(Wiki) (movie - 1946) (Audiobook)
Two Years Before The Mast - XI (Pages 99-)
Sea Tales - Harbor Duties
We had now got well settled down into our harbor duties, which, as they are a good deal different from those at sea, it may be well enough to describe. In the first place, all hands are called at daylight, or rather — especially if the days are short — before daylight, as soon as the first gray of the morning. The cook makes his fire in the galley ; the steward goes about his work in the cabin ; and the crew rig the head pump, and wash down the decks.
The chief mate is always on deck, but takes no active part, all the duty coming upon the second mate, who has to roll up his trousers and paddle about decks barefooted, like the rest of the crew. The washing, swabbing, squilgeeing, &c. lasts, or is made to last, until eight o'clock, when breakfast is ordered, fore and aft.
After breakfast, for which half an hour is allowed, the boats are lowered down, and made fast astern, or out to the swinging booms by gos-warps, and the crew are turned-to upon their day's work. This is various, and its character depends upon circumstances.
There is always more or less of boating, in small boats ; and if heavy goods are to be taken ashore, or hides are brought down to the beach for us, then all hands are sent ashore with an officer in the long-boat. Then there is a good deal to be done in the hold, — goods to be broken out, and cargo to be shifted, to make room for hides, or to keep the trim of the vessel.
In addition to this, the usual work upon the rigging must be going on. There is much of the latter kind of work which can only be done when the vessel is in port. Everything, too, must be kept taut and in good order, — spun-yarn made, chafing gear repaired, and all the other ordinary work.
The great difference between sea and harbor duty is in the division of time. Instead of having a watch on deck and a watch below, as at sea, all hands are at work together, except at meal times, from daylight till dark ; and at night an " anchor watch " is kept, which, with us, consisted of only two at a time, all the crew taking turns.
An hour is allowed for dinner, and at dark the decks are cleared up, the boats hoisted, supper ordered ; and at eight the lights are put out, except in the binnacle, where the glass stands ; and the anchor watch is set. Thus, when at anchor, the crew have more time at night (standing watch only about two hours), but have no time to themselves in the day ; so that reading, mending clothes, &c, has to be put off until Sunday, which is usually given.
Some religious captains give their crews Saturday afternoons to do their washing and mending in, so that they may have their Sundays free. This is a good arrangement, and goes far to account for the preference sailors usually show for vessels under such command.
We were well satisfied if we got even Sunday to our selves ; for, if any hides came down on that day, as was often the case when they were brought from a distance, we were obliged to take them off, which usually occupied half a day ; besides, as we now lived on fresh beef, and ate one bullock a week, the animal was almost always brought down on Sunday, and we had to go ashore, kill it, dress it, and bring it aboard, which was another interruption.
Then, too, our common day's work was protracted and made more fatiguing by hides coming down late in the afternoon, which sometimes kept us at work in the surf by starlight, with the prospect of pulling on board, and stowing them all away, before supper. But all these little vexations and labors would have been nothing, — they would have been passed by as the common evils of a sea life, which every sailor, who is a man, will go through without complaint, — were it not for the uncertainty, or worse than uncertainty, which hung over the nature and length of our voyage.
Sea Tales - Flogging
. . . who is master aboard ! " The crew and officers followed the captain up the hatchway ; but it was not until after repeated orders that the mate laid hold of Sam, who made no resistance, and carried him to the gangway. "
What are you going to flog that man for, sir?" said John, the Swede, to the captain. Upon hearing this, the captain turned upon John ; but, knowing him to be quick and resolute, he ordered the steward to bring the irons, and, calling upon Russell to help him, went up to John.
" Let me alone," said John. " I 'm willing to be put in irons. You need not use any force " ; and, putting out his hands, the captain slipped the irons on, and sent him aft to the quarter-deck. Sam, by this time, was seized up, as it is called, that is, placed against the shrouds, with his wrists made fast to them, his jacket off, and his back exposed. The captain stood on the break of the deck, a few feet from him, and a little raised, so as to have a good swing at him, and held in his hand the end of a thick, strong rope. The officers stood round, and the crew grouped together in the waist. All these preparations made me feel sick and almost faint, angry and excited as I was. A man — a human being, made in God's likeness — fastened up and flogged like a beast ! A man, too, whom I had lived with, eaten with, and stood watch with for months, and knew so well ! If a thought of resistance crossed the minds of any of the men, what was to be done ? Their time for it had gone by.
Two men were fast, and there were left only two men besides Stimson and myself, and a small boy of ten or twelve years of age ; and Stimson and I would not have joined the men in a mutiny, as they knew. And then, on the other side, there were (beside the captain) three officers, steward, agent, and clerk, and the cabin supplied with weapons. But beside the numbers, what is there for sailors to do ? If they resist, it is mutiny ; and if they succeed, and take the vessel, it is piracy. If they ever yield again, their punishment must come ; and if they do not yield, what are they to be for the rest of their lives? If a sailor resist his commander, he resists the law, and piracy or submission is his only alternative.
Bad as it was, they saw it must be borne. It is what a sailor ships for. Swinging the rope over his head, and bending his body so as to give it full force, the captain brought it down upon the poor fellow's back. Once, twice, — six times. " Will you ever give me any more of your jaw 1 " The man writhed with pain, but said not a word. Three times more. This was too much, and he muttered something which I could not hear ; this brought as many more as the man could stand, when the captain ordered him to be cut down, and to go forward.
" Now for you," said the captain, making up to John, and taking his irons off. As soon as John was loose, he ran forward to the forecastle. " Bring that man aft ! " shouted the captain. The second mate, who had been in the forecastle with these men the early part of the voyage, stood still in the waist, and the mate walked slowly forward ; but our third officer, anxious to show his zeal, sprang forward over the windlass, and laid hold of John ; but John soon threw him from him. The captain stood on the quarter-deck, bareheaded, his eyes flashing with rage, and his face as red as blood, swing ing the rope, and calling out to his officers : " Drag him aft ! — Lay hold of him ! I '11 sweeten him ! " &c, &c.
The mate now went forward, and told John quietly to go aft ; and he, seeing resistance vain, threw the black guard third mate from him, said he would go aft of himself, that they should not drag him, and went up to the gangway and held out his hands ; but as soon as the captain began to make him fast, the indignity was too much, and he struggled ; but, the mate and Russell holding him, he was soon seized up. ' When he was made fast, he turned to the captain, who stood rolling up his sleeves and getting ready for the blow, and asked him what he was to be flogged for.
" Have I ever re fused my duty, sir? Have you ever known me to hang back, or to be insolent, or not to know my work?"
"No," said the captain, "it is not that that I flog you for ; I flog you for your interference, for asking ques tions."
"Can't a man ask a question here without being flogged?"
No," shouted the captain ; "nobody shall open his mouth aboard this vessel but myself," and began laying the blows upon his back, swinging half round be tween each blow, to give it full effect. As he went on, his passion increased, and he danced about the deck, calling out, as he swung the rope : "If you want to know what I flog you for, I 'll tell you. It 's because I like to do it ! — because I like to do it ! — It suits me ! That 's what I do it for ! "
The man writhed under the pain until he could en dure it no longer, when he called out, with an exclamation more common among foreigners than with us : " O Jesus Christ ! O Jesus Christ ! " "
Don't call on Jesus Christ," shouted the captain ; " he can't help you. Call on Frank Thompson! He 's the man ! He can help you ! Jesus Christ can't help you now !"
At these words, which I never shall forget, my blood ran cold. I could look on no longer. Disgusted, sick, I turned away, and leaned over the rail, and looked down into the water. A few rapid thoughts, I don't know what, — our situation, a resolution to see the captain punished when we got home, . — crossed my mind ; but the falling of the blows and the cries of the man called me back once more. At length they ceased, and, turning round, I found that the mate, at a signal from the captain, had cast him loose. Almost doubled up with pain, the man walked slowly forward, and went down into the forecastle.
Every one else stood still at his post, while the captain, swelling with rage, and with the importance of his achievement, walked the quarter-deck, and at each turn, as he came forward, calling out to us : " You see your condition ! You see where I 've got you all, and you know what to expect ! " . — - " You 've been mistaken in me ; you did n't know what I was ! Now you know what I am ! " — " I 'll make you toe the mark, every soul of you, or I 'll flog you all, fore and aft, from the boy up ! " — " You 've got a driver over you ! Yes, a slave-driver, — a nigger-driver ! I 'll [?] who 'll tell me he is n't a nigger slave ! "
With this and the like matter, equally calculated to quiet us, and to allay any apprehensions of future trouble, he entertained us for about ten minutes, when he went below. Soon after, John came aft, with his bare back covered with stripes and wales in every direction, and dreadfully swollen, and asked the steward to ask the captain to let him have some salve, or balsam, to put upon it.
"No," said the captain, who heard him from below ; " tell him to put his shirt on ; that 's the best thing for him, and pull me ashore in the boat. Nobody is going to lay-up on board this vessel."He then called to Mr. Russell to take those two men and two others in the boat, and pull him ashore. I went for one. The two men could hardly bend their backs, and the captain called to them to " give way," " give way ! " but, finding they did their best, he let them alone.
The agent was in the stern sheets, but during the whole pull — a league or more — not a word was spoken. We landed ; the captain, agent, and officer went up to the house, and left us with the boat. I, and the man with me, stayed near the boat, while John and Sam walked slowly away, and sat down on the rocks. They talked some time together, but at length separated, each sitting alone. I had some fears of John. He was a foreigner, and violently tempered, and under suffering ; and he had his knife with him, and the captain was to come down alone to the boat. But nothing happened ; and we went quietly on board. The captain was probably armed, and if either of them had lifted a hand against him, they would have had nothing before them but flight, and starvation in the woods of California, or capture by the soldiers and Indians, whom the offer of twenty dollars would have set upon them.
. . .
Sea Tales - Collisions In Port
A chain of high hills, beginning at the point (which was on our larboard hand coming in), protected the harbor on the north and west, and ran off into the interior, as far as the eye could reach. On the other sides the land was low and green, but without trees. The entrance is so narrow as to admit but one vessel at a time, the cur rent swift, and the channel runs so near to a low, stony point that the ship's sides appeared almost to touch it.
There was no town in sight, but on the smooth sand beach, abreast, and within a cable's length of which three vessels lay moored, were four large houses, built and out of the doors These were the Hide Houses. Of the vessels : one, a short, clumsy little hermaphrodite brig, we recognized as our old acquaintance, the Loriotte ; another, with sharp bows and raking masts, newly painted and tarred, and glittering in the morning sun, with the blood-red banner and cross of St. George at her peak, was the handsome Ayacucho. The third was a large ship, with top-gallant-masts housed and sails unbent, and looking as rusty and worn as two years' " hide droghing " could make her. This was the Lagoda.
As we drew near, carried rapidly along by the current, we overhauled our chain, and clewed up the topsails.
"Let go the anchor !" said the captain ; but either there was not chain enough forward of the wind lass, or the anchor went down foul, or we had too much headway on, for it did not bring us up.
"Pay out chain !" shouted the captain ; and we gave it to her ; but it would not do. Before the other anchor could be let go, we drifted down, broadside on, and went smash into the Lagoda. Her crew were at breakfast in the forecastle, and her cook, seeing us coming, rushed out of his galley, and called up the officers and men. Fortunately, no great harm was done. Her jib-boom passed between our fore and main masts, carrying away some of our rigging, and breaking down the rail. She lost her martingale.
This brought us up, and, as they paid out chain, we swung clear of them, and let go the other anchor ; but this had as bad luck as the first, for, before any one perceived it, we were drifting down upon the Loriotte. The captain now gave out his orders rapidly and fiercely, sheeting home the topsails, and backing and filling the sails, in hope of starting or clearing the anchors ; but it was all in vain, and he sat down on the rail, taking it very leisurely, and calling out to Captain Nye that he was coming to pay him a visit.
We drifted fairly into the Loriotte, her larboard bow into our starboard quarter, carrying away a part of our star board quarter railing, and breaking off her larboard bumpkin, and one or two stanchions above the deck. We saw our handsome sailor, Jackson, on the forecastle, with the Sandwich-Islanders, working away to get us clear.
After paying out chain, we swung clear, but our anchors were, no doubt, afoul of hers. We manned the windlass, and hove, and hove away, but to no purpose. Sometimes we got a little upon the cable, but a good surge would take it all back again. We now began to drift down toward the Ayacucho ; when her boat put off, and brought her commander, Captain Wilson, on board. He was a short, active, well-built man, about fifty years of age ; and being some twenty years older than our captain, and a thorough seaman, he did not hesitate to give his advice, and, from giving advice, he gradually came to taking the command ; ordering us when to heave and when to pawl, and backing and filling the topsails, setting and taking in jib and trysail, whenever he thought best.
Our captain gave a few orders, but as Wilson generally countermanded them, saying, in an easy, fatherly kind of way, " O no ! Cap tain Thompson, you don't want the jib on her," or "It is n't time yet to heave ! " he soon gave it up. We had no objections to this state of things, for Wilson was a kind man, and had an encouraging and pleasant way of speaking to us, which made everything go easily. After two or three hours of constant labor at the wind lass, heaving and yo-ho-ing with all our might, we brought up an anchor, with the Loriotte's small bower fast to it. Having cleared this, and let it go, and cleared our hawse, we got our other anchor, which had dragged half over the harbor. "Now," said Wilson, " I 'll find you a good berth " ; and, setting both the topsails, he carried us down, and brought us to anchor, in handsome style, directly abreast of the hide-house which we were to use.
Having done this, he took his leave, while we furled the sails, and got our breakfast, which was welcome to us, for we had worked hard, and eaten nothing since yesterday afternoon, and it was nearly twelve o'clock. After breakfast, and until night, we were employed in getting out the boats and mooring ship. After supper, two of us took the captain on board the Lagoda. As he came alongside, he gave his name, and the mate, in the gangway, called out to Captain Bradshaw, down the companion-way, " Captain Thompson has come aboard, sir ! "
"Has he brought his brig with him?" asked the rough old fellow, in a tone which made itself heard fore and aft. This mortified our captain not a little, and it became a standing joke among us, and, in deed, over the coast, for the rest of the voyage.
Sea Tales - Shore leave
THE next day being Sunday, after washing and clearing decks, and getting breakfast, the mate came for ward with leave for one watch to go ashore, on liberty. We drew lots, and it fell to the larboard, which I was in. Instantly all was preparation. Buckets of fresh water (which we were allowed in port), and soap, were put in use ; go-ashore jackets and trousers got out and brushed ; pumps, neckerchiefs, and hats overhauled, one lending to another ; so that among the whole each got a good -fit-out. A boat was called to pull the " liberty-men " ashore, and we sat down in the stern sheets," as big as pay-passengers," and, jumping ashore, set out on our walk for the town, which was nearly three miles off.
It is a pity that some other arrangement is not made in merchant vessels with regard to the liberty-day. When in port, the crews are kept at work all the week, and the only day they are allowed for rest or pleasure is Sunday ; and unless they go ashore on that day, they cannot go at all. I have heard of a religious captain who gave his crew liberty on Saturdays, after twelve o'clock. This would be a good plan, if shipmasters would bring themselves to give their crews so much time. For young sailors especially, many of whom have been brought up with a regard for the sacredness of the day, this strong temptation to break it is exceedingly injurious. As it is, it can hardly be expected that a crew, on a long and hard voyage, will refuse a few hours of freedom from toil and the restraints of a vessel, and an opportunity to tread the ground and see the sights of society and humanity, because it is a Sunday. . . .
Our crew fell in with some who belonged to the other vessels, and, sailor-like, steered for the first grog-shop. This was a small adobe building, of only one room, in which were liquors, " dry- goods," West India goods, shoes, bread, fruits, and every thing which is vendible in California. It was kept by a Yankee, a one-eyed man, who belonged formerly to Fall River, came out to the Pacific in a whale-ship, left her at the Sandwich Islands, and came to California and set up a pulperfa. Stimson and I followed in our shipmates' wake, knowing that to refuse to drink with them would be the highest affront, but determining to slip away at the first opportunity. It is the universal custom with sailors for each one, in his turn, to treat the whole, call ing for a glass all round, and obliging every one who is present, even to the keeper of the shop, to take a glass with him. When we first came in, there was some dis pute between our crew and the others, whether the new comers or the old California rangers should treat first ; but it being settled in favor of the latter, each of the crews of the other vessels treated all round in their turn, and as there were a good many present (including some " loafers " who had dropped in, knowing what was going on, to take advantage of Jack's hospitality), and the liquor was a real (12£ cents) a glass, it made somewhat of a hole in their lockers. It was now our ship's turn, and Stimson and I, desirous to get away, stepped up to call for glasses ; but we soon found that we must go in order, — the oldest first, for the old sailors did not choose to be preceded by a couple of youngsters ; and . . . we had to wait our turn, with the twofold apprehension of being too late for our horses, and of get ting too much ; for drink you must, every time ; and if you drink with one, and not with another, it is always taken as an insult.
Sea Tale - Days Without Wind
The wind, which was very light, died away soon after we doubled the point, and we lay becalmed for two days, not moving three miles the whole time, and a part of the second day were almost within sight of the vessels. On the third day, about noon, a cool sea-breeze came rippling and darkening the surface of the water, and by sundown we were off
We had now got well settled down into our harbor duties, which, as they are a good deal different from those at sea, it may be well enough to describe. In the first place, all hands are called at daylight, or rather — especially if the days are short — before daylight, as soon as the first gray of the morning. The cook makes his fire in the galley ; the steward goes about his work in the cabin ; and the crew rig the head pump, and wash down the decks.
The chief mate is always on deck, but takes no active part, all the duty coming upon the second mate, who has to roll up his trousers and paddle about decks barefooted, like the rest of the crew. The washing, swabbing, squilgeeing, &c. lasts, or is made to last, until eight o'clock, when breakfast is ordered, fore and aft.
After breakfast, for which half an hour is allowed, the boats are lowered down, and made fast astern, or out to the swinging booms by gos-warps, and the crew are turned-to upon their day's work. This is various, and its character depends upon circumstances.
There is always more or less of boating, in small boats ; and if heavy goods are to be taken ashore, or hides are brought down to the beach for us, then all hands are sent ashore with an officer in the long-boat. Then there is a good deal to be done in the hold, — goods to be broken out, and cargo to be shifted, to make room for hides, or to keep the trim of the vessel.
In addition to this, the usual work upon the rigging must be going on. There is much of the latter kind of work which can only be done when the vessel is in port. Everything, too, must be kept taut and in good order, — spun-yarn made, chafing gear repaired, and all the other ordinary work.
The great difference between sea and harbor duty is in the division of time. Instead of having a watch on deck and a watch below, as at sea, all hands are at work together, except at meal times, from daylight till dark ; and at night an " anchor watch " is kept, which, with us, consisted of only two at a time, all the crew taking turns.
An hour is allowed for dinner, and at dark the decks are cleared up, the boats hoisted, supper ordered ; and at eight the lights are put out, except in the binnacle, where the glass stands ; and the anchor watch is set. Thus, when at anchor, the crew have more time at night (standing watch only about two hours), but have no time to themselves in the day ; so that reading, mending clothes, &c, has to be put off until Sunday, which is usually given.
Some religious captains give their crews Saturday afternoons to do their washing and mending in, so that they may have their Sundays free. This is a good arrangement, and goes far to account for the preference sailors usually show for vessels under such command.
We were well satisfied if we got even Sunday to our selves ; for, if any hides came down on that day, as was often the case when they were brought from a distance, we were obliged to take them off, which usually occupied half a day ; besides, as we now lived on fresh beef, and ate one bullock a week, the animal was almost always brought down on Sunday, and we had to go ashore, kill it, dress it, and bring it aboard, which was another interruption.
Then, too, our common day's work was protracted and made more fatiguing by hides coming down late in the afternoon, which sometimes kept us at work in the surf by starlight, with the prospect of pulling on board, and stowing them all away, before supper. But all these little vexations and labors would have been nothing, — they would have been passed by as the common evils of a sea life, which every sailor, who is a man, will go through without complaint, — were it not for the uncertainty, or worse than uncertainty, which hung over the nature and length of our voyage.
Sea Tales - Flogging
. . . who is master aboard ! " The crew and officers followed the captain up the hatchway ; but it was not until after repeated orders that the mate laid hold of Sam, who made no resistance, and carried him to the gangway. "
What are you going to flog that man for, sir?" said John, the Swede, to the captain. Upon hearing this, the captain turned upon John ; but, knowing him to be quick and resolute, he ordered the steward to bring the irons, and, calling upon Russell to help him, went up to John.
" Let me alone," said John. " I 'm willing to be put in irons. You need not use any force " ; and, putting out his hands, the captain slipped the irons on, and sent him aft to the quarter-deck. Sam, by this time, was seized up, as it is called, that is, placed against the shrouds, with his wrists made fast to them, his jacket off, and his back exposed. The captain stood on the break of the deck, a few feet from him, and a little raised, so as to have a good swing at him, and held in his hand the end of a thick, strong rope. The officers stood round, and the crew grouped together in the waist. All these preparations made me feel sick and almost faint, angry and excited as I was. A man — a human being, made in God's likeness — fastened up and flogged like a beast ! A man, too, whom I had lived with, eaten with, and stood watch with for months, and knew so well ! If a thought of resistance crossed the minds of any of the men, what was to be done ? Their time for it had gone by.
Two men were fast, and there were left only two men besides Stimson and myself, and a small boy of ten or twelve years of age ; and Stimson and I would not have joined the men in a mutiny, as they knew. And then, on the other side, there were (beside the captain) three officers, steward, agent, and clerk, and the cabin supplied with weapons. But beside the numbers, what is there for sailors to do ? If they resist, it is mutiny ; and if they succeed, and take the vessel, it is piracy. If they ever yield again, their punishment must come ; and if they do not yield, what are they to be for the rest of their lives? If a sailor resist his commander, he resists the law, and piracy or submission is his only alternative.
Bad as it was, they saw it must be borne. It is what a sailor ships for. Swinging the rope over his head, and bending his body so as to give it full force, the captain brought it down upon the poor fellow's back. Once, twice, — six times. " Will you ever give me any more of your jaw 1 " The man writhed with pain, but said not a word. Three times more. This was too much, and he muttered something which I could not hear ; this brought as many more as the man could stand, when the captain ordered him to be cut down, and to go forward.
" Now for you," said the captain, making up to John, and taking his irons off. As soon as John was loose, he ran forward to the forecastle. " Bring that man aft ! " shouted the captain. The second mate, who had been in the forecastle with these men the early part of the voyage, stood still in the waist, and the mate walked slowly forward ; but our third officer, anxious to show his zeal, sprang forward over the windlass, and laid hold of John ; but John soon threw him from him. The captain stood on the quarter-deck, bareheaded, his eyes flashing with rage, and his face as red as blood, swing ing the rope, and calling out to his officers : " Drag him aft ! — Lay hold of him ! I '11 sweeten him ! " &c, &c.
The mate now went forward, and told John quietly to go aft ; and he, seeing resistance vain, threw the black guard third mate from him, said he would go aft of himself, that they should not drag him, and went up to the gangway and held out his hands ; but as soon as the captain began to make him fast, the indignity was too much, and he struggled ; but, the mate and Russell holding him, he was soon seized up. ' When he was made fast, he turned to the captain, who stood rolling up his sleeves and getting ready for the blow, and asked him what he was to be flogged for.
" Have I ever re fused my duty, sir? Have you ever known me to hang back, or to be insolent, or not to know my work?"
"No," said the captain, "it is not that that I flog you for ; I flog you for your interference, for asking ques tions."
"Can't a man ask a question here without being flogged?"
No," shouted the captain ; "nobody shall open his mouth aboard this vessel but myself," and began laying the blows upon his back, swinging half round be tween each blow, to give it full effect. As he went on, his passion increased, and he danced about the deck, calling out, as he swung the rope : "If you want to know what I flog you for, I 'll tell you. It 's because I like to do it ! — because I like to do it ! — It suits me ! That 's what I do it for ! "
The man writhed under the pain until he could en dure it no longer, when he called out, with an exclamation more common among foreigners than with us : " O Jesus Christ ! O Jesus Christ ! " "
Don't call on Jesus Christ," shouted the captain ; " he can't help you. Call on Frank Thompson! He 's the man ! He can help you ! Jesus Christ can't help you now !"
At these words, which I never shall forget, my blood ran cold. I could look on no longer. Disgusted, sick, I turned away, and leaned over the rail, and looked down into the water. A few rapid thoughts, I don't know what, — our situation, a resolution to see the captain punished when we got home, . — crossed my mind ; but the falling of the blows and the cries of the man called me back once more. At length they ceased, and, turning round, I found that the mate, at a signal from the captain, had cast him loose. Almost doubled up with pain, the man walked slowly forward, and went down into the forecastle.
Every one else stood still at his post, while the captain, swelling with rage, and with the importance of his achievement, walked the quarter-deck, and at each turn, as he came forward, calling out to us : " You see your condition ! You see where I 've got you all, and you know what to expect ! " . — - " You 've been mistaken in me ; you did n't know what I was ! Now you know what I am ! " — " I 'll make you toe the mark, every soul of you, or I 'll flog you all, fore and aft, from the boy up ! " — " You 've got a driver over you ! Yes, a slave-driver, — a nigger-driver ! I 'll [?] who 'll tell me he is n't a nigger slave ! "
With this and the like matter, equally calculated to quiet us, and to allay any apprehensions of future trouble, he entertained us for about ten minutes, when he went below. Soon after, John came aft, with his bare back covered with stripes and wales in every direction, and dreadfully swollen, and asked the steward to ask the captain to let him have some salve, or balsam, to put upon it.
"No," said the captain, who heard him from below ; " tell him to put his shirt on ; that 's the best thing for him, and pull me ashore in the boat. Nobody is going to lay-up on board this vessel."He then called to Mr. Russell to take those two men and two others in the boat, and pull him ashore. I went for one. The two men could hardly bend their backs, and the captain called to them to " give way," " give way ! " but, finding they did their best, he let them alone.
The agent was in the stern sheets, but during the whole pull — a league or more — not a word was spoken. We landed ; the captain, agent, and officer went up to the house, and left us with the boat. I, and the man with me, stayed near the boat, while John and Sam walked slowly away, and sat down on the rocks. They talked some time together, but at length separated, each sitting alone. I had some fears of John. He was a foreigner, and violently tempered, and under suffering ; and he had his knife with him, and the captain was to come down alone to the boat. But nothing happened ; and we went quietly on board. The captain was probably armed, and if either of them had lifted a hand against him, they would have had nothing before them but flight, and starvation in the woods of California, or capture by the soldiers and Indians, whom the offer of twenty dollars would have set upon them.
. . .
Sea Tales - Collisions In Port
A chain of high hills, beginning at the point (which was on our larboard hand coming in), protected the harbor on the north and west, and ran off into the interior, as far as the eye could reach. On the other sides the land was low and green, but without trees. The entrance is so narrow as to admit but one vessel at a time, the cur rent swift, and the channel runs so near to a low, stony point that the ship's sides appeared almost to touch it.
There was no town in sight, but on the smooth sand beach, abreast, and within a cable's length of which three vessels lay moored, were four large houses, built and out of the doors These were the Hide Houses. Of the vessels : one, a short, clumsy little hermaphrodite brig, we recognized as our old acquaintance, the Loriotte ; another, with sharp bows and raking masts, newly painted and tarred, and glittering in the morning sun, with the blood-red banner and cross of St. George at her peak, was the handsome Ayacucho. The third was a large ship, with top-gallant-masts housed and sails unbent, and looking as rusty and worn as two years' " hide droghing " could make her. This was the Lagoda.
As we drew near, carried rapidly along by the current, we overhauled our chain, and clewed up the topsails.
"Let go the anchor !" said the captain ; but either there was not chain enough forward of the wind lass, or the anchor went down foul, or we had too much headway on, for it did not bring us up.
"Pay out chain !" shouted the captain ; and we gave it to her ; but it would not do. Before the other anchor could be let go, we drifted down, broadside on, and went smash into the Lagoda. Her crew were at breakfast in the forecastle, and her cook, seeing us coming, rushed out of his galley, and called up the officers and men. Fortunately, no great harm was done. Her jib-boom passed between our fore and main masts, carrying away some of our rigging, and breaking down the rail. She lost her martingale.
This brought us up, and, as they paid out chain, we swung clear of them, and let go the other anchor ; but this had as bad luck as the first, for, before any one perceived it, we were drifting down upon the Loriotte. The captain now gave out his orders rapidly and fiercely, sheeting home the topsails, and backing and filling the sails, in hope of starting or clearing the anchors ; but it was all in vain, and he sat down on the rail, taking it very leisurely, and calling out to Captain Nye that he was coming to pay him a visit.
We drifted fairly into the Loriotte, her larboard bow into our starboard quarter, carrying away a part of our star board quarter railing, and breaking off her larboard bumpkin, and one or two stanchions above the deck. We saw our handsome sailor, Jackson, on the forecastle, with the Sandwich-Islanders, working away to get us clear.
After paying out chain, we swung clear, but our anchors were, no doubt, afoul of hers. We manned the windlass, and hove, and hove away, but to no purpose. Sometimes we got a little upon the cable, but a good surge would take it all back again. We now began to drift down toward the Ayacucho ; when her boat put off, and brought her commander, Captain Wilson, on board. He was a short, active, well-built man, about fifty years of age ; and being some twenty years older than our captain, and a thorough seaman, he did not hesitate to give his advice, and, from giving advice, he gradually came to taking the command ; ordering us when to heave and when to pawl, and backing and filling the topsails, setting and taking in jib and trysail, whenever he thought best.
Our captain gave a few orders, but as Wilson generally countermanded them, saying, in an easy, fatherly kind of way, " O no ! Cap tain Thompson, you don't want the jib on her," or "It is n't time yet to heave ! " he soon gave it up. We had no objections to this state of things, for Wilson was a kind man, and had an encouraging and pleasant way of speaking to us, which made everything go easily. After two or three hours of constant labor at the wind lass, heaving and yo-ho-ing with all our might, we brought up an anchor, with the Loriotte's small bower fast to it. Having cleared this, and let it go, and cleared our hawse, we got our other anchor, which had dragged half over the harbor. "Now," said Wilson, " I 'll find you a good berth " ; and, setting both the topsails, he carried us down, and brought us to anchor, in handsome style, directly abreast of the hide-house which we were to use.
Having done this, he took his leave, while we furled the sails, and got our breakfast, which was welcome to us, for we had worked hard, and eaten nothing since yesterday afternoon, and it was nearly twelve o'clock. After breakfast, and until night, we were employed in getting out the boats and mooring ship. After supper, two of us took the captain on board the Lagoda. As he came alongside, he gave his name, and the mate, in the gangway, called out to Captain Bradshaw, down the companion-way, " Captain Thompson has come aboard, sir ! "
"Has he brought his brig with him?" asked the rough old fellow, in a tone which made itself heard fore and aft. This mortified our captain not a little, and it became a standing joke among us, and, in deed, over the coast, for the rest of the voyage.
Sea Tales - Shore leave
THE next day being Sunday, after washing and clearing decks, and getting breakfast, the mate came for ward with leave for one watch to go ashore, on liberty. We drew lots, and it fell to the larboard, which I was in. Instantly all was preparation. Buckets of fresh water (which we were allowed in port), and soap, were put in use ; go-ashore jackets and trousers got out and brushed ; pumps, neckerchiefs, and hats overhauled, one lending to another ; so that among the whole each got a good -fit-out. A boat was called to pull the " liberty-men " ashore, and we sat down in the stern sheets," as big as pay-passengers," and, jumping ashore, set out on our walk for the town, which was nearly three miles off.
It is a pity that some other arrangement is not made in merchant vessels with regard to the liberty-day. When in port, the crews are kept at work all the week, and the only day they are allowed for rest or pleasure is Sunday ; and unless they go ashore on that day, they cannot go at all. I have heard of a religious captain who gave his crew liberty on Saturdays, after twelve o'clock. This would be a good plan, if shipmasters would bring themselves to give their crews so much time. For young sailors especially, many of whom have been brought up with a regard for the sacredness of the day, this strong temptation to break it is exceedingly injurious. As it is, it can hardly be expected that a crew, on a long and hard voyage, will refuse a few hours of freedom from toil and the restraints of a vessel, and an opportunity to tread the ground and see the sights of society and humanity, because it is a Sunday. . . .
Our crew fell in with some who belonged to the other vessels, and, sailor-like, steered for the first grog-shop. This was a small adobe building, of only one room, in which were liquors, " dry- goods," West India goods, shoes, bread, fruits, and every thing which is vendible in California. It was kept by a Yankee, a one-eyed man, who belonged formerly to Fall River, came out to the Pacific in a whale-ship, left her at the Sandwich Islands, and came to California and set up a pulperfa. Stimson and I followed in our shipmates' wake, knowing that to refuse to drink with them would be the highest affront, but determining to slip away at the first opportunity. It is the universal custom with sailors for each one, in his turn, to treat the whole, call ing for a glass all round, and obliging every one who is present, even to the keeper of the shop, to take a glass with him. When we first came in, there was some dis pute between our crew and the others, whether the new comers or the old California rangers should treat first ; but it being settled in favor of the latter, each of the crews of the other vessels treated all round in their turn, and as there were a good many present (including some " loafers " who had dropped in, knowing what was going on, to take advantage of Jack's hospitality), and the liquor was a real (12£ cents) a glass, it made somewhat of a hole in their lockers. It was now our ship's turn, and Stimson and I, desirous to get away, stepped up to call for glasses ; but we soon found that we must go in order, — the oldest first, for the old sailors did not choose to be preceded by a couple of youngsters ; and . . . we had to wait our turn, with the twofold apprehension of being too late for our horses, and of get ting too much ; for drink you must, every time ; and if you drink with one, and not with another, it is always taken as an insult.
Sea Tale - Days Without Wind
The wind, which was very light, died away soon after we doubled the point, and we lay becalmed for two days, not moving three miles the whole time, and a part of the second day were almost within sight of the vessels. On the third day, about noon, a cool sea-breeze came rippling and darkening the surface of the water, and by sundown we were off
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