ships were now placed, and the 
 shortness of the remaining part of the navigable season, caused 
 great anxiety. Judging from the experience of 1819, it was rea- 
 sonable to conclude that about the 7th of September, was the 
 34 
 
0T<3 t.'.rr.viN rAUuv. 
 
 limit ht yt)iHl whirli th<? sltios coulJ :iot kcrp tlio sea with any ile- 
 giec o. safety or |)r()si)cct of success; but being strongly impres- 
 sed \vi. .» tlie icl<u that it was inciunhciit on him to make every 
 possible etlbrt, Ca|)tain Parry determined to extend this limit to 
 the Mill of September, before which date the winter would have 
 set in. The prospect was not very encouraging, even with this 
 extension; tiiey had only advanced sixty miles this seas jn, and 
 the distance to Icy Cape was yet between eight and nine hundred 
 miles, supposing them to tind a clear passage. The provisions 
 too,' were so far reduced in quantity, that by no means could they 
 be made to hold out longer than till April, 1822, and the deticien- 
 cy of I'uel wa^: even more apparent. These and other minor 
 considerations, induced Captain Parry to ask the advice and 
 opinions of his olHcers relative to the expediency of returning to 
 England. They all agreed that any attempt to penetrate farther 
 westward in their present jjarallel, would be fruitless, and attended 
 with loss of timj that might be more profitably employed else- 
 where. They advised that the vessel should run back along the 
 edge of the ice, in order to look for an opening that might lead 
 toward the American continent, and after a reasonable time spent 
 in tlie search, to return to England. This advice agreeing with 
 his own opinions. Captain Parry resolved to comply with it. 
 
 On the twenty-fourth the ships moved again, and found less ice 
 as they advanced, so that when, on the morning of tlie 'i7th, they 
 cleared the east end of Melville Island, the navigable channel 
 was not less than ten miles wide. A constant look-out was kept 
 from the crow's nest for an opening to the south, but none occur- 
 red. The weather was hazy, so much so that they were again 
 obliged to steer the shi^js the one by the other. As they proceed- 
 ed, several islands hitherto unknown, were discovered, but no 
 opening was seen in the ice, and when they had, on the 30th, 
 reached longitude 90°, they became satisfied that there was no 
 possibility of effecting their object, and Captain Parry, therefore, 
 conceived it to be his duty to return focthwith to England", in 
 order that no time might be lost in following up his discoveries, 
 if his government should deem fit to do so. 
 
 The Hecla arrived at the Orkney Islands on the 28th of 
 October; and the Griper on the first of November. Thus did 
 they return from a voyage of eighteen months duration, in good 
 health and spirits, vith the loss of only one man. 
 
CAPTAIN PAURT. 999 
 
 CAPTAIN PARRY'S SECOND VOYAGE OF 
 DISCOVERY. 
 
 The discoveries made by the expedition under Captain Pairv 
 *n 1819-'^0, being believed to afford a strong presumption of the 
 existence of a Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean, the 
 British government commanded that another attempt should be 
 made to discover it. The Hecla having been found well adapted 
 to this kind of service, the Fury, a ship of precisely the same 
 class, was selected to accompany her. Captain George F. Lyon 
 was appointed to command the Hecla, and Captain Parry, whose 
 efforts had made him justly celebrated, was commissioned to 
 command the expedition. 
 
 Some alterations in the interior arrangements of the vessels, 
 such as were suggested by the experience of Captain Parry, 
 were made. Among these was an apparatus for melting snow, 
 which was found very useful, and was so little in the way, that it 
 could not even be seen. Cots and hammocks were substituted 
 for the former bed places, and some improvements were made in 
 the manner of victualling the ships. 
 
 In his official instructions. Captain Parry was directed to pro- 
 ceed into Hudson's Strait, till he should meet the ice, when the 
 Nautilus Transport, which was placed at his disposal, was to be 
 cleared of its provisions and stores He was then to penetrate 
 westward, till he should reach some land which he should be con- 
 vinced was a part of the American continent, at some point north 
 of Wager River. If he reached the Pacific, he was to proceed 
 to Kamschatka; thence to Canton. or the Sandwich Islands, and 
 thence to England, by whatever route he might deem most con- 
 venient. 
 
 Accordingly, in the beginning of April, 1821, the three vessela 
 sailed from England. Nothing worthy of note occurred till they 
 met with the ice in Davis' Strait, where the vessels were moored 
 to an iceberg, and the Nautilus was unladen. This done, she 
 parted company on the 1st of July, and sailed for England, while 
 the Fury and Hecla stood toward the ice, which they reached a 
 little before noon, and ran along its edge, keeping as much fo the 
 westward as possible. 
 
 On the 24th, they reached the Savage Islands, and landed on 
 one of them. They are many — all exhibiting the same appear- 
 ance of utter sterility. That on which they landed was from six 
 to eight hundred feet above the level of the sea. Here they 
 noticed the same appearances of an Esquimaux camp as had been 
 seen at Melville Island, with a few pieces of fir, which proved 
 that the savages, in these parts, were not in want of wood, sinc» 
 
400 CAPTAIN PAURJ 
 
 they could afloid to leave it behind ' ictn. Hares and several 
 species of birds were seen on this islar 1. 
 
 As soon as tiic exploring party retur- ed on board, all sail was 
 made to the westward, the sea beiny; lOw nearly free from ice 
 The next day the hills on the coast of I-abrador were seen. 
 Thus they kept on till tlie 31st, discov ring islands as they pro- 
 ceeded. On the afternoon of this day, i.n Jisquimaux oomiaA: was 
 see;! coining froni the shore of Sal» hury Island, under sail, 
 arcoiiipanied by eight kayaks. In this Soat were sixteen persons, 
 I'l' which two were men, and the rest i 'omen and children. In 
 liress and personal appearance, these pe 'ple dtd not differ from the 
 I'^squimaux last seen, but their behavio was far less offensive. 
 
 On the first of August, the ships k pt on westward between 
 Nottingham Island and the north sho 9, which is fringed with 
 small islands. This channel is about t^'filve miles wide. In the 
 course of the morning, some Esquimau^' came to the ships from 
 the main land, bringing oil, skin dresses, wnd walrus's tusks, which 
 they exchanged for any trifle that was "Fored. They also otter- 
 ed toys for sale, such as models of cano«\ weapons, &.c. Here, 
 for the first time, the navigators saw the dresses of the savages 
 lined with the skins of birds, having the i^ithers inside. 
 
 Having run forty miles in the night n- thout seeing any ice, 
 they came the next morning to a pack socV^se as to prevent their 
 farther progress. The ships received very hvavy blows, and with 
 considerable difficulty got clear of it. Th"?- ran along the edge 
 several miles to the northward, in searcb of an opening; but 
 finding none, they stood back to the southw,iA^ to tr}' what could 
 be done in that quarter. 
 
 The expedition being now about to enter H'>td ground hitherto 
 unexplored, it became necessary for Captain >'! «ry to decide on 
 the route he should pursue with most advantage ind after mature 
 deliberation, he came to the resolution to attemj \ n direct passage 
 of the Frozen Strait, though he greatly feared *A« loss of time 
 that would be the consequence of a failure. 
 
 After contending with the ice for several days, c. the llth, the 
 ship succeeded in getting to the northern land, anrt a party of the 
 officers landed upon a small rock, or islet, a mile ait' n half from 
 the shore. 
 
 Soon after the party returned on board, a fresh gx\^ f.om the 
 north compelled them to make the ships fast to the Ivgest floe 
 near, in order not to lose much ground^ The gale mo-ieratei 
 about noon, and they cast off from the floe and made saiJ. They 
 made considerable progress till evening, when the ice closed 
 round them again. After sunset on the 1.3th, they describe' land 
 to tlie westward, which they believed to be a part of the ccnt\A°nt. 
 Yet they continued closely beset, and on the 15th the H ^-da 
 drifted back with the ice, out of sight of her consort. This r^na 
 oartly owing to the extraordinary refraction upon the horiz' % 
 
i-APTAIN PARKY 401 
 
 which apparently diminished and distorted objects, at no great dis- 
 tance, in a wonderful manner. On the next day, however, the 
 Hecla hove in sight, and upon which the Fury set sail and beat 
 through the channel. On the moining ot* the 17th, the weather 
 being too fr-ggy to move, parties from both ships went on shore, 
 to examine tho country, and to procure specimens of its natural 
 productions. 
 
 As soon as tie weather cleared up, they returned onboard, and 
 sailed to the northeast, where alone they had any chance of find- 
 ing an outlet. Having ascertained the continuity of land round 
 this inlet, they gave it the name of Duke of York's Bay. It waa 
 now certain that the object of the expedition could not be effected 
 in that direction; and they therefore sailed back, through tne 
 narrow channel by which they had entered, with the intention <>f 
 seeking an opening farther north, without delay. 
 
 It would be tedious to tell of every obstacle, that hindered or 
 delayed the ships. They pursued their intended course along ttie 
 shore, when the wind and weather permitted; and when unavoid- 
 ably detained, they landed. Among other places, they landed at 
 Repulse Bay, in latitude 66'' 30 min. and longitude 86° 30 inin. 
 From all indications, the water through which thev had been sail- 
 ing, was the imperfectly known Frozen Strait; and Captain Parry 
 resolved to keep along the land to the northward, and examine 
 every bend or inlet, which might appear likely to aflord a practi- 
 cable passage to the westward. 
 
 Sailing on the 'i3d along the northern shore of Frozen Strait, 
 it was observed that the land appeared in one place to consist of 
 islands only, behind which no land was visible. This part of t!)e 
 coast appeared to Captain Parry so favorable to the accomplish- 
 ment of his enterprise, that he resolved to examine it more 
 closely. Having .beat up to the mouth of an opening that scenied 
 practicable, he found the greater part of the channel filled with 
 a body of ice, rendering examination in ships or boats impossible. 
 The only means, therefore, of exploring it were, to despatch a 
 party by land. Captain Lyon undertook this service, accom[)a- 
 nied by five persons, furnished with a tent and four days' provision. 
 The ships were anchored to await his return a mile from the 
 shore. The flood tide came out of this inlet, a circumstance that 
 materially strengthened their hopes of success. 
 
 Captain Lyon first landed on an island, and then crossed q 
 strait to a steep point. Thence proceeding northward to a high 
 hill, he found the strait continuous, and returned to the ships. 
 On tb.is short journey, he passed the remains of a great many 
 Esquimaux habitations. The result of Captain Lyon's excursion 
 was to convince all concerned, that a communication existed here 
 between Frozen Strait and a sea to the northward and eastward 
 of it, and Captain Parry determined to explore it as far as pos- 
 sible 
 
 34* 
 
403 CAfTAlN PAURT 
 
 After diiftiiig about some (iiiic in the uc, and more than orxt 
 narrowly escaping shipwreck, measures were taken to survey 
 this part of the Fn./en Strait; hut little knowledge was gained by 
 all tlu'ir odorts. On the 1st ol" September, the prospect of ge^^ 
 ting northward, was by no means encouraging; and they were, 
 from time to time, beset with ice, and drilled back. On the 3d, 
 they found that after a laborious investigation, which had occu- 
 pied a whole month, they had returned to nearly the same spot 
 where they had been on the 6th of August, near Southampton 
 Island. 
 
 On the 1st of October, rain fell, which immediately freezing, 
 made the decks and ropes as sinotith as glass. For several days 
 the thermometer had been below the freezing point, and some- 
 times as low as 20" at night, which change, together with the 
 altered aspect of the land, and the rapid formation of young ice 
 near the shores, gave notice of the approach of winter. The 
 commencement of this dreary season in these regions may, 
 indeed, be dated from the time when the earth no longer receives 
 and radiates heat enough to melt the snow which falls upon it. 
 
 On the 8th, the young ice on the surface began to give them 
 warning that the navigation of those seas was nearly ended .or 
 the season. When the young ice has acquired the thickness of 
 half an inch, and is of considerable extent, a ship must be stopped 
 by it, unless favored by a strong and fair wind; and even when 
 making progress, is not under control of the helmsman, depend- 
 ing mostly on the thickness of the ice on one bow or the other. 
 Boats cannot be employed in such situations with much effect. 
 
 When to these dilficuities were added the disadvantage of 
 a temperature near zero, and twelve hours of daily darkness, 
 Captain Parry became convinced that it was expedient to place 
 the ships in the most secure situation that could be found, rather 
 than run the risk of being permanently detached from the land by 
 attempting to gain the continent. Accordingly, a canal was 
 sawed into a harbor on the south side of a small island, to which 
 the name of Winter Island was given, and the ships were warped 
 to their winter stations. Thus ended their operations for the 
 season, after having explored a portion of coast six hundred miles 
 in extent, one half of which belonged to the continent of America. 
 
 The arrangements for passing the winter comfortably were 
 pretty much the same as those which had been made at Melville 
 Island, with some improvements, suggested by former experience. 
 The theatre was better fitted than before, and a school was estab- 
 lished for the benefit of such of the crews as might wish to learn 
 to read and write. The lower deck of the Fury was fitted for a 
 church, and the companies of both ships attended during the win- 
 ter. The men were sent to walk on shore fur exercise, whenever 
 the weather was favorable; and finger-posts were erected in 
 various parts of the island, to prevent them from losing their way 
 
CAPTAIN TAIIB*-. 40f} 
 
 On the 11th of December, the weather being tolerably c ear, 
 stars oft .c third Tiagnitude were visible to the naked eye at forty 
 minutes past eig it, and those of tlie second magnitude till a quar- 
 ter past nine, which may give some idea of the degree of light at 
 this period. The twilight was, of course, very long, and the 
 redness of the sun's rays might be seen more than three hours 
 after its setting. 
 
 On the 13th, the thermometer fell to — 31°, being the lowest 
 temperature yet experienced. Rising on the 17th to — 5*^, the 
 play of The Poor Gentleman was performed. On Christmas eve 
 the theatre was again put in requisition, and the next day wafe 
 celebrated to the utmost extent their means would allow. Among 
 the luxuries of the Christmas dinner were a few joints of English 
 roast beef, which had been preserved expressly for the occasion, 
 the tirst and last ever eaten in Frozen Strait. 
 
 The same occupations, that had employed them at Me;/ille 
 Island served to beguile the time this winter. iNothing material 
 occurred till the first of February, unless the circumstance of 
 seeing a white bear may be accounted so. 
 
 On the Ist oi' February, a number of Esquimaux were seen 
 coming toward the ships over the ice, and the appearance of huts 
 was discovered on the sltore with a telescope. Captains Parry 
 and Lyon, with three or four others, set out to meet the natives 
 who were slowly advancing, to the number of twenty-five. As 
 the officers advanced, they stood still, awaiting their approach. 
 They had no arms, but carried only a few strfps of whalebone, 
 which they had brought for a peace-offering, and which the gentle- 
 men immediately purchased for a few small nails and beads. 
 There were several women and children with the party, and the 
 behavior of all was quite i)eaceable asid orderly. They were all 
 handsomely dressed in deerskins, and some had double suits. 
 
 However quiet these savages were, they did not exhibit tha 
 slightest signs of apprehension or distrust. As soon as some un- 
 derstanding was established, the officers expressed a wish to visit 
 their huts, and the Esquimaux readily complying, they all set out 
 together. The savages were greatly astonished on the way to 
 see a large dog, belonging to the w^hites, fetch and carry, and 
 the children could scarcely contain their joy when Captain Lyon 
 gave them a stick to throw, and the dog brought it b-ick to them. 
 An infirm old man, who supported himself with a staff, which he 
 much needed, was left behind by his companions, who took no 
 notice of his infirmities, but left him to find his way as he might, 
 without reluctance or scruple. 
 
 An intercourse was kept up between the ships and the Es([ui- 
 maux, as long as the latter remained there, which was until th3 
 23d of May, when they set oft" v/ith all their goods and chattels, 
 including a parting gift from Ca'^tain Parry. 
 
 The caulking of the bows being n w completed, the ships wera 
 
404 CAT IAIN rA!:i;v. 
 
 released from the ice by sawing round thcin; an operation which 
 made llu m rise in tlic water six inches and a half, in consequence 
 of t!ie buoyancy occasioned by the winter's expenditure. 
 
 An increased extent of open water appearing in the ofling, 
 Captain l.yon again departed, accompanied by nine persons, with 
 a tent, fuel, and provisions for twenty days. Each individual was 
 furnished with a light sledge, to draw his provision and baggage, 
 which tnight weigh about an hundred pounds. Their instructions 
 were, after gaining the continent to proceed along the coast and 
 examine it, and to make observations respecting the tides and the 
 natural productions of the country. 
 
 He set out on the 8th of May, and rested on the 9th at a low, 
 rocky point, which he called Point Belford. Proceeding north- 
 ward, he had given the following names successively to different 
 parts of the coast, viz. JJlake's Bay, Adderly's Bluff, Palmer 
 Bay, Point Elizabeth, and Cape William; when, finding his pro- 
 vision and fuel half expended, he judged it prudent to return. 
 
 Flocks of birds now began to give token of returning summer, 
 and, on the i25th, some Esquimaux, who came from an encamp 
 ment to the westward, reported having seen a great many rein 
 deer. Yet at the close of May it was matter of general regret 
 that there was little prospect of the departrire of the ice, and that 
 few indications of a thaw had been observed. The navigators 
 could not fail to reiriember that at Melville Island, though so 
 much farther north, the season had, on the same day two years 
 belore, advanced full as far as now at Winter Island. The parts 
 of the land which were m:;st bare were the smooth, round to|)s of 
 the hills, on some of which were little pools of water. There 
 were also, on the low lands, a iew dark, uncovered patches, look- 
 ing, in the snow, like islets in the sea. Vegetation seemed 
 striving to commence, and a few tufts of saxifrage oppositifolia, 
 when closely examined, discovered some signs of life. Such was 
 the state of things on shore: upon the ice appearinces were as 
 unpromising. Except in the immediate vicinity of the ships 
 where from incessant trampling, and the deposit of various stores 
 upon the ice, some heat had been absorbed artificially, there was 
 no perceptible sign of dissolution on the upper surface, where six 
 or seven inches of snow yet remained on every part. In these 
 circumstances. Captain Parry resolved to Iry vhat could be done 
 to release the ships by cutting and sawing. Arrangements were, 
 therefore, made for getting everything on b )ard, and for com- 
 mencing this laborious work. 
 
 The operation began on the 3d of June, an 1 was completed in 
 sixteen days, by severe and persevering labo) In the meanwhile, 
 JVature seemed unwilling to lend our marine/ s any aid; the disso- 
 lution of the ice was so slow as scarceb to be perceptible. 
 However, it was so weakened by the cu> made, that the first 
 •rcBsure from without etTecicd a rupture so that a favorable 
 
CAPTAIN PARnr. 400 
 
 breeze only was needed, to enable the ships to put to sea. On 
 the 2d of July, the wind, for the first time, became fair, and the 
 ships sailed. 
 
 VVinter Island is ten miles and a half in length, from north-west 
 by north, to south-east by south, and its average breadth from 
 eight to ten miles. It is what seamen call rather low land; the 
 height of the south-east point, which was named Cape Fisher, out 
 of respect to the chaplain and astronomer, being seventy-six feet, 
 and none of the hills above three times that height. The outline 
 of the land is smooth, and in the summer, when free from snow, 
 presents a brown appearance. Several miles of the north-west end 
 of the island are so low and level, that, when the snow lay thick 
 upon it, our travellers could only distinguish it from the lea by 
 the absence of hummocks of ice. 
 
 The basis of the island is gneiss rock, much of which is of a 
 gray color, but in many places also the feldspar is so predominant 
 as to give a bright and red appearance to the rocks, especially 
 about Cape Fisher, where also some broad veins of quartz are 
 seen intersecting the gneiss; and both this and the feldspar are 
 very commonly accompanied by a green substance, which appear- 
 ed to be pistacite, and which usually occurs as a thin lamina 
 adhering strongly to the others. In many specimens these three 
 are united, the feldspar and quartz displaying tolerably perfect 
 crystals. In some of the gneiss small red ijarnets are abundant, 
 as also in mica-slate. In lumps of granite, which are found de- 
 tached upon the surface, the mica sometimes occurs in white 
 plates, and in other specimens is of a dirty brown color. There 
 are several varieties of mica-slate, and some of these have a 
 brilliant metallic appearance, like silver; those which are most 
 so, crumble very easily to pieces. The most common stone next 
 to those already mentioned is lime, which is principally schistose, 
 and of a white color. Many pieces of this substance, on being 
 broken, present impressions of fossil-shells, and some have also 
 brown waved lines running quite through them. Nodules of 
 flint occur in some mas.^es of lime, but they are not common. 
 Iron pyrites is found in large lumps of black stone, tinged exter- 
 nally with the oxyde of iron: it is here and there met with in 
 small perfect cubes. 
 
 Sailing northward along the coast, the ships were soon stopped 
 by the ice. While they remained stationary, a party of natives 
 were discovered on shore, who proved to be their neighbors of 
 Winter Island. They were cordially greeted by the officers and 
 seamen as old acquaintances, and loaded with presents. On 
 leaving the ships, one of them sent Captain Parry a piece of seal 
 skin as a present, without the least prospect or expectation of a 
 return. We mention this trifling incident, merely because it was 
 the first and only undeniable proof of gratitude observed among 
 these [leoplc 
 
406 CAPTAIN TAnRY, 
 
 Slowly and painfully our navigators pursued their course north« 
 ward, always wiili ditliculty and often with great danger. On the 
 12th of the month, tiiey discovered tiie mouth of a ccnsiderahle 
 river, and Captain Parry went on shore to examine it. The 
 water was fresh, and the stream varied in hreadth from tour hun- 
 dred yards to the third of a mile. After ascending a n ile and a 
 half, the Captain heard the roar of a waterlall. At the mouth, 
 the hanks of the river were about two hundred feet high, but here 
 they rose much higher, and the water ran on a more elevated 
 level. As Captain Parry proceeded inland, he found the stream 
 rushing with great fury over two small cataracts. Then turning 
 a right angle of the river, he perceived a greater spray, occasion- 
 ed by a very magnificent fall. Where the stream begins its de- 
 sct;nt it is contracted to the breadth of one hundred and fifty feet, 
 the channel being worn in a solid bed of gneiss rock. After fall- 
 ing about fifteen feet, at an angle of thirty degrees, the river ia 
 again narrowed to forty yards, and, as if collecting its strength 
 for a great elTort, is precipitated ninety feet, in one unbroken 
 mass. A cloud of spray rises from the cataract, surmounted b^ 
 an uncommonly vivid rainbow. The basin which receives the 
 fall is circular and about four hundred yards in diameter, rather 
 wider than the river immediately below. Above the cataract, the 
 stream winds in the most romantic manner imaginable among the 
 hills, with a smooth and unruffled surface. To this beautiful 
 water-course Captain Parry gave the name of Barrow's River, 
 Its entrance is in latitude 67° 18' 05", and longitude 81° !25' 20". 
 
 The next day large herds of walrusses were seen upon the 
 drift ice, and the boats were sent to kill some for the sake of the 
 oil. The sportsmen found them lying huddled together, piled upoD 
 one another. They waited quietly to be shot, and were not 
 greatly alarmed even after one or two volleys. They suffered the 
 people to debark on the ice near them, but on their near approach 
 displayed a somewhat pugnacious purpose. After they got into 
 the water three were struck with harpoons and killed. When 
 first wounded, they were quite furious: one of them resolutely 
 attacked Captain Lyon's boat, and injured it with his tusks. 
 Those which remained uninjured surrounded the wounded animals, 
 and struck them with their tusks; whether to assist their escape, 
 or with ,1 hostile intention, cannot be ascertained. Two of the 
 animals killed were females, and one weighed over fifteen hundred 
 pounds, wiiich was not considerd an uncommon bulk. The 
 strength of fhe walrus is very great. One of them being touched 
 with an oar, seized it with his flippers, and snapped it with the 
 utmost ease. Many of these animals had young ones, which, 
 when assailed, they carried off", either between their flippers or 
 on their backs. They were most easily killed with musket-balls, 
 even afler being struck with the harpoon, is their skins are 8C 
 tough as to resist a whaling laace 
 
CAVTAIS PAKRT. V 01 
 
 On the 15th, the ships reached Igloolik, Co (he situation of 
 which we refer our readers to the map. Here t ley found a new 
 band of Esquimaux, who proved to be the acquaintances and rela- 
 tives of those of Winter Island. Tliese people dwelt not in snow 
 huts, but in tents, made of the skins of the walrus and seal, the for- 
 mer shaved thin enough to allow the transmission of light. They 
 were clumsily made, and supported by a kind of tent-pole, con- 
 structed by tying bones or deer's horns together. Ihe edges of 
 the tents were kept down by placing stones upon them. To keep 
 the whole tabric erect, a thong was extended from the top to a- 
 large stone at the distance of a kw yards. These abiding places 
 had little appearance of affording comfort or convenience. 
 
 From these people Captain Parry learned that he had unques- 
 tionably been coasting the continent. He then determined to 
 attempt to penetrate a large inlet, stretching w stward from 
 Igloolik, which, at the time of his arrival, was closed by a fixed 
 bairier of ice, and which he named The Strait of the Fury and 
 Hecla. We shall not follow the navigators in their arduous but 
 unsuccessful efforts to penetrate westward at this point, as we 
 have already alloted more space to their adventures than consists 
 with our intended limits. Suffice it to say, that after perse- 
 vering in the attempt till the 30th of September, they found them- 
 selves as far from the attainment of their object as at first. The 
 cold weather then setting in, they were compelled to lay the ships 
 up at Igloolik. 
 
 One important point was settled, however, beyond the possibili- 
 ty of doubt. Finding his researches ineffectual by water. Cap- 
 tain Parry undertook to explore the Strait of the Fury and Hecla 
 by land. Ke found it continuous, and pursued his journey far 
 enough to see the open sea beyond, thus proving the existence 
 of a passage at this point, though it was then, and probably ever 
 will be, closed by an insurmountable barrier of ice. Beside this 
 result of his endeavors, the position of Cockburn Island, and in- 
 deed of all the lands adjacent to Igloolik, wa«» ascertained, and 
 correctly laid down on the map. 
 
 Beside the Esquimaux found at Igloolik, our friends had the 
 society of the savages of Winter Island, who rejoined them 
 shortly after their arrival. We are sorry that we cannot relate) 
 the adventures and observations of this winter, as they are ex- 
 tremely entertaining; but as they are not important in their 
 nature, we trust to be excused for omitting them. 
 
 Igloolik is a low island, ten miles long and six broad, and 
 exhibits the same appearance of sterility as the adjacent con- 
 tinent, excepting in places which have b^en inhabited by the 
 natives. There, the accumulation of animal substances has 
 produced a luxuriant vegetation. In some parts there are spots 
 several hundred yards in extent, covered with bright green moss 
 The whole land seems to be composed of inn-imerable fragmenta 
 
408 CAPTAIN PARRY. 
 
 oniiin schistose limestone, some of whicli contain the impressions 
 of fossil remains, while others present the cellular structure 
 usually found in mudreporite. The interior is alniost an entire 
 swamp; hut (here are rising grounds, which, with the remains of 
 Esq jimnux habitations upon them, are excellent landmarks. 
 
 Eiast of Igloolik is a group ot" small islands called by Captain 
 Parry Calthorpe Islands. Like almost all the land in this vicinity, 
 they are low, but their geology diHers from that of Igloolik, and 
 in every respect resembles that of Winter Island, being composed 
 of gneiss. Two of this group, however, are high and rugged 
 From the top of one of these there is a good view of the adjacen 
 shores. 
 
 The entrance of the Strait of the Fury and Hecla is aboul 
 three miles wide, and is formed by two projecting headlands 
 between v.hicn the tide rushes with great velocity. The soutk 
 shore is high, but of gradual ascen-t, perfectly smooth, and com 
 posed of beautifully variegated sand-stone. Beyond *he entrance 
 the land is bold and mountainous. Captain Parry, who it will be 
 remembered explored the southern shore of the strait, states the 
 hills to consist of gray gneiss and red granite, rising, in some in- 
 stances, a thousand feet above the level of the sea. In some 
 places he saw slate, and in others sand-stone. He has left no 
 positive data, by which we may determine the length of this 
 strait; but as he was rather more than a day in accomplishing the 
 distance on foot, by a circuitous route, we may conclude that it 
 does not exceed fifteen or twenty miles. From the point where 
 his journey terminated he saw a continuous sea to the westward, 
 open and unobstructed save by ice and by one small island 
 
 There are several islands in the Strait of the Fury and Hecla. 
 On one of these (Liddon Island) abundance of beautifully veined 
 clay iron stone was found. The other minerals were asbestos, 
 crystals of carbonate of lime, and a great variety of sand-stone, 
 of which the island is formed. 
 
 Amherst Island is flat, and the northern part is formed of black 
 sla'e, with strong indications of coal. This part of the island is 
 utterly bare of vegetation. In a low cliff of black and rugged 
 slate there is a beautiful and romantic grotto. The water, oozing 
 ihrough the sides and roof, has formed the most brilliant stalac- 
 tites, which form a splendid contrast with the shady part of the 
 «bon grotto behind. The other part of the island is of clay and 
 'imesto e, on which there is a very scanty covering of shrivelled 
 ;^rass and moss. 
 
 The winter in Igloolik was spent like the preceding one, 
 •n amusements on board ship, and intercourse with the Esqui- 
 maux. 
 
 On the 9th of August the ships ran out of their harbor, where 
 they had been detained three hundred and nineteen days. They 
 were so embarrassed by the ice, that little use could be made ol 
 
C ATT A IN PARKT. 409 
 
 their sails; nevertheless, by the 30th of the month they passed 
 Winter Island, having been carried three degrees by the drift in 
 which they were beset. On the 9th of October, they made the 
 Orkney Islands, and on the 10th reached Lerwick in Shetland, 
 where ihey were received with many congratulations on their safe 
 return. 
 
 CAPTAIN PARRY'S THIRD VOYAGE OF 
 DISCOVERY. 
 
 The British Government having resolved to fit out a third ex- 
 pedition, under Captain Parry, the Hecla and Fury were made 
 ready for sea, the latter under the command of Captain Hoppnef, 
 and sailed from England on the 16th of JNIay 1824. They were to 
 attempt the northwest passage at Prince Regent's Inlet. Having 
 crossed the Atlantic without any material adventure, they made 
 the bay of Lievely in Disko Island on the 5th of July. 
 
 Sailing up Baffin's Bay, on the 17th the ships came to the ice, 
 and after many obstructions, only penetrated seventy miles to the 
 westward. Here they encountered a hard gale, and sustained 
 several shocks that would have crushed any ship of ordinary 
 strength. They reached Lancaster's Sound on the 10th of Sep- 
 tember. The winds not being favorable, the ships made small 
 progress, and on the 13th the crews had the mortification to per- 
 ceive the sea ahead covered with ice, in attempting to penetrate 
 which they were soon immovably beset. Nevertheless, the 
 exertions of Captain Parry and his coadjutor were unremitlmg. 
 
 The officers landed atone place, a little east of Admiralty Inlet. 
 The vegetation was, as usual in those regions, very scanty. 
 With great exertion and extreme difficulty, the expedition reached 
 Port Bom en in Prince Regent's Inlet, on the '21th, where, by the 
 middle ot October, Captain Parry deemed it advisable to lay up 
 the ships for the winter. Several journeys inland proved the 
 country to be exceedingly broken and rugged; so much so that 
 the researches of the explorers were of necessity confined to a 
 very limited extent. 
 
 About midnight on the 27th of January, a brilliant display ol 
 the Aurora Borealis was observed. It broke out in a single 
 compact mass of yellow light, appearing but a short distance above 
 the land. This light, notwithstanding its general continuity, 
 aometimes appeared to be composed of numerous groups of rays, 
 compressed laterally, as it were, into one, its limits to right and 
 left being well defined and nearly vertical. Though always very 
 brillant, it constantly varied in intensity; and this appeared to be 
 35 
 
410 CArTAi:^ rvrcrer. 
 
 produced by one volume of lifjlit overlaying- another, as we see fh# 
 darkness of smoke increase \\lien cio;!!! rolls over cloud. While 
 some of the ollicfts were admiring the exceeding beauty of the 
 phenomenon, tiiey were suddenly astonished at seeing a brilliant 
 ray shoot down from the general mass between them and the land, 
 thence distant three thousand yards. 
 
 The principal animals seen were bears, foxes, hares and mice, 
 but no deer or wolves. These animals appeared but rarely, md 
 the same may be said of the feathered creation. In July, a canal 
 was sawed in the ice, and the ships were towed to sea. Captain 
 Parry hoped to sail over to the western shore of the inlet, but he 
 had only made eight miles in the intended direction, v/hen he was 
 stopped by the ice. As no opening appeared in that quarter, he 
 determined to try to cross more to the northward. The most he 
 gained was some knowledge of the character of the shores. 
 
 On the 30th of July, the ships being beset close to the land, 
 a hard gale brought the ice close upon them. The Hecla re- 
 ceived no damage but the breaking of two or three hawsers; but 
 the Fury was forced on shore. She was heaved off' again, with 
 little injury, but this was but the commencement of her misfor- 
 tunes. On the 1st of July, she was again nipped, and sc 
 severely strained as to leak a great deal. As the tide fell, hei 
 stern, which was aground, was lifted several feet, and the Hecla 
 also remained aground. No place was found where tlie Fury 
 might be hove down to repair the damage, as the shore was every- 
 where lined with masses of grounded ice. The ships were again 
 made to float, but it was found, notwithstanding incessant labor 
 on board the Fury, that four pumps constantly going could hardly 
 keep the water under. In these circumstances the only harbor 
 that could be found was formed by three grounded masses of ice, 
 within which the water was from three to four fathoms deep at 
 low tide. 
 
 On the night of the 2d, the ice came in with great violence, 
 and again forced the Fury on shore. The strength and number 
 of the Hecla's hawsers only saved her from sharing the same 
 fate. In the meanwhile the crew of the Fury were completely 
 exhausted by labor, and their hands had become so sore by the 
 constant friction of the ropes that they could no longer handle 
 them without mittens, in this situation it was determined to lana 
 the stores and provisions of the vessel, in order that she migJil 
 undergo a complete repair. 
 
 Accordingly anchors were carried to the beach, by which the 
 grounded icebergs that formed the harbor were secured in theii 
 position, thus enclosing a space just sufficient to admit both *hips 
 la this position a great part of the Fury's stores were landed 
 The injury was found to be more severe than had at first been 
 supposed; indeed, it appeared that the compactness of her fabric 
 had alone saved her from sinking. Nevertheless, no exertion 
 
THE LOSS OF THE ALCESTE. 411 
 
 was spared to render her seaworthy again, though the daily pres- 
 sure of the ice was another, and a very great disadvantage. 
 
 In spite of every effort, it was found impossible 'to save the 
 Fury, and the Hecla was greatly endangered in the attempt. 
 She was compelled to leave the land and drift about among the 
 ice, to avoid being forced on shore. On returning, Captain Pairy 
 found that the Fury had been driven farther on the beach than 
 before, and nine feet of water were in her hold. Her keel and 
 bottom were more injured than ever. The first glance satisfied 
 Captain Parry that the vessel could never return to EngJand. 
 By and with the advice of a council of his officers, therefore, he 
 decided to leave her to li«r fate, and as his provisions would barely 
 sufHce for another twelvemonth, to return home. In pursuance 
 of this resolution the Hecla reached Sheerness on the 21st of 
 October. On the eastern shore of Prince Regent's Inlet is Cape 
 Kater, the most southern point attained by the ships in this ex- 
 pedition. It is in latitude 71°, 53' 30," and longitude 90° 03' 
 45" 
 
 NARRATIVE OF THE LOSS OF THE ALCESTE. 
 
 The Alceste sailed from Whampoa on the 21st of January, 
 1817; exchanged friendly salutes with the guardians of the Bocca 
 Tigris; touched at Macao and Manilla; rounded the numerous 
 clusters of rocks and shoals lying to the westward of the Phillip- 
 pines, and to the northwest of Borneo; and then shaped a course 
 for the Straits of Gaspar, which she entered soon after daylight 
 on the 18th of February. 
 
 The morning was fine, the wind fresh and favorable, and the 
 Alceste moving rapidly through the water; every appearance 
 promised a rapid passage into the Java sea, for which Captain 
 Maxwell, who had been on board the whole of the preceding 
 night, was steering the course laid down in the most approved 
 charts, and recommended by the sailing directions in his posses- 
 sion, when the ship struck against a sunken r.ock, three miles 
 distant from Pulo Leat, or Middle Island, and having grated over 
 it for a kw seconds, took a slight heel to starboard, and became 
 immovable. The rapidity of her motion, at the instant of strik- 
 ing, rendeied it highly probable that she had received serioua 
 injury; and every doubt on this subject was soon removed by th« 
 appearance of her false keel floating along side, and the report ot 
 the carpenter, who stated that the water in the hold had increasec 
 from two and a half to seven feet, and that it was gaining rapidlj 
 oa the pumps. 
 
lis T}IE LOSS OF Tin AI.CESTS. 
 
 The dnils, which had at first been thrown aback, were novi 
 furled, and tlic best-bower anchor was (hopped, to keep her fast, 
 from the ap|)rchen3ii)n, if slie went o(f the rock, of her instantly 
 sinking. At this alarming crisis, not the slightest confusion or 
 irregularity occurred; every necessary order was as coolly given, 
 and as steadily obeyed, as if nothing unusual had happened; 
 every one did his duty calmly, diligently, and effectually. 
 
 The boats being hoisted out. Lord Amherst and the gentlemen 
 of his suite, within half an hour of the striking of the ship, were 
 in the barge, and making for the nearest part of the above men- 
 tioned desert island. Atler leaving the Alceste, they saw more 
 accurately the dangerous nature of her situation. The rock on 
 which she had struck was distinctly seen from the boat, e.xtending 
 only a few yards from her. Beyond, the water was dark and deep 
 for nearly half a mile; it then became so shallow that the beautiful 
 but fatal coral was continually seen as they approached the shore. 
 When about a mile from Pulo Lcat, rocks, covered by not more 
 than from one to three feet water, surrounded them on all sides. 
 The barge struck several times, but was saved from any serious 
 accident by the skill of Lieutenant Hoppner, who commanded 
 her. \fter sailing or rowing for about an hour, they gained what 
 had appeared from the ship to be land covered with wood — but, 
 to their mortification, discovered nothing but insulated masses of 
 granite, interspersed with mangrove trees growing in the water. 
 Being now joined by a cutter, with the servants of the embassy, 
 and a part of the guard, they proceeded along shore in quest of 
 a more convenient place for debarkation. Several creeks, which 
 seemed to penetrate inland, were in vain explored; they all ter- 
 minated in deep swamps. Similar attempts were reiterated, till 
 anxiety to send back the boats determined his Excellency to land 
 on the first rocks which should be found sufficiently large or nu- 
 merous for the reception of the party. This intention was at 
 length effected in a small bay, where the rocks were so mingled 
 with the trees as to afford firm hand-hold. The boats were then 
 immediately despatched to assist in bringing on shore whatever 
 could be saved from the wreck. A more convenient landing-place 
 Deing subsequently discovered near an eminence on which an 
 encampment might be formed, the whole party removed thither, 
 leaving a marine behind to communicate with the boats as they 
 successively approached the shore. 
 
 The heat of the day as it advanced, and the exertions of the 
 men in clearing the ground, for the reception of persons and bag- 
 gage, produced great thirst, and rendered it necessary to look for 
 water, of which none had been brought on shore, except a very 
 ■mall quantity collected from the dripstones on deck. A search 
 for this purpose was conducted in several directions without suc- 
 cess; and, night coming on, it was relinquished in hopes of better 
 fortune on the morrow. During the whole day, and till a late 
 
THE LOSS OF THE ALCESTE. 413 
 
 hour in the evening, the boats were constantly employed conveying 
 articles from the wreck, and towing ashore a raft on which had 
 been placed the bagjjagc, stores, and a small supply of provisions 
 rescued with much labor and difficulty, under the superintendenct 
 of Captain Maxwell, whose exertions and self-possession were 
 most highly spoken of by all his fellow sufferers. 
 
 Towards midnight, as the tide rose, the swell of the 3ea lifted 
 the ship from the rock, and dashed her on it again with such vio- 
 lence as to render it necessary for the topmast to be cut away 
 In doing this, two men were very severely bruised. 
 
 The following morning Captain Maxwell landed; and, after 
 consulting with Lord Amherst, it was determined that his Excel- 
 lency, and the gentlemen of the embassy, should proceed without 
 delay to Batavia in the barge, with a picked crew, commanded 
 by the Junior Lieutenant, (Mr. Hoppner;) one of the cutters was 
 also prepared to accompany them, for the purpose of assisting in 
 case of attack or accident. The master of the Alceste was sent 
 on board the latter to navigate the boats. At this season there 
 was no probability of the passage to Batavia exceeding sixty hours, 
 the distance being only one hundred and ninety seven miles; the 
 inconvenience to which his Excellency would be subjected was, 
 consequently, very limited in duration; and much additional 
 expedition in the despatch of relief might be expected from his 
 personal exertions at Batavia. The stock of liquors and provis- 
 ions furnished to the boats was necessarily very small, and only 
 sufficient on very short allowance to support existence for four or 
 five days; only seven gallons of water could be spared for the 
 whole party, consisting of forty-seven persons; but they were 
 fortunately visited by a heavy fall of rain on the day after their 
 departure, which more than supplied the place of what had already 
 been expended. 
 
 The number left behind was two hundred men and boys and 
 one woman. The first measure of Captain Maxwell, after fixing 
 a party to dig a well in a spot which was judged, from a combina- 
 tion of circumstances, the most likely to find water, was to remove 
 our bivouac to the top of the hill, where we could breathe a cooler 
 and purer air, a place, in all respects, not only better adapted to 
 the preservation of our health, but to our defence in case of at- 
 tack. A path was cut upwards, and a party employed in clearing 
 away and setting fire to the underwood on the summit. This last 
 operation tended much to free us from myriads of ants, and of 
 snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and other reptiles, which, in such 
 a place and climate, generally abound. Othe.rs were employed 
 in removing upwards our small stock of provisions, which were 
 deposited, under a strict guard, in a sort of natural magazine, 
 formed by the tumbling together of some huge masses of rock on 
 the highest part of this eminence. On board the wreck a party 
 was stationed, endeavoring to gain any accession they could to 
 35* 
 
414 THK LOSS OF THE AI.CKSTE. 
 
 our stock of provisions and arms, and to save any public stores 
 that could be found. There was a coininunication for this purpose 
 between the shore and the ship whenever the tide permitted 
 For the last two days every one had experienced much misery 
 from thiist; a small cask of water (the only one which could ho 
 obtained from the ship) was scarcely equal t;> a pint each in tho 
 course of that period; and perhaps no question was ever so anx- 
 iously re])eated as, "What hope from the well?" About eleven 
 at night the diggers had got, by rather a tortuous direction,) on 
 account of large stones,) as far down as twenty feet, when they 
 came to a clayey or marly soil, that above it being a red earth, 
 which seemed rather moist, and had nothing saline in the taste. 
 At a little past midnight, a bottle of muddy water was brought the 
 captain as a specimen; and, the moment it was understood to be 
 fresh, the rush to the well was such as to impede the workmen; 
 therefore it became necessary to plant sentries to enable them to 
 complete their task, and permit the water to settle a little. For- 
 tunately, about this time a heavy shower of rain fell, and, by 
 spreading sheets, tablecloths, Slc, and wringing them, some relief 
 was afforded. There are few situations in which men, exposed 
 without shelter, to a torrent of rain would, as in the present in- 
 stance, hail that circumstance as a blessing; bathing in the sea 
 was also resorted to by many in order to drink by absorption, and 
 they fancied it afforded relief. 
 
 " Thursday, 20th. This morning the Captain, ordering all 
 hands together, stated to them in a few words, that every man, 
 by the regulations of the navy, was as lial.le to answer for his 
 conduct on the present as on any other occasion; that, as long 
 as he lived, the same discipline should be exerted, and, if neces- 
 sary, with greater rigor than on board; a discipline for the gene- 
 ral welfare, which he trusted every sensible man of the party must 
 see the necessity of maintaining; assuring them, at the same time, 
 he would have much pleasure in recommending those who dis- 
 tinguished themselves by the regularity and propriety of their 
 conduct; that the provisions we had been able to save should be 
 served out, aHhough necessarily with a very sparing hand, yet 
 with the most rigid equality to all ranks, until we obtained that 
 relief which he trusted would soon follow the arrival of Lord 
 Amherst at Java. 
 
 " During this day the well afforded a pint of water for each 
 man; it had a sweetish milk-and-water taste, something like the 
 |uice of the cocoa-nut, but nobody found fault with it; on the 
 contrary, it dilfused that sort of happiness which only they can 
 feel who have felt the horrible sensation of thirst under a vertical 
 ♦un, subject at the same time to a harassing and fatiguing duty. 
 This day was employed in getting up every thing from the foot 
 of the hill; boats passing to the ship; but, unfortunately, almost 
 every thing of real vali 5 to us in our present case, was undei 
 
THE LOSS OF THE ALCESTE. 415 
 
 water. We were in hopes, however, that, as no bad weather 
 was likely to happen, we Height be enabled, by scuttling at lovr 
 water, or by burning her upper works, to acquire many useful 
 articles. 
 
 " On Friday (21st) the party stationed at the ship found them- 
 selves, soon after daylight, surrounded by a number of Malay 
 proas, apparently well armed, and full of men. Without a single 
 sword or musket for defence, they had jjst time to throw them- 
 selves into the boat alongside, and pusli for the shore, chased br 
 the pirates, who, finding two of our other boats push out to their 
 assistance, returned to the ship and took possession of her. Soon 
 afterwards it was reported, from the look-out rock, that the sav- 
 ages, armed with spears, were landing at a point about two miles 
 off. Under all the depressing circumstances attending shipwreck 
 — of hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and menaced by a ruthless foe, 
 it was glorious to see the British spirit stanch and unsubdued. 
 The order was given for every man to arm himself in the best way 
 he could; and it was obeyed with the utmost promptitude and 
 alacrity. Rude pike-staves were formed, by cutting down young 
 trees; small swords, dirks, knives, chisels, and even large spike 
 nails sharpened, were firmly affixed to the ends of these poles; 
 and those who could find nothing better, hardened the end of the 
 wood in the fire, and bringing it to a sharp point, formed a tole- 
 rable weapon. There were, perhaps, a dozen cutlasses; the 
 marines had about thirty muskets and bayonets, but could muster 
 no more than seventy-five ball cartridges among the whole party. 
 We had fortunately preserved some loose powder drawn from the 
 upper deck guns after the ship had struck, (for the magazine was 
 under water in five minutes,) and the marines, by hammering 
 their buttons round, and by rolling up pieces of broken bottles in 
 cartridges, did their best to supply themselves with a sort of 
 iangrage which would have some effect at close quarters; and 
 strict orders were given not to throw away a single shot until sure 
 of their aim. Mr. Cheffy, the carpenter, and his crew, under the 
 direction of the Captain, were busied in forming a sort of abattis, 
 by felling trees, and enclosing in a circular shape the ground we 
 occupied; and, by interweaving loose branches with the stakes 
 driven in among these, a breastwork was constructed, which 
 afforded us some cover, and must naturally impede the progress 
 of any enemy unsupplied with artillery. That part of the island 
 we had landed on was a narrow ridge, not above a musket shot 
 across, b<iunded on one side by the sea, and on the other by a 
 creek, extending upwards of a mile inland, and nearly communi- 
 cating with the sea at its head. Our hill was the outer point of 
 this tongue, and its shape might be verv well represented by an 
 inverted punch bowl; the circle on which the bowl stands \rOuld 
 tiien show the fortification, and the space within it our citadel. 
 
 " It appeared by the report of scouts, a short time after tba 
 
416 THE LOSS OF TIJE ALCESTE. 
 
 first account, that the iNIahiys had not actually landed, but had 
 taken possession of some rocks near this point, on which they 
 deposited a quantity of plunder brought from the ship; and during 
 the day they continu-cd inakinc: these predatory trips. 
 
 " In the evening all hands were mustered under arms, and a mot- 
 ley group they presented; it was gratifying, however, to observe, 
 that, rude as were their implements of defence, there seemed to 
 be no want of spirit to use them, if occasion oifered. The officers 
 and men were now marshalled regularly into different divisions 
 and companies, their various posts assigned, and otht arrange- 
 ments made. An officer and party were ordered to take charge 
 of the boats for the night; and they were hauled closer into the 
 landing place. An alarm wliich occurred during the night showed 
 the benelit of these regulations; for, on a sentry challenging a 
 noise among the bushes, every one was at his post in an instant, 
 and without the least confusion. 
 
 "On Saturday morning, (!2'2d,) some of the Malay boats ap- 
 proached the place where ours were moored; and, with the view 
 of ascertaining whether they had any inclination to communicate 
 on friendly terms, the gig, with an officer and four hands, pulled 
 gently towards them, waving the bough of a tree, (a general sym- 
 bol of peace every where,) showing the usual demonstrations of 
 friendship, and of a desire to speak to them; but all was vain, for 
 they were merely reconnoitring our position, cuid immediately 
 pulled back to their rock. 
 
 " The second Lieutenant (Mr. Hay) was now ordered, with 
 the barge, cutter, and gig, armed in the best way we could, to 
 proceed to the ship, and regain possession of her, either by fair 
 means ob by force; the pirates not appearing at this time to have 
 more than eighty men. Those on the rocks, seeing our boats ap- 
 proach, threw all their plunder into their vessels and made off. 
 
 " Two of their largest proas were now at work on the ship; 
 but, on observing their comrades abandon the rock, and the ad- 
 vance of the boats, they also made sail away, having previously 
 set lire to the ship; which they did so effectually, that in a few 
 minutes the flames burst from every port, and she was enveloped 
 in a cloud of smoke. The boats were unable to board her, and 
 therefore returned. 
 
 " Here was a period to every hope of accommodation with these 
 people — if, indeed, any reasonable hope could ever have been en- 
 tertained on that head. The Malays, more especially those wan- 
 dering and piratical tribes who roam about the coasts of Borneo, 
 Billiton, and the wilder parts of Sumatra, are a race of savages, 
 perhaps the most merciless and inhuman to be found in any part 
 of the world. The Battas are literally cannibals. In scttmg fire 
 to the ship, they gave a decided proof of their disposition towards 
 us; but, although certainly with no goot intenti )n, they d'id mere- 
 •y what we intended to do; for, by burnmg her upper works ana 
 
THE LOSS OF THE ALCESTE 41 
 
 decks, every thing buoyant could R .at up from below, and be more 
 easily laid hold of. 
 
 " The ship continued burning during the wiiole of the night; 
 and the flames, which could be seen through the openings of the 
 trees, shed a melancholy glare around, and excited the mosi 
 mournful ideas. This night, also, all hands were suddenly under 
 arms again, from a marine firing his musket at what he very 
 properly considered a suspicious character near his post, who ap- 
 peared advancing upon him, and refused to answer after being 
 re|)eatedly hailed. It turned out afterwards that the branch of a 
 tree, half cut through the day before, had given away, under one 
 of a race of large baboons, which we found about this time disput 
 ed the possession of the island with us. At the well, where there 
 generally was kept a good fire at night, on account of the mosqui- 
 toes, the sentries had more than once been alarmed by these 
 gentlemen showing their black faces from behind the trees. They 
 became so exceedingly troublesome to some ducks we had saved 
 from the wreck, (seizing and carrying them up the trees, and 
 letting them fall down again when alarmed,) that on several occa- 
 sions they left their little yard, and came up among the people, 
 when the monkeys got among them; thus instinctively preferring 
 the society of man for protection. 
 
 "On Sunday morning, ("i^d,) the boats were sent to the still 
 smoking wreck; and some flour, a few cases of wine, and a cask 
 of beer, had floated up. This last God-send was announced just 
 at the conclusion of divine service, which was this morning held 
 in the mess-tent; and a pint was ordered to be immediately served 
 out to each man, which called forth three cheers. This seems to 
 be the only style in which a British seaman can give vent to the 
 warmer feelings of his heart. It is his mode of thanksgiving for 
 benefits received; and it equally serves him to honor his friend, 
 to defy his enemy, or to proclaim victory. This day we continued 
 improving our fence, and clearing away a glacis immediately 
 around it, that we might see and have fair play with these barbari- 
 ans, should they approach. They had retired behind a little islet, 
 called Pulo Chalacca, or Misfortune's Isle, about two mile.s from 
 us, and seemed waiting there for reinforcements; for some of their 
 party had made sail towards Billiton. 
 
 " Monday morning, (24,) the boats, as yesterday, went to the 
 wreck, and returned with some casks of flour, only partially dam- 
 aged; a few cases of wine, and about forty boarding pikes, with 
 eighteen muskets, were also laid hold of With the loose powder 
 secured out of the great guns in the first instance, Mr. Holman, 
 the gunner, had been actively employed forming nmsket-car- 
 tridges; and by melting down some pewter basins and jugs, with 
 a small quantity of lead lately obtained from the wreck, balls were 
 cast in clay moulds, increasing not a little our confidence and se- 
 curity. A quart of water each had been our daily allowance frona 
 
118 THE LOSS OF THE ALCESTK. 
 
 the well hitlioito; and on tliis day a second was completed neai 
 the foo* of tl»e hill in another direction, which not only supplied 
 clearer water, but in greater plenty; and we could now, without 
 restriction, indulije in the luxury of a long drink — not caring even 
 to excite thirst, in order to enjoy that luxury in a higher perfec- 
 tion. 
 
 "On Tuesday, (25th,) the boats made their usual trip; soir3 
 more cases of wine, and a kw boarding-pikes, were obtained, 
 both excellent articles in their way, in the hands of men who are 
 inclined to entertain either their friends or their foes. On shore 
 we were employed completing the paths to the wells, and felling 
 trees which intercepted our view of the sea. 
 
 " Wednesday (26th,) at daylight, two of the pirate proas, with 
 each a canoe astern, were discovered close in with the cove where 
 our boats were moored. Lieutenant Hay, (a straight-forward 
 sort of a fellow,) who had the guard that night at the boats, and 
 of course slept in them, immediately dashed at the Malays with 
 the barge, cutter, and gig. On perceiving this, they cut adrift 
 their canoes, and made all sail, chased by our boats. They rather 
 distanced the cutter and gig, but the barge gained upon them. 
 On closing, the Malays evinced every sign of defiance, placing 
 themselves in the most threatening attitudes, and firing their swivels 
 at the barge. This was returned by Mr. Hay with the only mus- 
 ket he had in the boat; and, as they closed nearer, the Malays 
 commenced throwing their javelins and darts, several falling into 
 the barge, but without wounding any of the men. Soon after 
 they were grappled by our fellows, when three of them havfhg 
 been shot, and a fourth knocked down with the but-end of the 
 musket, five more jumped overboard and drowned themselves, 
 (evidently disdaining quarter,) and two were taken prisoners, one 
 of whom was severely wounded. This close style of fighting is 
 termed by seamen man-handling an enemy. 
 
 " The Malays had taken some measures to sink their proa, for 
 she went down almost immediately. Nothing could exceed the des 
 perate ferocity of these people. One who had been shot through 
 the body, but who was not quite dead, on being removed into the 
 barge, with a view of saving him, (as his own vessel was sinking,) 
 furiously grasped a cutlass which came within his reach; aad it 
 was not without a struggle wrenched from his hand;, he died in 
 a few minutes. The consort of this proa, firing a parting shot, 
 bore up round the north end of the island and escaped. Their 
 canoes* (which we found very useful to us,) were also brought on 
 
 • " During the time the hosts were absent in chase, Mr. Fisher, anxious to secure one o( 
 the Cannes, which was driftini; p-ist with the curren-t, swatn out towards it. When within a 
 short distance of his object, an enormous shark was seen hovering near him, crossing and 
 recrossine, as they are sometimes observed to do liefore making a seizure. To have called 
 out might probably have unnerved him, (for he was unconscious of his situation;) and it wa« 
 resolved tolethitn proceed without reniark to the canoe, which was the nearest point of 
 •ecurity. Happily he succeeded in getting safely into it; whilst the shark, by his too long 
 i»ltif, lo»t a very wholesome breakfast." 
 
THE LOSS OF THE ALCESTE 419 
 
 shore,, containing several articles of plunder from the ship. They 
 appeared to be the two identical proas which set fire to her. The 
 prisoners, (the one rather elderly, the other young,) when brought 
 on shore, seemed to have no hope of being permitted to live, and 
 ««ullenly awaited their fate; but, on the wounds of the younger 
 being dressed, the hands of the other untied, and food oifered to 
 them, with other marks of kindness, they became more cheerful, 
 and appeared especially gratified at seeing one of their dead 
 companions, who had been brought on shore, decently buried. 
 
 " The Malays are a people of very unprepossessing aspect; 
 their bodies of a deep bronze color ; their black teeth and reddened 
 lips, (from chewing the beetle-nut and siri,) their gaping nostrils, 
 and lank clotted hair hanging about their shoulders and over 
 their scowling countenances, give them altogether a fiendlike and 
 murderous look. They are likewise an unjoyous race, and seldom 
 smile. 
 
 " The state of one of the wounds received by the INIalay, (his 
 knee joint being penetrated, and the bones much injured,) would 
 have justified, more particularly in this kind of field practice, 
 amputation; but, on consideration that it would be impossible to 
 convince him of this being done with the intention of benefitting 
 him, and might have the appearance of torture, which it was not 
 improbable might suggest the idea of amputation and other opera- 
 tions to them, in the event of any or all of us falling into their 
 hands, it was determined to try the effect of a good constitution, 
 and careful attention. A little wigwam was built, and a blanket 
 and other comforts given to him, his comrade being appointed his 
 cook and attendant. They refused at first the provisions we offer- 
 ed them; but, on giving them some rice to prepare in their own 
 way, they seemed satisfied. Never expecting quarter when over- 
 powered in their piratical attempts, and having been generally 
 tortured when taken alive, may account for the others drowning 
 themselves. 
 
 'In the forenoon, immediately after this rencounter, fourteen 
 proas and smaller boats appeared standing across from the Banca 
 uide; and soon after they anchored behind Pulo Chalacca. Sev- 
 eral of their people landed, and carrying up some bundles on their 
 shoulders, left them in the wood, and returned for more. We had 
 some hope from the direction in which they first appeared, as well 
 as their anchoring at that spot, (the rendezvous agreed upon at 
 the departure of Lord Amherst,) that they might have been sent 
 from Batavia to our relief 
 
 " The small flag, belonging to the embassy, was brought down 
 and displayed on the look-out rock ; the strangers each immediately 
 hois.ed some flag at their mast-heads. An.xious to know still 
 more about them, INIr. Sykes was allowed to advance with the 
 union-lack, accompanied by some rnore of the young gentlemen, 
 along the strand, to a considerable distance; and soon after some 
 
«ZU THE LOSS OK TI!E AI.CESTi!. 
 
 of ihcir party, wilh a flag, set off to meet tliciii. As they mutually 
 approached, the Malays dropped a little in the rear of their flag- 
 bearer, and laid down tlicir arms; ours also fell astern, and the 
 two ancients, (or color men.) wading into a creek which separa- 
 ted them, cautiously met each other. The Malay salcnncd a good 
 deal; many fuie Yorkshire bows were made on the other side; 
 shaking hands was the next ceremony, and then, joining flags, 
 they walked up arm and arm to the place where the Captain and 
 several others were stationed. Satisfied now that they must bo 
 friends sent to our assistance, they were welcomed with cheers, and 
 every countenance was gladdened. But our joy was of short 
 duration; lor although their flag was laid submissively at the 
 Captain's feet, and all were sufficiently civil in their deportment, 
 yet they turned out to be mere wanderers, employed in gathering 
 a sort of seaweed, found on the coast of these (but in still greater 
 abundance among the Pelew) islands, said by some to be an article 
 of commerce with the Chinese epicures, who use it like the bird- 
 nests in their SOU] s. All this was made out chiefly by signs, ad- 
 ded to a few Malay words which some understood. 
 
 " JMr. Hay, with his division armed, proceeded down to their 
 anchorage, himself and some other officers going on board with 
 their Rajah, as they styled him, who expressed a great desire to 
 see the Captain on board, and sent him a present of a piece of 
 fish and some cocoa-nut milk. During the night many schemes 
 were proposed as to the best mode of negotiating with these peo- 
 ple. Some thought that, by the hope of reward,. they might be 
 induced to carry part of us to Java, and our four remaining boats 
 would then be equal to the conveyance of the rest. Others, ad- 
 verting to the treacherous conduct of the Malays, and the great 
 temptation to nmrder us when in their power, from that sort of 
 property still in our possession, and to them of great value, con- 
 sidered it safest to seize upon and disarm them, carrying ourselves 
 to Batavia, and then most amply to remunerate them for any in- 
 convenience they might have sustained from being pressed into 
 the service. 
 
 " The morning of Thursday, the 2Tth, however, perfectly re- 
 lieved us from any further discussion on the subject, the Rajah and 
 his suite having proceeded to plunder the wreck, which by this 
 time they had espied. It is probable they were not certain of our 
 real situation on the first evening, but might have supposed, from 
 seeing the uniforms, colors, and other military appearance, that 
 some settlement, as at Minto, in the island of Banca, had 
 been established there ; and this may also account for their civility 
 in the first instance; for, from the moment their harpy-like spirit 
 was excited by the wreck, and they saw our real condition, there 
 were no more oflerings offish or of cocoa-nut milk. 
 
 " To have sent the boats openly to attack them was judged im- 
 politic; i would only have driven them off for a moment, and put 
 
THE LOSS OF THE ALCE5TE. 421 
 
 them on their guard against surprise by night, should it be thought 
 :»ecessary in a day or two to do so. They could deprive us of 
 little; for the copper bolts and iron work, wliich they were novr 
 most interested about, were not to us of material importance. 
 
 " We had the day before moved the boats into another cove, 
 more out of sight, from the overspreading branches of the trees, 
 and safer in case of attack, being commanded by two strong little 
 forts, one having a rude draw-bridge, erected on the rocks imme- 
 diately above it, and wattled in, where an officer and piquet were 
 nightly placed; and a new serpentine path was cut down to tiiis 
 inlet, communicating with our main position aloft. 
 
 " On Friday, the !28th, the Malays were still employed on the 
 wreck. A boat approached us in the forenoon; but, on the gig 
 going out to meet it, they refused to correspond, a.id returned to 
 their party. No relief having appeared from Batavia, and the 
 period being elapsed at which, as was now thought, we had reason 
 to expect it, measures were taken, by repairing the launch and 
 constructing a fine raft, to give us additional powers of transport- 
 ing ourselves from our present abode, before our stock of provi- 
 sions was entirely exhausted. 
 
 " On Saturday, the first of March, the Malays acquired a great 
 accession of strength, by the arrival of fourteen more proas from 
 th«^ northward, probably of the old party, who joined in breaking 
 up the remains of the wreck. 
 
 " At daylight, on Sunday the 2d, still greater force having join- 
 ed them during the night, the pirates, leaving a number at work 
 on the wreck, advanced with upwards of twenty of their heaviest 
 vessels towards our landing place; fired one of their patereroes; 
 beat their gongs, and, making a hideous yelling noise, they an- 
 chored in a line about a cable's length from our cove. We were 
 instantly under arms, the party covering the boats strengthened, 
 and scouts sent out to watch their motions, as some of their boats 
 had gone up the creek, at the back of our position, and to beat 
 about, lest any should be lying in ambush from the land. About 
 this time the old Malay prisoner, who was under charge of sentries 
 at the well, and who had been incautiously trusted by them to cut 
 some wood for the fire, hearing the howling of his tribe, left his 
 wounded comrade to shift for himself, ran ofi' into the wood, and 
 escaped, carrying with him his hatchet. Finding, after \vaiting a 
 short time in this state of preparation, that they made no attempt 
 to land, an officer was sent a little outside the cove in a canoe, 
 waving in a friendly manner, to try how they would act. Affer 
 Bome deliberation, one of their boats, with several men armed 
 with creeses, or iheir crooked daggers, approached; here, as 
 usual, little could be made out, except a display of their maraud- 
 ing spirit, by taking a lancy to the shirt and trousers of one of the 
 voung gentlemen in the cai:oe; but, on his refusing to give thena 
 ip, thev used no force. 
 
 36 
 
i'2'2 THE LOSS OV TiiL AI.CESTE, 
 
 " A letter V. its iio-.v wiitlcii, iiiul addressed to the chief authority 
 at JNliiito, a small settleiuciit on tlie north-west point of Banna, 
 stating the sitiiiilion in which we were placed, and requesting hirr. 
 to forward, if in iiis power, one or two small vessels to ns, with a 
 little hread and salt provisions, and some amnmnition. Again the 
 otiicer went out in the canoe, and was again met hy the Malay 
 boat. This hitter was given to them, the word Minto repeatedly 
 pronounced, which they seemed to understand, the direction 
 pointed out, and signs made that on their return with an answer 
 they should he rewarded with abundance of dollars, showing them 
 one as a specimen. This was done more to try them, than with 
 any hope of their performing the servive; for, although a boat 
 went down to Puio Chalacca, where they appeared to have some- 
 body in superior authority, yet none took tlie direction of Banca. 
 Meantime their force rapidJy increased, their proas and boats of 
 diflerent sizes amounting to fifty. The larger had from sixteen to 
 twenty men, the smaller about seven or eight; so that, averaging 
 them at the lo\\est, ten each, they had fully five hundred men. 
 The wreck seemed now nearly exhausted, and appeared to be a 
 very secondary object, knowing the chief booty must be in our 
 possession; and they blockaded us with increased rigor, drawing' 
 closer into the cove, more especially at high water, fearful lest our 
 boats, being afloat at that period, should push out and escape* 
 them. In the afternoon some of the Rajah's people, whom we at 
 first considered our friends, made their appearance, as if seeking 
 a parley; and on communicating with them, gave us to under- 
 stand by signs, and as many words as could be made out, that all 
 the Malays, except their party, were extremely hostile to us; that 
 it was their determination to attack us that night, and urging also 
 that some of their people should sleep up the hill, in order to pro- 
 tect us. Their former conduct and present connexions displayed 
 so evidently the treachery of this offer, that it is needless to say 
 that it was rejected; giving them to understand we could trust to 
 ourselves. They immediately returned to their gang, who cer- 
 iainly assumed a most menacing attitude. In the evening, when 
 the officers and men were assembled as usual under arms, in order 
 to inspect them, and settle the watches tor the night, the Captain 
 spoke to them with much animation, almost verbatim as follows; 
 
 " ' My lads, you must all have observed this day, as well as my- 
 self, the great increase of the enemy's force — for enemies we must 
 now consider them — and the threatening posture they have assum- 
 ed. I have, on various grounds, strong reason to believe they wil 
 attack us this night. I do not wish to conceal our real state, be- 
 cause I think there is not a man here who is afraid to face any 
 sort of dangei^. We are now strongly fenced in, and our position 
 is in all respects so good, that, armed as we are, we ought tc 
 make a formidable defence against even regular troops; what, then, 
 would be thought of us if we allowed ourselves to be surprised 
 
THE I.OSS OF TliE ALCESTE. 423 
 
 by a set of naked savages, with their spears and creeses? It is 
 true they have swivels in their boats, but they cannot act here; I 
 have not observed that they have any matchlocks or muskets; but 
 if they have, so have we. 1 do not wisii to deceive you as to the 
 means of resistance in our power. When we were first tlirown to- 
 gether on shore, we were ahnost defenceless!; only seventy-five ball 
 cartridges could be mustered; we have now sixteen hundred. 
 They cannot, I believe, send up more than five hundred men; but 
 with two hundred such as now stand around me, I do not fear a 
 thousand, nay, filteen hundred of them. I have the fullest confi- 
 dence we shall beat them; the pikemen standing firm, we can 
 give them such a volley of musketry as they will be little prepar- 
 ed for; and when we find they are thrown into confusion, we will 
 sally out among them, chase them into the water, and ten to one 
 but we secure their vessels. Let every man, therefore, be on the 
 alert, with his arms in his hands, and should these barbarians this 
 night attempt our hill, I trust we shall convince them that they 
 are dealing with Britons.' 
 
 " Perhaps three jollier hurrahs were never given than at the 
 conclusion of this short but well-timed address. The woods fairly 
 echoed again; whilst the piquet at the cove, and those stationed 
 at the wells, the instant it caught their ear, instinctively joined 
 their sympathetic cheers to the general chorus. 
 
 '* There was something like unity, and concord in such a sound, 
 (one neither resembling the feeble shout nor savage yell,) which, 
 rung in the ears of these gentlemen, no doubt had its effect; for 
 about this time (8 P. M.) they were observed making signals with 
 lights to some of their tribe behind the islet. If ever seamen or 
 marines had a strong inducement to fight, it was on the present 
 occasion, for every thing conduced to animate them. The feeling 
 excited by a savage, cruel, and inhospitable aggression on the 
 par* of the Malays — an aggression adding calamity to misfortune 
 — roiised every mind to a spirit of just revenge; and the appeal 
 now made to them on the score of national character was not likely 
 to let that feeling cool. That they might come, seemed to be the 
 anxious wish of every heart. After a slender but cheerful repast, 
 the men laid down as usual on their arms, whilst the Captain re- 
 mained with those on guard to superintend his arrangements. An 
 alarm during fhe night shov/ed the effect of preparation on the 
 people's minds, for all, like lightning, were at their posts, and re- 
 turned growling and disappointed because the alarm was false. 
 
 " Daylight, on Monday the 3d, discovered the pirates exactly 
 in the same position in front of us; ten more vessels having joined 
 them during the night, making their number now at least six hun- 
 dred men. The plot began to thicken, and our situation oecame 
 hourly more critical. Their force rapidly accumulating, and ouj 
 •ittle stock of provisions daily shortening, rendered some des- 
 perate measure imtnediately necessary. 
 
424 THE LOSS OF TUK AI.CE3TE. 
 
 "That which seemed most feasible was, by a sudden night 
 attack, with our lour boats well armed, to carry by boarding some 
 of their vessels; and, by manning them, repeat our attack with 
 increased force, taking more, or dispersing t!iem. 'J'lie possession 
 of" some of tl eir proas, in addition to our own boats, taking into 
 consideration that our numbers would be thinned on the occasion, 
 niiglit enable us to shove off for Java, in defiance ot" them. Any 
 attempt to move on a raft, with their vessels playing round it aim- 
 ed with swivels, was evidently impossible. Awful as our situation 
 now was, and every hour becoming more so, starvation staring us 
 •.n the face on one hand, and witht>ut a hope of mercy from the 
 savages on the other, yet were there no symptoms of depression, 
 or gloomy despair; every mind seemed buoyant; and, if any es- 
 Limate of the general feeling could be collected from countenances, 
 from the manner and expressions of all, there appeared to be form- 
 ed in every breast a calm determination to dash at them, and be 
 successful; or to fall, as became men, in the attempt to be free 
 
 " About noon on this day, whilst schemes and proposals were 
 lying about, as to the mode of executing the measures in view, 
 Mr. Johnstone, ever on the alert, who had mounted the look-out- 
 ;.ree, one of the loftiest on the summit of our hill, descried a sail at 
 1 gieat distance to the southward, which he thought larger tlian a 
 Malay vessel. The buzz of conversation was in a moment hush- 
 ed, and every eye fixed anxiously on the tree for the next report; 
 d signal-man and telescope being instantly sent up. She was now 
 lost sight of from a dark squall overspreading that part of the 
 horizon; but, in about twenty minutes, she emerged from the cloud, 
 and was decidedly announced to be a square-rigged vessel. ' Are 
 you quite sure of that?' was eagerly inquired. ' Quite certain,' 
 was the reply; ' it is either a ship or a brig, standing towards the 
 island under all sail.' The joy this happy sight infused, and the 
 gratitude of every heart at this prospect of deliverance, may be 
 more easily conceived than described. It occasioned a sudden 
 transition of the mind from one train of thinking to another; as if 
 waking from a disagreeable dream. We immediately displayed 
 our colors on the highest branch of the tree, to attract attention, lest 
 she should only be a passing stranger. 
 
 "The pirates soon after this discovered the ship, (a signal hav- 
 ing been made with a gun by those anchored behind Pulo Chal- 
 acca,) which occasioned an evident stir among them. As the 
 water was ebbing fasi, it was thought possible, by an unexpected 
 rush out to the edge of the reef, to get some of them under fire, 
 and secure them. They seemed, however, to have suspected our 
 purpose; for the moment the seamen and marines appeared from 
 jfnder the mangroves, the ntaiesi proa let fly her swivel among a 
 party of the officers, who had been previously wading out^vartis; 
 and the whole instantly getting tnioer weigh, made sail off, fired 
 at by our people; but unfortunaieiy without effect; for, in addi 
 
OLD IRONSIDES. 425 
 
 tion to the dexterous management of their boats, the wind enabled 
 them to weather the rocks. It was fortunate, however, this attach 
 on them took place, and that it had the eiiect ot^riving them away; 
 for, had they stood their ground, we were as much in their power 
 as ever — the ship being obliged to anchor eight miles to leeward 
 of the island, and eleven or twelve from our position, on account 
 of tiie wind and current; and, as this wind and current continued 
 (he same for some time afterwards, they might most easily, with 
 their force, have cut off all communication between us. Indeed, 
 it was a pro\idential and most extraordinary circumstance, during 
 this monsoon that the ship was able to fetch up as far as s)ie did. 
 The blockade being now raised, the gig, with Messrs. Sykes and 
 Abbot, was despatched to the ship, which proved to be the Ter 
 nate, one of the Company's cruisers, sent by Lord Amherst to our 
 assistance, having on board Alessrs. Ellis an'^ Hoppuer, who em- 
 barked on the day of their arrival at Batavia, and pushed back to 
 the island." 
 
 " OLD IRONSIDES."* 
 
 Ay ! pull her t«.ttcred ensign down, 
 
 Long has it waved on high, 
 Aftd many a heart has danced to see 
 
 That banner in the sky ; 
 Beneatli it rung the battle shout, 
 
 And burst the cannon's roar — 
 The meteor of the ocean air 
 
 Shall sweep the clouds no more. 
 
 Her deck, once red with heroes' blood, 
 
 Where knelt the vanquished foe. 
 When winds were hurrying o'er the flood 
 
 And waves were white below, 
 No more shall feel the conqueror's tread 
 
 Or know the conquered knee ; 
 The harpies of the shore shall pluck 
 
 The 'eagle of the sea ! 
 
 Oh better that her shattered hulk 
 
 Should sink beneath the wave ; 
 Her thunders shook the mighty deep 
 
 And there should be her grave. 
 Nail to the mast her holy flag, 
 
 Set every threadbare sail, 
 And give her to the god of storms — 
 
 The lightiiing and the gale ' 
 
 'Vide Frontispiece. 
 
 36* 
 
4S6 
 
 KOTZEBUE. 
 
 Captain Kotzebue sailed from CronstadI in a frigate of con- 
 siderable size, with a cargo for Kamschatka. Hid orders were 
 to proceed from thence to the north-west coast of America, for 
 the protection of the Russian company at Ross — to remain on that 
 station a year, and then to return to Cronstadt. In going and 
 returning lie was left wliolly to his own discretion, and lie turned 
 the liberty allowed him, to the prosecution of geographical dis- 
 covery. Starting from Cronstadt, in the summer ot 1823, he first 
 landed at Portsmouth, and next at Rio Janeiro, where he met with 
 Lord Cochrane, and made his acquaintance. Lord Cochrane 
 had recently quitted Chili, and was then in the Brazil service, 
 and longing to enter the Russian, for the purpose of assisting the 
 Greeks and fighting the Turks. " War seems to him," says 
 Captain Kotzebue, " as indispensable, and struggle in defence of a 
 good cause the highest enjoyment." The captain, however, is 
 puzzled how to reconcile this, which he calls enthusiasm, with 
 the noble lord's passion for money. Doubling Cape Horn, with 
 scarcely a gale to ripple the waters, he stopped next on the coast 
 of Chili, where though he was welcomed with apparent cordiality, 
 suspicions were excited — the natives were full of alarms about 
 t.he Spaniards, and he found it prudent to hasten his departure 
 From the port of Talcuquanha, he struck into the south-east trade 
 wind, and three thousand or four thousand miles swept over in 
 three weeks, took him to O Tahaita (for the O, it seems, is only 
 the article), where he spent some time — long enough to ascertain 
 the degenerating condition of the island. The advance so rapidly 
 made by the activity and energy of Pomareh, is fast retrograding. 
 The navy, of which so much was said a few years ago, has almost 
 wholly vanished. Three or four missionaries, themselves igno- 
 rant men, rule despotically; and praying and preaching, Captain 
 Kotzebue found substituted for more active pursuits. So com- 
 pletely cowed are the natives, by the theocratic discipline of these 
 men, that they allow themselves to be driven to prayers by the 
 cudgel. The religion of the islanders. Captain Kotzebue affirms, 
 is mere formality. The missionaries, it is true, have abolished 
 some superstitions, but only to make way for others scarcely less 
 gross. Thieving and concubinage are under some restraint, but 
 bigotry and hypocrisy flourish vigorously, and the Tahaitians are 
 now any thing but the open and benevolent beings they appeared 
 to their first discoverers. If human sacrifices are abandoned, it 
 nas been at the expense of a large majority of the population 
 They were once estimated at one hundred and fifty thousand; and 
 do not now exceed eight thousand — the effect of the chief's 
 
KOTZEBCE. 421 
 
 TTaio) conversion, who butchered right and left, and almost cleared 
 the island. There must be some exaggeration here, lor the 
 massacre took place in 1797, and Pomareh could never have 
 accomplished what he did with a population of eight thousand. 
 A son of Taio, whom Pomareh destroyed, is still living, — he has, 
 it seems, a party in the island, and Captain Kotzebue anticipated 
 an explosi jn, and a violent end to the present dynasty and the 
 missionary power. 
 
 At O Tahaita, he met with one of Adams's seraglio, lately re- 
 turned to her native home from I'itcairn's Island. P^rom infor- 
 mation received from her, and a« American captain who had 
 recently visited the island, M. Kotzebue learned the now well- 
 known story of the settlement of the mutineers of the Bounty. 
 The JMal du pays had brought the old lady home, but she soon 
 changed her mind again. She found O Tahaita sadly degenerated 
 — it was no longer like the Paradise she had let; nobody could 
 be compared, she said, with her Adams. Missionaries, it seems, 
 are likely to extend their dominion to that peaceful and gentle 
 family. " May Adams's paternal government," says Kotzebue, 
 " never be exchanged for despotism, nor his practical Jessons of 
 piety be forgotten in em|)ty forms of prayer." 
 
 From O Tahaita Kotzebue steered westerly to Navigator's 
 Islands, and beyond — ascertaining the geographical positions of 
 several contested spots, and discovering new lands. Pioceeding 
 then northward he reached the Radack Islands, a group, in abou( 
 ten degrees north and one hundred and seventy east from Green- 
 wich, which he himself discovered in 1816. Landing at Otdia, 
 he was joyfully recognised by many of the natives, and the name 
 of Totabu (their articulation of Kotzebue) was echoed with de- 
 light. The natives of these beautiful islands are represented as 
 gentle and well disposed — very much, indeed, as the O Tahaitiana 
 were originally They have not yet got the missionaries among 
 them. 
 
 On the captain's arrival at the Russian company's settlement, 
 at Ross, on the north-west coast of America, he found his services 
 not required for some months, and he filled up the interval by an 
 excursion to California and the Sandwich islands. In a few 
 months after his return to Ross, he prepared to return home by 
 the sea of China, and the Cape of Good Hope. In his way, he 
 a second time called at O Wahi (Owhyee). He found a con- 
 siderable change. Queen Nomahanna — who stands six feet two, 
 without shoes or stockings, (for none from Europe can she get 
 on, and none, of course, are made at home,) and two ells round^ 
 s governed by the missionaries, and the island, like O Tahaita, 
 s rapidly going backvvards. The chief charm i>f religioi! seemed 
 to the women to be — that they might now eat pork as mucli as 
 they liked, and not be confined solely to dogs' flesh. He met 
 an old man with a book — the captain inquired if he was learning 
 
428 THE llOTJISAY srEAMEH. 
 
 to road — No, he was only making boliovo, to plcuse llip Queen 
 What is the use of iJ, A, Ha? Will it make yams and potatoes 
 grow? Another old man was imploring (he Queen's assistance 
 — " If you won't learn to read," says she, " you may go and 
 drown yourself." Captain Kotzebue in his passage to tlie La- 
 drones and I^hilippines, made some new discoveries, and visited 
 St. Helena in his way home. 
 
 WRECK OF THE ROTHSAY CASTLE STEAMER 
 
 The Rothsay Castle was a steam packet which formerly traded 
 on the Clyde. She belonged to the line of steamers which sailed 
 from liiverpool to Beaumaris and Bangor, and was furnished with 
 one engine only. She was commanded by Lieutenant Atkinson 
 At ten o'clock on the — of August, 1831, — the vessel was appoint- 
 ed to sail from the usual place, George's Pierhead, but a casual 
 delay took place in starting, and it was eleven o'clock before she 
 had got every thing in readiness. Whilst taking passengers on 
 board, a carriage arrived at the Pierhead for embarkation. It be 
 longed to M. W. Foster, Esq. of Regent's park, London, who, 
 with his wife and servant, were conveyed in it to the packet, and 
 took their passage at the same time. They were all subsequently 
 drowned, a little dog which accompanied them being the only sur. 
 vivorof this unfortunate group. When the steamer left the Pier 
 head her deck was thronged with passengers. Tlie captain, crew, 
 musicians, &.c. amounted to fifteen, in addition to whom, it was 
 supposed by persons who saw the vessel sail that one hundred 
 and ten or one hundred and twenty souls were on board. The 
 majority of the passengers consisted of holyday and family part"es, 
 chiefly from country places; and in one of these companies, who 
 came on a journey of pleasure from Bury, the hand of death com- 
 mitted a merciless devastation. It consisted of twenty-six per- 
 sons; in the morning, joyous with health and hilarity, they sat 
 out upon the waves, and when the shades of that evening approach 
 ed, every soul but two saw his last of suns go down. 
 
 The weather was not particularly boisterous at the time she 
 sailed. A severe storm however, had raged in the morning and 
 must have agitated the water on the Banks more than usual. 
 The wind too, blew strongly from the north-west, and the vessel 
 had to contend with the fide, which began to flow soon after she 
 passed the rock. When the steamer arrived oflT the Floating-light, 
 which is stationed about filleen miles from Liverpool, the rough 
 ness of the sea alarmed many of the passengers. — One of the sur- 
 vivors stated, that Mr. Tarry, of Bury, who, with his family, con- 
 
THE ROTHSAV STEAMER. 429 
 
 listing of himself, his wife, their five children, and servant, was 
 on board, being, in common with others, greatly alarmed for his 
 own safety and the safety of those dear to him, went down to the 
 cabin, where the captain was at dinner, and requested him to put 
 back. His reply was, " I think there is a great deal of fear on 
 board, and very little danger. If we were to turn back with 
 passengers, it would never do — we should have no profit." To 
 another gentleman who urged him to put back, he is reported to 
 have said very angrily, "I'm not one of those that turn back." 
 He remained in the cabin two whole hours, and peremptorily re- 
 fused to comply with the repeated requests made to him by the 
 more timid of his passengers to return to Liverpool;, obseiving 
 that if they knew him, they would not make the request. Before 
 dinner, his behavior had been perfectly unexceptionable; but, 
 after he had dined, a very striking ditference was observed in his 
 conduct. He became violent in his manner, and abusive in his 
 language to the men. When an.xiously questioned by the passen- 
 gers, as to the progress the vessel was making, and the time at 
 which she was likely to reach her destination, he returned trifiing, 
 and frequently very contradictory answers. During the early part 
 of the voyage, he had spoken confidently of being able to reach 
 Beaumaris by seven o'clock; but the evening wore away, night 
 came on, and the vessel was still a considerable distance from 
 the termination of her voyage. It was near twelve o'clock when 
 they arrived at the mouth of the Menai Strait, which is about five 
 miles from Beaumaris. The tide, which had been running out of 
 the strait, and which had, consequently, for some time previous 
 retarded the steamer's progress towards her destination, was just 
 on the *.urn. The vessel, according to the statement of two of the 
 seame ■>, and one of the firemen saved, had got round the buoy on 
 the north end of the Dutchman's Bank, and had proceeded up 
 the river as far as the tower on Puffin Island; when suddenly the 
 steam got so low that the engine would not keep her on her proper 
 course. When asked, why there was not steam on, the fireman 
 said, that a deal of water had been finding its way into the vessel 
 all day, and that sometime before she got into the strait, the bilge- 
 pumps were choked. The water in the hold then overflowed the 
 coals; so that, in renewing the fires, a deal of water went in with 
 the coals, slackened the fires, and made it impossible to keep the 
 fleam up. It was clearly the duty of the fireman to give notice 
 oithis occurrence; but he seems not to have mentioned it to the 
 captain. The vessel, which had evidently come fair into the 
 channel, thougli there was no light on the coast to guide her, now 
 drifted, with the ebb tide and north-west wind, towards the Dutch- 
 man's Bank, on the north point of which she struck, her bows stick- 
 ing fast in the sand. Lieutenant Atkinson immediately ordered 
 the man at the helm to put the helm a starboard. The man refused 
 to lo so; but put it to port. The mate, perceiving this, ran aft, 
 
430 THE nOTJlSAY srnAMF.B. 
 
 took the helm from the man, find put it to starboard again. — In thc 
 meantime, the captain and aonic of tlie parist-ngers got the jib up 
 No doubt lie did this intending to wear her round and bring her 
 head to the northward; but in the opinion of nautical men, it 
 could not make the least ditFerence which way her head was turn- 
 ed, as she was on a lee shore, and there was no steam to work 
 her otr. The captain also ordered the passengers first to run aft, 
 in the hope, by removing the pressure from the vessel's stem, to 
 make Iwjr tloat: this failing to produce the desired etiect, he then 
 ordered them to run forward. All the exertions of the captain, 
 the crew and the passengers united were unavailing. The ill- 
 fated vessel stuck still taster in the sands, and all gave them- 
 selves up for lost. The terror of the passengers became excessive. 
 Several of them urged the captain to hoist lights, and make other 
 signals of distress; but he positively refused to do so, assuring 
 the passengers that there was no danger, and telling them several 
 times, that the packet was afloat, and doing well, and on her way; 
 when the passengers knew perfectly well that she was sticking 
 fast in the sand, and her cabins rapidly tilling with water. Doubt- 
 less the unfortunate man was perfectly aware of the imminence of 
 the danger; bu^ we may charitably suppose, that he held such* 
 language for the purpose of preventing alarm which might be fatal. 
 The alarm bell was now rung with so much violence that the clap- 
 per broke, and some of the passengers continued to strike it for 
 some time with a stone. The bell was heard, it is said, at Beau- 
 maris, but, as there was no light hoisted on the mast of the steamer, 
 (a fatal neglect!) those who heard the signal were, of course, igno* 
 rant whence it proceeded. The weather, at this awful moment, 
 was boisterous, but perfectly clear. I'he moon, though slightly 
 overcast, threw considerable light on the surrounding objects. — But 
 a strong breeze blew from the north-west, the tide began to set in 
 with great strength, and a heavy sea beat over the bank on which 
 the steam packet was now firmly and immovably fixed. 
 
 We cannot describe the scene which followed. Certain death 
 seemed now to present itself to all on board, and the most aflecting 
 scenes were exhibited. The females, in particular, uttered the 
 most piercing shric-ks; some locked themselves in each others 
 arms, while others, losing all self-command, tore off their caps 
 and bonnets, in the wildness of despair. A Liverpool pilot, who 
 hai)pened to be in the packet, now raised his voice and exclaimed, 
 " it is all over — we are all lost !" At these words there was a 
 universal despairing shriek. The women and children collected 
 in a knot together, and kept embracing each other, keeping up, 
 all the time, the most dismal lamentations. When tired with 
 crying they lay against each other, with their heads reclined, like 
 inanimate bodies. The steward of the vessel and his wife, who 
 was on board, lashed themselves to the mast, determined to spend 
 their last moments in each other's arms. Several husbands and 
 
THE R0TH5AV STEAMEH. 43J 
 
 wives also met their fate locked in each other's arms; whilst 
 parents clung to their beloved children, — several mothers it is said, 
 having perished with their dear little ones hrnily clasped in their 
 arms. A party of the passengers, about fifteen or twenty, lowered 
 the boat and crowded into it. It was impossible for any open 
 boat to live in such a sea, even though not overloaded, and she 
 tmmediately swamped and went to the bottom, with all who had 
 made this last hopeless effort for self-preservation. 
 
 For some time the vessel, though now irrecoverably lost, con- 
 tinued to resist the action of the waves, and the despairing r.oula 
 on board still struggled with their doom. But hope had forever 
 fled; the packet was beaten and tossed about by the tumultuous 
 waters with a violence which threatened to dash her into fragments 
 at every shock, and the sea now made a continual breach over 
 her. The decks were repeatedly swept by the boiling ocean, and 
 each billow snatched its victims to a watery grave. The unfor- 
 tunate captain and his mate were among the first that perished 
 About thirty or forty passengers were standing upon the poop 
 clinging to each other in hopeless agony, and occasionally uttering 
 the most piteous ejaculations. Whilst trembling thus upon the 
 brink of destruction, and expecting every moment to share the fate 
 which had already overtaken so many of their companions in 
 misery, the poop was discovered to give way; another wave roll- 
 ed on with impetuous iury, and the hinder part of the luckless 
 vessel, with all who sought safety in its frail support, was burst 
 away from its shattered counterpart, and about forty wretched 
 beings hurried through the foaming flood into an eternal world 
 
 " Then rose from sea to sky the wild farewell, 
 Tlien shrieked the timid, and stood still the brave." 
 
 Those who retained any degree of sensibility endeavored to 
 catch at whatever was floating within their reach, with the vain 
 hope of prolonging their lives, though it was certain that life 
 could only lengthen their sufferings. JNIany grasped with frantic 
 despair, at the sliglitest object they could find, but were either too 
 weak to retain their hold, or were forced to relinquish their grasp 
 by the raging of the surge. The rudder was seized by eight of 
 the sinking creatures at the same time, and some of them, were , 
 ultimately preserved. The number of those who clung to the • 
 portion of the wreck which remained upon the bank gradually 
 grew thinner and thinner, as they sunk under their fatigues, or 
 were hurled into the deep by the remorseless waves. At length, 
 about an hour and a half from the time when she struck, the rem- 
 nant of the Rothsay Castle disappeared from the bosom of the 
 ocean, and the remainder of her passengers and crew were pre- 
 cipitated int^ the foaming abyss. 
 
432 NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN W. L. CAZNEAQ. 
 
 NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN W. L. CAZNEAU. 
 
 The Brig Polly, of one hundred and thirty tons burden, sailed 
 ftoni Boston, with a cargo of lumber and provisions, on a voyage 
 to Santii Croix, on the I'itli of December 1811, under the com- 
 mand of captain \V. L. Cazneau — with a mate, four seamen and 
 a cook; Mr. I. S. Hunt and a negro girl of nine years of age, 
 passengers. Nothing inaierial happened until the 15th, when 
 tlx'y had cleared cape Cod, the shoal of Georges, and nearly, as 
 they sup])Osed, crossed the gulf stream, when there came on a 
 violent gale from the i^ouUi-cast, in which the brig labored very 
 hard, which produced a leak that so gained on the pumps as to 
 sound nearly six feet, — when about midnight she was upset, and 
 Mr. Hunt washed overboard! Not having any reason to hope 
 for her righting, by much exertion the weather lanyards were 
 cut away, the deck load having been before thrown over and the 
 lashings all gone; in about half an hour the mainmast went by 
 tiie board, and soon after the foremast, when she righted, though 
 full of water, a dreadful sea making a fair breach over her from 
 stein to stern. In this situation the night wore away, and day- 
 light found all alive except the passenger, and upon close search 
 the little girl was found clinging to the skylight, and so saved 
 from drowning in the cabin. The glass and grating of the sky- 
 light having gone away, while on her beam ends, the little girl 
 was drawn through the openings, but so much chilled that she 
 survived but a few hours. In this situation they remained, without 
 fire, as near as the captain can recollect, twelve days, when the 
 cook, an Indian from Canton, near Boston, suggested the opera- 
 tion of rubbing two sticks together, which succeeded. Very 
 fbrtunately the cambose did not go overboard with the deck load: 
 this was got to windward, a tire kindled and some provisions 
 cooked, which was the first they had tasted, except raw pork, 
 for the wh)le time. — They now got up a barrel of pork, part of 
 a barrel of beef, and one half barrel of beef. A small pig had 
 been saved alive, which they now dressed, not having ai.y thing 
 to feed it with. But at this time no apprehension was entertained 
 of suffering for meat, there being several barrels stowed in the 
 run, and upwards of one hundred under deck. With this im- 
 pi-essicn, the people used the provisions very imprudently, till they 
 discovered that the stern post was gone, and the gale continuing 
 for a long time, the barrels had stove, and their contents were all 
 lost forever. 
 
 There happened to be a cask of water lashed on the quarter 
 deck, which was saved, containing about thirty gallons, all the 
 est was lost This lasted about eighteen days, when the crew 
 
NARRATIVE CF C.VPTAIN W. L. CAZNEIU. 435 
 
 were reduced to rtie necessity ot'catching what rain they could, and 
 having no more. At the end ot'torty duys the meat was ail gone, 
 and absolute famine stared them in the lace. The first victim to 
 this destroyer was Mr. Paddock, the mate, whose exquisite dis- 
 tress seemed to redouble the sufferings of his companions. lie 
 was a man of a robust constitution, who had spent his life in the 
 Lank fishing, had suffered many hardships and appeared the most 
 capable of standing the shocks of misfortune of any of tite crew. 
 In the meridian of life, being about thirty-five years old, it was rea- 
 sonable to suppose that, instead of the first, he would have been 
 ihe last to nave fallen a sacrifice to cold and hunger: but Heaven 
 ordered it otherwise — he became delirious, and death relieved 
 nim from his sufferings the fiftieth day of his shipwreck. D iring 
 all this time, the storms continued, and would often overwhelm 
 mem so as to keep them always drenched with seawater, having 
 nothing to screen them, except a temporary kind of cabin which 
 they had built up of boards between the windlass and nighthead 
 on the larboard side of the forecastle. The ne.xt who sunk under 
 this horrid press of disasters was Howes, a young man of about 
 thirty, who likewise was a fisherman, by profession, and tall, 
 epare, and as smart and active a seaman as any aboard. He like- 
 wise died delirious and in dreadful distress, six days after Paddock, 
 bemg the fifty-sixth day of the wreck. It was soon perceived 
 thai this must evidently be the fate of all the survivors in a short 
 time, if something was not done to procure water. About this 
 time good iucK, or, more probably, kind Providence, enabled them 
 to fish up il-.c lea-Rcttle and one of the captain's pistols; and ne- 
 cessity, the m(4hei of mvention, suggested the plan of distillation. 
 Accordingly, a piece of board was very nicely fitted to the mouth 
 of the boiler, a small hole made in it, and the tea-kettle, bottom 
 upwards, fixed to ihe upper side of the board, the pistol barrel 
 was fixed to the nose of the kettle and kept cool by the constant 
 application of cold water. This completely succeeded, and the 
 survivors, without a doubt, owe their preservation to this simple 
 experiment. But all that could be obtained by this very imperfect 
 distillation, was a scanty allowance of wafer tor five men; yet it 
 Would sustain life and that was all. The impression that there 
 was meat enough under the deck, induced them to use every 
 exertion to obtain it; but by getting up pieces of bone, entirely 
 bare of meat and in a putrid state, they found that nothing was 
 left for them but to roly on Heaven for food, and be contented 
 with whatever came to hand, till relief should come. Their only 
 sustenance now was barnacles gathered from the sides of the 
 vessel which were ate raw that the distilling might not be inter- 
 rupted, which would give them no more than four wine glasses 
 of water each, per day. The next food which thev obtained was 
 a large shark, caught by means of a running bowline. This was 
 a very gr<'at relief and lasted some time. Two advantages arose 
 
 37 
 
434 iV.v?.JtATlVt, yjF CATTAiA \T. h. C.KXSFAV, 
 
 from tliis signal interposition of kind Providence; for wlult. th-^T 
 lived upon their shark, the barnacles were growing larger and 
 more nutritive. 'Jhey likewise found many small crabs among 
 the sea-weed which often floated around t^e wreck, wliich were 
 very pleasant food. But from the necessity of chewing them raw 
 and sucking out the nourishment, they brought on an obstinate 
 costivcness, which became extremely painful and probably much 
 exasperated by the want of water. 
 
 On the 15th of March, according to their computation, poor 
 Moho, the cook, expired, evidently from want of water, though 
 wi:h much less distress than the others and in the full exercise 
 of his. reason: he very devoutly prayed and appeared perfectly 
 resigned to the will of the God who afflicted him. Their constant 
 Btudy was directed to the improvement of their still, which was 
 made much better by the addition of the other pistol barrel, which 
 was found by fishing with the giain they made by fixing nails into 
 a piece of a stave. With this barrel they so far perfected the 
 still as to obtain eight junk bottles full of water in twenty four 
 hours. But from the death of Moho to the death of Johnson, 
 which happened about the middle of April, they seemed to bo 
 denied every kind of food. The barnarcles were all gone, and no 
 friendly gale wafted to their side the sea-weed from which they 
 could obtain crabs or insects — It seemed as if all hope was gone 
 forever, and they had nothing before them but death, or the 
 horrid alternative of eating the flesh of their dead coinpanion 
 One expedient was left, that was to try to decoy a shark, if 
 happily there might be one about the wreck, by part of the corpse 
 of their shipmate! This succeeded, and they caught a large 
 shark, and from that time had many fish till their happy deliver- 
 ance. Very fortunately, a cask of nails which was on deck, 
 lodged in the lea scuppers while on their beam ends: with these 
 they were enabled to fasten the shingles on their cabin, which by 
 constant improvement, had become much more commodious, and 
 when reduced to two only, they had a better supply of water. 
 
 They had now drifted above two tho"«and miles and were in 
 latitude 28 North and longitude 13 West, when to their unspeak- 
 able jo they saw three ships bearing down upon them. The 
 ships came as near as was convenient, and then hailed, which 
 Captain Cazneau answered with all the force of his lungs. The 
 ship which hailed proved to be the Fame of Hull, Captain Feath- 
 erstone bound from Rio Janeiro home It so happened that the 
 three Captains had dined together that day and were all on board 
 the Fame. Humanity immediately sent a boat, which put an end 
 to the dreadful thraldom of Captain Cazneau and Samuel Badger, 
 the only surviving persons, who were received by these humane 
 L iglishmen with exalted sensibility. Thus was ended the most 
 shocking catastrophe which our naval history has recorded for 
 many years, after a series of distresses fr -.n Decemoer 15th to 
 
NEW YORK AND ITS rNVIRO.'HS. 4-i9 
 
 'the 20th of June, a period of one hundred and nint^y one days* 
 Every attention was paid to the sutlerers that generosity warmed 
 with pity and fellow feeling could dictate, on board the Fame. 
 They were cherished, comibrted, fed, clothed and nursed until 
 the 9th of July, when they fell in with Captain Perkins, of the 
 brig Dromo, in the chops of the channel of England, who gene 
 rously took them on board and carefully perfected the work of 
 goodness begun by the generous Englishmen, and safely landed 
 them in Kennebunk. 
 
 It is natural to KTquire how they could float such a va-^t dis- 
 tance upon the most frequented part of the Atlantic and not be 
 discovered all this time? They were passed by more than a 
 dozen sail, one of which came so nigh them that they could 
 distinctly see the people on deck and on the rigging looking at 
 them: but to the inexpressible disappointment of the starving and 
 freezing men, they stifled the dictates of compassion, hoisted sail 
 and cruelly abandoned them to their fate. 
 
 NEW YORK AND ITS ENVIRONS. 
 
 There are few spectacles at once more grateful and more 
 magnificent to the weary wanderer over the ocean, than that 
 which rises up before him, like a' lovely drean), as he passes the 
 Narrows, and is wafted l)y fair breezes tpwards the city of New 
 York. The green shores of Kong and Staten Islands, within less 
 than a quarter of a mile of each other, s!o|)e down to the water's 
 edge, and form the gates of the harbor. When " radiant summer 
 opens all her pride," they are clothed with the lu.xuriant harvest, 
 and dotted with dwellings of peace and plenty. A vast city with 
 its bristling forest of masts and spires, rises suddenly in the dis- 
 tance, sending forth the hum of more than two hundred thousand 
 inhabitants. He inhales the mingled perfumes which the wind 
 bears from wood and Held, from valleys of clover, and gardens of 
 flowers. Immense steamboats, superior to any other in the world, 
 plough the waters around him, and shape their steady course in 
 different directions; u:.d ships, with white sails spread, are return- 
 ing, storm-beaten, from their perilous voyages, or hurrying forth, 
 through the narrow outlet, to distant quarters of tne giobc. Porta 
 command the prominent stations, and vessels of war, like castled, 
 are resting on the wave. 
 
 Perhaps no situation could be chosen for a more advantageous 
 survey of the city, with its surrounding scenery, than that part 
 of the Bay adjoining G;)vcrajr's Island, and near the fort, a por- 
 
«»6 
 
 NE'.V VOntv AVD its F-NVIRONS 
 
 tion of which appears on tho extreme left of the picture, and 
 uhcnce the present view was taken. 
 
 'Die opening discernible on the right, is the passage termed 
 tlie East River, leading from the Bay into the Sound, between 
 j.ong and York Islands, and thence along the shores of Connec- 
 licnt and Rhode Island, into the Atlantic. The eye can almost 
 l)ierce to tiiat point of the strait entitled Hurl Gat'e, but, by the 
 lovers of the marvellous, dignified with an appellation v/hich 
 would seem to conduct the traveller into a region of a very 
 different description from the pleasant hills and orchards, the 
 costly dwellings, ^nd the humble but bright looking cottages, that 
 make the banks of this stream a succession of charming pictures 
 
 The small promontory jutting out on the eastern side, repre- 
 isents that part of Long Island occupied by the village of Brooklyn 
 nnd the Navy Yard. 
 
 On tht let!;, the eye seeks to explore the windings of the Hud- 
 son or North River. In many respecU this stream may be 
 considered one of the most important in the world. It is affected 
 b) the tide more than a hundred and sixty miles towards its source. 
 Its steamboat navigation is unobstructed, and it presents facilities 
 for commerce of an extraordinary and tempting nature. The 
 magnificent canal, which strikes it at Albany, connects the city 
 of New York with Lake Erie, and thence with the interior and 
 most western portion of the Union. This stupendous work, 
 which directly augments the prosperity of more than two milliona 
 of people, is but a single branch in the vast plan of interna! im 
 
NARRATIVE OP CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 43"' 
 
 provemcnt, of which Dewitt Clinton was the most influential 
 pronooter, and which equally associates his name with the glon 
 of the state, and the increasing importance of the citv. 
 
 At all times the view of the metropolis ofthe State is imposing; 
 but should the stranger approach it at the close of a pleasan* 
 summer day, he would find the scene yet more enchanting. At 
 this period the bustle of business is superseded by the vuice of 
 pleasure. As he draws near the Battery, he perceives that the 
 fort has changed its martial character, and been metamorphosed 
 into a garden and pleasant promenade. The stillness of the 
 evening is sometimes broken by the sound ofthe rushing rocket, 
 as it darts into the spangled heaven, illuminating the scene with a 
 glare of temporary radiance, and sometimes by bursts of music, 
 softened by the distance, as it floats over the placid water. Now 
 you may hear the drum from Governor's Island, and now the 
 song of the sailor from the distant ship, which is preparing 
 again to encounter the perils ofthe deep; while the regular dash 
 of the oar, as some occasional boat gltdes by, adds to the charm 
 of the music, and increases the interest of the- scene 
 
 NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 
 
 I have reluctantly yielded to the urgent solicitation of friends, 
 to give a short narrative of the capture, sufferings and escape of 
 myself and crew, after having been taken by a piratical schooner, 
 called the Mexican, December, 1821. The peculiar circum- 
 stances attending our situation, gave us ample opportunity for 
 learning the character of those cruisers which have lately infested 
 our southern coasts, destroying the lives and plundering the 
 property of so many peaceable traders. If this narrative s' ould 
 effect any good, or urge our government to still more vigorous 
 measures for the protection of our commerce, my object will be 
 attained. 
 
 I sailed from Boston bound for Trinidad, in the island of Cuba, 
 on the 13th November, 1821, in the schooner Exertion, bur- 
 den one hundred and seven tons, owned by JMessrs. Joseph 
 Ballister and Henry Farnam, with a crew consisting of the 
 following persons: — 
 
 Joshua Bracket, mate, Bristol, 
 
 David Warren, cook, Saco, 
 
 ♦ The reader will probably recollect the alarming number of piracies, which took place in 
 the West Indian seas during the years 1824-1825. Captain Lincoln's narrative will be found 
 to convey a full and correct idea of the nature and extent of these depredations ; and th« 
 ■tri1<ine interest of his account will be considered a sufficient apology for the space we hav« 
 Kffordsd it 
 
 57* 
 
438 .NAi.iiA ri\i; or c.mtain i.i.ncoi.x 
 
 T'ljonias Gooduil, s(niinaii, IJaltimore, 
 Thomas Yciiri<,r, " Oiangctown, 
 
 Francis de Suze, " St. John's, 
 
 George Reed, " Greenock, Scotland. 
 
 The cargo consisted of flour, beef, pork, lard, butter, fish 
 Deans, oni»)ns, potatoes, apples, hams, furniture, sugar bos 
 siiooks, Stc. invoiced at about eight thousand dollars. iNothing 
 remarkable occurred during the passage, except much bad weath- 
 er, until my captur«!, which was as follows: — 
 
 Monday, December 17th, 1821, commenced with fine breezea 
 from the eastward. At daybreak saw some of the islands north- 
 ward of Ca,pe Cruz, called Keys — stood along northwest; every 
 thing now seemed favorable for a happy termination of our voyage. 
 At three o'clock, P. M. saw a sail coming round one of the Keys, 
 into a chamiel called Boca de Cavolone by the chart, nearly in 
 latitude 20° oo' north, longitude 79'^ do" west, she made directly 
 for us with all sail set, sweeps on both sides (the wind bemg light) 
 and was soon near enough for us to discover about forty men on 
 her deck, armed with muskets, blunderbusses, cutlasses, long 
 knives, dirks, Slc. two carronades, one a twelve, the other a six 
 pounder; she was a schooner, wearing the Patriot flag, (blue, 
 white and blue) of the Republic of Mexico. I thought it not 
 prudent to resist them, should they be pirates, with a crew of 
 seven men, and only five muskets; accordingly ordered the arms 
 and ammunition to be immediately stowed away in as secret a 
 place as possible, and sufler her to speak us, hoping and be- 
 lieving that a republican flag indicated both honor and friendship 
 from those who wore it, and which we might expect even from 
 Spaniards. But how great was my astonishment, when the 
 schooner having approached very near us, hailed in English, and 
 ordered me to heave my boat out immediately and come on board 
 of her with my papers. — Accordingly my boat was hove out, but 
 filled before I could get into her. — I was then ordered to tack 
 ship and lay by for the pirates" boat to board me; which was done 
 by Bolidar, their first lieutenant, with six or eight Spaniards armed 
 with as many of the before mentioned weapons as they could well 
 sling about their bodies. They drove me into the boat and two 
 of them rowed n»e to their privateer, (as they called their vessel,) 
 where I sho-ik hands with her commander, Ca])tain Jonnia, a 
 Spaniard, who before looking at my papers, ordered Bolidar, hia 
 lieutenant, to follow the Mexican in, back of the Key they had 
 left, which was done. At six o'clock, P. M. the Exertion was 
 anciiored in (>leven feet water, near their vessel, and an island, 
 which th(\y called Twelve League Key, (called by the chart Key 
 Largo,) about thirty or thirty-five leagues tiom Trinidad. Aftel 
 this strange conduct they began examining my papers by a Scotch 
 rnan who went by the" name of Nickola, their sailing master.— 4 
 He spoke good English, had a countenance rather pleasing 
 
NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 4B9 
 
 although his beard and mustachios had a frightrul appearance — 
 his face, apparently full of anxiety, indicated something in my 
 favor; he gave me my papers saying " take good care of thera, 
 for I am afraid that you have fallen into bad hands." The pirate'a 
 boat was then sent to the Exertion with more men and arms; 
 apart of them left on board her; the rest returning with three of 
 my crew to their vessel; viz. Thomas Young, Thomas Goodali, 
 and George Reed — they treated them with something to drink, 
 and offered them equal shares with themselves, and some money, 
 iC they would enlist, but they could not prevail on them. I then 
 requested permission to go on board my vessel which was gi anted, 
 and further requested Nickola should go with me, but was re- 
 fused by the captain, who vociferated in a harsh manner, " JVo, 
 ■ JVo, JVo," accompanied with a heavy stamp upon the deck. 
 VVhen I got on board, I was itivited below by Bolidar, where I 
 ^ound they had emptied the case of liquors, and broken a cheese 
 to pieces and crumbled it on the table and cabin floor; the pirates 
 elated with their ;jrtc:e, (as they called it,) had drank so much as 
 to make them desperately abusive. I was permitted to lie down 
 !n my birth; but reader, if you have ever been awakened by a 
 gang of armed desperadoes, who have taken possession of your 
 Habitation in the midnight hour, you can imagine my feelings. — 
 Sleep was a stranger to me, and anxiety was my guest. Bolidar, 
 nowever, pretended friendship, and flattered me with the prospect 
 of being soon set at liberty. But I found him, as I suspected, a 
 consummate hypocrite; indeed, his very looks indicated it. He 
 was a stout and well built man, of a dark, swarthy comple.xion, with 
 keen, ferocious eyes, huge whiskers, and beard under his chin 
 and on his lips four or five inches long; he was a Portuguese by 
 birth, but had become a naturalized Frenchman — had a wife, if 
 not children, (as I was told) in France, and was well known 
 there as commander of a first rate privateer. His appearance 
 was truly terrific; he could talk some in English, and had a most 
 lion-like voice. 
 
 Tuesday, 18th. — Early this morning the captain of the pirates 
 came on board the Exertion; took a look at the cabin-stores, 
 and cargo in the state rooms, and then ordered me back with him 
 to his vessel, where he, with his crew, held a consultation for 
 some time, respecting the cargo. After which, the interpreter, 
 ]Nickola, told me that "the captain had or pretended to have a 
 commission under General Traspelascus, commander in chief of 
 the republic of Mexico, authorizing him to take all cargoes what- 
 ever of provisions, bound to any Spanish royalist port — that. my 
 cargo being bound to an enemy's port, must be condemned; but 
 Miat the vessel should be given up and be put into a fair channel 
 for Trinidad where I was bound." I requested him to examine 
 the papers thoroughly, and perhaps he would be convinced to 
 tae contrary and told him my cargo was all American property 
 
440 NAURATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN 
 
 taken in at Boston and c(»isigned to an American gentleman 
 agent at Trinidad. But the captain would not take this trouble, 
 but ordered both vessels under way iniinediately, and commenced 
 beating up amongst the Keys through most of the day, the 
 wind l)eing very liglit. Thoy now sent their boats on bears! 
 the Exertion for stores, and commenced plundering her of bread, 
 butter, lard, onions, potatoes, tish, beans, &.c. took up some 
 sugar box shooks that were on deck, and found the barrels 
 of apples; selected the best of them, and threw the rest over- 
 board. They inquired for spirits, wine, cider, &c. and were told 
 "they had already taken all that was on board." But not satis- 
 fied they proceeded to search the state rooms and forecastle, 
 ripped up the Hoor of the latter and found some boxes of bottled 
 cider, which they carried to their vessel, gave three cheers, in an 
 exulting manner to me, and then began drinking it with such 
 freedom, that a violent quarrel arose between officers and men, 
 which came very near ending in bloodshed. I was accused of 
 falsehood, for saying they had already got all the liquors that 
 were on board, and 1 thought they had; the truth was, I never 
 had any bill of lading of the cider, and consequently had no re- 
 collection of its being on board; yet it served them as an excuse 
 for being insolent. In the evening peace was restored and they 
 sung songs. I was suffered to go below for the night, and they 
 placed a guard over ine, stationed at the companion way. 
 
 Wednesday, 19th, commenced with moderate easterly winds, 
 beating towards the northeast, the pirate's boats frequently 
 going on board the Exertion for potatoes, fish, beans, butter, 
 &.C. which were used with great waste, and extravagance. They 
 gave me food and drink, but of bad quality, more particularly the 
 victuals, which was wretchedly cooked. The place assigned 
 me to eat was covered with dirt and vermin. It appeared that 
 their great object was to hurt my feelings with threats and obser- 
 vations, and to make my situation as unpleasant as circumstances 
 would admit. We came to anchor near a Key, called by them 
 Brigantine, where myself and mate were permitted to go on 
 shore, but were guarded by several armed pirates. I soon re- 
 turned to the Mexican and my mate to the Exertion, with George 
 Reed one of my crew; the other two being kept on board the 
 Mexican. In the course of this day I had considerable conver- 
 sation with jVickola, who appeared well disposed towards me. He 
 lamented most deeply his own situation, for he was one of those 
 men, whose early good impressions were not entirely ellaced, al- 
 though confederated with guilt. He told me "those who had 
 taken me, were no better than pirates, and their end would be the 
 halter; but," he added, v, Ah peculiar emotion, "I will never 
 be hung as a pirate," showing me a bottle of laudanum which he 
 had found in my medicine chest, saying, " If we are taken, thai 
 shaP cheat the hangman, before we are condemned." I endeavc 
 
NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 44j 
 
 ©red to get it from him, but did not succeed. I then asked him 
 how he came to be in such company, as he appeared to be dissat- 
 isfied. He stated, " that he was at New Orleans last summer 
 out of employment, and became acquainted with one Captain 
 August Orgamar, a Frenchman, wlio had bought a small schoon- 
 er of about fifteen tons, and was going down to the bay of Mexico 
 to get a commission, under General Traspelascus, in order to go 
 a privateering under the patriot flag. Captain Orgamar made 
 bim libera] offers respecting shares, and promised him a sailing 
 master's birth, which he accepted and embarked on board the 
 schooner, without sufficiently reflecting on the danger of such 
 in undertaking. Soon after she sailed from Me.xico; where they 
 got a commission, and the vessel was called Ptiexican. They 
 made up a complement of twenty men, and after rendering the 
 general some little service, in transporting his troops to a place 
 
 called proceeded on a cruise; took some small prizes off 
 
 Campeachy; afterwards came on the south coast of Cuba, where 
 they took other small prizes and the one which we were now on 
 board of By this time the crew were increased to about forty, 
 nearly one half Spaniards, the others Frenchmen and Portuguese. 
 Several of them had sailed out of ports in the L^nited States, with 
 American protections; but, I confidently believe, none are natives, 
 especially of the northern states. I was careful in examining the 
 men, being desirous of knowing if any of my countrymen were 
 among this wretched crew; but am satisfied there were none, and 
 my Scotch friend concurred in the opinion.* And now with a 
 new vessel, which was the prize of these plunderers, they sailed 
 up Manganeil Bay; previously, however, they fell in with an 
 American schooner from which they b mght four barrels of beef, 
 and paid in tobacco. At the Bay was an English brig belonging 
 to Jamaica, owned by Mr. John Louden of that place. On board 
 of this vessel the Spanish part of the crew commenced their 
 depredations as pirates, although Captain Orgamar and Nickola 
 protested against it, and refused any participation; but they per- 
 sisted, and like so many ferocious blood-hounds, boarded the brig, 
 plundered the cabin stores, furniture, captain's trunk, &c. took a 
 hogshead of rum, one twelve pound carronade, some rigging and 
 sails. One of them plundered the chest of a sailor, wlio made 
 some resistance, so that the Spaniard took his cutlass and beat 
 and wounded him without mercy. Nickola asked him " why he 
 did it?" the fellow answered " I will let you know," and took up 
 the cook's axe and gave him a cut on the head, which nearly de- 
 prived him of life.t Then they ordered Captain Orgamar to 
 leave his vessel, allowing him his trunk and turned him ashore, 
 to seek for himself Nickola begged them to dismiss him with 
 
 *The .Spaniards at Havanna have been in Ihtj habit ot' saying to those who arrive there, 
 after anfTerins the horrid abuse of cutting, beating, hanging, robbing. Sec. " it is your co'Vitry- 
 aen that do tliis." 
 
 t He showed me th ; wound, which was quite large, and not then healed 
 
41* NAURATlVr, OK CAPIAIiN LINCOI.W 
 
 his Cviplain, but no, no, was the answer; lur they had no complete 
 navigator but hiui. After Captain Organiar was gone, they put 
 in his stead the present brave (or as I should call him cowardly) 
 Captain Jonnia, who headed them in plundering the .before men- 
 tioned brig, and made Bolidar their first lieutenant, and then 
 proceeded down among those Keys or Islands, where I was cap- 
 tured. 'J'iiis is the amount of what my friend iXickola told me of 
 their history. 
 
 Tliursday, 20th, continued beating up, wind being light, the 
 pirate's boats were sent to the Exertion for more stores, such as 
 bread, lard, &c. I this day discovered on board the Mexican 
 tliree black girls, of whom it is well to say no more. It is im- 
 possible to give an account of the filthiness of this crew, and were 
 it possible it would not be expedient. In their appearance they 
 were terrific, wearing black whiskers and long beards, the recep- 
 tacles of dirt and vermin. They used continually the most profane 
 language; had frequent quarrels; and so great was their love of 
 gambling that the captain would play cards with the meanest man 
 on board. All these things rendered them to me objects of total 
 disgust (with a kw exceptions, as will hereafter appear.) — I was 
 told they had a stabbing match, but a few days before I was taken, 
 and one man came near being killed; they put him ashore at a 
 fisherman's hut and there left him to perish. I saw the wound of 
 another who had his nose split open. 
 
 Friday, 21st. — After laying at anchor through the night in ten 
 fathoms water, made sail and stood to the eastward — by this time 
 ( was out of my reckoning, having no quadrant, charts or books. 
 The pirate's boats were again sent for stores. The captain for 
 the second time demanded of me where my wine, brandy, &c. 
 were, I again told him, they had already got the whole. They 
 took the deep sea line and some cordage fiom the Exertion and 
 at night came to anchor. • 
 
 Saturday, 22d. — Both vessels under way standing to the east- 
 ward, they ran the Exertion aground on a bar, but after throwing 
 overboard most of her deck load of shooks, she floated off; a pilot 
 was sent to her, and she was run into a narrow creek between 
 two keys, where they moored her head and stern along side the 
 mangrove trees, sent down her yards and topmasts, and covered 
 her mast heads and shrouds with bushes to prevent her being seen 
 by vessels which might pass that way. I was then suffered to go 
 on board my own vessel, and found her in a very filthy condition; 
 sails torn, rigging cut to pieces, and every thing in the cabin in 
 waste and confusion. The swarms of moschetoes and sand-flies 
 made it impossible to get any sleep or rest. The pirate's large 
 boat was armed and manned under Bolidar, and sent ofl'with let- 
 ters to a merchant (as they called him) by the name of Dominico, 
 fesiding in a town < ailed Principe, on the main island of Cuba. 
 I was told by one of them who cculd speak English, that Principe 
 
SAUriATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 443 
 
 was a very large and populous town, situated at the head of St. 
 Maria, which was about twenty miles north east from where we 
 ay, and the Keys lying around us were called Cotton Keys. — 
 The captain pressed into his service Francis de Suze, one of my 
 crew, saying that he was one of his countrymen. Francis was 
 very reluctant in going, and said to me, with tears in his eyes, 
 " 1 shall do nothing but what I am obliged to do, and will not aid 
 in the least to hurt you or the vessel; 1 am very sorry to leave 
 you." He was immediately put on duty and Thomas Goodall sent 
 back to the Exertion. 
 
 Sunday, 23d. — Early this morning a large number of the pirates 
 came on board of the Exertion, threw out the long boat, broke 
 open the hatches and took out considerable of the cargo, in search 
 of rum, gin, &c. still telling me " I had some and that they would 
 find it," uttering the most awful profaneness. In the afternoon 
 their boat returned with a perough,* having on board the captain, 
 his first lieutenant and seven men of a patriot or piratical vessel 
 that was chased ashore at Cape Cruz by a Spanish armed brig 
 These seven men made their escape in said boat and, after four 
 days, found our pirates and joined them; the remainder of the 
 crew being killed or taken prisoners. 
 
 Monday, 24th — Their boat was manned and sent to the before 
 mentioned town. — I was informed by a line from Nickola, that the 
 pirates had a man on board, a native of Principe, who in t^ie garb 
 of a sailor was a partner with Domiiiico, but I could not get sight 
 of him. This lets us a little into the plans by which this atrocious 
 svstem of piracy has l)een carried on. Merchants having partners 
 on board of these pirates ! thus pirates at sea and robbers on land 
 are associated to destrov the peaceable trader. The willingness 
 exhibited by the seven above-mentioned men, to join our gang 
 of pirates, seems to look like a general understanding among 
 them; and from there being merchants on shore so base as to en- 
 courage the plunder and vend the goods, I am persuaded there 
 has been a systematic confederacy on the part of these unprinci- 
 pled desperadoes, under cover of the patriot Hag; and those on 
 land are no better than those on the sea. If the governments to 
 whom they belong know of the atrocities committed (and I have 
 but little doubt they do) they deserve the execration of all man- 
 kind. 
 
 Tuesday, 25th. — Still on board the Exertion — weather very 
 calm and warm. The pirate's boat returned from St. Maria, and 
 came for candles, cheese, potatoes. Sic. they saying they must 
 have them, and forbid my keeping any light on board at night- 
 took a case of trunks for the captain's use and departed. Their 
 irritating conduct at this time can hardly be imagined 
 
 Wednesday, 26th. — I was told by Bolidar that three Spanish 
 
 ■" A bn;it 1 uilt of two halves of a large 1-ee hollowtil out and so put togeltieT os to mrf 
 aiiout thirty barrels. 
 
*^i NARRATIVE OF CArTAI.N UNCOF-.f. 
 
 cruisers were in search ol'tlK'n), tliat tlioy cuulcJ li<j;Iit twooftheni 
 r.t once, (which by the wav 1 believe was not true) and were dis- 
 appointed at not finding thcin. Same evening they took botli of 
 my boats, and their own men, towed their vessel out of the creek, 
 and anchored at its mouth, to get rid of sund-tlies ; while fhey 
 obliged us to stay on deck under an awning, exposed to all the 
 violence of these Hies; we relieved ourselves in some measure 
 by the burning of tobacco, which lasted but for a short time. 
 
 Thursday, '27th. — A gang of the pirates came and stripped our 
 masts of the green bushes, saying, " she appeared more like a 
 sail than trees " — took one barrel of bread and one of potatoes, 
 using about one of each every day. I understood they were wait- 
 ing for boats to take the cargo; for the principal merchant had 
 gone to Trinidad. 
 
 Friday, 28th. — Nothing remarkable occurred this day — were 
 frequently called upon for tar and butter, and junk to make oakum. 
 Captain Jonnia brought on board with him his new captain and 
 officer before mentioned. Again they asked for wine, and were 
 told as before, they had gotten the whole. 
 
 Saturday, 29th. — Same insulting conduct continued. — Took ofT 
 a barrel of crackers. 
 
 Sunday, 30th. — The begining of trouble! This day which 
 peculiarly reminds Christians of the high duties of compassion and 
 benevolence, was never observed by these pirates. Tbis, of 
 course, we might expect, as they did not often know when the day 
 came, and if they knew it, it was spent in gambling. The old 
 saying among seamen, " no Sunday off soundings," was not 
 thought of; and even this poor plea was not theirs, f()r they were 
 on soundings and often at anchor. — Early this morning the mer- 
 chant, as they called him, came with a large boat for the cargo. 
 I was immediately ordered into the boat with my crew, not allow- 
 ed any breakfast, and carried al)out three miles to a small island 
 out of sight of the Exertion and left there by the side of a little 
 pond of thick, muddy water, which proved to be very brackish, with 
 nothing to eat but a few biscuit. One of the boat's men told us 
 the merchant was atVaid of being recognised, and when he had 
 gone the boat would return for us; but we had great reason to 
 apprehend they would deceive us, and therefore passed the day 
 in the utmost anxiety. At night, however, the boats came and 
 took us again on board the Exertion; when, to our surprise and 
 astonishment we found they had broken open the trunks and chests 
 and taken all our wearing apparel, not even leaving a shirt or pair 
 of pantaloons, nor sparing a small miniature of my wife which 
 was in my trunk. The little money I and my mate had, with some 
 belonging to the owners, my mate had previously distributed about 
 the cabin in three or four parcels, while I was on board the pirate. 
 for we dare not keep it about us; one parcel in a butter pot they 
 did not discover — Amidst the hurry with which T was obliged U 
 
NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LIXCOLN^. 443 
 
 leave my vessel to go to the before mentioued island, I fortunately 
 snatched my vessel's papers, and hid them in my bosom, which 
 the reader will find was g happy circumstance for me. My writing 
 desk, with papers, accojnts, &c. all Mr. Lord's letters (the gen- 
 tleman to whom my cargo was consigned) and several others were 
 taken and maliciously destroyed. My medicine chest, which I 
 so much wanted, was kept for their own use. What their motive 
 could be to take my papers I could not imagine, except they had 
 hojjcs of finding bills of lading for some Spaniards, to clear them 
 fro'm piracy. Mr. Bracket had some notes and papers of conse- 
 quence to him, which shared the same fate. My quadrant, charts, 
 books and some bedding were not yet taken, but I found it impos- 
 sible to hide them, and they were soon gone from my sight. 
 
 Monday, 31st. — We complained to them, expressing Ihe neces- 
 sity of having clothes to cover us — but, as well miglit we have ap 
 pealed to the winds, and rather better, for they would not have up 
 braided us in return. The captain, however, sent word he would 
 see to it, and ordered their clothes bags to be searched, where l.e 
 found some of our things, but took good care to put them in his 
 own cabin. I urgently requested him to give me the miniature, 
 but, no was all I could get. 
 
 Tuesday, January 1st, 1822. — A sad new year's day to me 
 Before breakfast orders came for me to cut down the Exertion's 
 railing and bulwarks on one side, for their vessel to heave out by, 
 and clean her bottom. On my hesitating a little they observed 
 with anger, " very well captain, suppose you no do it quick, we 
 do it for you." — Directly afterwards another boat full of armed 
 men came along side; they jumped on deck with swords drawn 
 and ordered all of us into her immediately; I stepped below, in 
 hopes of getting something which would be of service to us; but 
 the captain hallooed, "Go in the boat directly or I will fire upon 
 you." — Thus compelled to obey, we were carried, together with 
 four Spanish prisoners, to a small, low island or key of sand in the 
 shape of a half moon and partly covered with mangrove trees; 
 which was about one mile from and in sight of my vessel. There 
 they left nine of us, with a little bread, flour, fish, lard, a little 
 coffee and molasses; two or three kegs of water, which was brack 
 ish ; an old sail for a covering, and a pot and some other small 
 articles no way fit to co-^k in. Leaving us these, which were 
 mucn less than they appear in the enumeration, they pushed off, 
 s-aying, "we will come to see you in a day or two." — Selecting 
 the best place, we spread the old sail for an awning; but no pUace 
 was free from flies, moschetoes, snakes, the venomous stinged 
 scorpion and the more venomous santipee Sometimes they were 
 found crawling inside of our pantaloons, but fortunately no injury 
 was received. This a^ern son the pirates hove their vessel out 
 by the Exertion and cleaned nne side, u-;irg her paints, oil, &,c 
 for tb"'' '^urpose. — To see siiy vo-^scl in that situation and to 'hink 
 
41G iN.MUIV ! IVl: di' CAITAiN I.I.NCOL.V. 
 
 f»f our )rosj)ects wii.s a source oi" llic .et-post distress. At nigh 
 we retLirctl to our tent; but having nothing but the cold damp 
 ground tor a bid, and the heavy dtw of night penetrating the old 
 canvass — the situation of the ishmd being lilty miles troin the usual 
 track ot" iViendly vessels, and one hundred and thirty-live from 
 Trinidad — seeing my owner's ijro|)e.rty so unjustly and wantonly 
 destroyed — considering my condition, the hands at whose mercy 
 I was, and deprived ot" all hopes, rendered sleep or rest a stranger 
 to mo. 
 
 Wednesday, '26. The i)irates hove out and cleaned the other 
 side. She tlien commenced loading with the Exertion's largo, 
 which ap|)eared to be flour and lard. In the afternoon their boat 
 came and took two of the Spaniards with them to another island 
 for water, and soon after returned with four kegs of poor, un- 
 wholesome water, and left us, saying they should not bring us 
 provisions again for some time; as they were going away with 
 goods from the prize, to be gone two or three days." According- 
 ly they brought a present supply of beef, pork, and a few potatoes, 
 with some bedding for myself and mate. The mangrove wood 
 afTorded us a good fire, as one of the Spanish prisoners happened 
 to have fire-works; and others had tobacco and paper with which 
 we made cigars. About tliis time one of my men began to be 
 unwell; his legs and body swelled considerably, but having no 
 medicine I could not do much to relieve him. 
 
 Thursday, 3d. The pirates had dropped off from the Exertion, 
 bui ke|)t their boats employed in bringing the cargo from her; I 
 supposed it to be kegs of lard to make stowage. They then got 
 under way with a perough in tow, both deeply laden, ran out of 
 the harbor, hauled on the wind to the eastward till out of sight 
 behind the Keys; leaving a guard on board the Exertion. 
 
 Friday, 4th. — Commenced with light winds and hot sun, saw a 
 boat coming from the Exertion, apparently loaded; she passed 
 between two small Keys to northward, supposed to be bound for 
 Ciiba. At sunset a boat came and inquired if we wanted any 
 thing, but instead of adding to our provisions, took away our 
 molassrs, and pushed off. We found one of the Exertion's water 
 casks, and several pieces of plank, which we carefully laid up, 
 in hopes of getting enough to make a raft. 
 
 Saturday, oth. — Pirates again in sight coming from the east- 
 ward; they beat up along side their prize, and commenced I )ad- 
 ing. In the afternoon Nickola came to us, bringing with birr, 
 two moie piisoners, which they had taken in a small sail boat 
 coming Trom Trinidad to Manganeil, one a Frenchman, the other 
 a Scotchman, with two Spaniards, who remained on board the 
 pirate, and who afterwards joined them. The back of one of 
 these poor fellows was extremely sore, having just suffered a 
 cruel beating from Bolidar, with the broad side of a cutlass. It 
 appeared, that when the oflicer asked him " where their money 
 
x^ARRATlVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN 447 
 
 was, and how much," he answered, " he was not ceitaln bjt be- 
 lieved they had only two ounces of gold" — Bolidar furiously 
 swore he said "ten," and not finding any more, gave him the 
 beating. Nickola now related to me a singular fact; which was, 
 that tlie Spanish part of their crew were determined to shoot him; 
 that they tied him to the mast, and a man was appointed for the 
 purpose; but Lyon, a Frenchman, his particular friend, stepped 
 up and told them, if they shot him, they must shoot several more; 
 some of the Spaniards' sided with hi'm, and he was released. 
 JNickola told me, the reason for such treatment was, that he con- 
 tinually objected to their conduct towards me, and their opinion 
 was if he should escape they would be discovered, as he declared 
 he would take no prize money. While with us, he gave me a 
 letter written in great haste, which contains some particulars re- 
 specting the cargo; — as follows: — 
 
 Jamianj 4, 1822. 
 
 Sir — We arrived here this morning, and before we came to 
 anchor, had five canoes alongside ready to take your cargo, part 
 of which we had in; and as I heard you express a wish, to know 
 what they took out of her, to this moment, you may depend on 
 this account of Jamieson* for quality and quantity; if I have the 
 same opportunity you will have an account of the whole. The 
 villain who bought your cargo is from the town of Principe, his 
 name is Dominico, as to that it is all that I can learn; they have 
 taken your charts on board the schooner Mexican and 1 suppose 
 mean to keep them, as the other captain has agreed to act the 
 same infamous part in the tragedy of his life. Your clothes are 
 here on board, but.do not let me flatter you, that you will get 
 them back; it may be so, and it may not. Perhaps in your old 
 age, when you recline with ease in a corner of your cottage, you 
 will have the goodness to drop a tear of pleasure to the memory 
 of him, whose highest ambition should have been to subscribe 
 himself, though devoted to the gallows, your friend. 
 
 Excuse haste. Nickola Monacre. 
 
 P. S Your answer in writing when I come again, 
 
 Sunday, 6th. — The pirates were under way at sunrise, with a 
 full load of the Exertion's cargo, going to Principe again, to sell 
 a second freight, which was done readily for cash. I afterwards 
 heard that the flour brought only five dollars per barrel, when it 
 was worth at Trinidad thirteen; so that the villain who boughl my 
 cargo at Principe, made very large profits by it. 
 
 ]\Ionday, 7th. — The pirates brought more water, but being very 
 brackish, it was unfit for use. We were now greatly alarmed at 
 Thomas' ill health, being suddenly attacked with a pain in the 
 head, and swelling of the right eye, attended with derangement 
 
 * This is the real mine of Nickola. 
 
148 NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 
 
 He however soon became belter; but liis eye rernaiued swollen 
 several days without much pain. In the evening we had some 
 heavy showers of rain, and having no secure cabin, no sheltered 
 retreat, our exposure made us ]>ass a very uncomfortablo night. 
 
 Tuesday, 8th. — Ivuly this morning the pirates in s»irht again, 
 wiV fore top sail and top gallant sail set; beat up along side of 
 the Exertion and commenced loading; having, as I supposed, sold 
 and discharged her last freight among some of the inhabitants of 
 Cuba. They appeared to load in great haste; and the song "O 
 he oh," which echoed from one vessel to the other, was distinctly 
 heard by us. How wounding was this to me! How diflerent 
 was this sound from what it would have. been, had I been permit- 
 ted to pass unmolested by these lawless plunderers, and been 
 favored with a safe arrival at the port of my destination, where 
 my cargo would have found an excellent sale. Then would the 
 •' O he ho," on its discharging, have been a delightful sound to 
 me. In the afternoon she sailed with the perough in tow, both 
 with a full load; having chairs, which was part of the cargo, slung 
 at her quarters. 
 
 Wednesday, 9th — Very calm and warm. The swarms of 
 moschetoes and flies made us pass a very uncomfortable day. 
 We dug in the sand for water, but were disappointed at finding 
 none so good as they left us. In walking round among the 
 bushes, I accidentally discovered a hole in the sand, and saw 
 something run into it; curiosity led me to dig about it. With the 
 help of Mr. Bracket I found at the distance of seven feet from 
 its mouth, and one from the surface, a large solitary rat, apparent- 
 ly several years old; he had collected a large nest of grass and 
 leaves; but there was not the least appearance of any other being 
 on the island. 
 
 Thursday, 10th. — No pirates in sight. The day was passed in 
 anxious suspense; David Warren being quite sick. 
 
 Friday, 11th. — They came and hauled along-side of the Exer- 
 tion, but I think took out none of her cargo: but had, as I sup- 
 posed, a vendue on board, wherein was sold among themselves, 
 ail our clothing, books, quadrants, charts, spy-glasses, and every 
 thing belonging to us and our fellow prisoners. I was afterwards 
 told they brought a good price; but what they could want of the 
 Bible, Prayer-Book and many other books in English, was 
 matter of astonishment to me. 
 
 Saturday, 12th. — Thoy remained along side the Exertion; took 
 her paints, oil, brushes, &c. and gave their vessel a new coat of 
 paint all round, and a white boot top — took the perough to 
 another key and caulked her — there was no appearance of their 
 taking any cargo out; the Exertion however appeared considerably 
 high out of water. About sunset the pirates went out of the 
 harbor on a cruise. — Here we had been staying day after day, 
 and exposed night after night — apprehensions for our safety were 
 
NAUnATlVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 449 
 
 much inci eased; what was to become of up, seemed now to rush 
 into every one's mind. 
 
 Sunday, 13th. — Deprived of our good booI;s, deprived in fact 
 of every thing, save Vile, and our ideas respecting our fate so 
 gloomy, all tended to render time, especially the Lord's day, 
 burdensome to us. In the afternoon a boat came for cargo, from, 
 a^l I supposed, that villain Dominico. 
 
 Monday, 14th. — They again hove in sight, and beat up, aa 
 usual, along-side their prize. While passing our sc^itary island 
 hey laughed at our misery which was almost insupportable — 
 looking upon us as though we had committed some heinouis 
 crime, and they had not sufficiently punished us; they hallooed to 
 us, crying out, " Captain, Captain," accompanied with obscene 
 motions and words, with which I shall not blacken these pages — 
 yet I heard no check upon such conduct, nor could I expect il 
 among such a gang, who have no idea of subordination on boardi, 
 except when in chase of vessels, and even then but very littk 
 My resentment was excited at such a malicious outrage, and 1 
 felt a disposition to revenge myself, should fortune ever favor me 
 with an opportunity. It was beyond human nature not to feei 
 end express some indignation at such treatment. — Soon after, 
 Bolidar, with five men, well armed, came to us; he having a 
 blunderbuss, cutlass, a long knife and pair of pistols — but for 
 what purpose did he come.' He took me by the hand saying, 
 " Captain, me speak with you, walk this way." I obeyed, and 
 when we were at some distance from my fellow prisoners, (his 
 men following) he said, " the captain send me for your u'as/i." 
 I pretended not to understand what he meant and replied " I have 
 no clothes, nor any soap to wash with — you have taken them 
 all" — for I had kept my wsjitch about me, hoping they would 
 not discover it. He demanded it again as before; and was 
 answered, " I have nothing to wash;" this raised his anger, 
 and lifting his blunderbuss he roared out, " what the d — 1 you 
 call him that make clock.'' give it me" — I considered it im- 
 prudent to contend any longer and submitted to his unlawful 
 demand. — As he was going off, he gave me a small bundle in 
 which was a pair of linen drawers, sent to me by jXickola, and also 
 the Rev. Mr. Brooks' " Family Prayer Book." This gave me 
 great satisfaction. — Soon after, he returned with his captain who 
 had one arm slung up, yet with as many implements of war, as his» 
 diminutive wicked self could conveniently carry; he told me 
 (through an interpreter who was a prisoner) " that on his cruise, 
 he had fallen in with two Spanish privateers, and beat them off; 
 but had three of his men killed and himself wounded in the arm" 
 — Bolidar turned to me and said, " it is a d — n lie" — which words 
 proved to he correct, for his arm was not wounded, and when I 
 saw him again, which was soon afterwards, he forgot to sling it 
 up. He further told me, " after to-morrow you shall go with youi 
 33* 
 
450 H.vRRATivi: or cai't.vin Lincoln. 
 
 vessel and wc will accompany you towards Trinidad.' This gave 
 tnc some now hopes, and why 1 could not tell. They then left U3 
 without rendering any assistance. — This night we got some rest. 
 
 Tuesday, loth. — The words "go alter to-morrow," were used 
 among o\ir Spanish fellow prisoners, as though that happy to- 
 morrow would never come — in what manner it came will soon be 
 noticed. 
 
 Wednesday, IGth. — One of their boats came to inquire if we 
 had seen a boat pass by last night, for their small sloop sail boat 
 was gone and two met. deserted: 1 told them " no" — at heart 1 
 could not but rejoice at the escape, and approve the deserters — I 
 said nothing, however, of this kind to the pirates. On their 
 return, they manned three of their boats and sent them in different 
 directions to search, but at night came back without fmding boat 
 or men. They now took our old sail, which hitherto had some- 
 what sheltered us, to make, as I supposed, some small sail for 
 their vessel. This rendered our night more uncoinfortable than 
 before, for in those islands the night dews are very heavy. 
 
 Thursday, 17th, was passed with great impatience. — The 
 Exertion having been unmoored and swung to her anchor, gave 
 some hopes of being restored to her; but was disappointed. 
 
 Friday, I8th, commenced with brighter prospects of liberty than 
 ever — the pirates were employed in setting up our devoted schoon- 
 er's shrouds, stays, &c. My condition now reminded me of the 
 hungry man, chained in one corner of a room, while at another 
 part was a table loaded with delicious food and fruits, the smell 
 and sight of which he was continually to experience, but, alas! his 
 chains were never to be loosed that he might go and partake — at 
 almost the same moment they were thus employed, the axe was 
 applied with the greatest dexterity to both her masts, aiid I saw 
 them fall over the side! Here fell my hopes — I looked at my 
 condition, and then thought of home. — Our Spanish fellow prison- 
 ers were so disappointed and alarmed, that they recommended 
 hiding ourselves, if possible, among the mangrove trees, believ- 
 ing, as they said, we should now certainly be put to death; or, 
 what was worse, compelled to serve on board the Mexican as 
 pirates. Little else it is true seemed left for us; however, we 
 kept a bright look out for them during the day, and at night " an 
 anchor watch" as we called it, determined if we discovered their 
 boats coming towards us, to adopt the plan of hiding, although 
 starvation stared us in the face; yet preferred that to instant 
 death. This night was passed in sufficient anxiety — I took the 
 first watch. 
 
 Saturday, 19th. — The pirate's large boat came for us — it being 
 daylight, and supposing they could see us, determined to stand 
 our ground and wait the result. They ordered us all into the 
 boat, but left every thing else; they rowed towards the Exertion 
 — I noticed a dejection of spirits in one of the pirates, and in- 
 
NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 45l 
 
 quired of him where they were going to carry us? He shook 
 his head and replied " I do not know." I now had some hopea 
 of visiting my vessel again — but the pirates made sail, run down, 
 took us in tow and stood out of the harbor. 'Bolidar afterwards 
 took me, my mate and two of my men on board and gave us some 
 coffee. On examination I found they had several additional light 
 sails, made of the Exertion's. Almost every man, a pair of can- 
 vass trousers; and my colors cut up and made into belts to carry 
 their money about them. — My jolly boat was on deck, and I was 
 informed, all my rigging was disposed of. Several of the pirates 
 had on some of my clothes, and the captain one of my best shirts, 
 a cleaner one, than I had ever seen him have on before. — He 
 kept at a good distance from me, and forbid my friend iSickola's 
 speaking to me. — I saw from the companion way in the captain's 
 cabin my quadrant, spy glass and other things which belonged to 
 us, and observed by the compass, that the course steered was 
 about west by south, — distance nearly twenty miles, which brought 
 them up with a cluster of islands called by some " Cayman 
 Keys." Here they anchor/sd and caught some fish, (one of 
 which was named f^uard Jish) of which we had a taste. I observ- 
 ed that my friend ^Ir. Bracket was somewhat dejected, and asked 
 him in a low voice, what his opinion was with respect to our fate? 
 He answered, " I cannot tell you, but it appears to me the worst 
 is to come," I told him that I hoped not, but thought they would 
 give us our small boat and liberate the prisoners. But mercy 
 even in this shape was not left for us. Soon after, saw the cap- 
 tain and othcers whispering for some time in private conference. 
 When over, their boat was manned under the command of Bolidar, 
 and went to one of those Islands or Keys before mentioned.* 
 On their return, another conference took place — whether it was 
 a jury upon our lives we could not tell — I did not think conscience 
 could be entirely extinguished in the human breast, or that men 
 could become fiends. In the afternoon while we knew not the 
 doom which had been fixed for us, the captain was engaged with 
 several of his men in gambling, in hopes to get back some of the 
 five hundred dollars, they said, he lost but a few nights before; 
 which had made him unusually fractious. A little before sunset 
 he ordered all the prisoners into the large boat with a supply of 
 provisions and water, and to be put on shore. Wiiile we were 
 getting into her, one of my fellow prisoners, a Spaniard, attempt- 
 ed with tears in his eyes to speak to the captain, but was refused, 
 with the answer — " I'll have nothing to say to any prisoner, go 
 into the boat " In the mean time Nickola said to me, " My 
 friend, I will give you your book," (being INIr. Cohnan's Ser- 
 mons,) "it is the only thing of yours that is in my possession, I 
 
 *Thi3 Key was full of manzrove trees, whose tops turn down and take root, forming « 
 kind of ii!n')rtill:i. The lido at h'L'li water flows two feet deep under them ; it is therefor* 
 Bnpossible ftr human beings to live long among thei;i, even with food and water. 
 
452 NAURATIVK OK CAl'TAl.N I.I.NCOI.V 
 
 dare not attempt any thing more." But the captain forbid his 
 giving it to me, aiui 1 stepped into the boat — at that moment 
 iSirkiila said in a b)\v voiee, " never mind, 1 may see you again 
 before 1 die." The small boat was well armed and manned, and 
 both set off together for the island, where they had agreed to 
 leave us to perish! The scene to us was a funeral scene. There 
 were no arms in the prisoners' boat, and, of course, all attempts 
 lO relieve ourselves would have been throwing our lives away, as 
 Bolidar was near us, well armed. We were rowed about two 
 miles northeasterly from the pirates, to a small low island, lonely 
 and desolate. We arrived about sunset; and for the support of 
 us eleven prisoners, they only left a ten gallon keg of water, and 
 perhaps a few quarts,- in another small vessel, which was very 
 poor; part of a barrel of flour, a small keg of lard, one ham and 
 some salt fish; a small kettle and an old broken pot; an old sail 
 for a covering, and a small mattrass and blanket, which was thrown 
 out as the boats hastened away. One of the prisoners happened 
 to have a little coffee in his pocket, and these comprehended all 
 our means of sustaining life, and for what length of time we 
 knew not. We now felt the need of water, and our supply wag 
 comparatively nothing. — A man may live nearly twice as long 
 without food, as without water. — Look at us now, my friends, 
 left benighted on a little spot of sand in the midst of the ocean, 
 fur from the usual track of vessels, and every appearance of a 
 violent thunder tempest, and a boisterous night. Judge of my 
 feelmgs, and the circumstances which our band of sufferers now 
 witnessed. — Perhaps you can and have pitied us — I assure you, 
 we were very wretched; and to paint the scene, is not within my 
 power. When the boats were moving from the shore, on recov- 
 ering myself a little, I asked Bolidar, "If he was going to leave 
 us so.'" — he answered, " no, only two days — we go for water and 
 wood, then come back, take you." I requested him to give us 
 bread and other stores, for they had plenty in the boat, and at 
 least one hundred barrels of flour in the Mexican " no, no, suppose 
 to-morrow morning me come, me give you bread," and hurried 
 off to their vessel. This was the last time I saw him. We then 
 turned our attention upon finding a spot most convenient for our 
 comfort, and soon discovered a little roof supported by stakes 
 driven into the sand;* it was thatched with leaves of the cocoa-nut 
 tree, considerable part of which was torn or blown off. After 
 spreading the old sail over this roof, we placed our little stock of 
 provisions under it. Soon after came on a heavy shower of rain 
 which penetrated the canvass, and made it nearly as uncomforta- 
 ble inside, as it would have been out. We were not prepared to 
 catch water, having nothing to put it in. Our next object was to 
 get fire, and after gathering some of the driest fuel to be found, 
 
 ♦ This was probably erected by the turtle men or fishers, who visit these islands in Jun*-. 
 (br the purposes of their trade. 
 
NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 453 
 
 and having a small piece of cotton wick-yarn, with flint and steel, 
 we kindled a fire, wiiich was never afterwards suffered to be ex- 
 tinguished. The night was very dark, but we found a piece of 
 old rope, which when well lighted served for a candle. On ex- 
 amining the ground under the roof, we found perhaps thousands of 
 creeping insects, scorpions, lizards, crickets, &c. After scraping 
 them out as well as we could, the most of us having nothing bui 
 the damp earth for a bed, laid ourselves down in hopes of some 
 rest; but it being so wet, gave many of us severe colds, and one 
 of the Spaniards was quite sick for several days. 
 
 Sunday, 20th. — As soon as daylight came on, we proceeded to 
 take a view of our little island, and found it to measure only one 
 acre, of coarse, white sand; about two feet, and in some spots 
 nerhaps three feet above the surface of the ocean. On the high- 
 est part were growing some bushes and small mangroves, (the 
 dry part of which was our fuel) and the wild caster oil beans. 
 We were greatly disappointed in not finding the latter suitable 
 food; likewise some of the prickly pear bushes, which gave us 
 only a (ew pears about the size of our small button pear; the 
 outside has thorns, which if applied to the fingers or lips, will 
 remain there, and cause a severe smarting similar to the nettle; 
 the inside a spungy substance full of juice and seeds, which are 
 red and a little tartish — had they been there in abundance, we 
 should not have suffered so much for water — but alas! even this 
 substitute was not for us. On the northerly side of the island 
 was a hollow, where the tide penetrated the sand, leaving stag- 
 nant water. We presumed, in hurricanes the island was nearly 
 overflowed. According to the best calculations I could make, 
 we were about thirty five miles from any part of Cuba, one hun- 
 dred from Trinidad and forty from the usual track of American 
 vessels, or others which might pass that way. No vessel of any 
 considerable size, can safely pass among these Keys or " Queen's 
 Gardens," (as the Spaniards call them) being a large number 
 extending from Cape Cruz to Trinidad, one hundred and fifty 
 miles distance; and many more than the charts have laid down, 
 most of them very low and some covered at high water, which 
 makes it very dangerous for navigators without a skilful pilot. 
 After taking this view of our condition, which was very gloomy, 
 we began to suspect we were left on this desolate island by those 
 merciless plunderers to perish. Of this I am now fully convinced; 
 still we looked anxiously for the pirate's boat to come according 
 to promise with more water and provisions, but looked in vain. 
 We saw them soon after get under way with all sail set and run 
 directly from us until out of our sight, and ivc never saio them again! 
 one may partially imagine our feelings, but they cannot be put 
 into words. Before they were entirely out of sight of us, we 
 raised the white blanket upon a pole, waving it in the air, in 
 hopes, that at two miles distance they would see it and be moved 
 
454 NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN, 
 
 to pity. But pity in such monsters was not to be found. It wa« 
 not their interest to save us from tlie lingering death, which we 
 now saw before us. VVe tried to compose ourselves, trusting that 
 God, who had witnessed our sufferings, would yet make use of 
 some one, as the instrument of his mercy towards us. Our next 
 care, now, was to try for water. We dug several holes in the 
 sand and found it, but quite too salt for use. The tide penetrates 
 probably through the island. — We now came on short allowance 
 for water. Having no means of securing what we had by lock ano 
 key, some one in the night would slyly drink, and it was soon 
 gone. The ne.xt was to bake some bread, which we did by mixing 
 flour with salt water and frying it in lard, allowing ourselves eight 
 quite small pancakes to begin with. The ham was reserved for 
 some more important occasion, and the salt fish was lost for want 
 of fresh water. The remainder of this day was passed in the mosf 
 serious conversation and reflection. — At night, I read prayers 
 from the " Prayer Book," before mentioned, which I most care- 
 fully concealed while last on board the pirates. This plan was 
 pursued morning and evening, during our stay there. — Then 
 retired for rest and sleep, but realized little of either. 
 
 Monday, 21st. — In the morning we walked round the beach, 
 in expectation of finding something useful. On our way picked 
 up a paddle about three feet long, very similar to the Indian 
 canoe paddle, except the handle, which was like that of a shovel, 
 the top part being split off; we laid it by for the present. We 
 likewise found some konchs and roasted them; they were a pretty 
 good shell lish, though rather tough. We discovered at low 
 water, a bar or spit of sand e.xtending northeasterly from us, about 
 three miles distant, to a cluster of Keys, which w-ere covered 
 with mangrove trees, perhaps as high as our quince tree. My 
 friend Mr. Bracket and George attempted to wade across, being 
 at that time of tide only up to their armpits; but were pursued by 
 a shark and returned without success. The tide rises about four 
 feet, 
 
 Tuesday, 22d. — We found several pieces of the palmetto oi 
 cabbage tree, and some pieces of boards, put them together in 
 the form of a raft, and endeavored to cross, but that proved inef- 
 fectual. Being disappointed, we set down to reflect upon other 
 means of relief, intending to do all in our power for our safety 
 while our strength continued. While setting here, the sun wag 
 so powerful and oppressive, reflecting its rays upon the sea, 
 which was then calm, and the white sand which dazzled the eye, 
 was so painful, that we retired under the awning; there the mos- 
 chetoes and flies were so numerous, that good rest could not be 
 found. We were, however, a little cheered, when, in scraping 
 out the top of the ground to clear out, I may say thousands of 
 crickets and bugs, we found a hatchet, which was to us peculiarly 
 terviceable. At night the strong northeasterly wind, which pe* 
 
NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOI.W 455 
 
 rails there at all seasons, was so cold as to make it equally un- 
 comfortable with the day. — Thus day after day, our suffermgs 
 and apprehensions multiplying, we were very generally alarmed 
 
 Wednesday, 23d. — Early this morning one of our Spanish 
 fellow prisoners crossed the bar, having taken with him a pole 
 sharpened at one end; this he said " was to kill sharks" — but he 
 saw none to trouble him. While he was gone, we tried for water 
 in several places, but still it was very salt; but not having any 
 other, we drank of it, and found it had a similar effect, to that of 
 glauber salts. We now concluded to reduce the allowance of 
 bread or rather pancakes, being too sensible that our little stock 
 of provisions could last but a few days longer; we had the faintest 
 hope of any supplies, or escape, before it would be too late to save 
 life. Towards night the Spaniard returned, but almost famished 
 for want of water and food. He reported that he tound some 
 plank on one of the islands, (but they proved to be sugar-bo.x 
 shooks) which revived us a little; but no ivakr. — He said he had 
 great difficulty to make his way through the mangrove trees, it 
 being very swampy; so that we should not better ourselves by 
 going there, although the key was rather larger than ours. This, 
 I understood through Joseph, the English prisoner who could 
 speak Spanish. After prayers, laid ourselves down upon our bed 
 of sand, and being nearly exhausted we obtained some sleep. 
 
 Thursday, 24tli. — This morning, after taking a little coffee, 
 made of the water which we thought least salt, and two or three of 
 the little cakes, we felt somewhat refreshed, and concluded to make 
 another visit to those Keys in hopes of finding something more, 
 which might make a raft for us to escape the pirates, and avoid 
 perishing by thirst. Accordingly seven of us set off, waded 
 across the bar and searched all the Keys thereabouts. — On one 
 we found a number of sugar-box shooks, two lashing plank and 
 some pieces of old spars, which were a part of the Exertion's 
 deck load, that was thrown overboard when she grounded on the 
 bar, spoken of in the first part of the narrative. — It seems they 
 had drifted fifteen miles, and had accidentally lodged on these 
 very Keys within our reach. Had the pirates known this, they 
 would undoubtedly have placed us in another direction. They 
 no ' ^ thought that they could not put us on a worse place. 
 ..-d at this time was blowing so strong on shore, as to prc-i 
 vent rafting our stuff round to our island, and we were obliged to 
 haul it upon the beach for the present; then dug for water in the 
 highest place, but found it as salt as ever, and then returned to 
 our habitation. — But hunger and thirst began to prey upon us, and' 
 our comforts were as few as our hopes. 
 
 Friday, i25th. — Again passed over to those Keys to windward in 
 order to rati our stuff to our island, it being most convenient for 
 building. But the surf on the beach was so very rough, that we 
 *rere again compelled to postpone it. Our courage however did 
 
456 NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 
 
 not fail where there wns the slightest hopes of life — Returning 
 without it, we found on our way an old top timber of some vessel; 
 't had several spikes in it, which we afterwards found very ser- 
 viceable. In the hollow of an old tree, we found two guarnas of 
 small size, one male, the other female. — One only was caught 
 After taking ofT the skin, we judged it weighed a pound and a half 
 With some flour and lard, (the only things we had except salt 
 water,) it made us a line little mess. We thought it a rare disii 
 though a small one for eleven half starved persons. — At the same 
 time p small vessel hove in sight ;. we made a signal to her with 
 the blanket tied t<i a [)ole and placed it oa the highest tree — some 
 took off their white clotljes and waved them in the air, hoping they 
 would come to us; s'.iould they be pirates, they could do no more 
 than kill us, and [lerhaps would gtve us some water for which we 
 began to sulfcr most excessively; but, notwithstanding all our 
 efforts, she took no notice of us. 
 
 Saturday, 2Gth. — This day commenced with moderate weather 
 and smooth sea; at low tide found some cockles, boiled and eat 
 them, but they were very painful to the stomach. David Warren 
 had a fit of strangling with swelling of the bowels; but soon re- 
 covered, and said, "something like salt, rose in his throat and 
 choked him " JMost of us then set off for the Keys, where the 
 plank and shooks were put together in a raft, which we with pieces 
 of boards paddled over to our island; when we consulted the best 
 plan, either to build a raft large enough for us all to go on, or a 
 boat; but the shooks having three or four nails in each, and having 
 a piece of large reed or bamboo, previously found, of which we 
 made pins, concluded to make a boat. 
 
 Sunday, 27th. — Commenced our labor, for which I know we 
 need offer no apology. We took the two planks, which were 
 about fourteen teet long, and two and a half wide, and fixed them 
 together for the bottom of the boat; then with moulds made of 
 palmetto bark, cut timber and knees from mangrove trees which 
 spread so much as to make the boat four feet wide at the top, 
 placed them exactly the distance apart of an Havanna sugar box. 
 — H(i- stern was square and the bows tapered to a peak, makmg 
 her form resemble a f]at-iron. We proceeded thus far and retired 
 to rest for the night — but Mr. Bracket was too unwell to get much 
 sleep. 
 
 JNIonday, 28th. — Went on with the work as fast as possible. — 
 Some of the Spaniards had long knives about them, which proved 
 \nry useful in fitting timbers, and a gimlet of mine, accidentally 
 found on board the pirates, enabled us to use the wooden pins. — 
 And now our spirits began to revive, though xoater, wafer, was 
 continually in our minds. We now feared the pirates might pos- 
 sibly come, find out our plan and put us to death, (although before 
 we had wished to see tiiem, being so much in want of water.) 
 Our labor was extremely burdensome, and the Spaniards con* 
 
 I 
 
NARRATIVS. OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 451 
 
 ■iderably peevish — but they would often say to me " never mind 
 capitan, by and by, Americana or Spanyola catch tiiem, me go 
 Bee uin iiung." We quitted work for the day, cooked some cakesi 
 but found it necessary to reduce the quantity again, however 
 small belbre. We found some herbs on a windward Key, which 
 (he Spaniards called Spanish tea. — This when well boiled we found 
 somewhat palatable, although the water was very salt. This 
 herb resembles pennyroyal in look and taste, though not so pun- 
 gent. In the evening when we were setting round the fire to keep 
 off the moschetoes, 1 observed David Warren's eyes shone like 
 glass. I'he mate said to him — " David I think you will die before 
 morning — I think you are struck with death now." I thought so 
 too, and told him, " 1 thought it most likely we should all die here 
 soon; but as some one of us may survive to carry the tidings to 
 our friends, if you have any thing to say respecting your family, 
 now is the time." — He then said, " I have a mother in Saco where 
 I belong — she is a second time a widow — to-morrow if you can 
 spare a scrap of paper and pencil I will write something." But 
 no to-morrow came to him. — In the course of t' -^ nig.ht he had 
 another spell of strangling, and soon after expiri > , without much 
 pain and without a groan. He was about twenty-si.x years old. 
 — How solemn was this scene to us! Here we beheld the ravages 
 of death commenced upon us. More than one of us considered 
 death a happy release. For myself J. thought of my wife and 
 children; and wished to live if God should so order it, though ex- 
 treme, thirst, hunger and exhaustion had well nigh prostrated ray 
 fondest hopes. 
 
 Tuesday, 29th. — Part of us recommenced labor on the boat, 
 while myself and Mr. Bracket went and selected the highest clear 
 spot of sand on the northern side of the island, where we dug 
 Warren's grave and boxed it up with shooks, thinking it would be 
 the most suitable spot for the rest of us — whose turn would come 
 next, we knew not. At about ten o'clock, A. M. conveyed the 
 corpse to the grave, followed by us survivers — a scene, whose 
 awful solemnity can never be painted. We stood around the 
 grave, and there I read the funeral prayer from the Rev. Mr. 
 Brooks's Family Prayer Book; and committed the body to the 
 earth; covered it with some pieces of board and sand, and return- 
 ed to our labor. — One of the Spaniards an old man, named Man- 
 uel, who was partial to me, and I to him, made a cross and placed 
 at the head of the grave saying, " Jesus Christ hath him now." 
 Although I did not belie /e in any mysterious influence of this 
 cross, yet I was perfectly willing it should stand there. The mid- 
 dle part of the day being very warm, our mouths parched with 
 thirst, and our spirits so depressed, that we made but little progress 
 during the remainder of this day, but in the evening were employ- 
 ed in picking oakum out of the bolt rope taken from the old sail 
 
 Wednesday, 30th. — Returned to labor on the boat with an 
 
458 .VARRATivE Of cwiAiy : i.\rfii..T 
 
 Biuch vigor as oiir woek and debilitated state would ad;nJt, bw 
 it was a day of trial to us all; for tiie Spaniards and we Ameri- 
 cans could not well understand each other's plans, and they Ijb- 
 ing naturally petulant would not work, nor listen with any patience 
 for Josepii our English fellow prisoner to explain our views — they 
 would soniotinies undo wliat they had done and in a few minutes 
 replace it again ; however before night we began to calk her 
 seams, by means of pieces of hard mangrove, made in form of a 
 calking-iron, and had the satisfaction of seeing her in a form some- 
 thing like a boat. 
 
 Thursday, 31st. — Went on with the work, some at calking, 
 otliers at battening the seams with strips of canvass, and pieces 
 of pine nailed over, to keep the oakum in. Having found a suita- 
 ble pole for a mast, the rest went about making a sail from the 
 one we had used for a covering, also fitting oars of short pieces of 
 boards, in form of a paddle, tied on a pole, we having a piece of 
 fishing line broughtby one of the prisoners. Thus, at three P. M 
 the boat was completed and put afloat. — We had all this time con- 
 fidently hoped, that she would be sufficiently large and strong to 
 carry us all — we made atrial and were disappointed! This was 
 indeed a severe trial, and the emotions it called up were not easy 
 to be suppressed. She proved leaky, for we had no carpenter's 
 yard, or smith's shop to go to. — And now the question was, " who 
 should go, and how many.'"' I found it necessary for six; 
 four to row, one to steer and one to bale. Three of the Spaniards 
 and the Frenchman claimed the right, as being best acquainted 
 with the nearest inhabitants; likewise, they had when taken, two 
 boats left at St. Maria (about forty miles distant) which they were 
 confident of finding. They promised to return within two or three 
 days for the rest of us — I thought it best to consent — Mr. Bracket 
 it was agreed should go in my stead, because my papers must ac- 
 company me as a necessary protection, and my men apprehended 
 danger if they were lost. Joseph Baxter (I think was his name) they 
 wished should go, because he could speak both languages — leav- 
 ing Manuel, George, Thomas and my?- f, to wait their return. 
 Having thus made all arrangements, and putting up a keg of the 
 least salt water, with a few pancakes and salt fish, they set off" a 
 little be lore sunset with our best wishes ana prayers for their safety 
 and return to our relief — To launch ofT into the wide ocean, with 
 strength almost exhausted, and in such a frail boat as this, you 
 will say was very hazardous, and in truth it was; but what else 
 was left to us? — Their intention was to touch at the Key where 
 the Exertion was, and if no boat was to be found there, to pro- 
 ceed on to St. Maria and if none there, to go to Trinidad and send 
 us relief — But alas! it was the last time I ever saw them! — Our 
 auffering this day was most acute. 
 
 Tuesday, February 1st. — This day we rose early and traversed 
 the heath in search of ccckles, Stc. but found very few— I struck 
 
JVAHRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOI.IV, 453 
 
 m_» foot against something in the sand, which proved to be a curi- 
 ous shell, and soon found two others of a different kind; but iney 
 were to me like Crusoe's lump of gold, of no value. I could not 
 drink them; so laid them by. — I returned to our tent and we 
 made some skillygolee, or flour and salt water boiled together, 
 whicn we found better than clear salt water. We passed the day 
 very uncomfortably, and my people were dissatisfied at not having 
 an equal chance, as they called it, with the others in the boat — ■ 
 but it is not always, that we know what is for our good. 
 
 Saturday, 2d. — Thomas and George made another visit to the 
 Windward Keys, where they found some more shooks and two 
 pieces of spars; towed them round as before. We now had some 
 hopes of finding enough to make us a raft, which would carry us 
 to some place of lelief, in case the boat should not return. 
 
 Sunday, 3d. — A calm warm day, but a very gloomy one to us, 
 it being more difficult to support life — our provisions nearly ex- 
 pended, no appearance of rain since the night we first landed, our 
 thirst increasinji, our strength wastinsr, our few clothes hangin" in 
 rags, our beards of great length and almost turned white, nothing 
 like relief before us, no boat in sight. — -Think, compassionate 
 reader, our situation. We had marked out for each one the place 
 for his grave. I looked at mine, and thought of my wife and fami- 
 ly. — Again we reduced the allowance of bread; but even the 
 little which now fell to my share, I could scarcely swallow — I 
 never seemed to feel the sensation of hunger, the extreme of thirst 
 was so overpowering. — Perhaps never shall I be more reconciled 
 to death, but my home made me want to live, although every breath 
 seemed to increase thirst. 
 
 Monday, 4th. — Having seriously reflected on our situation, 
 concluded to put all the shooks, &c. together and form a raft, and 
 ascertain what weight it would carry; but here again we were 
 disappointed, for we had not enough to carry two of us. 
 
 Tuesday, 5th. — About ten o'clock, A. M. discovered a boat 
 drifting by on the southeast side of the island about a mile distant. 
 I deemed it a providential thing to us, and urged Thomas and 
 George trying the raft for her. Thev reluctantly consented and 
 set off", but it was nearly three P. M. when they came up with 
 her. — It was the same boat we had built! Where then was my 
 friend Bracket and those who went with him? Every appearance 
 was unfavorable. — I hoped that a good Providence had yet pre- 
 served him — The two men who went for the boat, found it full of 
 water, witliout oars, paddle, or sail; being in this condition, and 
 about three miles to the leeward, the men found it impossible to 
 ow her up, so teft her, and were till eleven o'clock at night get- 
 ling back with the raft. They were so ex'.Tausted, that had it not 
 been nearly calm, they could never have returned. 
 
 Wednesday, Gth. — This morning was indeed the most gloomy 
 I had ever e.\perieuced. — There appeared hardly a ray of hop* 
 
4G0 NARRATIVE OF CAI'T.VIN I.INCOI.PI 
 
 that my IricMid Hracket could return, seeing the boat was lost.-- 
 Our provisions nearly gone; our mouths parched extremely with 
 thirst; our strengtii wasted; our P[)irits broken, and our hopes 
 imprisoned within the circumterence of this desolate island in the 
 midst of an unfrequented ocean; all these things gave to the scene 
 around us the hue of death. In the midst of this dreadful despon- 
 dence, a sail hove in sight, bearing the white flag. Our hopes 
 were raised, of course — but no sooner raised than darkened, by 
 hearing a gun fired. Here then was another gang of pirates. — 
 She soon, however, came near enough to anchor, and her boat 
 pushed off towards us with three men in her. — Thinking it 
 no worse now to die by sword than famine I walked down inune- 
 diately to meet them. I knew them not. — A moment before the 
 boat touched the ground, a man leaped from her bows and caught 
 me in his arms! It was JVickola ! ! — saying, " Do you now believe 
 Nickola is your friend.? yes, said he, Jamieson will yet prove him- 
 self so." — No words can express my emotions at this moment. — 
 This was a friend indeed. The reason of my not recognising 
 them before, was that they had cut off their beards and whiskers. 
 Turning to my fellow-sufferers, Nickola asked — " Are these all 
 that are left of you? where are the others?" — At this moment 
 seeing David's grave — " Are they dead then? ah I suspected it, 
 I know what you were put here for." As soon as I could recover 
 myself, gave him an account of Mr. Bracket and the others. — 
 " How unfortunate, he said, they must be lost or some pirates 
 have taken them " — " but, he continued, we have no time to lose; 
 you had better embark immediately with us, and go v^here you 
 please, we are at your service." I'he other two in the boat with 
 him were Frenchmen, one named I^yon, the other Parrikete, 
 They affectionately embraced each of us; then holding to my 
 mouth the nose ot' a teakettle, filled with wine, said " Drink plenty, 
 no hurt you." I drank as much as I judged prudent. They then 
 gave it to my fellow suJlerers. — 1 experienced almost immediate 
 relief, not feeling it in my head; they had also brought in the 
 boat for us, a dish of salt beef and potatoes, of which we took a 
 little. Then sent the boat on board for the other two men, being 
 five in all; who came ashore, and rejoiced enough was I to see 
 among them Thomas Young, one of my crew, who was detained 
 on board the Mexican, but had escaped through Nickola's means; 
 the other a Frenchman, named John Cadedt. I now thought, 
 again and again, with troubled emotion of my friend Bracket's 
 fate.- I took the last piece of paper I had, and wrote with pencil 
 a few lines, informing him (should he come there,) that " I and 
 the rest were safe; that I was not mistaken in the friend in whom 
 I had placed so much confidence, that he had accomplished my 
 highest expectations; and that I should go immediately to Trini- 
 dad, and requested him to go there also, and apply to JMr. Isaac W. 
 Lord, my consignee, for assistance." I put the paper into a junk 
 
narrative: of captain lixcoln. 461 
 
 bottle, previously found on the beach, put in a stopper, and left 
 it, together with wliat Httle flour remaiiiod, a keg of wat(tr brought 
 from Nickola's vessel, and a few other things which I thought 
 might be of service to him. We then repaired with our frienda 
 on board, where we were kindly treated. She was a sloop from 
 Jamaica, of about twelve tons, with a cargo of rum and wir.e, 
 boun.d to Trinidad. I asked " which way they intended to go.?'' 
 they said -'to Jamaica if agreeable to me." As I preferred 
 Trinidad, 1 told them, " if they would give me the Exertion's 
 boat which was along-side (beside their own) some water and pro- 
 Tisions, we would take chance in her," " tor perhaps, said I, you 
 will fare better at Jamaica, than at Trinidad." After a few min- 
 utes consultation, they said "you are too much exhausted to row 
 the di.stance of one hundred miles, therefore we will go and carry 
 you — we consider ourselves at your service." I expressed a 
 wish to take a look at the Exertion, possibly we might hear some- 
 thing of Mr. Bracket. Nickola said " very well." so got under 
 way, and run for her, having a light westerly wind. He then re- 
 lated to me the manner of their desertion from the pirates; as 
 nearly as 1 can recollect his own words, he said, " A few days 
 since, the pirates took four small vessels, I believe Spaniards; 
 they having but two officers for the two first, the third fell to me 
 as prize master, and having an understanding with the three 
 Frenchmen and Thomas, selected them for my crew, and went 
 on board with orders to follow the Mexican; which I obeyed. 
 The fourth, the pirates took out all but one man and bade him 
 also follow their vessel. .\ow our schooner leaked so bad, that 
 we left her and in her stead agreed to take this little sloop, (which 
 we are now in) together with the one man. The night being very 
 ark we all agreed to desert the pirates — altered our course and 
 touched at St. Maria, where we landed the one man — saw no 
 boats there, could hear nothing from you, and agreed one and all 
 at the risk of our lives to come and liberate you if you were alive; 
 knowing, as we did, that you were put on this Key to perish. 
 On our way we boa'ded the Exertion, thinking possibly you might 
 have been there. On board her we found a sail and paddle.* 
 We took one of the pirate's boats which they had left along-side 
 of her, which proves how we come by two boats. My friend, the 
 circumstance 1 am now about to relate, will somewhat astonish 
 you. When the pirate's boat with Bolidar was sent to the before 
 mentioned Key, on the 19th of January, it was their intention to 
 leave you prisoners there, where was nothing but salt water and 
 mangroves, and no possibility of escape This was the plan of 
 Baltizar, their abandoned pilot; but Bolidar's heart failed him, 
 and he objected to it; then, after a conference. Captain Jonnia 
 ordered you to be put on the little island from whence we have 
 
 * I'his proved to me that Mr {racket had been there, these being the ones which he took 
 from the isKnd 39* 
 
462 NAUIIATIVE OK CAPTAIN LIXCOI.N'. 
 
 now taken you. But after tliis was done, that ni^ht the Fiench 
 and Portuguese part of tlie Mexican's crew protested against it; 
 so that Captain Jonnia to satisfy tliein, sent his large hoat to take 
 you and your lellow prisoners hack again, taking care to select hi;^ 
 contidcntial Spaniards for this errand. And will you beheve me, 
 llicy set olf from the Mexican and after spending about as much time 
 as would really have taken them to come to you, they returned, and 
 refjorted they had been to your island, and landed, and that none of 
 you were there; somebody having taken you off I This, all my 
 companions here know to be true. — I knew it was impossible you 
 could hfive been liberated, and therefore we determined among 
 ourselves, that s lould an opportunity occur we would come and 
 save your lives, as we now have." He then expressed, as he 
 hitherto had done, (and 1 believe with sincerity) his disgu.st with 
 the bad company which he had been in, and looked forward with 
 anxiety to the day when he might return to his native country. 
 I advised him to get on board an Anieiican vessel, whenever an 
 opportunity offered, and come to the United States; and on his 
 arrival direct a letter to me: repeating my earnest desire to make 
 some return for the disinterested friendship which he had shown 
 toward me. With the Frenchman I had but little conversation, 
 oeing unacquainted with the language. 
 
 Here ended Nickola's account. " And now" said the French- 
 men, " our hearts be easy." Nickola observed he had left all 
 and found us. I gave them my warmest tribute of gratitude, 
 saying, I looked upon them under God as the preservers of our 
 <ives, and promised them all the assistance which my situation 
 might ever enable me to aflbrd. — This brings me to 
 
 Thursday evening, 7th, when, at. eleven o'clock, we anchored 
 at the creek's mouth, near the Exertion. I was anxious to board 
 her; accordingly took with me Nickola, Thomas, George and two 
 others, well armed, each with a musket and cutlass. I jumped 
 on her deck, saw a fire in the camboose, but no person there: I 
 called aloud Mr. Bracket's name several times, saying " it is 
 Captain Lincoln, don't be afraid, but show yourself;" but no an- 
 swer was given. She had no masts, spars, rigging, furniture, 
 provisions or any thing left, except her bowsprit, and a Cvw bar- 
 rels of salt provisions of her cargo. Her sealing had holes cut 
 in it, no doubt in their Ibolish search for money. I left her with 
 peculiar emotions, such as I hope never again to experience; and 
 returned to the little sloop where we remained till — 
 
 Friday, 8th — When I had a disposition to visit the island on 
 which we were fir.-t imprisoned. — Found nothing there — saw a 
 boat among the mangroves, near the Exertion. Returned, and 
 got under way immediately for Trinidad. In the night, while 
 under full sail, run aground on a sunken Key, having rocks above 
 the water, resembling old stumps of trees; we, however, soon 
 goi otr and anchored. Most of those Keys have similar rockf 
 »^> *ut the'M, which navigators must carefully guard against. 
 
NARRATni: OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN'. 463 
 
 Saturday, 9t'n. — Got under way again, and stood along cjose ia 
 for the main island ot' Cuba, in order, that if we should see th? 
 pirates, to take our boats and go on shore. 
 
 Sunday, 10th. — Saw the highlands of Trinidad. At night 
 came to anchor in sight of the town, near a small Key; next 
 morning — 
 
 Monday, 11th — Got under way — saw a brig at anchor about 
 five miles below the mouth of the harbor; we hoped to avoid her 
 speaking us; but when we opened in sight of her, discovered a 
 boat making towards us, with a number of armed men in her. 
 This alarmed my friends, and as we did not see the brig's ensign 
 hoisted, they declared the boat was a pirate, and looking through 
 the spy-glass, thought they knew some of them tc be the JMexi- 
 can's men! This state of things was quite alarming. They 
 said, " we will not be taken alive by them." Immediately the 
 boat fired a musket; the ball passed through our mainsail. My 
 friends insisted on beating them otf: I endeavored to dissuade 
 them, believing, as I did, that the brig was a Spanish man of 
 war, who had sent her boat to ascertain who we were. I thought 
 we had better heave too. Immediately another shot came. 
 Then they insisted on fighting and said, " if I would not help 
 them, I was no friend." 1 reluctantly acquiesced, and handed up 
 the guns — commenced firing upon them and they upon us. We 
 received several shot through the sails, but no one was hurt on 
 either side. Our two boats had been cast adrift to make us go 
 the faster, and we gained upon them — continued firing until they 
 turned from us, and went for our boats, which they took in tow 
 for the brig. Soon after this, it became calsn: then I saw that the 
 brig had us in her power. — She manned and armed two more 
 boats for us. We now concluded, since we had scarcely any 
 ammunition, to surrender; and were towed down along-side the 
 brig, taken on board, and was asked by the captain, who could 
 speak English, "what for you firQ on the boat?" I told him 
 " we thought her a pirate, and did not like to be taken by them 
 again, having already suffered too much;" showing my papers. 
 He said, '•' Captain Americana, never mind, go and take some 
 dinner — which are your men r" I pointed them out to him, and 
 he ordered them the liberty of the decks; but my friend Xickola 
 and his three associates were immediately put in irons. They 
 were, however, afterwards taken out of irons and examined; and 
 I understood the Frenchmen agreed to enlist, .is they judged it 
 he surest way to better their condition. Whether Nickola en- 
 listed, I do not know, but think that he did, as I understood that 
 offer was made to him: I however endeavored to explain more 
 distinctly to the captain, the benevolent efforts of these four men 
 by wh jni my life had been saved, and used every argument in ray 
 power to procure their discharge. I also applied to the governor, 
 and exerted myself with peculiar interest, dictated as I trust with 
 
464 NARRATIVE OF CATTArN LINCOLN. 
 
 heartfelt gratitude — and I ardently hope ere this, that Nickola is 
 on his way to this country, where I may have an opportunity of 
 convincing him that such an act of bcnevokMice will not go un- 
 rewarded. Previous to my leaving Trinidad, 1 made all the 
 arrangements in my power with my influential friends, and doubt 
 not, that tlieir laudable edbrts will be accomplished. —The slot^p's 
 cargo was taken on board the brig; after which the captain re- 
 quested a certificate that I was politely treated by hijri, saying his 
 name was Captain Candama, of the privateer brig Prudentee of 
 eighteen guns. This request 1 complied with. His first lieuten- 
 ant told me he had sailed out of Boston, as comn)ander for T. C 
 Amory, Esq. during the last war. In the course of the evening 
 my friends were taken out of irons and examined separately, then 
 put back again. The captain invited me to supper in his cabin, 
 and a birth for the ni-ght, which was truly acceptable. The ne.xt 
 morning after breakfast, I with my people were set on shore with 
 the few things we had, with the promise of the Exertion's small 
 boat in a day or two. But it was never sent me — the reason, let 
 the reader imagine. On landing at the wharf Casildar, we were 
 immediately taken by soldiers to the guard house, which was a 
 very filthy place; thinking I suppose, and even calling us pirates. 
 Soon some friends came to see me. Mr. Cotton, who resides 
 there brought us in some soup. Mr. Isaac W. Lord, of Boston, 
 my merchant, came with Captain Tate, who sent immediately to 
 the governor; for I would not show my papers to any one else. 
 He came about sunset, and after examining Manuel my Spanish 
 fellow prisoner, and my papers, said to me, giving me the papers, 
 " Captain, you are at liberty." I was kindly invited by Captain 
 Matthew Rice, of schooner Galaxy, of Boston, to go on board 
 his vessel, and live with him during my stay there. This gener- 
 ous offer I accepted, and was treated by him with the greatest 
 hospitality; for I was an hungered and he gave me meat, I was 
 athirst and he gave me drink, I was naked and he clothed me, 
 a stranger anr' he took me in. He likewise took Manuel and my 
 three men for that night. Next day Mr. Lord rendered me all 
 necessary assistance in making my protest. He had heard noth- 
 ing from me until my arrival. I was greatly disappointed in not 
 finding Mr. Bracket, and requested Mr. Lord to give him all 
 needful aid if he should come there. To Captain Carnes, of the 
 schooner Hannah, of Boston, I would tender my sincere 'hanks, 
 for his kindness in giving me a passage to Boston, which I gladly 
 accepted. To those gentlemen of Trinidad, and many captains 
 of American vessels, who gave me sea clothing, Stc. I ciTer my 
 cordial gratitude. 
 
 Captain Carnes sailed from Trinidad on the 20th r'ebruary. 
 Fearing the pirates, we kept a long distance from tl c land and 
 two degrees to westward of Cape Antonia. On our passage ex- 
 perienced several gales of wind, in one of which, while lying 
 
NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 465 
 
 to, shipped a sea, which did considerable tnjiiry, and swept a 
 youag man overboard from the pump, named Nelson. We never 
 saw him again. We arrived at Boston, INIarch 25th, and when I 
 stepped upon the wharf, though much emaciated, I felt truly 
 happy. 
 
 I am fully ot the opinion that these ferocious pirates are linked 
 in with many inhabitants of Cuba; and the government in many 
 respects appears covertly to encourage them. 
 
 It is with heartfelt delight, that, since the above narrative was 
 written, I have learned that Mr. Bracket and his companions are 
 safe; he arrived at Port d 'Esprit, about forty leagues east of 
 Trinidad. A letter has been received from him, stating that he 
 should proceed to Trinidad the first opportunity. — It appears that 
 after reaching the wreck, they found a boat from the shore, 
 taking on board some of the Exertion's cargo, in which they pro- 
 ceeded to the above place. Why it was not in his power to come 
 to our relief will no doubt be satisfactorily disclosed when he may 
 be so fortunate as once more to return to his native country and 
 friends. 
 
 For many months, I remained without any certain information 
 respecting the fete of Mr. Bracket and his C!)mpanions. But in 
 the course of the ensuing Autumn, if I recollect right, Mr. Bracket 
 very unexpectedly paid me a visit, at Hingham, the place of my 
 residence. We were mutually rejoiced to see each other once 
 more among the living, as for n time at least, each had regarded the 
 other as dead. He g,ave me an account of his adventures, and of 
 the reasons, why he did not return to us. He told me that when 
 they left us, and put to sea, in the miserable boat, which we had 
 constructed, they went to the Exertion, and fortunately found a 
 better boat, of which they took possession, and sufl'ered the old one 
 to float away, and it accordingly pa.ssed our solitary inland, in its 
 random course, causing us a great deal of alarm. From the 
 wreck, they steered among the keys to the main-land of Cuba, 
 and reached Principe, the town where my cargo was sold. Here 
 Mr. Bracket related his tale of suffering, and requested as^;is- 
 tance, to rescue the remaining prisoners, on the key. The 
 authorities furnished him with several soldiers, with whom he 
 again put to sea, with the humane intention of coming to relieve 
 us. They had gone but a short distance, however, when the sol- 
 diers positively refused to go any farther, and ft)rced him to re- 
 turn with them to Principe; thus all his hopes of being able to 
 rescue us, were entirely e.xtinguished. A stranger, and helpless 
 as he was, it was out of his power to do any thing more, and he 
 could only hope that we might have been saved in some other 
 way. Friendless, without money, and debilitated by recent suf^ 
 fering, he hardly knew which way to turn. He v/as desirous of 
 reaching home, and finally resolved to travel lo the north side 
 of Cdba. After a long and tedious jouiKiey, during which ht 
 
4b6 NARRATIVE OF CATTAIN LINCOLN. 
 
 gufiered dreadfully, from tlie hard liavolliiiir, and want of nfcce* 
 Baries and comforts, he at length arrived at Havannah, from 
 which port he took passage home to Boston. Thus the reasons 
 of his conduct were satisfactorily explained, and my uncertainty 
 respecting his fate, happily terminated. 
 
 I fell great anxiety to learn what hecame of Janiieson, who, 
 my readers will recollect, was detained on hoard the Spanish Hrig 
 Prudentee near Trinidad. I heard nothing from him, until I 
 believe about eighteen months after I reached home, when 1 re- 
 ceived a letter tVom him, from Montego Bay Jamaica, ini'orming 
 me that he was then residing in that island. I immediately wrote 
 to him, and invited him to come on to the United States. He 
 accordingly came on passenger with Captain Wilson of Cohas- 
 set, and arrived in Boston, in August 1824. Our meeting was very 
 aflecting. Trying scenes were brought up before i'.s; scenes 
 gone forever, through which we had passed together, wiiere our 
 acquaintance was formed, and since which time, we had never 
 met. I beheld once more the Preserver of my life; the instru 
 ment, under Providence, of restoring me to my home, my fannly 
 and my friends, and I regarded him with no ordinary emotion. 
 My family were delighted to see him, and cordially united in 
 giving him a warm reception. He told me that after we separated 
 in Trinidad, he remained on board the Spanisli Brig. The Com- 
 mander asked him and his companions if they would enlist; the 
 Frenchmen replied that they would, but he said nothing, being 
 determined to make his escape, the very first opportunity which 
 should present. The Spanish Brig afterwards fell in with a 
 Columbian Patriot, an armed Brig of eighteen guns. Being of 
 about equal force, they gave battle, and fought between three 
 and four hours. Both parties were very much injured; and, with- 
 out any considerable advantage on either side, both drew off' to 
 make repairs. The Spanish Brig Prudentee, put into St. Jago 
 de Cuba. Jamieson was wounded in the action, by a muske< 
 ball, through his arm, and was taken on shore, with the othei 
 wounded, and placed in the hospital at St. Jago. Here he re- 
 mained for a considerable time, until he had nearly recovered, 
 when he found an opportunity of escaping, and embarked for 
 Jamaica. He arrived in safety at Kingston, and from there, 
 travelled barefoot over the mountains, until very much exhausted, 
 he reached Montego Bay, where he had friends, and where one 
 af his brothers possessed some property. From this place, ho 
 afterwards wrote to me. He told me that before he came to 
 Massachusetts, he saw the villainous pilot of the Mexican, the 
 infamous Baltizar, with several other pirates, brought into Mon- 
 tego Bay, from whence they were to be conveyed to Kingston, to 
 be ex&cuted. Whether the others were part of the Mexican's 
 crew, or not, I do not know. Baltizar was an old man, and as 
 Jamieson sa«d, it was a melancholy and heart-rending sight, to see 
 
NARRATIVE or CAT! ilN LINCOLN. 467 
 
 fcim borne to execution \vith those gray hairs, which might have 
 been venerable in virtuous old age, now a shame and reproach to 
 this hoarv villain, for he was full of years, and old in iniquity. 
 When Jamieson received the letter which I wrote him, he imme- 
 diately embarked with Captain Wilson, and came to Boston, as 
 I have before observed. 
 
 Acc6rding to his own account he v/as of a very respectable 
 family in Grcenoch, Scotland. His father when living was a 
 -ich cloth merchant, but both his father, and mother, had 
 been dead many years. He was the youngest of thirteen chil- 
 dren, and being as he .said of a roving disposition, had al- 
 ways followed the seas, lie had received a polite education, 
 dnd was of a very gentlemanly deportment. He spoke sev- 
 eral living languages, and was skilled in drawing and paint 
 ing. He had travelled extensively in different countries, and 
 acquired in consequence, an excellent knowledge of their man- 
 ners and customs. His varied information (tor hardly any 
 subject escaped him,) rendered him a very entertaining companion. 
 His observations on the character of different nations were very 
 liberal; marking their various traits, their virtues and vices, with 
 playful humorousness, quite free from bigotry, or narrow preju- 
 dice. 
 
 He was in France, during the disturbance between France 
 and England, when all British subjects whatever in France 
 were detained prisoners of war. He was one who was thus 
 compelled to remain a prisoner to Napoleon. He was there, at 
 the time of Napoleon's memorable expedition to Russia; and saw 
 the splendid troops of the Emperor when they left delightful 
 France to commence their toilsome, and fatal journey; and also 
 the remnant when they returned, broken down, dispirited, hag- 
 gard, and wan, their garments hanging about them in tatters, and 
 hardly life enough in them to keep soul and body together. The 
 particulars respecting this period, he could communicate with the 
 minuteness of an eye-witness, which consequently rendered them 
 very interesting. During the first |)art of his residence in France, 
 he was supported by remittances from his father, and allowed the 
 liberty of the city of Valenciennes; a gentleman there, being 
 bound for his good behavior. He thus had an opportunity of 
 visiting and becoming acquainted with the inhabitants. He 
 lived in this manner several years. At length aroused, as he 
 said, bv the consciousness that he was spending the best days of 
 his life in idleness, he formed the determination to try and make 
 his escape from the country. He honorably released the. gentle- 
 man who was bound for him, from his obligation, frankly telling 
 him tnat he should run awav the first opportunitv- From this 
 time he was alternately arrcc-ted and imprisoned, aiid by various 
 stratagems effected his escape, until he had been placed in ninet}'- 
 three different prisons. During his wanderings, he climbed the 
 
468 NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN LINCOLN. 
 
 Alps, and visited the famous passage, cut tlirouf;'n the solid rock, 
 by Hannibal, which as he said, was of sufHcient magnitude 
 to admit a large loaded wagon to pass through. From his long 
 residence in Kranre, lie had learned to speak the French language 
 with a facility, almost etpial to a native. The charm of his 
 conversation and manners drew people around him, tiiey hardly 
 knew how, or why. 
 
 1 was in trade, between Boston and Philadelphia, at the time 
 he came to iNIassachusetts, and he sailed with me several tri|>3 
 as my mate. He afterwards went to Cuba, and was subsequently 
 engaged in the mackerel lishery, out oftiie prnt of llirigham, during 
 the warm season, and in the winter frequently employed himself 
 m leacliing navigation to young men, for which he was eminently 
 qualified. He remained with us, until his death, which took 
 place in 18'29. At this time he had been out at sea two or three 
 days, when ho was takon sick, and was carried into Ca.\ui Cod, 
 where he died, on the first day of May 1829, and there his re- 
 mains lie buried. Peace be to his ashes! They rest in a strange 
 land, far from his kindred, and his native country. 
 
 Since his death I have met with Mr. Stewart in Philadelphia, 
 who was Commercial Agent in Trinidad at the time of my 
 capture. He informed me, that the piratical schooner Me.xi 
 can, was allerwards chased by an Englis!) government vessel, 
 from Jamaica, which was cruising in search of it. iJeing hotly 
 pursued the pirates deserted tlieir vessel, and fled to the Man- 
 grove bushes, on an island similar to that on which they had 
 placed me and my crew to die. The Fnglish surrounded them, 
 and thus they were cut off from aJl hope of escape. They remained 
 there, I think fourteen days, when being almost entirely subdued 
 by famine, eleven surrendered themselves, and were taken. The 
 others probably perished among the mangroves. The few who 
 were taken were carried by the government vessel into Trinidad 
 Mr. Stewart said tiiat he sa.v tiiem himself, and such miserable 
 objects that had life he never before beheld. They were in a 
 state of starvation; their beards had grown to a frightful length, 
 their bodies were covered with hlth and vermin, and their coun- 
 tenances were hideous. From Trinidad they were taken to 
 Kingston, Jamaica, and there hung. Thus there is every reason 
 to believe that this horde of monsters was at last broken up, and 
 utHpersed 
 
OllEENWICH HOSPIT.IL. 
 
 469 
 
 GREENWICH HOSPITAL. 
 
 Greenwich, which was formerly a distinct town, but is now an 
 appendage to tiie British metropolis, is seated on the south bank 
 of the Thames, five miles below London bridge. It is celebrated 
 for its hospital for wounded and decayed seamen of the natiena. 
 
 .Jivi-ir.vi.h HMspital. 
 
 marine, which is one of the finest architectural edifices in the 
 world. The luiildings consist of four distinct piles, two along 
 the bank of tlie river, with a noble terrace in front, eight hundred 
 and sixty feet in length; between these two piles is a lawn two 
 hundred and seventy i'eet wide; the two other piles are built be- 
 hind, projeo-ting into the square or lawn, so as to form a quadran- 
 gle with an opening in the centre, which is terminated by an 
 elegant building more recently erected for a naval school; behind 
 tiiis, on t°he summit of a hill, is the royal observatory, from whence 
 the English and American mariners reckon their longitude. The 
 hill at this point, if the atmosphere happens by rare good fortune 
 to be clear, commands a grand view of London and the space 
 intervening. It projects so boldly, that the tops of the trees ap- 
 pear at the feet of t-he spectator — the hospital, with its domes, 
 appears embosomed in a wooded amphitheatre— d.nd the river in 
 its serpentine course, thicker and thicker covered with boats, 
 bargeSj and large vessels. 
 
 40 
 
4'iO LOIN'S or Tin: s:iip boht'):;. 
 
 Greenwich Iiosintal is decorated by scvera. colossal staiues an,* 
 beautil'iil pieces of sculpture. One is an eniblematical represent- 
 ation ol'tlu' dcatli or,\<'lson. 
 
 The |)etisioners to be received into the hospital must be aged 
 and maiinid seamen of the navy, or of the merchant ser icc, if 
 wounded in battle, and marines and foreigners who have served 
 two year& in ihe navy. The total expense of the establishment is 
 sixty-nine thousand pounds per annum, which is a|)propriated to 
 the support of about three thousand seamen on the premises, and 
 fifty-four hundred out-pensioners. 
 
 jloss of the ship boston. 
 
 An unusual degree of sensation was excited in Boston, on the 
 first of Jiine, by (he melanclioly tidings of the loss of the packet 
 ship (Roston. 'I'his strong and elegant ship — one of the finest 
 packets that belong to this country — was struck by lightning in 
 the Gulf Stream, six days out from Charleston, and b^arnt to the 
 water's edge. We present the details below, as furnished by 
 Captain Mackay. "On Tuesday, the 25th May, lat 39, 3l", 
 long. 6.3, 4G, commenced with fresh breeze and squally weather 
 — at 2 P. M. heavy rain which continued until sunset — at 8 P. M. 
 forked lightning in the southwest, and dark and heavy clouds ris- 
 ing from the westward — at 9, the wind hauled to the westward — 
 at 10, P. M. a heavy cloud began to rise in the southwest — at 
 10^, sharp lightning, clued up the topgaTlant-sails, and hauled the 
 mainsail up — at 11, heavy thunder and sharp lightning; the sec- 
 ond flash struck the ship, burst the main-royal from the gaskets 
 and burnt it; knocked down the steward and Isaac Hoj)kins a 
 sailor, and filled the ship lull ol" electric fluid. We examined the 
 ship immediately to ascertain if the masts were injured, or the 
 lightning had passed through the deck; but the mast appeared 
 uninjured, a bright complaisoncc resting on each royal-mast head. 
 We single reefed the maintop-sa>il, and were about to haul the 
 mainsail, when we ascertained that the ship was on fire. We 
 immediately cleared the main and after hatchways, to get at the 
 fire, heaving the cotton overboard and cutting holes in the deck, 
 plying water in every direction — but all in vain; the cotton in the 
 main hold was on fire, fore and aft, on both sides, burning like 
 tinder. Our only alternative was to clear away the boats and 
 get them out, oart of the crew and passengers at work keeping the 
 fire down as much as possible by drawing and heaving water, 
 itie scuppers being stopped up; we stove water casks over hole» 
 cut in the deck and in the main utchway; starting the wiitei 
 
toss OF THE SHIP BOSTON. 471 
 
 but all to no good purpose, Tor before we coulii get the long boat 
 over the ship's side, the fire had burst through the deck and out 
 the larboard side of the ship. The flames raged with such vio- 
 lence and consurned tlie vessel so quick, that nothing could be 
 saved from the wreck. We got about forty gallons of water and 
 provisions sutncient, on a short allowance, to keep the passengers 
 and crew alive for three weeks — almost every thing else was 
 burnt up in the ship, even the money, watches, and clothes — all 
 destroyed. At 3, A. M. the main and mizen masts were burnt 
 »ff' below deck, and the masts fell in the water at half-past 3, the 
 passengers and crew were all in the boats; the flame=! had then 
 reached the forecastle, and the ship was one complete flame of 
 fire, fore and aft. The passengers had exerted themselves to the 
 utmost to assist us. The officers had with unwearied e.xertion, 
 coolness, and persevering activity done all that men could do. 
 The ship's crew worked like horses and behaved like men; but 
 all would not do. — About three hours time had changed one ol 
 the best ships that ever swam to a complete volcano, and twenty 
 three persons cast adrift on the open ocean. The cabin passen- 
 gers were Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin and servant, Dr. William 
 Boag, and his sister Miss Ansella Boag, Mr. Niel JNIcNeil, and 
 Mr. Samuel S. Osgood. It was then raining and the sea was 
 running high, and every person drenched through with water; in 
 this situation the constitution of Miss Boag, the only lady pas- 
 senger, soon gave way. This amiable young lady's firmness of 
 conduct at the first alarm of fire, and d-uring the whole scene, is 
 worthy of the highest praise. To the divine will of her God she 
 iiubmftted without a murmur, and at 11 o'clock on Wednesday, 
 in the boat, she died in the arms of her brother, thanking him in 
 ihe most afTectionate manner for his kindness, giving her bles- 
 fcmg to us all. On the following day, she was buried with the 
 cnurch service, our situation not admitting of the corpse being 
 kept longer in the boat. We remained in the boats near the fi.re 
 Ol the wreck, two days, and at three o'clock P. M. on Thursday, 
 were taken on board the brig Idas, of Liverpool, N. S. from 
 Demarara, bound to Halifax, Captain Joseph Barnaby, who with 
 his officers and crew treated us with every kindness and attention. 
 We remained on board the brig two days, when Sunday morning. 
 May 30th, falling in with the brig Camilia, Captain Robert B. 
 Edes, he was good enough to offer us a passage to Boston, and 
 received us on board his vessel." 
 
 Admiral sir Isaac Coffin, after landing from the brig Camilla, 
 autliorized his agent to present Captain Mackay with a check for 
 five liundred dollars; and subsequently sent him an elegart gold 
 watch, to replace one which he had lost by the destruction of the 
 ihip. 
 
472 THE LOSS OF THE KENT. 
 
 THE LOSS OF THE KENT 
 
 COMMUNICATED BY AN EVE WITNESS. 
 
 The Kint, Cai)tain Henry Cobb, a fine new ship of one thou- 
 sand three hinidred and fifty tons, bound to Bengal and China, 
 left the Downs on tlie 1 9th of February, with twenty officers, three 
 hundred and forty-four soldiers, forty-three women, and sixty-six 
 ciiildren, belonging to the thirty-first regiment; with twenty pri- 
 vate passengers, and a crew (including officers) of one hundred 
 and forty-eight men on board. 
 
 On the night of Monday, the 28th of February 1827, when the 
 Kent was in lat. 47 degrees 30 minutes, Ion. 10 degrees, a violent 
 gale blew from the west, and gradually increased during the follow 
 ing morning. The rolling of the vessel became tremendous about 
 midnight, so that the best fastened articles of furniture in the 
 principal cabins were dashed about with violence, and the main 
 chains were thrown at every lurch under water. 
 
 It was a little before this period, that one of the officers of the 
 ship, with the well-meant intention of ascertaining that all was fa-si 
 below, descended with two of the sailors into the hold, where they 
 carried with them, for safety, a light in the patent lantern; and 
 seeing that the lamp burned dimly, the officer took the precaution 
 to hand it up to the orlop-deck to be trimmed. Having after- 
 wards discovered one of the spirit casks to be adrift, he sent the 
 sailors lor some billets of wood to secure it; but the ship in their 
 absence having made a heavy lurch, the officer unfortunately 
 dropped the light; and letting go his hold of the cask in his eager- 
 ness to recover the lantern, it suddenly stove, and the spirits com- 
 municating with the lamp, the whole place was instantly in a 
 blaze. 
 
 It so happened that the author, went into the cuddy to observe 
 the state of the barometer, when he received from Captain Spence, 
 the captain of the day, the alarming information that the sliip was 
 on fire in the after hold. 
 
 As long as the devouring element appeared to be .confined to 
 ihe spot where the fire originated, and which we were assured 
 was surrounded on all sides by water casks, we ventured to cherisfi 
 hopes that it might be subdued; but no sooner was the light blue 
 vapor that at first arose succeeded by volumes of thick dingy 
 smoke, which speedily ascendeo through all the four hatchways, 
 rolling over every part of the ship, than all farther concealment, 
 became impossible, and almost all hope of preserving the vessel 
 was abandoned. " The flames have reachedthe cable tier," was 
 exclaimed by some individuals, and the strong pitchy smell that 
 Dcrvaded the deck confirmed the truth of the exclamation. 
 
 In these awfu-I circumstances Captain Cobb, with an ability 
 
THE LOSS OF THE KENT. 473 
 
 and deci'Sion of character that seemed to increase with the immi- 
 nence of the danger, resorted to the only alternative now left him, 
 of ordering the lower deck to be scullled, the comb'ng of the 
 hatches to be cut, and the lower ports to be opened, for the tree 
 admission of the waves. 
 
 These instructions were speedily executed by the united effbrta 
 of the troo[)3 and seamen: but not before some of the sick soldiers, 
 one woman, and several children, unable to gain the upper deck, 
 had perished. On descending to the gun-deck with colonel Fear- 
 on, Captain Eray, and one or two other officers of the 31st regi- 
 ment to assist in opening the ports, I met, staggering towards the 
 hatchway, in an exhausted and nearly senseless state, one of the 
 mates, who informed us that he had just stumbled over the dead 
 bodies of some individuals who must have died from sufFoca*ion, 
 to which it was evident that he himself had almost iallen a victim 
 So dense and oppressive was the smoke, that it was with the ui. 
 most difficulty we could remain long enough below to fulfil Cap- 
 tain Cobb's wishes; which were no sooner accomplished than the 
 searushed in with extraordinary force, carrying away in its resist- 
 less progress to the hold, the largest chests, bulk-heads, &,c. 
 
 On the one hand stood death by fire, on the other death by wa- 
 ter; the dilemma was dreadful. Preferring always the more re- 
 mote alternative, the unfortunate crew were at one moment at- 
 tempting to check the fire by means of water; and when the 
 water became the most threatening enemy, their eflbrts were 
 turned to the exclusion of the waves, and the fire was permitted 
 to rage with all its fury. 
 
 The scene of horror that now presented itself, baffles all de- 
 scription — The upper deck was covered with between six and 
 seven hundred human beings, many of whom, from previous sea 
 sickness, were forced on the first alarm to liee from below in a 
 state of absolute nakedness, and were now running about in quest 
 of husbands, children or parents. 
 
 While some were standing in silent resignation, or in stupid 
 insensibility to their impendmg fate, others were yielding them- 
 selves up to the most frantic despair. Some on their knees were 
 earnestly imploring, with significant gesticulations and in noisy 
 supplications, the mercy of Him, whose arm they exclaimed, was 
 at length outstretched to smite them; others were to be seen 
 hastily crossing themselves, and performing the various external 
 acts required by their peculiar persuasion, while a number of the 
 older and more stout-hearted sailors suddenly took their seats 
 directly over the magazine, hoping as they stated, that by means 
 of the explosion, which they every instant expected, a speedier 
 termination might thereby be put to their sufferings.* 
 
 * Captain Cubb. with ;;ieat forethoueht, ordsreil the ilcck Ut lie sciiuled IVrwarl, wai t 
 view to draw the fire in that directimi, knowing that between it and the tnagazine W9 i 
 several tiers of water casks ; while he lioped that the wet sails, &c. thrown into the all • 
 Void, would prevent i from communicating with the spirit-rnDin abaft. 
 40* 
 
4T4 THE LOSS OF THE KENT. 
 
 Several of the soldiers' wives and children, who had fled kt 
 temporary sheltor into the after cabins on the upper deck, were 
 enifagfd i i praying and in reading tlie scri|)tures with tlie ladies, 
 some of whom were enabled with wonderlul self-possession, to 
 offer to others those spii 'lual consolations, which a firm and in- 
 telligent trust in the Redeemer of the world appeared at this aw- 
 ful hour to impart to their own breasts. 
 
 All hope had departed! the employment of the different indi- 
 viduals indicated utter despair of rescue — one was removing a 
 lock of hair from his writing desk to his bosom —others were 
 awaiting their fate in stupor — some with manly fortitude — others 
 bewailing it with loud and bitter lamentation — and part were oc- 
 CMpie(^ in prayer and mutual encouragement. 
 
 It was at this appalling instant, when " all hope that we should 
 be saved was taken away," that it occurred to Mr. Thompson, 
 the fourth mate, to send a man to the foretop, rather with the 
 ardent wish than the expectation, that some friendly sail might 
 be discovered on the face of the waters. The sailor, on mount- 
 ing, threw his eyes round the horizon for a moment — a moment 
 of unutterable suspense — and waving his hat, exclaimed, " A sail 
 on the lee-bow!" The joyful announcement was received with 
 oeep-felt thanksgiving, and with three cheers upon deck. Our 
 flags of distress were instantly hoisted, and ourm-inute guns fired; 
 and we endeavored to bear down under oar three-topsails and fore- 
 sail upon the stranger, which afterwards {)roved t» be the Cam- 
 pria, a small brig ol" two hundred tons burden, — Cook, bound to 
 Vera Cruz, having on board twenty or thirty Cornish miners, and 
 other agents of the Anglo-Mexican company. 
 
 While Captain Cobb, colonel Fearon, and major Macgregor 
 of the 31st regiment, were consulting together, as the brig was 
 approaching us, on the necessary preparations for getting out the 
 boats, &c. one of the officers asked major M. in what order it 
 was intended the officers should move off.'' to which the other 
 replied, "of course the funeral order;" which injunction was 
 instantly confirmed by Colonel Fearon, who said, " Most undoubt- 
 edly the juniors first — but see that any man is cut down who pre- 
 sumes to enter the boats before the means of escape are presented 
 to the women and children," 
 
 Arrangements having been considerately made by Captain 
 Cobb lor placing in the first boat, previous to letting it down, all 
 the ladies, and as many of the soldiers' wives as it could safely 
 contain, they hurriedly wrapt themselves up in whatever article 
 of clothing could be most conveniently found; and 1 think about 
 two, or half past two o'clock, a most mournful procession advanc- 
 ed from the after cabins to the star-board cuddy port, outside of 
 which the cutter was suspended. Scarcely a word was heard — 
 not a scream was uttered — even the infants ceased to cry as if 
 co»»^ious of the unspoken and unspeakable anguish that was at 
 
THE LOSS OF THE KENT •ilb 
 
 Ihis instant rending the hearts of the parting parents — nor was 
 the silence of voices in any way broken, Except in one or two 
 cases, whore the ladies plaintively entreated to be left beiund 
 with their "lusbands. But on being assured that every monient'.-? 
 delay might occasion the sacrifice of a human life, they succes 
 sively suffered themselves to be torn from the tender embrace, 
 and with a fortitude which never fails to characterize and adorn 
 their sex on occasions of overwhelming trial, were placed, with- 
 out a murmur, in the boat, which was immediately lowered into 
 a sea so tempestuous, as to leave us only " to hope against hope " 
 that it should live in it for a single moment. Twice the cry was 
 heard from those on the chains that the boat was swamping. 
 But he who enabled the Apostle Peter to walk on the face of the 
 deep, and was graciously attending to the silent but earnest 
 aspirations of those on board, had decreed its safety. 
 
 After one or two unsuccessful attempts to jdace the little frail 
 bark fairly upon the surface of the water, the command was at 
 length given to unhook; the tackle at the stern was in conse 
 cpience, immediately cleared; but the ropes at the bow having 
 got foul, the sailor there found it impossible to obey the order. 
 In vain was the axe applied to the entangled tackle. The moment 
 was inconceivably critical; as the boat, whicli necessarily f)llow- 
 ed the motion of the sh\p, was gradually rising out of the water, 
 and must, in anotlier instant have been hanging perpendicularh 
 by the bow, and its helpless passengers launched into the deep, 
 had not a most providential wave suddenly struck and lifted up 
 th-e stern, so as t i enable the seaman to disengage the tackle; 
 and the boat being dexterously cleared from the ship, was 
 seen after a little while, battling with the billows: now raised, 
 in its progress to the brig, like a speck on their summit, and then 
 disappearing for several seconds, as if engulphed'" in the horrid 
 v'ale " between them. 
 
 Two or three soldiers, to relieve their wives of a part of their 
 families, sprang into the water with their children, ai.d perished 
 in their endeavors to save them. One young lady, who had re- 
 solutely refused to quit her father, whose sense of duty kept him 
 at his post, was near falling a sacrifice to her filial devotion, not 
 having been picked up by those in the boats, until she had sunk 
 five or six times. Another individual, who was reduced to the 
 frightful alternative of losing his wife, or his childien, hastily 
 decided in favor of his duty to the former. Jiis wife was accor- 
 dingly saved, but hTs four children, alas I were left to peri-,h. A 
 tine tellow, a soldier, who had neither wife nor child of his own, 
 but who evinced the greatest solicitude for the safety of those of 
 others, insisted on having three children lashed to him, witii whom 
 he plunged into the water; not being able to reach the boat, he 
 was drawn again into the ship v;ith his charge, but not before two 
 »' the c':ildren had expired. One man fell down the hatchwav 
 
.•♦76 THE I.O^S 0/ TIIK KKNT. 
 
 into the flames, and another hud his back so completely broken 
 as to have been ohservcd quite doubled lulling overboard. The 
 nuMicroM.s spi^ctacles of individual loss and suliering were not con- 
 tine«l to the entranee upon the perilous voyage between the two 
 shijjs. One man who fell beneath the boat and brig, had his 
 head literally crushed fine — and some others were lost in their at- 
 tempts to ascend the sides wf the Cambria. 
 
 When the greater part of the men had been disoosed of, the 
 gradual removal of the officers commenced, and was marked by 
 a discijjline the most rigid, and an intrepidity the most exemplary: 
 none appearing to be influenced by a vain and ostentatious bravery, 
 which in cases of extreme peril, affords rather a presumptive proof 
 of secret timidity than of fortitude; nor any betraying an unnianl} 
 or unsoldier-like impatience to quit the ship; but with the becom- 
 ing deportment of men neither paralysed by. nor profanely insen- 
 sible to, the accumulating dangers that encompassed them, they 
 progressively departed in the different boats with their soldiers; 
 — they who happened to proceed first leaving behind them an 
 example of coolness that could not be unprofitable to those who 
 followed. 
 
 Every individual was desired to tie a rope round his waist. 
 
 While the people were busily occupied in adopting this recom- 
 mendation, I was surprised, I had almost said amused, by the 
 singular delicacy of one of the Irish recruits, who in searching 
 for a rope in one of the cabins, called out to me that he could 
 find none except the cordage belonging to an ofHcer's cot, and 
 Wished to know whether there would be any harm in his appropri- 
 ating it to his own use. 
 
 Again: As an agreeable proof too, of the subordination and good 
 feeling that governed the poor soldiers in the midst of their suiicr- 
 mgs, I ought to state that toward evening, when the melancholy 
 groupe who were passively seated on the poop, exhausted by pre- 
 vious fatigue, anxiety and fasting, were beginning to experience 
 the pain of intolerable thirst, a box of oranges was accidentally dis- 
 covered by some of the men, who with a degree of mingled con- 
 sideration, respect, and aflection, that could hardly have been 
 expected at such a moment, refused to partake of the grateful 
 beverage, until they had afibrded a share of it to their officers. 
 
 The spanker-boom of so large a ship as the Kent, which pro- 
 jects, I should think, sixteen or eighteen feet over the stern, rests 
 on ordinary occasions about nineteen or twenty feet above the 
 water; but in the position in which we were placed, from (he 
 great height of the sea, and consequent pitching of the ship, it 
 was frequently lifted to a height of not less than thirty or forty 
 feet from the surface. 
 
 To reach the rope, therefore, that hung from its extremity, waa 
 an operation that seemed to require the aid of as much dexterity 
 of hand as steadiness of head. For it was not only the nerve us- 
 
THE LOSS OP THE KENT 471 
 
 ness of creeping along the boom itself, or the extreme difficulty 
 of afterwards seizing on and sliding down by the rope, that we 
 had to dread, and that occasioned the loss of some valuable 
 lives, by deterring the men from adopting this mode of escape: 
 but as the boat, which one moment was probably under the boom, 
 m^.ght be carried the next, by the force of the waves, fifteen or 
 twenty yards away from it, the unhappy individual, whose best 
 calculations were thus defeated, was generally left swinging for 
 some time in mid-air, if he was not repeatedly plunged several 
 feet imder water, or dashed with dangerous violence against the 
 sides of the returning boat — or, what not unfrequently happened, 
 was forced to let go his hold of the rope altogether. As there 
 seemed, however no alternative, I did not hesitate, notwithstand- 
 ing my comparative inexperience and awkwardness in such a 
 situation, to throw my leg across the perilous stick; and with 
 a heart extremely grateful that such means of deliverance, dan- 
 gerous as they appeared, were still extended to me; and more 
 grateful still that I had been enabled, in common with others, to 
 discharge my honest duty to my sovereign and to my fellow- 
 soldiers; I proceeded after confidently committing my spirit, the 
 great object of my solicitude, into the keeping of Him who had 
 formed and redeemed it, to creep slowly forward, feeling at every 
 step the increased difficulty of my situation. On getting nearly 
 to the end of the boom, the young othcer whom 1 followed and 
 myself were met with a squall of wind and rain, so violent as to 
 make us fain to embrace closely the slippery stick, without at- 
 tempting for some minutes to make any progress, and to excite 
 our apprehension that we must relinquish all hope of reaching 
 the rope. But our fears were disappointed, and after resting for 
 awhile at the boom end, while my companion was descending to 
 the boat, which he did not find until he had been plunged once or 
 twice over head in the water. I prepared to follow; and instead 
 of b'wering myself, as many had imprudently done at the moment 
 when the boat was inclining towards us — and consequently being 
 unable to descend the whole distance before it again receded — I 
 calculated that while the boat was retiring, I ought to commence 
 my descent, which would probably be completed by the time the 
 returning wave brought it underneath; by which means I was, I 
 believe, almost the only officer or soldier who reached the boat 
 without being either severely bruised or immersed in the water. 
 But my friend Colonel Fearon had not been so fortunate; lb'' 
 after swimming for some time, and being repeatedly struck againsi 
 the side of the boat, and at one time drawn completely under it, 
 he was at last so utterly exhausted, that he must instantly have 
 let go his hold of the rope and perished, had not one in the boai 
 seized him by the hair of the head and dragged him into it, almost 
 senseless and alarmingly bruised. 
 
 Captain Cobb, in his immovable resolutions to be the last, if 
 
478 pnoPEuriEs of the sea. 
 
 possible, to quit his ship, and in l\is generous anxiety for th« 
 preservation of every life entrusted to his charge, refused to seek 
 the boat, until lie again endeavored to urge onward the kw still 
 around him, who seemed struck dumb and powerless with dismay 
 But finding all his entreaties fruitless and hearing the guns, whose 
 tackle was burst asunder by the advancing flames, successively 
 e.xplot ing in the hold into which they had fallen — this ga-llant 
 ollicer, after having nobly pursued, for the preservation of others, 
 a course of exertion that has been rarely equalled either in its du- 
 ration or difliculty, at last felt it right to provide for his own safety, 
 by laying hold on the topping lift, or rope that connects the driver- 
 boom with the mizen-top, and thereby getting over the heads of 
 the infatuated men who occupied the boom, unable to go either 
 backward or forward, and ultimately dropping himself into the 
 water. 
 
 PROPERTIES OF THE SEA, &c. 
 
 The sea seems not less necessary to the existence of man him- 
 self, than the solid earth upon which he treads. It absorbs and 
 decomposes the noxious particles of the atmosphere; and if it 
 were dried up, the earth would become as arid and unfruitful as a 
 desert. Its various basins — which, with the exception of the 
 Caspian, all stand in connexion with each other — facilitate the 
 transactions of commerce, and the intercourse of nations; and itt» 
 productions form a valuable branch of industry in every maritime 
 country. 
 
 The bed or basin of the ocean, being only a continuation of 
 the land, exhibits the same inequalities of surface which conti- 
 nents present. Were the sea dried up, it would present a scene 
 of mountains, valleys, rocks, and plains, covered in some instances 
 with their own peculiar vegetation, and the abode of various spe- 
 cies of animals. The depth of the sea varies greatly in different 
 places. The greatest depth ever measured was that ascertained 
 by Mr. Scorcsby, the captain of a Greenland whaler, who sunk 
 a very heavy lead in the Greenland Sea, to the depth of nearly 
 4,700 feet, without finding ground. According to the laws of 
 gravitation, by which in all connected bodies of water, the higher 
 parts must flow towards the lower, till they attain the same level, 
 the level of the ocean is, generally speaking, the same every- 
 where. The only exception to this position may perhaps be 
 found in gulfs and inland seas, which have only a slight commu- 
 nication with the ocean. 
 
 The color of the ocean is generally of a deep bluish green 
 particularly in the deeper seas; as the depth dinrinishes towards 
 
TROPERTIES or THE SEA, 4'79 
 
 ,hc coasts, the water assumes a lighter shadu This apparent 
 roior of the sea may be explained upon the J43rae principle as 
 that of the azure blue o{ the atmosphere. Both fluids are color- 
 less when in a glass; the air reflects chiefly the most refrangible 
 rays of light, viz. the violet, indigo, and blue, and therefore 
 usually appears of an azure color, the result of a mixture of 
 these: but the sea, from its density and depth, is 3ble to re- 
 flect not only many blue and violet, but also some of the less 
 refrangible rays in sufficient proportion to compose a greenish 
 blue. The other shades in the color of seawater depend on 
 illusory or local causes. The green and yellow shades of the sea 
 arise fiom marine plants; a distinct shade is often communicated 
 to its surtace by the presence of myriads of minute insects: and in 
 shallow water, the light reflected from the sand at the bottom often 
 gives a reddish hue to the surface. In the West Indies, where 
 
 «' The floor is of sand like the inountain-diifi; 
 And the pearl-shells spangle the llinty snow," 
 
 the waters of the ocean are often so beautifully transparent, as to 
 exhibit the minutest object they contain or cover at the depth of 
 several fathoms. In the Gulf of Guinea the sea is white; and 
 around the Maldive islands it is black. 
 
 A very curious and magnificent spectacle is often presented at 
 night by the luminous appearance of the sea, — a phenomenon 
 which seamen generally regard as the precursor of blowinot 
 weather. It is of most frequent occurrence in summer arnJ 
 autumn. Three species are generally distinguished. The hrst i.* 
 generally seen close to a ship when sailing before a fresh wmd 
 and forms a tail of light in the v.ake of the ship; at other times 
 during stormy weather, it spreads over the whole surface of tin- 
 sea, clothing it apparently in a sheet of fire. This species if 
 ascribed to electricity. The second kind of marine phosphores- 
 cence, penetrates beneath the surface; and when a quantity of 
 the illuminated water is put into a vessel, it retains the brilliance 
 as long as it is kept agitated, but loses it as soon as the agitation 
 subsides. This species occurs during dead calms or in very 
 hot weather, and seems to be a true phosphoric light, emanating 
 from particles of putrid animal matter suspended in the water. 
 The third species exceeds the two former in intensity of brilliance; 
 and it is supposed that the appearance is occasioned by innume- 
 rable minute animals of a round shape, moving rapidly through 
 the water in all directions, like so many luminous sparks. 
 
 The sea is subject to various motions, arising from difTere t 
 causes. Even when unruffled by the winds, it is agitated by the 
 rotation of the earth, and the attraction of the moon and the sun. 
 These three causes produce a threefold motion, viz. the motion 
 of the waves, that of the curnnls, and that of^ the tides. 
 
 The most wonderful and important motion of the sea is that of 
 
480 CLASSIFICATION OF CLOUDS. 
 
 Ai^/i and low tide, or that rof>ular ebb and flow of he sea whici" 
 occur cvtsry day at a certain interval. The sea rises to its great- 
 est height in about G hours, and remains stationary for about 6 
 minutes; after wiiicli it recedes for other G hours, and having re- 
 mained stationary at its lowest tide for a few minutes, begins to 
 rise again. In the Baltic and the Black Sea there is no tide; and 
 almost none in the JMeditcrranean. 
 
 Besides these motions of the ocean, there is another not 80 
 easily accounted for. There is felt in the open sea between the 
 Tropics, and as far as the 30th degree of latitude, a constant 
 motion t'rom cast to west, wliich manifests itself in the quick sail- 
 ing of vessels moving in that direction. The most celebrated of 
 these currents is tlie Gulf-dream, which rises in the Ciulf of 
 Mexico, between Florida and the Bahama islands, and sets in a 
 bended and expanded iiow north-easterly, along the coasts of 
 North America, till it reaches Norway, whence repulsed by the 
 Scandinavian coasts, it turns N, W, towards Greenland. The 
 current is known by the beautiful blue color of its waters. 
 
 When two or several currents meet each other, or cross at 
 angles, violent circular motions of the sea are produced, which 
 attract every thing coming within their vortex, and whirling it 
 round in decreasing gyrations, finally ingulf it in their bosoms. 
 These motions of the sea are called iph.irlpools. Some naturalists 
 believe that they mark the situation of profound abysses in the 
 bottom of the sea, into which the water precipitating itself pro- 
 duces this dangerous suction. Among the most remarkable 
 Avhirlpools is that of Chalcis in the Euripus, near the coast of 
 Smreee, which alternately absorbs and rejects the water seven 
 times every twenty-four hours. Charybdis, near the Strait of 
 Sicily, rejects and absorbs the water thrice in twenty-four hours. 
 The largest known whirlpool is the Maelslrom in the Norwegian 
 sea, the circumference of which exceeds 20 leagues. 
 
 CLASSIFICATION OF CLOUDS. 
 
 The clouds are aqueous vapors, which hover at a considerable 
 height above the surface of the earth. They ditJer from fogs only 
 Ly their height and less degree of transparency. The dista'uce 
 of the clouds from the surface of the earth is very different. Thin 
 and light clouds are higher than the highest mountains; thick 
 and heavy clouds on the contrary, touch low mountains, steeples, 
 and even trees. The average height of the clouds is calculated 
 to be two miles and a half Innumerable as the forms of cloudi 
 
CLASSIFICATION OF CLOUDS. 
 
 48i 
 
 may appear to be, correct observers have stated that they may 
 be all comprised in seven modifications. 
 
 These following modifications are arranged in the order of 
 tbe> ordinary elevation, but which is very frequently deranged 
 We give the names both in Latin and English; the former are 
 perhaps most generally used. The figures refer to the above 
 engraving. 
 
 Fig. 1, Cirrus ... . . Curl-Cloud. 
 
 2, Cjrrocuimulus . Sonder-Cloud. 
 
 41 
 
Vn CI.ASfllFICATION OF CLOUBS. 
 
 Fig. 3, 4, 5, (), 7, CiiuiosTRATUs . . . Wane-Cloud 
 
 9, CuMULOsTRATUs . . . Twain-Cloud 
 
 9, Cumulus ... . Slacken- Cloud 
 
 11. Nimbus Rain-Cloud 
 
 11, Stratus ... . Fall- Cloud 
 
 Fig. I The curling and flexuous formg of this cloud constituta 
 .ts most obvious external character, and from these it derives ita 
 name. It may be distinguished from all others by the ightness 
 of its appearance, its fibrous texture, and the great and perpetually 
 changing variety of figures which it presents to the eye. It is 
 generally the most elevated, occupying the highest regions of 
 the atmosphere. The comoid cirrus cloud, vulgarly called the 
 viare^s tail, is the proper cirrus. It has, as represented in the 
 engraving, somewhat the appearance of a distended lock of white 
 hair, or of a bunch of wool pulled out into fine pointed ends. 
 This variety is an accompaniment of a variable state of weather, 
 and forebodes wind and rain. 
 
 Fig. 4. This consists of extensive beds of a number of little, 
 well defined, orbicular masses of clouds, or small cumuli, in close 
 horizontal opposition; but at the same time lying quite asunder 
 {sonder -cloud), or separate from one another. Their picturesque 
 appearance in summer often presents, as Bloomfield expresses it, 
 
 The beauteous semblance of a flock at rest. 
 
 This variety is commonly a forerunner of storms, and has been 
 remarked as such by the poets. 
 
 Fig. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. This cloud is distinguishable by its flatness, 
 and great horizontal extension in proportion to its perpendicular 
 height. Under all its various forms, it preserves this character 
 istic. As it is generally changing its figure, and slowly subsiding, 
 H has received the name of wane-cloud. Sometimes this cloud is 
 disposed in wavy bars or streaks, in close horizontal opposition, 
 and these bars vary infinitely in size and color, generally blended 
 in the middle, but distinct towards its &dges,^g. 4. A variety 
 not unlike this, is the mackerel-back sky of summer evenings. It 
 is often very high in the atmosphere. Another common variety 
 appears like a long streak, thickest in the middle, and wasting 
 away at its edges. This, when viewed in the horizon, has the 
 appearance ofjii;-. 1 . Another principal variety of the cirrostratus 
 is one which consists of small rows of little clouds, curved in a 
 peculiar manner; it is from this curvature called cijmoid.fij^. 5 
 Phis cloud is s sure indication of stormy weather. Fig. 6 is the 
 representation of a similar one, less perfectly formed, having more 
 of the character of the cirrocumulus, and is often produced when 
 a large cumulus passes under the variety marked ^g-. 7. Another 
 remarkable developement of this varying genus is, that extensive 
 and shallow sort of cloud, which occurs particularly in the evening 
 and during night, through which the sun and moon but faintly 
 
CLASSIFI-CATION OF CLOUDS. 483 
 
 fippear. It is in this cloud that those peculiar refractions of the 
 fight of those bodies, called halos, mock suns, &c. usually appear 
 This variety is the surest prognostic we are acquainted with, 
 of an impending fall of rain or snow. 
 
 Fig. 9. The base of this modification is generally flat, and 
 lies on the surface of an atmospheric stratum, the superstructure 
 resembling a bulky cumulus overhanging its base in large fleecy 
 protuberances, or rising into the forms of rocky mountains. Con- 
 siderable masses of these frequently are grouped upon a common 
 stratum or base, irom which it has been named ciimulostrntus. It 
 derives the other appellation, twain-cloud, from the frequently 
 visible coalescence of two other modifications, as, for example, 
 the cirrus and the cumulus. Cumulostratus often evaporates, 
 sometimes changes to cumulus, but, in general, it ends in nimbus, 
 and falls in rain. In long ranges of these clouds it has been ob- 
 served that part has changed into nimbus, and the rest remained 
 unchanged. 
 
 Fig. 9. This cloud is easily known by its irregular hemis- 
 pherical or heaped superstructure, hence its name cumulus, a heap 
 or pile. It has usually a flattened base. The mode of its for- 
 mation is by the gathering together of detached clouds, which 
 then appear slacked into one large and elevated mass, or slacken- 
 cloud. The best time for viewing its progressive formation is in 
 fine settled weather. It may be called the cloud of daij, as it 
 usually exists only during that period. 
 
 Fig. 11. This is not a modification depending upon a distinct 
 change of form, but rather from increase of density and deepening 
 of shade in the cumulostratus, indicating a change of structure, 
 which is always followed by the fall of rain. This has been, 
 therefore, called nimbus, (o rainy black cloud.) Any one of the 
 preceding six modifications may increase so much as to obscure 
 the sky, and, without falling in rain, " dissolve," and " leave not 
 a rack behind." But when cumulostratus has been formed, it 
 sometimes goes on to increase in density, and assume a black and 
 portentous darkness. Shortly afterwards the intensity of this 
 blackness yields to a more gray obscurity, which is an evidence 
 that a new arrangement has taken place in the aqueous particles 
 of the cloud; the nimbus is formed, and rain begins to fall. 
 
 Fig. 11. This kind of cloud rests upon the surface of the 
 globe. It is of variable extent and thickness, and is called stratus, 
 a bed or covering!;. It is generally formed by the subsidence of 
 vapor in the atmosphere, and has, therefore, been denominated 
 fall-cloud. This genus includes all fogs, and those creeping mists, 
 which in summer evenings fill the valleys, remain during the 
 night, and disappear in the morning. This cloud arrives at its 
 density about midnight, or between that time and morning, and it 
 generally disappears about sunrise. It is, for this reason, called 
 by some, the cloud of night. 
 
484 LITERARY PURSUITS OF SAILOR* 
 
 LITERARY PURSUITS OF SAILORS. 
 
 There are many cases on record of individuals who, even with 
 scarcely any other education than what they contrived to give 
 themselves while serving in subordinate and laborious situations 
 in the camp or on sliipboard, have attained to great familiarity 
 with books, and sometimes risen to considerable literary or scierv- 
 tific distinction. The celebrated English navigator, Dampier, 
 although he had been some time at school before he left his native 
 country, yet went to sea at so early an age that, considering he 
 for a long time led a vagabond and lawless life, he must have 
 very soon forgotten every thing he had been taught, if he had 
 not, in the midst of all his wild adventures, taken great pains both 
 to retain and extend his knowledge. That he must have dane so 
 is evident from the accounts of his different voyages, which he 
 afterwards published. We have few works of the kind more vig- 
 orously or graphically written than these volumes; and they con- 
 tain abundant evidencesof a scientific and philosophical knowl- 
 edge of no ordinary extent and exactness. Along with Dampier's, 
 we may mention an older name, that of Jolm Davis, the discover- 
 er of the well-known strait leading into Baffin's Bay. Davis also 
 went to sea when quite a boy, and must have acquired all his 
 knowledge both of science and of the art of composition, while 
 engaged among the duties of his profession. Yet we not only 
 have from his pen accounts of several of his voyages, but also a 
 treatise on the general hydrography of the earth. He was the 
 inventor, besides, of a quadrant for taking the sun's altitude at 
 sea. Robert Di-ury, too, who wrote an account of the Island of 
 Madagascar, and of his strange adventures there, deserves to be 
 remembered when we are making mention of authors bred at sea 
 Drury was only fourteen when he set out on his voyage in a ves- 
 sel proceeding to India, and he was shipwrecked in returning 
 home on the island we have mentioned, where he remained in a 
 species of captivity for fifteen years; so that when he at last 
 contrived to make his escape, he had almost forgotten his native 
 language. He afterwards, however, set about writing an account 
 of his life — a task which he accomplished whilst acting in the 
 humble capacity of a porter at the India House. The work ia 
 composed in a plain but sensible style, and contains many interest- 
 ing details respecting the manners of the natives of Madagascar 
 It is perhaps somewhat better for having been compressed by one 
 of the friends of the author, whose original manuscript is said to 
 have extended to eight hundred large folio pages. 
 
 Falconer, the author of " The Shipwreck," as ia generally 
 known, spent his life, from childhood, at sea. He was probably 
 
LITERARY PURSUITS OF SAILORS. 485 
 
 born in oneorthe small towns in the county of Fife, which border 
 the Frith of Forth; but nothing is very certainly ascertained 
 either as to his native place or his paientage. Nor has any ac- 
 count been given of how he acquired the elements of education, 
 with the exception of a report tliat he found an instructer in a 
 person of the name of Campbell, a man of some literary taste and 
 acquirements, who happened to be purser in one of the vessels in 
 which young Falconer sailed. However this may be, Falconer 
 appeared as an author at a very early age, having been only, it is 
 said, in his twenty-iirst year when he gave to the world his first 
 production, a poem on the death of Frederick, Prince of Wales, 
 the father of his late Majesty, George III. He was ten or twelve 
 years older when he published his " Shipwreck," which is said to 
 be founded in a great measure on the personal adventures of the 
 author. Falconer did not permit the success of his poetical ef- 
 forts to withdraw him from his profession, in which, having now 
 transferred himself from the merchant service to the navy, he con- 
 tinued to rise steadily till he was appointed purser of a man-of-war. 
 Sometime after attaining this promotion, he published the other 
 work by which he is chiefly known, his " Universal Marine 
 Dictionary,'" which was very favorably received, and is still a 
 standard work. He iiad previously to this written several other 
 poetical pieces on temporary subjects, which have long been for- 
 gotten. Shortly after the publication of his dictionary, he sail- 
 ed for Bengal as purser of the frigate Aurora. This vessel, 
 however, was never heard of, after she passed the Cape of Good 
 Hope, having in all probability foundered at sea. 
 
 Giorduni, an Italian engineer and mathematician of the seven- 
 teenth century, was originally a common soldier on board one of 
 the Pope's gallies. In this situation his capacity and good con- 
 duct attracted the attention of his admiral; and as a reward he 
 was promoted to the post of purser of one of the vessels. It was 
 lis appointment to this situation which first formed his mind to 
 study. Having accounts to keep, he soon found how necessary 
 it was that he should know something of arithmetic, of which he 
 was till then quite ignorant; and he determined therefore to teach 
 nimself the science, which it is said he did without assistance. 
 By pursuing his studies from this commencement, he eventually 
 acquired considerable reputation as a mathematician; and, hav- 
 ing published several able works, was appointed at last to a pro- 
 fessorship in the Sapienza College at Rome. Giordani died in 
 ♦he year 1711. 
 
 The late Mr. John Fransham, who died at Norwich in 1810 
 was altogether one of the most eccentric characters to be found 
 in the list of self-educated persons. His name suggests itself to 
 us here from the circumstance of his having passed part of his 
 early lite as a common s..)ldier. He had been originally appren- 
 ticed to a cooper, with whom he remained for about two year* 
 41* 
 
486 LITERARY PURSUITS OF SAILORS. 
 
 and it was in this situation that he taught himself mathetnatioa 
 But although he ohtaincd the situation of clerk to an attorney, 
 his restless disposition would not allow hiu) to remain at his desk; 
 and after wandering for some time about the country, he enlisted 
 in the army, where, however they did not keep him long, finding 
 him quite unlit for service, indeed, it was by this time become 
 pretty evident that his n)ind was not a little deranged, — a mattel 
 which he shortly after put beyond doubt by renouncing christiani* 
 ty, and making a formal profession of paganism. Although he 
 published several works, however, in support of his peculiar the- 
 ology, and in other respects conducted himself with great eccen- 
 tricity, he contrived to maintain himself by teaching mathematics, 
 in which occupation he is said to have displayed very considera- 
 ble ability. He resided and took pupils for some years in 
 London. Somewhat similar to Fransham's history is that of 
 Mr. John Osivald, who is said to have taught himself Greek, Latin, 
 and Arabic, while holding a lieutenant's commission in a regiment 
 of infantry in India. He afterwards returned to England, where 
 he published a succession of poetical and political pamphlets, 
 making himself remarkable at the same time by various singular- 
 ities of behavior and opinions, and especially by a rigid absti- 
 nence from animal food, and a professional predilection for the re- 
 ligious doctrines of the Brahmins. When the revolution broke 
 out in France, Oswald went over to that country, and entered the 
 service of the republic, in which he obtained the rank of colonel. 
 He was at length killed in battle. 
 
 Columbus himself, one of the greatest men that ever lived, if it 
 be grand ideas grandly realized that constitute greatness, while 
 leading the life of a seaman, not only pursued assiduously the 
 studies more particularly relating to his profession, rendering 
 himself the most accomplished geographer and astronomer of his 
 time, but kept up that acquaintance which he had begun at 
 school with the different branches of elegant literature. We are 
 told that he was even wont to amuse himself by the composition 
 of Latin verses. It was at sea, too, that Cook acquired for him- 
 self those hign, scientific, and we may even add literary accom- 
 plishments, of which he showed himself to be possessed. The 
 parents of the celebrated navigator were poor peasants, and all 
 the school education he ever had was a kittle reading, writing, and 
 arithmetic, for which he was indebted to the liberality of a gentle- 
 man in the neighborhood. He was apprenticed, at the age of 
 thirteen, to a shopkeeper in the small town of^Snaith, near New- 
 castle; and it was while in this situation that be was first seized 
 with a passion for the sea. After some time, he prevailed upon 
 his master to give up his indentures, and entered as one of the 
 crew of a coasting vessel engaged in the coal trade. He contin- 
 ued in this service till he had reached his twenty-seventh year, 
 when he exchanged it for that of the navy, in which he soon di* 
 
LITERARY PURSUITS OF SAILORS. 481 
 
 tinguisKed himself so greatly, that he was tliree or four years 
 after appointed master of the Mercury, which belonged to a 
 squadron then proceeding to attack Quebec. He.e he first 
 showed the proficiency he had already made in the scientific part 
 of his profession, by an admirable chart which he constructed 
 and published of the river St. Lawrence, lie felt, however, the 
 disadvantages of his ignorance of mathematics; and, while still 
 assisting in the hostile operations carrying on .igr.inst the French 
 ou the coast of North America, he applied himself to the study 
 of Euclid's Elements, which he soon mastered, and then began 
 that of astronomy, A year or two after this, whil<" ;igain station- 
 ed in the same quarter, he communicated to the Royal Society 
 an account of a solar eclipse which took place on the 5th of Au- 
 gust, 1766: deducing from it, with great exactness and skill, the 
 longitude of the place of observation; and his paper was printed 
 in the Philosophical Transactions. He had now completely es- 
 tablished his reputation as an able and scientihc seaman ; and it 
 having been determined by government, at the request of the 
 Royal Society, to send out qualified persons to the South Sea to 
 observe the approaching transit of the planet Venus over the 
 sun's disc — a phenomenon which promised several interesting re- 
 sults to astronomy, — Cook was appointed to the command of the 
 Endeavour, the vessel fitted out for that purpose. He conducted 
 this expedition, which, in addition to the accomplishment of its 
 principal purpose, was productive of a large accession of impor- 
 tant geographical discoveries, with the most consummate skill 
 and ability; and was, the year after he returned home, appointed 
 to the command of a second vessel destined for the same regions, 
 but having in view more particularly the determination of the 
 question as to the existence of a southern polar continent. He 
 was nearly three years absent upon this voyage; but so admirable 
 were the methods he adopted for preserving the health of his sea- 
 men, that he reached home with the loss of only one man from 
 his whole crew. Having addressed a paper to the Royal Society 
 upon this subject, he was not only chosen a member of that 
 learned body, but was farther rewarded by having the Copley 
 gold medal voted to him for his experiments. Of this second voy- 
 age he drew up the account himself, and it has been universally 
 esteemed a model in that species of writing. 
 
 All our readers know the termination of Cook's distinguished 
 career. His third voyage, undertaken for the discovery of a 
 passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific along the north coast of 
 America, although' unsuccessful in reference to this object, was 
 fertile in geographical discoveries, and equally honorable with 
 those by which it had been preceded, to the sagacity, good man- 
 agement, and scientific skill of its unfortunate commander. The 
 death of Captain Cook took place it Owyhee, in a sudden tumuTi 
 of the natives of that island, ou the 14th of February, 1779 
 
488 LITEKARY I'URSUllS OF SAILORS. 
 
 The news of the event was received witli general Lamentation^ 
 not only in liis own country but tliroughout Europe. Pensioni 
 were bestowed on his widow and three sons by the government, 
 the Royal Society ordered a medal to be struck in commemoration 
 of him; his eulogy was pronounced in the Florentine Academy; 
 and various other honors were paid to his memory, both by pub- 
 lic bodies aiRl individuals. Thus, by his own persevering efforts, 
 did thi.s great man rai.se himself irom the lowest ob.^curity to a 
 reputation wide as the world itself, and certain to last as long 
 as the age in which he flourished shall be remembered by 
 history But better still than even all this fame — than either 
 the honors he received while living, or those which, when he 
 was no more, his country and mankind bestowed upon his 
 memory, — he had exalted himself in the scale of moral and 
 intellectual being; had won for himself, by his unwearied striving, 
 a new and nobler nature, and taken a high place among the in- 
 Btructers and benefactors of mankind. This alone is true happi- 
 ness — the one worthy end of human exertion or ambition — the 
 only satisfying reward of all labor, and study, and virtuous activ- 
 ity or endurance. Among the shipmates with whom Cook mixed 
 when he first went to sea, there was, perhaps, no one who ever 
 either raised himself above the condition to which he then be- 
 longed in point of outward circumstances, or enlarged in any 
 considerable degree the knowledge or mental resources he then 
 possessed. And some will perhaps say that this was little to be 
 regretted, at least, on their own account; that the many who 
 spent their lives in their original sphere were probably as happy 
 as the one who succeeded in rising above it; but this is, indeed, 
 to cast a hasty glance on human life and human nature. That 
 man was never truly happy — happy upon reflection, and while 
 looking to the past or the future — who could not say to himself 
 that he had made something of the faculties God gave him, and 
 had not lived altogether without progression, like one of the inferior 
 animals. We do not speak of mere wealth or station; these are 
 comparatively nothing; are as often missed as attained, even by 
 those who best merit them; and do not of themselves constitute 
 happiness when they are possessed. But there must be some 
 consciousness of an intell«^tual or moral progress, or there can 
 be no satisfaction — no selt-congratulation on reviewing what of 
 hfe may be already gone — no hope in the prospect of what is yet 
 to come. All men feel this, and feel it strongly; and ilthey could 
 secure for themselves the source of happiness in question by a 
 wish, would avail themselves of the privilege with sufficient alac- 
 rity. Nobody would pass his life in ignorance, if knowledge 
 might be had by merely looking up to the clouds for it; it is the 
 labor necessary for its acquirement that scares them; and thia 
 Tabor they have not resolution to encounter. Yet it is, in truth, 
 Gom the exertion by which it must be obtained, that knowledge 
 
ABSTRACT OF AMERICAN NAUTICAL LAWS. 489 
 
 derives at least half its value; for to this entirely we owe the 
 sense of merit in ourselves which the acquisition brings along 
 with it; and hence no little of the happiness of which we have 
 just described its possession to be the source, besides that, the 
 labor itself soon becomes an enjoyment. 
 
 To the example of Cook, if it were necessary, we might add 
 those of others of his countrymen, who, suice his time, have 
 shown, in like manner, the possibility of uniting the cultivation 
 of literature and science to the most zealous performance of the 
 duties of the same laborious profession. For instance, Vancouver 
 was a sailor formed under Cook; and to him we owe an interest- 
 ing and ably written account of the voyage which he made round 
 the world, in 1790, and the four following years. Lieutenant 
 Flinders commanded the expedition sent out in 1801, to survey 
 the coast of New Holland, and afterwards published an account 
 of his voyage, accompanied by a volume of charts, which are 
 considered as placing the author in the highest rank of modern 
 hydrographers. Nor ought we here to forget the late Lord Col- 
 lingwood, second in command to Xelson at Trafalgar, and, in all 
 respects, a man of first-rate merit, who, although he never sent 
 any production to the press, has been proved by his correspon- 
 dence, published since his death, to have been in reality one of 
 the best of writers. Yet he was only thirteen when he first en- 
 tered the navy, and during the remainder of his life ho was 
 scarcely ever ashore — circumstances which used to make his ac- 
 quaintances wonder not a little where he got his style. He had 
 always, however, been fond of reading and the study of elegant 
 literature; and he lound that even a life at sea atFordod him many 
 opportunities of indulging his taste lor these enjoyments. 
 
 It does not belong to the plan of this work to notice any living 
 examples: but the names of a crowd of naval oflicers of our own 
 times, who have distinguished themselves as men of science and 
 learning, as well as skilful commanders, will present themselvec 
 at once to the memory. 
 
 ABSTRACT OF AMERICAN NAUTICAL LAWS. 
 
 Shipping articles are required to be signed by every mariner, 
 declaring the vovage and the term of time for which the? teamen 
 are shipped, and when they are to render themselves on board. 
 Seamen are liable to imprisonment for desertion. But if the 
 master sails and leaves a seaman in imprisonment abroad, he will 
 be entitled to his wages till his return to the United States, de- 
 ducting the time of imprisonment. Provision is made for the 
 
490 ABSTRACT OP AMERICAN NAUTICAL LAWS. 
 
 prompt recovery of seamen's wages, by admiralty process against 
 the ship, if the wages he not paid witiiin ten days. 
 
 It is the <Iuty of the Am(M-ican consuls and commercial agents, 
 to relieve American seamen who may be found destitute in foreign 
 ports, and to provide for their passage to some port in tiie United 
 States, at the expense of the LFnited States. American vessels 
 are bound to take them, not exceeding two for every hundred 
 tons, at a rate not exceeding ten dollars oer man. 
 
 If an American vessel be sold in a foreign port, or a seaman 
 discharged with the master's consent, the master is obliged to 
 pay the consul three months' wages besides the amount then due, 
 two months to be paid to the seamen when they engage again, 
 and one month's pay to the fund for the return of American Sea- 
 men. 
 
 The master has the right to discharge a seaman for vist cause 
 in a foreign port, but is responsible in damages if he do(s it with- 
 out just cause. The master must be supreme in the ship The 
 French law affords peculiar protection to seamen, and prohibits 
 the master from discharging a seaman for any cause, in a foreigi. 
 country. 
 
 The expense of curing a sick seaman in the course of the voy- 
 age is a charge upon the ship; and this rule recommends itself as 
 much by its intrinsic equity and sound policy, as by the sanction 
 of general authority. Such an expense is in the nature of addi- 
 tional wages during sickness, and it constitutes a material in- 
 gredient in the just remuneration of seamen for their labor and 
 services. This claim, equally with a claim for wages, may be 
 enforced in a court of admiralty. 
 
 Every seaman engaged to serve on board a ship, is bound, from 
 the nature and terms of the contract, to do his duty to the utmost 
 of his ability, and therefore, a promise made by the master when 
 the ship is in distress, or when some of the crew are sick or the 
 like, to pay extra wages, as an inducement to extraordinary ex- 
 ertion, is illegal and void. It requires some service not within 
 the scope of the original contract, as by becoming a hostage or 
 the like, to create a valid claim for extra wages. No wages can 
 be recovered for an illegal voyage, for the law will not counte- 
 nance such a contract, nor permit any one to claim the wages of 
 iniquity.' 
 
 A seaman is entitled to his wages for the whole voyage, even 
 though he is unable to render his service by sickness, or bodily 
 injury, happening in the course of the voyage, and while in the 
 performance of his duty; or if wrongfully discharged by the master 
 in the course of the voyage, or Ibrced to quit the ship by the 
 cruelty of the master. In this case the voyage is ended as to 
 him, and he is immediately entitled to his wages for the whole 
 voyage. 
 
 The general principle of the marine law is, that freight is the 
 
ABSTRACT OF AMERICAN NAUTICAL LAWS. 491 
 
 mother of wages, and if no freight be earned, no wages are due 
 If the ship perish by the perils of the sea, as tempest, fire, ene- 
 mies, Si-c. tlie mariners lose their wages. Otherwise they might 
 not use their endeavors to save the ship. But the seamen do not 
 lose their wages, if the freight is lost by the misconduct of the 
 master. 
 
 When a seaman dies on the voyage, his wages are due to }ii« 
 representatives, up to the time of his death. The seaman's wages 
 on the outward voyage are due when the ship delivers her outward 
 cargo. And if the owners and the charterer agree to consider 
 the voyages out and home as one entire voyage, they cannot, by 
 this, deprive the seamen, without their consent, of the rights be- 
 longing to them by the general principles of the marine law 
 Capture by an enemy extinguishes the seamen's contract for 
 wages, but if by recapture, the owner recovers his freight, the 
 seamen recover their wages, for freight is the parent of wages 
 And this holds for those seamen who remain prisoners, and render 
 no assistance in the recapture or afterwards, because they are 
 suffering in the scvice. And in case of shipwreck, if any portion 
 of freight is paid for the cargo saved, the wages of the seamen 
 are due in the same proportion. 
 
 Every agreement that goes to separate the demand for wages, 
 from the fact of freight being earned, is viewed with distrust by 
 the court, as an encroachment on the rights of seamen. " The 
 courts of maritime law extend to them a peculiar protecting favor, 
 and treat them as wards of tne admiralty; and though they are 
 not incapable of making valid contracts, they are treated by tho 
 courts in the same manner that courts of equity are accustomed 
 to treat young heirs dealing with their exp('Ctan<:iL'.^, wards with 
 their guardians, &c. They are considered as placed under the 
 influence of men who have naturally acquired a mastery over 
 them. Every deviation from the terms of the common shipping 
 paper is rigidly inspected, and if additional burdens are imposed 
 upon the seamen without adequate remuneration, the courts will 
 interfere, and moderate or annul the stipulation.'.' 
 
 Mariners are bound to contribute out of their wages for em- 
 bezzlements of the cargo, or injuries produced b)' the misconduct 
 of any of the crew. But the individual criminal must be unknown, 
 and circumstances must be such as clearly to fix and prove the 
 wrong upon some of the crew; and then those of the crew upon 
 whom the presumption of guilt rests, must stand sureties for each 
 other, and contribute rateably to the loss. If an individual can 
 free himself from suspicion, he does not contribute. And if no 
 reasonable presumption lies against any of the crew, the loss falls 
 upon the owner or master. 
 
 In case of shipwreck, and there are materials of the ship saved, 
 the seamen by whose exertions they are saved, are entitled to 
 their wages out of the proceeds of the fragments, even although 
 
492 ABSTRACT OF AMERICAN NAUTICAL LAWS. 
 
 no froiglit was ranieil to tlie owners. Chancellor Kent, however 
 trtinks that it; such a case, the allowance to seamen out of the 
 wreck DUghi to be called salvage. " Wages, in such cases, would 
 be contrary to the great principle in rharine law, that freight is 
 the mother of wages, and the safety of the ship the mother of 
 froight." 
 
 The wages of seamen constitute a lien upon the ship, which 
 does not, like other liens, depend on possession. Seamen's wages 
 are hardly earned, and liable to many contingencies, by which 
 they may be entirely lost, without any fault on their part. Few 
 claims are so highly favored by law, and when due, the vessel, 
 owners, and master, are all liable for them. Their demand takes 
 precedence of all bottomry bonds, and is good against even a 
 Bubsequent buna fide purchaser. It is a sacred claim, and as 
 long as a single plank of the ship remains, the sailor is entitled, 
 as against all other persons, to the proceeds, as security for his 
 wages. The wages of seamen do not contribute to the general 
 average, when a loss of goods, masts, or the like, is voluntarily 
 incurred at sea for the common safety, except in the single in- 
 stance of the ransom of the ship. They are exempted here, lest 
 the fear of personal loss should restrain them from making the 
 requisite sacrifice. And the hardships and perils they endure, 
 well entitle them to an exemption from farther distress. 
 
 Desertion from a ship without just cause, or the justifiable dis- 
 charge of a seaman by the master for bad conduct, will work a 
 forfeiture of the wages previously earned. This is the rule of 
 'ustice and of policy But if the .seaman quits the vessel invol- 
 untarily, or is driven ashore by reason of cruel usage, and for 
 personal safety : the wages are not forfeited. On the other hand, 
 it is the duty of the seamen to abide by the vessel as long as 
 reasonable hope remains; and if they desert the ship in the perils 
 of the sea, when they might have prevented damage, or saved 
 the vessel, they forfeit their wages and are answerable in dama 
 ges. 
 
 So liberal and kind is the care which our laws have taken for 
 the interests of seamen in the merchant service. It would seem 
 that nothing- more is wanting for their benefit, excepting a more 
 effectual security for the kind of provision which is to be made 
 for them when they fall into sickness or distress in a foreign 
 port, and some arrangement for their comfortable support, when 
 worn out and decrepit at home 
 
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