On the day succeeding the capture of the shark a fine breeze sprung
up. Once more the white foam appeared beneath the bows, as the old brig
plunged, and rolled, and wriggled along on her way towards Demarara.
With a strong breeze on the quarter, it required not only labor, but
skill, to steer the interesting craft. One of the "old salts," having
been rebuked by the captain for steering wildly, declared, in a grave
but respectful tone, that he could steer as good a trick at the helm as
any man who ever handled a marlinspike; but he "verily believed the old
critter knew as much as a Christian, and was obstinately determined to
turn round and take a look at her starn!"
The regular "trade wind" now commenced, and there was a prospect,
although still a distant one, of ultimately reaching the port to
which we were bound. The trade winds blow almost constantly from one
direction, and prevail in most parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans,
between the latitudes of twenty-eight degrees north and twenty-eight
degrees south. In northern latitudes the trade wind blows from
north-east, or varies but a few points from that direction. South of
the equator it blows constantly from the south-east; and the "south-east
trade" is more steady than the trade wind north of the line.
It often happens that vessels bound to the United States from India,
after passing the Cape of Good Hope, steer a course nearly north-west,
carrying studding-sails on both sides, uninterruptedly, through fifteen
or twenty degrees of latitude.
The cause of the trade winds is supposed to be the joint influence of
the higher temperature of the torrid zone and the rotation of the earth
on its axis. On the equator, and extending sometimes a few degrees on
either side, is a tract where light easterly winds, calms, and squalls,
with thunder, lightning, and inundating rains, prevail.
From what I have said, it will be seen that vessels bound from the
American coast to the West Indies or Guiana should steer to the eastward
in the early part of their passage, while they have the advantage of
variable winds. And this precaution is the more important, as these
vessels, being generally dull sailers and deeply laden, will fail to
reach their port if they fall to leeward, unless by returning north into
the latitude of the variable winds, and making another trial, with the
benefit of more experience.
In those days there were no chronometers in use, and but few of our West
India captains were in possession of a sextant, or indeed able to work
a lunar observation. The latitude was accurately determined every day
by measuring the altitude of the sun as it passed the meridian. To
ascertain the longitude was a more difficult matter. They were obliged
to rely mainly on their dead reckoning; that is, to make a calculation
of the course and distance run daily, from the points steered by the
compass and the rate as indicated by the log-line and half-glass. A
reckoning on such a basis, where unknown currents prevail, where
a vessel is steered wildly, or where the rate of sailing may be
inaccurately recorded, is liable to many errors; therefore it was
customary with all prudent masters, in those days, especially if they
distrusted their own skill or judgment in keeping a reckoning to KEEP
WELL TO THE EASTWARD. This was a general rule, and looked upon as the
key to West India navigation. Sometimes a vessel bound to the Windward
Islands, after reaching the latitude of her destined port, found it
necessary to "run down," steering due west, a week or ten days before
making the land.
An incident occurred in those waters, a few weeks after we passed
over them, which will illustrate this mode of navigation, and the
consequences that sometimes attend it. A large brig belonging to an
eastern port, and commanded by a worthy and cautious man, was bound to
St. Pierre in Martinico. The latitude of that island was reached in due
time, but the island could not bee seen, the captain having steered well
to the eastward. The brig was put before the wind, and while daylight
lasted every stitch of canvas was spread, and every eye was strained to
catch a glimpse of the high land which was expected to loom up in the
western horizon. This proceeding continued for several days; the brig
carrying a press of sail by day, and lying to by night, until patience
seemed no longer a virtue. The worthy captain began to fear he had not
steered far enough to the eastward, but had been carried by unknown
currents to leeward of his port, and that the first land he should make
might prove to be the Musquito coast on the continent. He felt anxious,
and looked in vain for a vessel from which he could obtain a hint in
regard to his true position. Neither land nor vessel could he meet with.
At the close of the fifth day after he had commenced "running down," no
land, at sunset, was in sight from the top-gallant yard; and at eight
o'clock the brig was again hove to. The captain declared with emphasis,
that unless he should make the island of Martinico on the following day,
he would adopt some different measures. The nature of those measures,
however, he never was called upon to explain. In the morning, just
as the gray light of dawn was visible in the east, while a dark cloud
seemed to hang over the western horizon, all sail was again packed
on the brig. A fresh breeze which sprung up during the night gave
the captain assurance that his passage would soon be terminated; and
terminated it was, but in a manner he hardly anticipated, and which he
certainly had not desired. The brig had not been fifteen minutes under
way when the dreadful sound of breakers was heard a sound which strikes
dismay to a sailor's heart. The dark cloud in the west proved to be
the mountains of Martinico, and the brig was dashed upon the shore. The
vessel and cargo were lost, and it was with difficulty the crew were
saved.
Captain Tilton, however, was a good navigator. He had been a European
trader, understood and practised "lunar observations," and always knew
with sufficient accuracy the position of the brig.
Few things surprised me more on my first voyage to sea than the sudden
and mysterious manner in which the coverings of the head were spirited
away from the decks of the Dolphin. Hats, caps, and even the temporary
apologies for such articles of costume, were given unwittingly and most
unwillingly to the waves. A sudden flaw of wind, the flap of a sail, an
involuntary jerk of the head, often elicited an exclamation of anger or
a torrent of invectives from some unfortunate being who had been
cruelly rendered bareheaded, attended with a burst of laughter from
unsympathizing shipmates.
The inimitable Dickens, in his best production, says, with all the
shrewdness and point of a practical philosopher, "There are very few
moments in a man's existence when he experiences so much ludicrous
distress, or meets with so little commiseration, as when he is in
pursuit of his own hat." But, unfortunately, on shipboard, if a man's
hat is taken off by the wind, he cannot chase it and recover it; nor is
it swept from his sight into the DEPTHS of the sea. On looking astern,
he will see it gracefully and sportively riding on the billows, as if
unconscious of any impropriety, reckless of the inconvenience which such
desertion may cause its rightful proprietor, and an object of wonder, it
may be, to the scaly inhabitants of old Neptune's dominions.
Before we reached Demarara every hat and cap belonging to the ship's
company, with a single exception, had been involuntarily given, as a
propitiatory offering, to the god of Ocean. This exception was a beaver
hat belonging to the captain; and this would have followed its leaders,
had it not been kept in a case hermetically sealed. After the captain's
stock of sea-going hats and caps had disappeared he wore around his
head a kerchief, twisted fancifully, like a turban. Others followed
his example, while some fashioned for themselves skullcaps of fantastic
shapes from pieces of old canvas; so that when we reached Demarara we
looked more like a ship's company of Mediterranean pirates than honest
Christians.
I became accustomed to a sea life, and each succeeding day brought with
it some novelty to wonder at or admire. The sea is truly beautiful, and
has many charms, notwithstanding a fresh-water poet, affecting to be
disgusted with its monotony, has ill naturedly vented his spleen by
describing the vanities of a sea life in two short lines:
"Where sometimes you ship a sea,
And sometimes see a ship."
Yet in spite of its attractions, there are few persons, other than a
young enthusiast on his first voyage, who, after passing several weeks
on the ocean, are not ready to greet with gladness the sight of land,
although it may be a desolate shore or a barren island. Its very aspect
fills the heart with joy, and excites feelings of gratitude to Him,
whose protecting hand has led you safely through the dangers to which
those who frequent the waste of waters are exposed.
The gratification of every man on board the Dolphin may therefore
be conceived, when, after a passage of FIFTY-THREE DAYS, in a very
uncomfortable and leaky vessel, a man, sent one morning by the captain
to the fore-top-gallant yard, after taking a bird's eye view from his
elevated position, called out, in a triumphant voice, LAND, HO!
The coast of Guiana was in sight.
Guiana is an extensive tract of country, extending along the sea
coast from the Orinoco to the Amazon. When discovered in 1504, it was
inhabited by the Caribs. Settlements, however, were soon made on the
shore by the Dutch, the French, and the Portuguese; and the country was
divided into several provinces. It was called by the discoverers "the
wild coast," and is accessible only by the mouths of its rivers the
shores being every where lined with dangerous banks, or covered with
impenetrable forests. Its appearance from the sea is singularly wild and
uncultivated, and it is so low and flat that, as it is approached, the
trees along the beach are the first objects visible. The soil, however,
is fertile, and adapted to every variety of tropical production, sugar,
rum, molasses, coffee, and cacao being its staple commodities.
To the distance of thirty or forty miles from the sea coast the land
continues level, and in the rainy season some districts are covered with
water. Indeed, the whole country bordering on the coast is intersected
with swamps, marshes, rivers, artificial canals, and extensive
intervals. This renders it unhealthy; and many natives of a more genial
clime have perished in the provinces of Guiana by pestilential fevers.
These marshes and forests are nurseries of reptiles. Alligators of
immense size are found in the rivers, creeks, and pools, and serpents
are met with on the swampy banks of the river, as large as the
main-topmast of a merchant ship, and much larger! The serpents being
amphibious, often take to the water, and being driven unconsciously
down the rivers by the currents, have been fallen in with on the coast
several miles from the land.
An incident took place on this coast in 1841, on board the bark Jane, of
Boston, Captain Nickerson, which created quite a sensation on the decks
of that vessel. The bark was ready for sea, and had anchored in the
afternoon outside the bar at the mouth of the Surinam River, when
the crew turned in and the watch was set that night. The bark was a
well-conditioned, orderly vessel, harboring no strangers, interlopers,
or vagrants of any description.
The next morning, soon after daybreak, the mate put his hand into an
open locker, at a corner of the round-house, for a piece of canvas,
when it came in contact with a soft, clammy substance, which, to his
consternation and horror, began to move! He drew back, uttering an
exclamation, in a voice so loud and startling as to alarm the captain
and all hands, who hastened on deck in time to see an enormous serpent
crawl sluggishly out of the closet, and stretch himself along the deck,
with as much coolness and impudence as if he thought he really belonged
to the brig, and with the monkeys and parrots, constituted a portion of
the ship's company!
Not so thought Captain Nickerson and the brave men with him. The word
was passed along "There is a snake on board, as long as the main-top
bowline! Kill him, kill him!"
The sailors seized handspikes, the cook flourished his tormentors, the
mate wielded an axe, and the captain grasped a pistol! Thus equipped and
armed, they rushed to the encounter.
The reptile found himself among foes instead of friends. Where he looked
for hospitality and kind treatment he found cruelty, oppression, and
even murder! He saw it was useless to contend against his fate when the
odds were so decidedly against him, and wisely made no resistance. He
was stabbed by the cook, cudgelled by the crew, brained by the mate, and
shot by the captain. And, adding insult to injury, he was stripped of
his skin, which was beautifully variegated and measured fourteen feet in
length, and brought to Boston, where it was examined and admired by many
of the citizens.
This snake was doubtless an aboma, a species of serpent of large size
and great beauty, which is not venomous. In attempting to cross the
river, it had probably been drifted down with the current, and carried
out to sea. It might have been swimming about in the waters for some
time without finding a resting-place, and, having fallen in with a
vessel at anchor, thought no harm would accrue to itself or others if it
should silently glide on board through the rudder-hole, and take up its
residence for the night. But Captain Nickerson entertained a different
opinion. He looked upon "his snakesnip" as an "ugly customer," and gave
him a reception as such.
In the course of the day on which land was discovered we reached
the mouth of Demarara River, and received a pilot on board, and a
queer-looking fellow, for a pilot I thought him. He was a negro, with
a skin dark as ebony, which shone with an exquisite polish. His costume
was simplicity itself consisting of an old straw hat, and a piece
of coarse "osnaburg" tied around the waist! But he was active and
intelligent, notwithstanding his costume and color, and carried the
brig over the bar in safety. Soon after twilight the Dolphin was snugly
anchored in smooth water in the river opposite the capital of the
province.
The next morning, at an early hour, I went on deck, anxious to
scrutinize the surrounding objects. The river was about a mile and a
half wide, the tide flowed with great rapidity, and the waters were
turbid in the extreme. The shores were lined with trees and shrubs,
presenting nothing of an attractive character. A number of vessels,
chiefly English and American, were moored in the river, engaged in
taking in or discharging cargoes; and sundry small schooners, called
"droghers," manned by blacks, nearly naked, were sailing up or down the
river, laden with produce.
The town, half concealed in the low, swampy grounds, appeared
insignificant and mean, and the wharves and landing places at the
river's side were neither picturesque nor beautiful. The architecture of
the houses, however, with porticoes, verandas, and terraces, excited my
admiration. I also saw, in the distance, palm and cocoanut trees, and
banana and plantain shrubs, with leaves six or eight feet long. These
Various objects, with the sultry stagnation of the atmosphere, and the
light and airy costume of those of the inhabitants I had seen convinced
me that I was not laboring under a dream, but was actually in a foreign
port, two thousand miles from home, and in a tropical climate.
The following day being Sunday, I accompanied Mr. Thompson on a visit
to the market, in order to obtain a supply of fresh provisions and
vegetables. I was surprised to find the public market open on the
Sabbath. The very idea of such a custom conflicted with my pre-conceived
notions of propriety and religion. But Sunday was a great holiday in
Demarara indeed the only day which the slaves on the plantations could
call their own. On Sunday they were allowed to visit each other, frolic
as they pleased, cultivate their little gardens, make their purchases
at the shops which were open on that day, and carry their produce to
market.
Hence the spacious market square, in the midst of the town, was covered
with articles of traffic. The venders were chiefly negro women, who
exposed for sale immense quantities of yams, tomatoes, cassava bread,
sugar-cane, plantains, water-cresses, oranges, bananas, avocado pears,
etc., with fancy articles of almost every description.
The scene was a novel and interesting one. The market women were habited
in garments of a marvelously scanty pattern, better adapted to the
sultry character of the climate than to the notions of delicacy which
prevail among civilized people in a more northern clime. The head-dress
consisted, in almost every instance, of a calico kerchief, of gaudy
colors, fantastically wreathed around the head. They were respectful in
their deportment, exhibited their wares to the best advantage, and with
cheerful countenances and occasional jokes, accompanied with peals of
merry laughter, seemed happier than millionaires or kings! Their dialect
was a strange jumble of Dutch, English, and African. All were fond of
talking, and, like aspiring politicians in happy New England, neglected
no chance to display their extraordinary power of language. And such
a jabbering, such a confusion of tongues, as I listened to that Sunday
morning in the market-place of Demarara, overwhelmed me with wonder, and
days elapsed before I could get the buzz out of my head!
In answer to inquiries relative to the health of the place, it was
gratifying to learn that the province had not been so free from yellow
fever at that season for several years. While the Dolphin remained in
port but few fatal cases occurred in the harbor, and the origin of those
could be traced to intemperance or other imprudent conduct. There was
no serious sickness on board the brig while we remained, and only one
"regular drunken scrape." This occurred a few days after we arrived in
port. Two of the crew, on some plausible pretext, one afternoon obtained
leave of Mr. Thompson to go on shore. He cautioned them to keep sober,
and be early on board, and they solemnly promised to comply with his
instructions.
But these "noble old tars" had no sooner set their feet upon the land
than they rushed to a grog shop. It is well know that grog shops are
found in abundance in all parts of the world where civilization extends
its genial influence. Temptations of the most alluring character are
every where offered to weak-minded and unprincipled men to abandon the
prerogative of reason and become brutes. In exchange for their money,
these sailors procured the means of becoming drunk! They quarreled with
the shopkeeper, insulted his customers, were severely threshed for their
brutality and insolence, and were finally picked up in the street, and
brought on board by two of the crew of an American vessel which was
moored near the Dolphin.
They looked wretchedly enough. Their clothes, which were neat and trim
when they went ashore, were mostly torn from their backs, their faces
were bruised and bloody, and their eyes surrounded by livid circles.
Their shipmates, seeing their degraded condition, assisted them on
board, and persuaded them to go into the forecastle, which was now
appropriated to the accommodation of the ship's company. But instead of
retiring to their berths, and sleeping off the effects of their liquor,
these men determined to have a ROW.
The craziest of them made his way on deck, and began to sing, and
dance, and halloo like a madman. One of his shipmates, named Wilkins,
remonstrated against such unruly conduct, and received in return a blow
on the side of the head, which sent him with great force against the
gunwale. The peacemaker, indignant at such unexpected and undeserved
treatment, returned the blow with interest. The other inebriate, hearing
the disturbance, came to the assistance of his drunken companion. A
general fight ensued; some heavy blows were interchanged, and for a few
minutes there was a scene of confusion, profanity, and hard fighting on
the decks of the Dolphin, which showed me a new, and not very attractive
phase in the sailor's character.
Mr. Thompson, armed with authority and a heaver, soon made his
appearance among them, and with the assistance of the sober ones, after
a severe struggle, succeeded in mastering and pinioning the two men,
who, though in full possession of their physical faculties, were
actually crazed with alcoholic drinks. When thus rendered harmless,
their yells were terrific, until it was found necessary for the peace
of the harbor to GAG THEM; which was done by gently placing an iron
pump-bolt between the jaws of each of the maniacs, and fastening it by
a rope-yarn behind the ear. Thus, unable to give utterance to their
feelings, and exhausted by fruitless struggles, they fell asleep.
In the morning cool reflection came. They looked as ruefully as Don
Quixote after his battle with the shepherds, and bore as many marks of
the prowess of their opponents. But, unlike "the Knight of the Rueful
Countenance," they seemed heartily ashamed of their exploits, and
promised better behavior in future.
Nevertheless, a few days after this affair, Jim Bilton, one of the men
who had figured so conspicuously in the row, and owed Wilkins a grudge
for the black eye he had received in the melee, challenged his shipmate
to a "fair stand-up fight!"
The challenge was accepted; but as the main deck of the brig was still
"lumbered up," and the forecastle furnished a field altogether too
confined for such recreations, it was agreed that this "stand-up fight"
should take place while each of the combatants were sitting astride a
chest! Accordingly a large chest was roused up from below, and placed
athwart-ships on the forecastle, between the bowsprit bitts and the
cathead. The parties took their seats on the ends of the chest, facing
each other, and the business was to be settled by hard knocks.
The men faced each other boldly, some weighty compliments were
interchanged, when Bilton, to avoid a favor from his antagonist which
in all probability would have finished him, slipped off the end of the
chest, to the disgust of his shipmates and his own everlasting disgrace.
One of the crew, however, who was ingenious at expedients, and
determined to see fair play, by means of a hammer and a tenpenny nail
fastened both parties firmly to the chest by the seats of their canvas
trousers. There being no longer a possibility of BACKING OUT, the battle
was resumed, but did not last long; for Bilton soon received a blow on
his left temple, which, in spite of the tenpenny nail, knocked him off
the chest, and decided the contest.