sSS^ it"-* ^s^i ^&&^SK5si% 2 ^ a .-~*^*^S*=- : asfes^fer KAM SALEM OL. 1 1 i n n w t I * A SALEM SHIPMASTER George Nichols, from a photograph taken during the civil war, about 1862, when about 84 years of age. C A SALEM SHIPMASTER AND MERCHANT^ THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF GEORGE NICHOLS EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES AND CONCLUDING CHAPTERS BY HIS GRANDDAUGHTER MARTHA NICHOLS BOSTON THE FOUR SEAS COMPANY 1921 Copyright, 1921, by THE FOUR SEAS COMPANY The Four Seas Company Boston, Mass, U. S. A. This autobiography was dictated by George Nichols over fifty years ago, when he was eighty years old. The narrative deals chiefly with his seafaring life at the close of the i8th century and the opening of the igth. His voyages were principally to the far East: he sailed also to the north of Europe, to England and to the Mediterranean. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION BOYHOOD AND YOUTH EARLY SEAFARING DAYS MASTER AND SUPERCARGO MARRIAGE AND LAST VOYAGES. WATCH STORY AND CONCLUDING REMARKS GLIMPSES INTO His HOME LIFE . WITH THE GRANDCHILDREN .... INDEX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS GEORGE NICHOLS AT EIGHTY-FOUR frontispiece THE BIRTHPLACE OF GEORGE NICHOLS 18 EARLY HOME IN PORTSMOUTH 22 ICHABOD NICHOLS 28 GEORGE NICHOLS AS A YOUNG MAN .... 32 AN OLD SALEM GATEWAY 38 THE SHIP "ACTIVE" 48 THE FEDERAL STREET HOUSE 58 WHERE GEORGE NICHOLS AND SALLY PEIRCE WERE MARRIED 62 WHERE THE INDIA CHINA WAS KEPT ... 76 THE SOUTHWEST PARLOR 84 A DOORWAY IN THE DRAWING ROOM .... 94 THE DRAWING ROOM MANTEL PIECE. . . . 100 THE MIRROR FROM FRANCE 104 BETSY PEIRCE'S ROOM 108 THE GUEST ROOM FOR THE GRANDCHILDREN. . 112 THE BROAD FRONT STAIRS 116 GEORGE NICHOLS AT SEVENTY .... 120 A SALEM SHIPMASTER INTRODUCTION IN EDITING the following Autobiography of my grandfather, George Nichols, I am influenced by the valued advice of a friend who, having read the manuscript, expresses the opinion that it ought to be given to the public, not only on account of its worth historically, but as an interesting char- acter sketch. My grandfather came from a long line of sturdy ancestors, men and women of strong convictions and with the courage to maintain them. One of his ancestors on his grandmother Nichols' side was Provided Southwick, who was ordered to be sold into slavery for inability to pay the fines imposed upon her for being a Quaker and unwil- lingness to yield her principles, a fine example of faithfulness to an ideal. The story is told by Whittier in his poem, entitled "Cassandra Southwick." She was the mother of Provided, but it was the daughter, not the mother, who was sentenced. The frequent references to the disturbed polit- ical conditions in Europe at the close of the 18th century, giving opportunity for occasional feats of daring, add spice to the narrative. This Autobiography was dictated by my grand- father when he was eighty years old, in the 11 12 A SALEM SHIPMASTER Nichols house, No. 80 Federal Street, Salem, Mass., now so widely known through photographs and magazine illustrations, and generally consid- ered as the masterpiece of Samuel Mclntire, 1 whose name and work have become famous. In this house he married his cousin, Sarah Peirce, and in this house he passed the last twenty-five years of his life. The fact that he was born on the fourth of July gave an added interest at the period when that date meant so much to the nation. For the family, at least, it was the day of days, when children, grandchildren and friends gathered to do him honor. In looking over some papers recently I found the following sketch in the handwriting of my aunt, Miss Lydia R. Nichols, narrating the facts given to her by her father, George Nichols. "Sketch of the latter years of my grandfather, Mr. Ichabod Nichols' 2 life, dictated by my father, George Nichols. 1 Samuel Mclntire was born in Salem on the corner of Norman and Mill Streets in 1757, and died in 1811 at 31 Summer Street. He was a noted architect and "planned the old Court House, which was very much admired for the symmetry and gracefulness of its proportions." He also designed the South Church, Hamilton Hall, the Assem- bly House and many of the most beautiful private resi- dences of that period, which are still standing in Salem. Ed. 2 Ichabod Nichols, born in Salem, May 1st, 1749; died July 2nd, 1839, married Lydia, second daughter of Ben- jamin Ropes. She was a woman of great dignity, unusual executive ability and strength of character. They had eleven children, nine sons and two daughters. INTRODUCTION 13 "About the year 1808 1 he purchased a part of the Pickering estate on the borders of the Salem turnpike and about a mile from the centre of the town. It was a very hilly, rocky piece of land of about 230 acres. His design from the first was to make of it a milk farm, an undertaking but very few people would have engaged in, but his great energy of character and fondness for agri- cultural pursuits enabled him to overcome all obstacles and after a few years of persevering industry he had the pleasure of looking upon a farm which was the wonder and astonishment of all who had known it before it came into his hands. He kept from thirty-five to forty cows, besides cattle and horses to do the work of the farm. His milk bills amounted to two or three thousand dollars annually. He set out a large orchard of apple trees, several hundred of which were in a bearing state at the time he sold the farm. "My grandfather spent a great deal of time upon his farm and frequently walked up to it from his place of residence, a distance of a mile, two or three times a day. "He was a very early riser, and I have known him to walk up and back again by 6 o'clock to breakfast; he walked very rapidly always, in the latter years of his life carrying a cane, and anec- lAccording to the Court Records, a portion of this land was bought in 1813, the remainder in 1824. The farm was sold to Horace Ware in 1835. 14 A SALEM SHIPMASTER dotes are told of gentlemen trying to keep pace with him, but finding it very difficult, they would sometimes give up in despair. "When more than eighty years of age he would do more work than most men of forty. On one occasion when getting out stones for a wall, a large rock fell upon the forefinger of his right hand, bruising it so severely that amputation was soon found to be necessary. 'Well, doctor,' he said, 'do it as soon as possible, for I am in a great hurry to be at my farm.' Upon that he held out his hand, not allowing anyone to support it and in less than half an hour the finger was off and dressed, and he was on his way walking to the farm, I believe, as usual. "My grandfather was said to be one of the best practical farmers in the county of Essex. He continued to hold this farm for about twenty-five years, during which time his interest in it was unabated. After the death of my grandmother, which occurred four or five years before his own, his interest and energy failed somewhat. His health, however, continued almost unimpaired until within a fortnight of his death, and he was seldom confined to the house even for a day. "He died of old age, appearing to have no par- ticular disease, at the age of ninety years and six weeks, on the second of July, 1839. "While interested in farming pursuits, he was also engaged in foreign commerce with my father and others, but took no active part in the business. INTRODUCTION 15 "An incident characteristic of my grandfather occurred when he must have been nearly or quite eighty-five years old. He owned several acres of grass land in North Salem and in the haying season he was in the habit of working there. One very hot day, when the thermometer was nearly or quite a hundred, my father missed my grandfather and going over to his field, he found him there hard at work, and in a high state of perspiration. 'Sir,' said my father, 'I think you do very wrong to be here this hot day.' He looked up quite disturbed. 'George, I never mean to rust out.' 'Oh no, sir,' my father replied, 'If you should never do another hour's work, people would not call you lazy.' "My grandfather was always a great reader, and he retained his interest in reading until within a few years of his death, when his sight failed, after that, he took as much pleasure in having his friends read to him, listening to them many hours every day with unabated interest. He read as he did everything else, with his whole soul. It is said that he read through Marshall's 'Washing- ton' every year and the 'Spectator' was a very favorite book of his. "His feelings were very social and continued so to the close of his life. "He possessed strong religious feelings, but made no public profession of his faith until within a few years of his death, when he joined the North 16 Church 1 under the charge of Rev. Dr. Brazer, but without being baptized." In reading the above sketch, it is easy to see from whom my grandfather, George Nichols, in- herited his energy, determination and boldness, but I leave him to portray his own character in the pages that follow. MARTHA NICHOLS i The North Church was founded in 1772, liberal Congre- gational. The first pastor was Rev. Thomas Barnard, Jr., whose influence with Col. Leslie on that Sunday afternoon in February, 1775, prevented bloodshed at the North Bridge, and forms a dramatic and historic incident in the church's annals. Later it became Unitarian, and was the third society of that denomination in Salem. Rev. Dr. Brazer was the third pastor, from 1820 to 1846. Ed. CHAPTER I. BOYHOOD AND YOUTH I was born in Salem, Mass., on the fourth of July, 1778, in the house 1 now occupied by Henry Ropes, 2 near the Custom House in Derby Street. When about eleven months old, my parents removed to Portsmouth, N. H. We occupied a house 3 purchased by my father, of the Wentworth family, in the south part of the town. In this house we resided until we returned to Salem in 1 This house was built by Richard Derby in 1762. My great grandfather, Ichabod Nichols, moved to Portsmouth in 1779, and a few years later, Elias Haskett Derby, the son of Richard Derby, sold the house to Henry Prince, whose daughter married Henry Ropes, a cousin of my grandfather. For more than ninety years the house re- mained in the Ropes family until sold to Daniel Leahay in 1872. It was a fine house in its day, and the staircase is beautiful. The bricks of which the house was built came from England. It is now in 1912 the oldest brick house standing in Salem. Ed. 2 Henry Ropes, an own cousin of my grandfather, born Sept. 25, 1791, married his cousin, Mary Prince, and died Sept. 29, 1861. s Built by one of the Wentworth family in 1760. Sold to Major Gardner about 1792. Situated on the corner of Gardner and Mechanic Streets. Facts gathered from Brewster's "Rambles About Portsmouth," and from other sources. Six of my great-grandfather Ichabod Nichols' children were born in this house, two daughters and four sons. Ed. 17 18 A SALEM SHIPMASTER December, 1793. When quite a child I was some- thing of an invalid, being very much afflicted with the rickets, but after recovering from that com- plaint, I became a very healthy boy. When not more than two years of age I was sent to school to an old woman named "Molly Shaw," and my cradle was sent with me. I remained with her some time. Mrs. Mills, grandmother of the late Luke Leighton, was my second teacher, but for how long a time I cannot now remember. The first incident in my life of which I have any recollection is the falling from a wharf, a distance of twelve feet, when the the tide was low, and striking my head with so much force, that the scar is still to be seen. I knocked out, too, all of my front teeth. This happened when I was about six or seven years old. Many times I narrowly escaped being drowned. When very young and before I learned to swim, I fell into very deep water a short distance from my father's house, but I saved myself by paddling with my hands and feet until fortunately I got where the water was shoal. Again, when swimming across the Piscataqua River, my strength began to fail me when in the middle of the river. I coolly turned over on my back and lay quite still (only moving my hands and feet a little to keep myself from sinking) until I got rested, when I commenced swimming again, and by resting in this way several times, I finally succeeded in reaching land. BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 19 The street in which my father's house stood sloped down toward the water, the foot of the street being about twenty feet from the wharf. In the bright moonlight evenings in the winter, the boys were in the habit of assembling here in great numbers for the pleasure of coasting. One very cold evening in the month of January, when as I suppose, I was about nine or ten years old, I went out to coast with a very large party of boys. In my ambition to go as far as possible I went head first directly over the wharf, sled and all. The water was very deep, probably six feet, and it was not frozen that river seldom freezing, as the current is very rapid. There was an anchor in the river within a few feet of the spot in which I fell. With the assistance of some boys I suc- ceeded in getting out of the water, went home, dried and warmed myself before a large fire, and in the course of half an hour, I was out coasting again and came near going over the wharf a second time. As I crossed the bridge one morning on my way to school, I slipped under the railing of the bridge and fell about twelve feet into the mud, the tide fortunately being low. I went home all covered with mud and got a severe box on the ear for my carelessness, and this from my mother, which I thought very strange treatment, considering the risk I had run. When quite small, I took it into my head one day to climb the chimney of my sleeping apart- 20 A SALEM SHIPMASTER ment, which had never been used. I mounted it with about as much ease as one would go upstairs and, after this, climbing chimneys was quite a favorite amusement with me. At one time I rec- ollect that I got my clothes very much soiled in going up a very large old-fashioned chimney, and not liking to appear before my mother in that state, I took off my clothes and washed them, and while they were drying, I danced about on the grass. When about eight or ten years old, we had a troublesome old cat, which the domestics were wanting to get rid of, and they asked me to kill her, which I readily undertook to do. I borrowed a large horse pistol and put into it a double charge of powder and shot. I then went in pursuit of the cat and 'soon found her sunning herself near the house. By the way, I knew nothing about shooting, had never fired off a pistol in my life. Notwith- standing this, I took up my pistol, heavily loaded as it was, without any feeling of fear, held it in the direction of my eye and pointed it at the cat. I snapped it two or three times, but it would not go off. I then scraped the flint, when suddenly it went off striking me with great force in the forehead. I killed the cat, but in doing it, I nearly killed myself. I lay on the ground for some time en- tirely insensible, and when I at last came to, I made out to crawl into the house, the blood BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 21 streaming from my forehead and nose and from one finger of my right hand, which was cut nearly to the bone. I now carry with me two scars from that accident, on my forehead and finger. One afternoon at dancing school a girl brought me a crooked rusty pin, and said, "You dare not swallow that?" "Yes, I dare do it," I said. So saying, I put it in my mouth and it went down my throat head first. Not satisfied with that, they kept bringing more to me, until finally I swallowed seven crooked rusty pins. Afterwards I danced and played about as unconcerned as possible. Evening came and a sister told my mother what I had been doing. She was exceedingly alarmed and immediately sent for the family physician. He came and gave me medicine, but no inconven- ience was ever after experienced by me. In childhood, as in mature years, I was always fond of a joke. My mother one day made some sugar gingerbread, but was disappointed in the baking, it proved heavy. "Oh," said she, "it is not fit for the dogs to eat." "Well," said I to myself, "if that is the case, I think I may venture to eat it." So accordingly, I filled my pockets with it day after day until it was all gone. A few days after, a neighbor came in to take tea with us. Mother went to her pot of gingerbread, and lo, it had vanished. "George," said she to me, "Do you know what has become of that gingerbread?" "Why, yes, ma'am. You said it was not fit for the dogs to eat, but I liked it very much and so I have 22 A SALEM SHIPMASTER eaten it." She was very much amused and turned away to conceal a smile. Mother had an old nurse in her family by the name of Fishley. She was a petulant old woman, and when a child it was my delight to tease her. She belonged to the sect of the Methodists, not a very numerous sect in those days. Having fre- quently attended their meetings, I had become quite familiar with their cant phrases. And now imagine me on a Sunday afternoon in an outer kitchen, on the top of a high pump, with my head up in a scuttle, the children assembled around me, and I addressing them in the true Methodistical style. "Oh, my dearly beloved brethren! Sweet Sister Fishley! Dear Brother Crosswell," etc., and so on. And now Aunt Fishley comes in. She listens. Her anger arises, she becomes more and more excited, till at last she breaks out, "Get down, you Satan, get down." The uproar reaches mother's ears. She comes out "What is all this disturbance about?" I still keep on preaching, "Oh, my dearly beloved! Oh, Brother Crosswell, the child is ruined," etc. Convulsed with laughter, mother turns upon her heels and leaves me to finish my sermon. My father had a fine large garden in Ports- mouth and I was early put to work in it. I did a great deal in it and I enjoyed it, as I have ever enjoyed working in a garden. Besides this, I had to drive the cow to pasture, feed the pigs, etc. o ~ HH o p BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 23 Indeed a great deal of care came upon me, partic- ularly when my father was away. And I had to work very hard in order to get any time to play. I think it was in the year 1783 I was sent to Benj. Dearborn's 1 school. Mr. D - was the most unsuitable person for a teacher that I ever knew, being very tyrannical towards all the schol- ars, girls as well as boys, but particularly so towards me; but being a very high spirited boy his severity had a bad effect upon me. I felt that I was not made to be flogged and I would not submit to it. One day entering the room, just after the school had commenced, Dearborn, who was standing near the door, gave me a blow with his fist on the side of the head. I fell, but before reaching the floor he caught me and gave me a blow on the other side. These blows were re- peated until I became nearly insensible. His i From "Rambles About Portsmouth," I find the follow- ing sketch of Mr. Dearborn, written by the widow of Capt. Wm. Brewster, when she was eighty-five years old, entitled "A few Recollections of Mr. Dearborn's School in 1780": "Mr. Dearborn taught the first school in Portsmouth for misses in a large room in his own dwelling house. The scholars brought the 'Spectator' and the 'Guardian' and such books as they had, until suitable books for reading could be procured from Boston. Mr. Dearborn wanted to get up a class in grammar, but could only prevail upon six scholars to join. Many parents thought it an unneces- sary branch for misses to attend to. The grammars were obtained from Boston. I have mine still, bought in March, 1781." Later, according to Mrs. Brewster, the school was enlarged, there were assistant teachers, and it was in a flourishing condition, when Mr. Dearborn left for Bos- ton. Ed. 24 A SALEM SHIPMASTER scholars were very much alarmed and burst into tears, supposing that he intended to kill me. Notwithstanding all this cruel treatment, I con- tinued at his school, I think, two or three years, though without learning anything. From him I went to Amos Tappan, 1 brother of Professor Tappan, and remained at his school until September or October of 1790. He kept a very good school, excepting that, like Mr. Dear- born, he was too fond of using the ferule and particularly so upon me, having probably heard from Mr. D. - that I was a very unruly boy. I still resolved, however, that I would not be beat- en with impunity, and so the more he flogged me the worse I behaved. After being with him some months, he changed his course of treatment, which had a very happy effect upon me, so much so that he never again had recourse to the rod. My brother Ichabod 2 went to Mr. Tappan's 1 Amos Tappan was one of the three deacons in the old North Church in Portsmouth in 1812. "They all took their seats in front of the pulpit, facing the congregation. No boy smiled when he passed a deacon in those days." Brewster, "Rambles About Portsmouth," p. 327. 2 Ichabod Nichols, the fourth son of Ichabod and Lydia Ropes Nichols, was born July 5th, 1784, in Portsmouth, N. H. When he was nine years old, his parents returned to Salem, Mass. He graduated from Harvard College with the highest honors, in the celebrated class of 1802, num- bering sixty members. He at once began his studies for the ministry with his pastor, Dr. Barnard of the North Church in Salem. In 1805 Harvard College sought him as a tutor in mathematics. He kept that position for four years until he accepted a BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 25 school with me. He was a fine scholar, very much of the stamp of Buckminster, 1 but two or three years younger than he. At one time he had a severe cold and earache which kept him awake a greater part of the night. Appearing very un- call as colleague to Dr. Deane at the First Parish Church in Portland, Maine. The salary, $1,200, was much larger than any received in the town or State, and it was not changed during his whole ministry. He was installed on June 7th, 1809, and on the death of Dr. Deane, in 1814, he became sole pastor, and so continued until January, 1855, when Rev. Horatio Stebbins became his colleague. On account of failing health, Dr. Nichols wished to withdraw entirely from the ministry, but his people were unwilling to sever a connection which had always been so harmonious. He consented to retain his official position, but refused a salary that was offered to him. He lived four years longer, dying in Cambridge, Jan. 2nd, 1859. In 1821 he received the degree of D. D. from Bowdoin College, and in 1831 the same from Harvard College. From an obituary notice in a Portland paper, Jan. 5, 1859. "The ladies of the First Parish in Portland erected a monument to his memory. It was a marble statue of St. John, the Evangelist, by Akers, who executed the work in Italy." Portland Advertiser. i Joseph Stevens Buckminster was born in Portsmouth, N. H., May 26th, 1784. His ancestors on both his mother's and father's side were clergymen for several generations. He was fitted for Harvard College at twelve years old, but did not enter until he was thirteen. After graduation he prepared for the ministry and was ordained as pastor of the Brattle Street Church in Boston when he was twenty years old. His sermons placed him in the front rank of the preachers of his time. He died June 9th, 1812, at the age of twenty-eight. From Memoirs prefixed to the Ser- mons of Buckminster. 26 A SALEM SHIPMASTER well in the morning, his mother tried to dissuade him from going to school, but he was so earnest to go that she at length consented to his going. When called up to recite, his master asked him a question, but he appeared very stupid and did not answer as readily as usual. Mr. Tappan not understanding the reason, and being a very passionate man, caught him by the ear, pulling it very violently. This gave him great pain and he screamed as though a sword had been run through him, upon which all the scholars shouted. I felt very indignant and rising from my seat could hardly refrain from throwing a large Bible which I had in my hand at his head. I cried out invol- untarily, "You are a set of fools, altogether." After school the master desired me to stop, I supposed with the intention of flogging me, but in this I was mistaken. Had he attempted it, I should have defended myself to the utmost with the tongs or a stick of wood, both of which were near. He appeared very calm and asked me if I did not think I had spoken very improperly to him. "No, sir," said I, "that child was awake all last night with the earache, and was altogether too sick to be at school to-day." Upon hearing this Mr. Tappan appeared quite disturbed and after- wards came and apologized to my mother for his severity. After leaving Mr. Tappan's school, I went to Philips Academy at Exeter, under the charge of BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 27 Mr. Benjamin Abbott, 1 one of the best men I ever knew. To him I am indebted more than to any other man for much of my success in after life. Nothing worthy of note occurred to me while there, which was rather more than a year. From Exeter I returned to Portsmouth, and at the age of thirteen years, or a little more, I entered my father's store as a clerk; a wholesale grocery store. This was an office of great respon- sibility, as my father would frequently go to Boston or New York and leave me with the charge of the business for a week or ten days together, with no one hi the store but a man to do the drudgery. My cash receipts were then more than one hundred dollars a day, and I have on his return home, handed over to him ten or twelve hundred dollars, a large sum of money for those days. 1 "Benjamin Abbott, born about 1762, died in Exeter, N. H., Oct. 25, 1849. Graduated at Harvard in 1788 and took charge of Philips Academy, Exeter, which he conducted until 1838. Among his pupils were Daniel Webster, Ed- ward Everett, Lewis Cass, Jared Sparks, George Bancroft and John G. Palfrey." Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography. CHAPTER H. EARLY SEAFARING DAYS At the close of the year 1793, my father gave up this business and removed to Salem, 1 leaving me Philadelphia, where he was established as a clerk in Mr. Anthony's counting room. This done, on the third of December I joined the family in Salem. Here my father connected to set- tle the business, assisted by my oldest brother, 2 who was then visiting Portsmouth from Philadelphia, 1 In the Salem Court House Records I find the following: "William Gray, merchant of Salem, sold to Ichabod Nichols, in consideration of 800, land and two houses on Washington Street and Barton Square, the two houses parallel to each other, distant 59 ft. 9 in. from each other. "Deed given by Mr. Gray, Dec. 28, 1791." My great-grandfather, Ichabod Nichols, occupied the house which was 59 ft. 9 in. west of the corner house, and here he died July 2nd, 1839. The two houses were taken down in 1895, and the site of the house where Ichabod Nichols lived is now occupied by the office of "The Salem News." Ed. 2 John Nichols, the oldest son of my great-grandparents, Ichabod and Lydia Ropes Nichols. He was born in Salem, Dec. 26th, 1776, died at Point Petre Guadaloupe, June 8, 1798. In 1793 he was apprenticed to Messrs. Anthony & Son, merchants in Philadelphia. At the time of his death he was engaged to Miss Peters of Philadelphia. Ed. 28 Ichahod Nichols, father of George Nichols, "in the 'Court' dress which he was obliged to wear when as a young captain of a Salem vessel in the port of St. Petersburg he was sum- moned to court by Catherine II of Russia." From a portrait in possession of Mr. John White Treadwell Nichols, of New York. EARLY SEAFARING DAYS 29 himself in business with Capt. Benjamin Hodges. 1 They purchased several small vessels and en- gaged in the West India trade. For more than a year I was employed as a clerk in their counting room. I felt at this time a strong desire to see the world and obtain some knowledge of the seafar- ing life, so on the 28th of March, 1795, I sailed in the bark "Essex" owned by Capt. William Orne, 2 with Capt. John Green, 3 for Copenhagen and St. Petersburg. I went as a passenger and to do duty when able. Our passage out was extremely rough and I was for a week or ten days very seasick, after which I was able to stand my reg- ular watch. Capt. G - proved a very unsuit- able person for a young man to sail with, having no system on board his vessel. We arrived at 1 "Capt. Benjamin Hodges, born in Salem, Mass., April 26th, 1754, died 13th of April, 1806, married Nov. 19th, 1778, Hannah King, daughter of William King. He lived on the corner of Essex and Orange Streets. His daughter Mary married William Silsbee. Mr. Hodges was master mariner and commanded the ship Grand Turk, Astrea and many other vessels in the employment of Elias Haskett Derby." Essex Institute Hist. Coll., Vol. IV., p. 10. 2 "Capt. William Orne, born in Salem, Mass., Feb., 1752, died Oct., 1815. He was an eminent merchant, very highly esteemed. He married a daughter of Judge Ropes, who died in 1774 in the house on Essex Street, facing Cam- bridge Street, an estate which he bought from the Barnard heirs." Salem Gazette, Oct. 18, 1815. Capt. Orne's daughter married Judge Daniel White, who was the grandfather of Miss Eliza Orne White, the present- day novelist. Ed. 3 "Capt. John Green, a master mariner, born in Beverly, 1753, died 1827." Essex Institute Hist. Coll., Vol. 3, p. 178. 30 A SALEM SHIPMASTER Copenhagen after a passage of thirty-nine days, having met with no incidents worthy of note. Copenhagen is a beautiful city, one of the pleasantest I have ever seen. We were there a fortnight, which time I spent ashore. Having landed our cargo, an assorted one of sugar, etc., we sailed for Cronstadt, the outport of St. Petersburg, where we arrived in seven or eight days. In less than ten days after leaving Copenhagen it was visited by a most destructive fire, which consumed thirteen hundred houses, including the one in which I boarded. A few days after we arrived at Cronstadt I went to St. Peters- burg and passed a week there. This city far exceeds in magnificence any city that I have ever visited, both as regards its public and private buildings. Having passed four weeks here and in Cronstadt and taken in a return cargo of Russia goods, hemp, iron, etc., we returned to Copen- hagen. Catherine II was at the time Empress of Russia, one of the ablest sovereigns that ever sat upon that throne. We stopped at Copenhagen two or three days to stop a leak in our vessel. In coming out of port we ran aground and remained in the sand some twenty-four hours. This accident we owed to the stupidity of the Captain. The vessel was so much injured in get- ting her off as to give us serious trouble after- wards. We stopped at Elsinore, the port of clearance, and from thence proceeded on our passage home. When half way across the EARLY SEAFARING DAYS 31 Atlantic we encountered a severe gale of wind which lasted several hours. A heavy sea followed, which unhung our rudder and placed us in a very unpleasant situation. In the course of ten days the rudder was repaired and rehung, we steering the vessel in the meantime with cables together with the sails. We arrived in Salem about thirty days after encountering the gale, about the sixth of October, 1795. Although I had had rough passages and not the most agreeable companions, I still felt a strong desire to pursue a seafaring life. I had been in my father's counting room about six months when my father, with others, purchased a vessel to send to Manila, and appointed Capt. Enoch Swett 1 master and, as he was very ignorant of business, I was appointed joint supercargo with him. We sailed from Salem on the 10th of May, 1796, in the brig "Eunice," a most unsuitable vessel for such a voyage, being a very slow sailing vessel. We were about four and a half months to the Cape of Good Hope. We went into Table Bay for the health of our crew and to obtain pro- visions. Cape Town is a very delightful place, has a fine climate and all kinds of tropical fruits in great abundance. Here we obtained such information as to lead us to alter our course to i "Capt. Enoch Swett, a native of Newburyport. Ship- master. He married Frances Williams, whose parents lived on Union Street in Salem. He died at sea, Dec. 21st, 1803, aged 37 years." E. I. Hist. Coll., Vol. III., p. 178. 32 A SALEM SHIPMASTER Batavia. This was at that time considered one of the most unhealthy parts of India, which caused Capt. Swett to hesitate about going there, fearing the climate might prove fatal to me. I insisted, however, upon his going. We left Cape Town after a week's stay. Nothing of importance occurred until we ar- rived at the Islands of St. Paul and Amsterdam, about fifty degrees east and two or three degrees south of the Cape of Good Hope. Our passage from the Cape was about twenty days. Knowing that seals and fish were very abundant near these islands, we concluded to land at St. Paul's. Man- ning our boat we rowed in shore to fish and soon loaded the boat with fish and returned aboard, when fish could be caught from the vessel. Capt. Swett having on a previous voyage landed on this island, thought he would go again to catch seals. He accordingly took a boat and with two or three men and myself, all armed with clubs, made for the shore. But on approaching we found no good landing place and the surf ran high. I sprang, however, upon a rock and gained the island. The noise aroused the seals with which the whole shore was lined and they at once made for the water. Among them was a very large one, which, with mouth open, and making a horrible noise, came directly towards me. The monster came within a few feet of me and then stopped and growled hideously. He was much larger than a common-sized calf and weighed probably from Nichols as a young man. Copied from a miniatun-. EARLY SEAFARING DAYS 33 one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds. The boat had been carried off some distance by the surf. The Captain became very much alarmed for my safety and called out for me to retreat. "Where shall I retreat to?" said I, for I was entirely surrounded by water. Fortunately for me the water had receded somewhat, leaving here and there a rock bare. Catching up one as large as my fist I threw it at the animal and hit him on the nose, a most tender spot. He fell. This encouraged me to advance, though the boat was still off shore and no one had been able to land. The captain and sailors, however, soon joined me and we advanced up into the island, first hauling our boat upon the beach out of reach of the surf. We encountered as we went an incredible number of seals. In one small place there appeared to be more than one hundred lying basking in the sun asleep like so many sheep. As we approached they aroused and made for the water. We succeeded in knocking down a great many of them with our clubs, say twenty or thirty, and desired the men to carry them to the boat. We, in the meantime, went farther up into the island to visit a tent which had been erected by Mr. Thomas Russell 1 of Charlestown, then one of the most distinguished merchants in New Eng- land. It was put up for the accommodation of seamen and was about a quarter of a mile from i The tent was erected not by Mr. Thomas Russell him- self, but by the captain of a vessel belonging to him. 34 A SALEM SHIPMASTER the shore. We made but a short stay, as we were anxious to get back to the vessel. We expected, on our return to the boat, to find it filled with the seals which we had knocked down, but the men, instead of complying with our instructions, had been amusing themselves with killing more. For this the captain reprimanded them severely, and they immediately proceeded to execute his orders. One of them, a stout Dutchman, would shoulder a seal weighing from one to two hundred pounds, supposing him to be dead. After going a few paces the seal would open his mouth and growl, and the fellow would throw him down near the boat and go off for another. In the meantime, he would get up and run into the water. We succeeded, however, at last in filling the boat, and having obtained about a dozen skins, we pro- ceeded to the vessel after a most fatiguing but exceedingly interesting day's work. We then proceeded to Batavia, at which place we arrived about the fifth of December, 1796, after a passage of about two hundred and ten days from Salem. Feeling quite unwell and that I had symptoms of the yellow fever upon me, I remained on board the vessel by the advice of the physician. This I was the more ready to do, as no business could be transacted for some days. Soon after this a violent gale came on which caused much destruction among the shipping. One large ship of more than a thousand tons was sunk within a stone's throw of us. After the gale I went EARLY SEAFARING DAYS 35 ashore with a number of our men. On our way we met Capt. Swett, who had remained on shore. He was rejoiced to see me, as he feared that I had by this time fallen a victim to the fever. We went to the hotel upon landing, a most superb building belonging to the Dutch East India Com- pany, where all foreigners are required to put up. Here we remained about nine weeks, during which time we purchased our return cargo, con- sisting of sugar, coffee, pepper and spices. I left Batavia on the 7th of February, 1797. This city is said to have been the most beautiful in the East Indies, with a population perhaps of one hundred thousand. Before leaving the city I invited two gentlemen with whom I had been intimate to come to my room and take a parting glass with me. While sitting together one of the gentlemen said to the other, at the same time pointing to my bed, "Such a person, a particular friend of mine, died on that bed," to which the other replied: "A friend of mine," mentioning his name, "also died there." Both deaths had occurred just before I occupied the bed. And what is still more remarkable the same day in which we left our second mate, Mr. Carnes, came ashore sick with the fever, took my bed and died within a few days. I left the captain ashore to attend to some trifling business, and when he came aboard he brought compliments from sev- eral friends, congratulating me upon the preser- vation of my life, so entirely unlocked for. This 36 A SALEM SHIPMASTER I attributed to my strictly following the directions of a most excellent physician whom I consulted immediately after my arrival in Batavia, and upon my always keeping up good spirits. I had forgotten to mention an incident that occurred on our passage from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia. When one or two degrees south of the Straits of Sunda, we found sharks very abundant. I caught one with a common cod hook and line, drew him along side of the vessel, and then threw a rope with a noose over him. Then with the help of a tackle all hands succeeded in getting him aboard. He was from nine to eleven feet long and weighed, we estimated, eight or nine hundred pounds. Upon opening him we took from his stomach the back shell of a turtle, which must have weighed thirty pounds. We cut off the head and cleaned the jaw, in which were seven long rows of teeth, I think about thirty in a row, and large enough to admit a man's head and shoulders. Considering it a great curiosity, I brought it home and deposited it in the East India Museum. We caught several other sharks in these straits, of a smaller size, from one of which we took a turtle weighing perhaps twelve or fifteen pounds, in so perfect a state that the sailors would have eaten it had we allowed it. But to resume our narrative. We returned through the Straits of Sunda and in passing Anjer were boarded by a boat with supplies of fruit and other needful articles. As we passed EARLY SEAFARING DAYS 37 the Cape of Good Hope, we put into Table Bay to get bread and other supplies, which we found there in great abundance. We remained at Table Bay about a week and then sailed for home. Nothing worthy of note occurred until we arrived within a few days of home, when we spoke a vessel and were informed that war had broken out between America and France, and that the French were capturing our vessels wherever they could find them. This intelligence made us feel very uneasy. Within a few days of this, very early one morning, we saw a vessel which we took to be a French Privateer. Fortunately our vessel appeared to be well armed which made them cautious, and after maneuvering about us for some hours, we showed that we were prepared to fire into them, they hauled down their sails and allowed us to pass. They were only one or two hundred yards from us and could have taken us without difficulty in five minutes. Without fur- ther adventure of note, we arrived in Salem between the 1st and 10th of August, 1797. This, my second voyage was a pleasant one, and Capt. Swett was a kind, good-hearted man. I remained at home about a month when I en- gaged a voyage as joint supercargo in the bark Vigilant, bound to the Isle of France, Daniel Hathorne, 1 master, and a more unprincipled, in- i "Daniel Hathorne was a shipmaster. He died at sea in 1805, aged 37 years. Unmarried." E. I. Hist. Coll., Vol. Ill, p. 175. 38 A SALEM SHIPMASTER temperate man I never knew, or one more uncomfortable to get along with and withal very ignorant of business. This vessel was owned by Capt. Simon Forrester. 1 We sailed on the 7th of October, 1797, for Alexandria, where we took in a cargo of flour and tobacco and arrived safely at the Isle of France, after a passage of about one hundred days. Here the market was overstocked and we were compelled to sell at great loss. We took aboard a cargo of sugar and coffee and re- turned to Salem, arriving here about the 10th of October, 1798, having been absent a year. This voyage was badly planned, and it proved a losing one to Capt. Forrester. More than all, it was a most unpleasant one, owing to the captain's in- temperance. On two or three occasions he was so intoxicated as to be obliged to leave the vessel in the charge of the mates. Before closing my account of this voyage, I would observe that Louis, the port at which we stopped, and the seat of government of the Isle of France, was rather a pleasant place, small and much frequented by foreigners. Sugar was the principal article of produce. We visited Bourbon Island, from one to i "Simon Forrester, a native of Ireland, came to Salem in early youth and became a very active and wealthy merchant. He lived in a house on Derby Street, opposite his wharf and warehouses, the wharf now named Central. He died July 4th, 1817, aged seventy-one years." Essex Institute Records, Vol. IV, p. 82. Gateway of the House 80 Federal Street, Salem. EARLY SEAFARING DAYS 39 two hundred miles distant from Louis, one of the most beautiful islands in the world, with a very fine climate. Coffee grows here abundantly. It is said that there is a volcano in the interior of the island, but we did not see it, as our vessel stopped here but a day or two. After remaining at home about two months, I went in the "Sally," a schooner of about one hun- dred and twenty tons burden, to Petersburg, Va., to get a load of tobacco which was wanted by the owners to complete a cargo destined for the north of Europe. The "Sally" was chartered by my father, Capt. Hodges and others, and commanded by Capt. Tim Bryant, 1 with whom I was joint supercargo. We sailed the latter part of Novem- ber, arrived at Petersburg about the middle of December and remained there about ten days. We purchased our cargo and got back to Martha's Vineyard the 1st of January, 1799. Being in a hurry to get home, I left the vessel here and crossed the Sound to Falmouth, where I took a horse to Salem, a hundred miles distant. The winter of 1799 was a very severe one, the coldest that had been known for many years. When I left Falmouth it was very cold, the thermometer was but little above zero. After traveling a few miles, I entered, about sunset, a piece of woods i Capt. Timothy Bryant, a well-known Salem shipmaster, was born in Cambridge in 1765, died in Salem in 1838. He married Miss Lydia Brookhouse in Salem in 1786. 40 A SALEM SHIPMASTER about six miles long. It soon commenced snow- ing, the night was very dark, and I had nothing for a guide. When about half way through the woods I came to where three roads met. Which road to take I knew not, so I left the horse to take his own course and, as he had often traveled the road, he kept on in the right path and at length brought me into Sandwich. Here, assuming the direction, I went a mile out of my way, as I found upon inquiring at a house, so I left the horse again to himself and he carried me to my place of destination, to the very house where I wished to stop. I was so chilled that I found it difficult to alight from my horse. The inmates of the house were Friends, and they received me in a most friendly manner. They provided me with a good fire and an excellent supper, and after getting well warmed I retired to bed. The next morning I persisted in resuming my journey, although the thermometer was ten or twelve degrees below zero. The snow had fallen three feet on a level and had covered up the stone walls most of the way. I arrived in Boston that evening. Capt. Bryant came around in the schooner and got here about a week after I did. Having loaded the ship "Betsy," a ship of about two hundred tons burden, we sailed from Salem on the 4th of February, 1799, for Copenhagen and St. Petersburg, with a cargo of sugar, coffee and tobacco. The charge of the business was prin- cipally entrusted to me. We had a very pleasant EARLY SEAFARING DAYS 41 pasage for the season. Early in March the weather was so warm that our men went about the deck barefoot. An unfavorable wind obliged us to put into a small port in Norway. Here I hired three men to take me in a boat to North Bergen, a distance of seventy miles. North Ber- gen is the principal city of Norway. I remained there only a day or two and then returned to the ship. The weather, which had been so warm that I hardly needed a great coat, became the day after my return extremely cold and we found it difficult to keep warm on board with the largest fires that we could make, and in the North Sea the cold was so intense that vessels there were almost unman- ageable. We went from one port to another in Norway, as the wind would permit, and at length reached an outpost near Mandal, where we found a Salem ship, whose commander, Capt. Moseley, 1 i "Captain Joseph Moseley, born about 1760 at Niscontin, North Carolina, a town which lies near the Virginia border. He was skillful and faithful in his profession, so that his services were sought by some of the largest merchants of the time. He was for several years in the employ of William Gray, Jr. In 1795 he commanded the schooner 'Active,' belonging to Ichabod Nichols and Benjamin Hodges, on a voyage to St. Petersburg. "His last voyage was in the ship 'Enterprise,' in 1799. In March of that year he was hailed by a privateer which showed Dutch colors. Having mounted an elevation on the deck, he stood, with the trumpet at his mouth to return an answer, when a shot from the privateer shattered the trumpet and struck him in the head. Falling back, he gasped out the words, 'I am a dead man,' and expired in the arms of his men. When the other captain came on board and discovered the innocent character of the vessel, his regret was excessive, especially when he discovered 42 A SALEM SHIPMASTER had recently been killed by a Dutch Privateer. His body was brought to Mandal to be buried. From Mandal we went to the neighborhood of Christiansund, a place of considerable business. Knowing that there were several French Priva- teers in the neigborhood, we took a careful survey from the Highlands before venturing out to sea. We were just on the point of sailing when Capt. Bryant saw a privateer coming out of Christian- sund. A consultation was held and we decided to remain where we were. The following morning we saw a large fleet of English merchant vessels under convoy of two or three ships of war. We soon got under way and joined them. Among them was the French privateer that we had seen the day before hovering about Christiansund, in pursuit of our vessel and two other Salem vessels. Nothing worthy of note occurred on our way to Elsinore, which place we reached about the middle of May. We saw quantities of drift ice, but fortunately sustained no injury from it. On the 18th of May we arrived at Copenhagen, where the captain and I went ashore and took lodgings at a boarding house. At the dinner table on the first day a gentleman sat next to me who proved to be the captain of the above named French privateer. I entered into conversation with him that Captain Moseley was an old acquaintance and one who had been in port with him. His only excuse was that he thought the vessel was an Englishman under American colors." E. S. Waters, E. I. Hist. Coll., Vol. IV, pp. 259 and 260. EARLY SEAFARING DAYS 43 and asked him if he had captured many Amer- icans. He made no reply, but appeared quite disturbed by the question. We were in this city ten or twelve days, and having landed our cargo, sailed for Cronstadt, where we arrived in about a week. Paul was then the Emperor of Russia. He was a very tyrannical man and his regulations as respects foreigners were extremely severe. None but captains of vessels were allowed pass- ports to go to St. Petersburg, consequently I, as supercargo, could not obtain one. But Capt. Bryant, determined that I should go, went up with his first, and then sent it down to me. I did not hesitate to use it, though a detection of the fraud would have cost me a banishment to Siberia. Upon landing we encountered two or three police officers who we suspected were intending to arrest us because we had not on the court dress or a very important part of it, the cocked hat. This dress consisted, besides the cocked hat, of a single breasted coat and vest, a stock instead of a cravat, buckled behind, and Suwarrow boots, and the hair must be brushed up in front. Find- ing that we were pursued by these officers we walked rapidly to the first boarding house and immediately sent out for a lot of hats with which we equipped ourselves. Mr. William Silsbee, 1 i "William Silsbee was the son of Nathaniel and Sarah Beckett Silsbee and brother of the late Hon. Nathaniel Silsbee. He went to sea, became a shipmaster, and later a merchant. 44 A SALEM SHIPMASTER who was one of the party, and I chose the largest we could find, though we were both very thin. After a week's stay in this city, we returned to Cronstadt, where I contrived to get a passport, which would have carried me all over the Empire. This passport I afterwards showed to Mr. Vernon, 1 with whom I boarded in St. Petersburg, and whose wife was a sister of Mr. T. Sanders, 2 of Salem. Upon looking at it he appeared very much astonished, and observed that the penalty of furnishing me with such a passport was a very severe one, nothing less than banishment to Siberia. Having purchased a return cargo of hemp, iron and manufactures, I returned to the ship and we sailed for Copenhagen about the middle of June. Our passage of a week was a very pleasant one. "His wife was Mary, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah King Hodges, and his sons were Rev. William, John Henry and Benjamin Hodges Silsbee." E. I. Hist. Coll., Vol. V, p. 247. 1 "Mr. Augustus Vernon, a merchant of St. Petersburg, Russia, married Sarah, a daughter of Hon. Thomas Sanders of Gloucester, and a sister of Mr. Thomas Sanders of Salem." Babson's Hist, of Gloucester, 2nd Series, p. 76. 2 "Mr. Thos. Sanders was one of a family of twelve children. His father, Hon. Thomas Sanders, was one of the prominent men in Gloucester, where the family had lived since 1702. "Mr. Sanders was born in 1759, settled in Salem and died a wealthy citizen of that place June 5th, 1844. He married Miss Elizabeth Elkins, who survived him with two sons and three daughters." Babson's Hist, of Glouces- ter, 2nd Series, p. 76. EARLY SEAFARING DAYS 45 We stopped at Copenhagen a day or two and then went to Elsinore, where we found a dozen or more American vessels and several English vessels. We agreed to sail in company, and proceeded down the Cattegat under convoy of a British man-of-war. When nearly through the straits a head wind obliged us to put into a port in Norway. After lying there some days, as the British manifested no disposition to proceed, the Americans became impatient. I called a meeting of the masters of the vessels to consider what it was best to do. I was permitted to meet with them, though not the master of a vessel. Capt. Clemens, who had taken particular pains to sup- ply his ship with arms and ammunition, was very desirous to proceed. He maintained that we could defend ourselves without the aid of the British against any enemy that might appear in these seas, and about one-half of the captains were of the same opinion. Capt. George Hodges, 1 i Capt. George Hodges, born in Salem, July 18th, 1765, died July 28, 1827. "A sea captain and merchant. He was a very large man. A farmer coming into town with produce for him inquired for his residence in these words; 'I don't want the Mr. Hodges who is as high as you can see,' (meaning his brother, Gamaliel Hodges), 'but the one who is as big round as you can see.' "During President Jefferson's administration he was surveyor of customs for Salem and Beverly, which office he resigned in 1820. During the Revolution he was active in upholding the cause of his country, and in 1780 he com- manded the 'Pallas,' a 10-gun vessel, which was built and fitted out in Massachusetts." From "Hodges Family of New England," by Almon D. Hodges, Jr., p. 44. 46 A SALEM SHIPMASTER who was then in command of a vessel, one-half of which was owned by my father, asked me to express my opinion, but this I declined doing, not being a master. However, when urged strongly to do it on the ground that I was perhaps more interested than any person present, as my father was largely concerned in two of the vessels, I frankly told them that we had lost ten days to keep under the protection of the British, and that I saw no reason now for leaving them, and that we were as great a protection to Capt. Clemens as he was to us with all his guns. The vote was now taken and they decided to remain with the British. The wind soon becoming favorable we resumed our voyage, but we kept company with the British only three or four days, as they were bound for England and we for America. We Americans resolved to keep together as long as possible. Soon after leaving the British we saw one morn- ing in July a French privateer steering directly towards us. Our vessel, being a fast sailor, was in advance of the others, and was the only one which looked like a man of war, having a tier of sixteen guns, all wooden. We hoisted a flag, and made the usual preparations for action, firing off a swivel, a small gun which we had borrowed from an American vessel in Norway. Seeing this, the privateer made sail, and soon disappeared from view. The commodore, Capt. Clemens, meantime remained quite in the background, thus proving the truth of what I said in Norway, that EARLY SEAFARING DAYS 47 we were as great a protection to him as he was to us. We proceeded on our passage together through the North Sea, when each vessel made the best of her way home. We arrived about the middle of September, 1799. This, my fourth foreign voyage, proved a good one, and was the pleasantest I had yet made. CHAPTER III. MASTER AND SUPERCARGO After remaining at home two or three months, I sailed again as joint supercargo with Capt. Bryant, December, 1799. Our ship, the "Active," 1 was a new vessel owned and built by my father, Capt. Hodges and others, and was bound for Bombay for a cargo of cotton. We carried prin- cipally specie from $15,000 to $16,000. Nothing of importance occurred during our passage, which was a very pleasant one of three and a half months. We arrived out about the last of March or the first of April, 1800. Bombay is a very pleasant island, and the city was a convenient, healthy city. The business was carried on by Parsees, some of the most intelligent people I i "Ship 'Active,' 206 tons burthen, built in Salem in 1799, later altered to a bark and then to a brig. It was owned by Ichabod Nichols, Benjamin Hodges, Gamaliel Hodges and Edward Allen. In 1803 George Nichols was also one of the joint owners, Edward Allen having withdrawn. In 1804 Benjamin Peirce and Timothy Bryant had an interest in the vessel with Ichabod Nichols, Benjamin Hodges and George Nichols. This is the last date of the above named owners; later the ship passed into other hands." Ship Register, p. 3. Dr. Bentley has the following note in his diary August 3rd, 1799: "Becket launched a ship ('Active') for Hodges & Nichols at noon this day." Ed. 48 s*a:i -d -y S H C ? I "a 5 -s -2 fir** H d 3 .S C O 02 . 03 03 02 * * oi O oJ * ^"S 5 oi | 9 5 n M c c O 03 ft c gs os ~ ^ ^?C 11 0^4, _e mi ed ^ 0.2 o * e s*> ill * P *> So S o i o ^ C O 0! ft O o! O * "' f d -f c is ft 2 o co c: MASTER AND SUPERCARGO 49 have ever known, rich and very honorable in their dealings. The merchant with whom I did bus- iness, Nasser Vanji Monackjce 1 was a very fine man. We were at Bombay about six weeks, during which time we sold what small stock we had at a very handsome profit, purchased a return cargo, principally of cotton, and then sailed for home. Our passage home was about as long as the passage out, and like that, void of incident worthy of note. Having landed we reloaded the principal part of the cotton for the English market. I was appointed master and supercargo of the same vessel in which I had made my previous voyage, the "Active." I was then a little more than twenty-two years of age. I sailed about the first of September for Liverpool, and arrived there after a most stormy passage of about twenty-five days. We found on arriving that our cotton could not be landed there, and accordingly we proceeded to take it to London. We were de- tained in Liverpool about twenty days by severe storms, and ours was the only vessel out of one hundred and sixty sail that escaped without damage. Here I must go back to relate an incident that occurred five days after leaving Salem. Perceiv- ing signs of an approaching gale, I desired the mate to put the ship in a situation to meet it, upon i There is a life size figure of Nasser Vanji in the Peabody Academy of Science. Ed. 50 A SALEM SHIPMASTER which he immediately gave orders for all hands to come on deck and take in sail, etc. Mr. Sinclair, 1 our third mate, was at the time below with a lighted candle in a candlestick. In his haste to be first on deck he very imprudently left the burning candle on the till of his chest. Walk- ing the quarterdeck soon after I saw a column of smoke coming from the cabin. I hurried down and ordered water to be handed to me. Every- thing in Mr. Sinclair's chest was on fire, but I filled the chest with water and soon extinguished the flames. There was a keg of from two to three hundred pounds of powder within three feet of the fire, and had it spread at all we must have inevitably been blown up. Everything conspired to make our situation a truly alarming one. Our cabin was nearly filled with combustible articles. The wind blew very fresh, but continued to in- crease in violence throughout the night and most i "John Sinclair was born in Salem, Mass., son of John and Elizabeth Ropes Sinclair. He commanded the Private armed schooner 'Revenge' in the fall of 1812, was captured in December and carried to Halifax, from which place he was liberated just in time to pass the 'Chesapeake' as it was being taken into Halifax by the British captor 'Shannon.' The following month he was one of the thir- teen captains who manned the vessel provided by Captain Crowninshield to bring back the remains of Captains Lawrence and Ludlow to the United States. "He afterwards sailed with Capt. Shaw, and the 'Ports- mouth,' from Portsmouth, N. H., was transferred to his command on Nov. 7th, 1814. After sending in some valuable prizes, the vessel was lost, probably in a storm, but not impossibly taken by Algerines." Eliza Sinclair Blunt, from notes on her grandfather, John Sinclair. MASTER AND SUPERCARGO 51 of the following day. All on board agreed that it was the most terrific storm they had ever en- countered. To return to my story. I took a coasting pilot at Liverpool to carry me around to London. Nothing of note occurred until we arrived off Dover. It was evening and I set up a light and fired off guns for a pilot to carry me up the river. A British man of war was in the river, and mis- taking us for smugglers, sent a boat alongside with three officers and from twenty to thirty men. I soon found that the former were quite intoxi- cated. Boarding our vessel, the commanding officer in a very insolent tone said to me, "What ship is this?" "The 'Active' from Salem." "How long has that been her name?" In the same tone I replied, "We never have but one name for our vessels. I am from Liverpool, bound to London. I have just signalled for a pilot." The British officer, second in command, was so much intoxicated that he would have fallen overboard but for my mate, Mr. Peele. I had by this time become so much excited that I reprimanded Mr. Peele for rescuing him, which the first officer hearing, "None of your insolence, sir." "I'll order the Lion Cutter and cut you up and sink you." "Curse you and your Lion Cutter, too! If I had a few more guns, you would not dare use such language to me." "What would you do?" "I would send you to hell, where you belong. Send me into port if you dare, and I'll call upon 52 A SALEM SHIPMASTER your master and know if he allows such lang- uage." This determined manner calmed him at once. Wishing to examine my papers the two officers went below with a purser. I took them from a tin canister and threw them on the table. The purser was desired to examine them. He took up the Sea letter, but was so intoxicated that he could hardly hold it. He commenced reading, "Bart Bart Bart." Thoroughly aroused, I cried out, "Bart Putnam." 1 "Oh, that will do," said he, and threw down the letter. Receiving soon after a river pilot, we were conducted up the Thames and arrived in London the following day. I gave my business into the charge of Thomas Dickerson & Co., one of the oldest and most respectable houses in London, and delivered my cargo to the East India Company to be sold. We realized a monstrous profit from the sale of it, more than three hundred per cent on the first cost in Bombay. I then purchased a part of a cargo for Calcutta, which I put aboard, to- gether with specie, amounting to nearly $40,000. 2 1 "Bartholomew Putnam, son of Bartholomew and Ruth Gardner Putnam, born Feb. 2nd, 1757, died April 17, 1815. He was surveyor of the port and lived in the house that stood where the East Church (Second Unitarian) now is. His wife was Sarah, daughter of Gamaliel Hodges." B. F. Browne, E. I. Coll., Vol. IV, p. 138. 2 The day before leaving London Mr. Gill, the out-door clerk of Dickerson & Co., called upon me, and requested me to pay ten guineas for services rendered at the Custom House. Suspecting it to be an imposition, I said to him, "Give me your bill, and I will give you, according to cus- MASTER AND SUPERCARGO 53 I remained in London about four weeks; was pleased with the city. Went one evening to the Covent Garden Theatre, where I saw the Royal family George the Third, his wife and two or three daughters; one of whom, Princess Eliza- beth, was very handsome, reminding me very much of Dolly Treadwell. 1 I was very much torn, an order upon your house." "No," he replied, "I cannot do that, but you can put your hand in your pocket and take out the money. Capt. Olney, of a Providence ship, gave me that sum a few days since for a similar service." "I can't help that," said I. "Oh, then give me five guineas." "No," I replied. "Then give me three guineas." "Not one," said I. "My order is as good for one hundred guineas as for one." He appeared very much excited. "Then you are no gentleman." "I will soon see whether I am a gentleman or no," said I. The next morn- ing, I called at the counting room of Dickerson & Co., where I saw the senior partner, a stately old gentleman towards seventy years of age, and also, the active partner, whose name was Burgess. Addressing the latter, I said to him, "Is it customary for persons doing business at your house to pay your clerks for services rendered?" He appeared very much surprised, and said in a stern voice, "I don't understand you." I then repeated my question, and related the interview that I had with his clerk the preceding day. "I am very much obliged to you, Capt. Nichols," said he, "for your information. We pay Mr. Gill sixty guineas a year for attending to that particular business." When I again visited London about twenty months after this, I was told that Mr. Gill was immediately dismissed by Dickerson & Co., and that Capt. Olney was refunded his ten guineas. i "Dolly Treadwell, or Dorothy, was the wife of Dr. John Dexter Treadwell. She was the daughter of Jonathan and Dorothy Ashton Goodhue, and was born in February, 1777, died January 29, 1858. She had one son, John Goodhue Treadwell, born August 1st, 1805, a very successful doctor in Salem. He died the 5th of August, 1856, unmarried." E. I. Hist. Coll., Vol. IV, p. 278. 54 A SALEM SHIPMASTER gratified with the performance, the "Merchant of Venice," by Cooke, 1 one of the greatest actors then living. He took the character of Shylock. No one person appeared to enjoy it more than the old king. Having completed my preparations for con- tinuing my voyage, I sent the vessel down the river. I joined her at Gravesend, about thirty miles below London. The wind being ahead, we put into Ramsgate, where we lay wind-bound fif- teen or sixteen days. This is a small town with a harbor built into the sea for the protection of vessels. When the wind became fair, we pro- ceeded on our voyage, with the purpose of stopping at Madeira for wine. We arrived there without accident after a passage of about eighteen or twenty days. Madeira is one of the most beautiful islands you can imagine. The scenery is beautiful, and the climate is remark- ably healthy. The principal production is wine of a superior quality. We were on the island i "George Frederic Cooke, an English actor of great prominence, born in Westminster, April 17, 1756. He early showed a taste for the stage, and made such rapid strides in his profession that in 1794 he was engaged by the managers of the Dublin Theatre. The following year he returned to England. On Oct. 31st, 1800, he made his appearance at Covent Garden, London, in the character of Richard III. His rep- utation was at once established as an actor of the first class. Later he came to the United States, where he had formed a theatrical engagement. He died in this country March 25th, 1812." Encyclopedia Americana. MASTER AND SUPERCARGO 55 about a week, during which time we took in a part of a cargo of wine. In clearing from the island, we met with some trouble which had liked to have proved very serious to vessel and crew. Their regulations forbid all vessels leaving port after dark. Supposing that the clearing officer had informed the government of our wish to leave at that time, we got under way; when they imme- diately commenced firing upon us from the port. Each shot came nearer than the last, and at last were so near as to throw the water into the ship. Fearing that the next shot would sink the vessel, I hoisted a light, and prepared to go ashore. Seeing this, they ceased firing. The people ashore, as I afterwards learned, supposed that they meant to sink our vessel. I remained on shore that night, and in the morning, accompanied by the American Consul, I went to the proper officers and obtained permission to leave the island, which I did immediately, and before noon reached the ship, and we proceeded on our voyage. Nothing of note occured until our arrival at St. Paul. The wind being light, we approached the island very slowly. Towards noon, supposing we were about eight or ten miles from it, I left in a boat with four men for the purpose of fishing, and gave particular directions to my mate, Mr. Peele, not to lose sight of my boat for a moment. I took my musket with me, and told Mr. Peele that I should fire it off if I wished him to stand in nearer the island. After rowing about an hour 56 A SALEM SHIPMASTER I found myself farther from shore than I had sup- posed and accordingly fired off my gun, not doubting that Mr. Peele would comply with my instructions. As we drew near to the island we found fish so abundant that in less than twenty minutes we filled our boat with them. Suddenly one of the sailors looking around said to me, "Captain, there is a squall arising and they are reefing the topsails." I immediately gave orders to row for the ship as fast as possible. She was then three or four miles off, and appeared to be going from us. The squall was rising rapidly, my men were very much alarmed, and I, too, felt extremely anxious, but thought it very important to control my anxiety. So I said to the men in a tone as encouraging as possible, "Pull away, my men; 'tis a pity to lose all these fine fish." All our efforts to reach the ship would probably have been fruitless, but one of her men fortunately went aloft and saw our boat at a distance. They immediately made all sail towards us, and had no sooner got alongside than the squall struck us. Had it come five minutes sooner we must all have been lost. As it was, we were not only spared" ourselves, but we were able to save our fish, to get which we had unintentionally encountered such a risk. We were received on board as per- sons from the dead, for they had seen nothing of the boat for several hours, and so strong was Mr. Peele's feeling that we were all lost, that he had MASTER AND SUPERCARGO 57 made all his plans to proceed with the vessel to Calcutta. Proceeding on the voyage we arrived at Colom- bo, in the Island of Ceylon, in about twenty days. We remained there two or three days to get information, and then left, proposing to stop at two or three points on the Coromandel coast. We went first to Pondicherry, formerly possessed by the French, now in the hands of the English, and considered one of the finest European cities in India. As I could do nothing there, I soon left for Madras, the principal business city on the coast. Here I sold my cargo very advantageously through the house of Lyss, Saturi & Demonte. The latter gentleman was a Portuguese, very black, but one of the smartest men I ever knew. Lyss was an Englishman and Saturi was an Armenian. War had recently been declared between England and Denmark. I was the first to carry the news to Madras, and was thus the means of saving the Danes a great deal of prop- erty, as they had several fine vessels then lying in port, all of which would have been taken in a few hours but for my information. In conse- quence of this war the business of the place was very much disturbed, and that of the house above mentioned was particularly so ; but from informa- tion that I had received I thought I could make a very good arrangement with that firm to load my vessel, and thus save myself the trouble of going to Calcutta. For this purpose I met them one 58 A SALEM SHIPMASTER evening and terms were proposed by them, which I declined, thinking that I might do better. At ten o'clock I left them without having effected any arrangement. I went home to bed, but .not to sleep, for I felt upon reflection that I had made a great mistake in not accepting Mr. Demonte's offer, and that I had missed an opportunity of making a fine voyage, so I thought I would accept his invitation to breakfast with him, and would get the offer renewed if possible. Rising early the next morning, I sent my servant with a polite note to Mr. Demonte, telling him that I would meet him if he would have an early breakfast. Upon meeting him, he immediately renewed his proposals, which I told him were impossible. Finally I wrote upon a slip of paper what I told him was my ultimatum, and asked him if he would accept it. He acceded to my terms, the papers were then signed; thus the business was settled. This was considered a very remarkable negotiation, and a very happy one for me, as it most effectually established my reputation. As I was then quite young, only about twenty-three years of age, all the owners, excepting my father, were strongly opposed to my taking charge of the vessel. After lying at Madras about three weeks, and taking aboard a very valuable cargo of assorted goods, I sailed for home. I arrived in Salem, I think, in September, 1801, after a passage of about three and a half months. All my friends were very much surprised to see e 5 .22 J oj = o> K 'S 1 T cS C . M 4) "O c o> gss o - X m