The day succeeding our arrival at Liverpool, having disposed of our
gunpowder, we hauled into King's Dock, and commenced preparations for
receiving the remainder of our cargo. At that period there were only
four floating docks in Liverpool. The town was not in a prosperous
condition. It had not recovered from the shock caused by the abolition
of the slave trade. That inhuman traffic had been carried on to a very
great extent for many years by Liverpool merchants, and, of course,
the law prohibiting the traffic a law wise and humane, in itself, but
injurious to the interests of individuals was resisted in Parliament by
all the commercial wealth of Liverpool and Bristol, the two principal
ports in which the merchants resided who were engaged in the slave
traffic. Even in 1811, many fine ships were lying idle in the docks,
which had been built expressly for that business; and their grated
air-ports, high and solid bulwarks, peculiar hatchways, large and
unsightly poops, all gave evidence of the expensive arrangements and
great importance of the "Guineamen" of those days.
It was expected that our cargo would be completed immediately after our
arrival at Liverpool, and the ship despatched on her way around Cape
Horn; but the tobacco which we had taken on board in Boston, being an
article on which an enormous duty was exacted, was the cause of trouble
and delay. Consultations with the authorities in London were necessary,
and weeks elapsed before Captain Bacon could get the ship out of the
clutches of the revenue department. In the mean time the crew remained
by the ship, but took their meals at a boarding house on shore, as
was the custom in Liverpool. They were all furnished with American
protections; but some of them, unwilling to rely on the protecting
power of a paper document, which in their cases told a tale of fiction,
adopted various expedients to avoid the press-gangs which occasionally
thridded the streets, and even entered dwellings when the doors were
unfastened, to capture sailors and COMPEL them to VOLUNTEER to serve
their king and country.
One of these unfortunate men, after having successfully dodged the
pressgangs for a fortnight, and living meanwhile in an unenviable state
of anxiety, was pounced upon by some disguised members of a pressgang as
he left the boarding house one evening. He struggled hard to escape,
but was knocked down and dragged off to the naval rendezvous. He
was examined the next morning before the American consul, but,
notwithstanding his protection, his citizenship could not be
substantiated. He was in reality a Prussian, and of course detained as
a lawful prize. The poor fellow lamented his hard destiny with tears. He
knew the degrading and unhappy character of the slavery to which he was
doomed probably for life, and strongly implored Captain Bacon to leave
no means untried to procure his release; but the captain's efforts were
in vain.
I was rejoiced when intelligence came that the trouble about the tobacco
was at an end, and the remainder of the cargo could be taken on board.
On the following forenoon the ship was hauled stern on to the quay, and
the heavy bales of goods, when brought down, were tumbled on deck by the
crew and rolled along to the main hatchway. I was employed with one of
my shipmates in this work, when some clumsy fellows who were handling
another bale behind me pitched it over in such a careless manner that
it struck my left leg, which it doubled up like a rattan. I felt that my
leg was fractured, indeed, I heard the bone snap, and threw myself on a
gun carriage, making wry faces in consequence of the pain I suffered.
"Are you MUCH hurt, Hawser?" inquired the chief mate, in a tone of
irony, and with a grim smile.
"Yes, sir; badly hurt. I'm afraid my leg is broken."
"Not so bad as that, I hope," exclaimed Stetson, with some display of
anxiety. "I guess you are more frightened than hurt. Let me look at your
leg."
He found my surmises were correct, and expressed more sympathy for my
misfortune than I could have expected. I was carried into the cabin, and
after a short delay conveyed in a carriage to the Infirmary or hospital.
When the carriage reached the gateway of the Infirmary, the bell was
rung by the coachman, and the porter made his appearance. He was a
tall, hard-featured, sulky-looking man, about fifty years of age, called
Thomas; and having held that office a number of years, he assumed as
many airs, and pretended to as much surgical skill, as the professors.
"What's the matter now?" inquired the porter, with a discontented growl.
"An accident," replied the coachman. "This boy has broken his leg. He is
a sailor, belonging to an American ship."
"Ah, ha! An American, is he?" added Thomas, with a diabolical sneer. "A
Yankee Doodle! Never mind; we'll take care of him."
I was lifted from the carriage and carried by the ship's armorer, very
gently, into one of the rooms, the grim-looking porter leading the way.
I was placed in an arm chair, and, as the surgeon whose duty it was to
attend to accidents on that day was not immediately forthcoming, the
porter undertook to examine the fracture. He proceeded to take off the
stocking, which fitted rather closely, and the removal of which gave me
intolerable pain. I begged him to rip off the garment with a knife, and
put an end to my torments. The armorer also remonstrated against his
unnecessary cruelty, but in vain. The only reply of the grumbling rascal
was that the stocking was too good to be destroyed, and he never knew
a Yankee who could bear pain like a man! He then began, in a cool and
business-like manner, to twist my foot about, grinding the fractured
bones together to ascertain, as he said, whether the limb was actually
broken! And I verily believe that my complaints and groans, which I did
not attempt to suppress, were sweet music in his ears. It was clear to
me that, for some reason which I could never learn, Mr. Thomas owed
the whole Yankee nation a grudge, and was ready to pay it off on an
individual whenever he could get a chance.
After he finished his examination, I looked around the room, which was
not a large one. It was number one of the "accident ward." It contained
six beds, besides a pallet in a corner for the nurse of the ward. These
beds, with two exceptions, were occupied by unfortunate beings like
myself. As I was brought in among them they gazed upon me earnestly,
prompted, I verily believe, not only by curiosity, but commiseration for
my unhappy condition. The surgeon made his appearance, and succeeded,
without much difficulty, in setting the limb, an operation which,
acknowledging its necessity, I bore with becoming fortitude. I was
placed on my back in one of the unoccupied beds, with the rather
unnecessary caution to lie perfectly still. The armorer returned to the
ship, and I was left among strangers.
I now had leisure to reflect on my situation. My hopes of visiting the
"north-west coast" were suddenly destroyed. A cripple, in a strange
land, without money or friends, a cloud seemed to rest on my prospects.
During the remainder of the day and the succeeding night I suffered much
from "the blues." My spirits were out of tune. The scanty hospital fare
that was offered me I sent away untouched, and sleep refused to bury
my senses in forgetfulness until long after the midnight hour. This,
however, might have been partly owing to the involuntary groans and
murmurs of unfortunate sufferers in my immediate vicinity. That first
day and night wore a sombre aspect, and teemed with gloomy forebodings.
In the morning I fell into a kind of doze, and dreamed that I was
walking in a beautiful meadow, which was traversed by a wide and deep
ditch. Wishing to pass to the other side I attempted to leap the ditch,
but jumped short, and buried myself in mud and mire to the waist! I
awoke with a start, which I accompanied with a cry of distress. I had
moved the broken limb, and furnished more work for the surgeon and
suffering for myself.
My gloomy reflections and disquietude of mind did not last long. In the
morning my attention was attracted by the novelties of my situation, and
I found much to excite my curiosity and interest my feelings. My "fit
of the blues" had passed off to return no more. I had some conversation
with a remarkably tall, military-looking man, who moved about awkwardly
as if he was learning to walk upon stilts, or was lame in both legs,
which I afterwards found to be the case. He appeared friendly and
intelligent, and gave me interesting information in relation to the
inmates and economy of the establishment.
I learned from him that the bed nearest mine, within a few feet on the
right hand, and the one beyond it, were occupied by two boys who were
victims of a sad misfortune. Their intense sufferings were the cause of
the moans and murmurings I had heard during the night. These boys were
apprentices to the rope-making business, and a few days before, while
spinning ropeyarns, with the loose hemp wound in folds around their
waists, the youngest, a lad about fourteen years old, unwittingly
approached an open fire, the weather being cold. A spark ignited the
hemp, and in a moment the whole was in a blaze. The other boy, obeying
an involuntary but generous impulse, rushed to the assistance of his
companion, only to share his misfortune. They were both terribly burned,
and conveyed to the hospital.
Every morning the rations for the day were served out to the patients.
The quality of the food, always excepting a dark-looking liquid of
revolting aspect, known as "beer porridge," and which I ate only through
fear of starvation was generally good, and the quantity was sufficient
to keep the patients alive, while they had no reason to apprehend ill
consequences from a surfeit.
In the course of the forenoon Captain Bacon came to see me. He expressed
regret at my misfortune, and tried to console me with the assurance that
I should be well cared for. He said the ship Packet would sail the next
day, that my chest and bedding should be sent to the house where
the crew had boarded, that HE HAD COMMENDED ME TO THE PARTICULAR
CONSIDERATION OF THE AMERICAN CONSUL, who was his consignee, an would
see that I was sent back to the United States as soon as I should be in
a condition to leave the hospital. He put a silver dollar into my hand,
as he said to buy some fruit, bade me be of good cheer, and left me to
my reflections.
In the afternoon of the same day, one of my shipmates, a kind-hearted
lad, about my own age, called at the hospital to bid me farewell. He
regretted the necessity of our separation, and wept over the misfortune
that had occasioned it. From him I learned that the key of my chest
having been left in the lock when I was carried from the ship, he feared
that Allen and one or two others of the crew, who were not liberally
supplied with clothing for a long voyage, had made free with my
property. He also told me that three of the ship's company had deserted,
having no confidence in the amiable qualities of Mr. Stetson, the chief
mate; but that Allen, who had been the victim of his vindictiveness
during the whole passage from Boston, dreading the horrors of
impressment more than the barbarity of the mate, and having a good
American protection, had determined to remain by the ship!
He told me, further, he was by no means satisfied with the character
of Stetson, and feared that when again on the ocean he would prove a
Tartar; and that I had no great reasons to regret an accident which
would prevent my proceeding on the voyage.
I subsequently learned that Stetson showed his true colors after the
ship left Liverpool, and owing to his evil deportment and tyrannical
conduct, there was little peace or comfort for the crew during the three
years' voyage.
On the third day of my residence in the Infirmary, the unfortunate boy
who occupied the bed nearest mine appeared to be sinking rapidly. It was
sad to witness his sufferings. His mother, a woman in the lowest rank of
life, was with him through the day. She eagerly watched every symptom of
his illness, nursed him with care and tenderness, sought to prepare him
for the great change which was about to take place; and, a true woman
and a mother, endeavored to hide her own anguish while she ministered to
the bodily and spiritual wants of her only child, who nobly risked his
life to save that of his companion. I watched the proceedings with deep
interest through the day, and when night came I felt no inclination to
sleep. The groans of the unfortunate boy became fainter and fainter, and
it was evident he would soon be released from his sufferings by the hand
of death.
At length I became weary with watching, and about eleven o'clock fell
asleep, in spite of the dying moans of the boy and the half-stifled sobs
of his mother. I slept soundly, undisturbed by the mournful scenes which
were enacted around me. When I awoke the room was lighted only by the
rays of an expiring lamp in the chimney corner. No one was moving; not
a sound was heard except the loud breathing of the inmates, who, their
wonted rest having been interrupted by this melancholy interlude, had
buried their pains and anxieties in sleep.
I looked towards the bed where the sufferer lay whose sad fate had so
attracted my attention and elicited my sympathies a few hours before.
His mother was no longer present. His moans were no longer heard. His
form seemed extended motionless on the bed, and his head reposed as
usual on the pillow. But I was startled at perceiving him staring
fixedly at me with eyes preternaturally large, and of a cold, glassy,
ghastly appearance! I closed my own eyes and turned my head away, while
a tremor shook very nerve. Was this an illusion? Was I laboring under
the effects of a dream? Or had my imagination conjured up a spectre?
I looked again. The eyes, like two full moons, were still there, glaring
at me with that cold, fixed, maddening expression. I could no longer
control my feelings. If I had been able to use my limbs I should have
fled from the room. As that was impossible I called loudly to the nurse,
and awoke her from a sound sleep! She came muttering to my bedside, and
inquired what was the matter?
"Look at William's eyes!" said I. "Is he dead, or is he alive? What is
the meaning of those horrible-looking, unearthly eyes? Why DON'T you
speak?"
"Don't be a fool," replied the nurse, sharply, "and let shadows frighten
you out of your wits."
While I remained in an agony of suspense she leisurely returned to the
fireplace, took the lamp from the hearth, raised the wick to increase
the light, and approaching the bedside, held it over the body of the
occupant. The boy was dead! Two large pieces of bright copper coin had
been placed over the eyes for the purpose of closing the lids after
death, and the faint and flickering reflection of the lamplight, aided,
probably, by the excited condition of my nervous system, had given them
that wild and ghastly appearance which had shaken my soul with terror.
For three weeks I lay in my bed, an attentive observer of the singular
scenes that occurred in my apartment. I was visited every morning by a
student in surgery, or "dresser," and twice a week by one of the regular
surgeons of the establishment while going his rounds. My general health
was good, notwithstanding a want of that exercise and fresh air to which
I had been accustomed. My appetite was remarkable; indeed, my greatest,
if not only cause of complaint, was the very STINTED QUANTITY of daily
food that was served out to each individual. No discrimination was
observed; the robust young man, with an iron constitution, was, so far
as related to food, placed on a par with the poor invalid, debilitated
with protracted suffering or dying of inappetency.
In every other situation in which I have been placed I have had
abundance of food. Sometimes the food was of a quality deplorably
wretched, it is true, but such as it was there was always enough. But in
the Liverpool Infirmary I experienced the miseries of SHORT ALLOWANCE,
and had an opportunity to witness the effect it produces in ruffling
the temper and breeding discontent. It also opened my eyes to the
instinctive selfishness of man. Those who were in sound health,
with good appetites, although apparently endued with a full share of
affections and sympathies, seemed actually to rejoice when one of their
companions, through suffering and debility, was unable to consume his
allowance of bread or porridge, which would be distributed among the
more healthy inmates of the apartment.