_Mira_. How came we ashore?
_Pro_. By Providence divine.
* * * * *
Sit still, and hear the last of our sea-sorrow.
Here in this island we arrived.
"_Tempest_."
A frigate called at the island for turtle; and, having represented my
case to the captain, he offered to take me on board, telling me at the
same time that he was going much farther to the southward, to relieve
another cruiser, who would then return to England, and the captain of
her would, no doubt, give me a passage home. I accordingly made hasty
preparations for my departure; took leave of all my kind friends at
the barracks, for kind indeed they were to _me_, although thoughtless
and foolish towards themselves. I bade adieu to the families on the
island, in whose houses and at whose tables I had experienced the most
liberal hospitality; and last, though not least, I took leave of poor
Carlotta.
This was a difficult task to perform, but it was imperative. I told
her that I was ordered on board by my captain, who, being a very
different person from the last, I dare not disobey. I promised to
return to her soon. I offered her money and presents, but she would
accept of nothing but a small locket, to wear for my sake. I purchased
the freedom of poor Sophy, the black girl, who had saved my life. The
little creature wept bitterly at my coming away; but I could do no
more for her. As for Carlotta, I learned afterwards that she went on
board every ship that arrived, to gain intelligence of me, who seldom
or ever gave her a thought.
We sailed; and, steering away to the south-east with moderate winds
and fine weather, captured, at the end of that time, a large American
ship, which had made a devious course from the French coast, in hopes
of avoiding our cruisers; she was about four hundred tons, deeply
laden, and bound to Laguira, with a valuable cargo. The captain sent
for me, and told me that if I chose to take charge of her, as prize
master, I might proceed to England direct. This plan exactly suited
me, and I consented, only begging to have a boatswain's mate, named
Thompson, to go along with me; he was an old shipmate, and had been
one of my gig's crew when we had the affair in Basque Roads; he was a
steady, resolute, quiet, sober, raw-boned Caledonian, from Aberdeen,
and a man that I knew would stand by me in the hour of need. He was
ordered to go with me, and the necessary supply of provisions and
spirits were put on board. I received my orders, and took my leave of
my new captain, who was both a good seaman and an excellent officer.
When I got on board the prize, I found all the prisoners busy packing
up their things, and they became exceedingly alert in placing them in
the boat which was to convey them on board the frigate. Indeed they
all crowded into her with an unusual degree of activity; but this did
not particularly strike my attention at the time. My directions were
to retain the captain and one man with me, in order to condemn the
vessel in the Court of Admiralty.
Occupied with many objects at once, all important to me, as I was so
soon to part company with the frigate, I did not recollect this part
of my orders, and that I was detaining the boat, until the young
midshipman who had charge of her asked me if he might return on board
and take the prisoners. I then went on deck, and seeing the whole of
them, with their chests and bags, seated very quietly in the boat,
and ready to shove off, I desired the captain and one of the American
seamen to come on board again, and to bring their clothes with them.
I did not remark the unwillingness of the captain to obey this
order, until told of it by the midshipman; his chest and goods were
immediately handed in upon deck, and the signal from the frigate being
repeated, with a light for the boat to return (for it was now dark),
she shoved off hastily, and was soon out of sight.
"Stop the boat! for God's sake stop the boat!" cried the captain.
"Why should I stop the boat?" said I; "my orders are positive, and you
must remain with me."
I then went below for a minute or two, and the captain followed me.
"As you value your life, sir," said he, "stop the boat."
"Why?" asked I, eagerly.
"Because, sir," said he, "the ship has been scuttled by the men, and
will sink in a few hours: you cannot save her, for you cannot get at
her leaks."
I now did indeed see the necessity of stopping the boat; but it was
too late: she was out of sight. The lanthorn, the signal for her
return, had been hauled down, a proof that she had got on board. I
hoisted two lights at the mizen peak, and ordered a musket to be
fired; but, unfortunately, the cartridges had either not been put in
the boat which brought me, or they had been taken back in her. One of
my lights went out; the other was not seen by the frigate. We hoisted
another light, but it gained no notice: the ship had evidently made
sail. I stood after her as fast as I could, in hopes of her seeing us
that night, or taking us out the next morning, should we be afloat.
But my vessel, deeply laden, was already getting waterlogged, and
would not sail on a wind more than four miles an hour. All hope in
that quarter vanished. I then endeavoured to discover from the captain
where the leaks were, that we might stop them; but he had been
drinking so freely, that I could get nothing from him but Dutch
courage and braggadocia. The poor black man, who had been left with
the captain, was next consulted. All he knew was, that, when at
Bordeaux, the captain had caused holes to be bored in the ship's
bottom, that he might pull the plugs out whenever he liked, swearing,
at the same time, that she never should enter a British port. He did
not know where the leaks were situated, though it was evident to me
that they were in the after and also in the fore parts of the ship,
low down, and now deep under water, both inside as well as out. The
black man added, that the captain had let the water in, and that was
all he knew.
I again spoke to the captain, but he was too far gone to reason with:
he had got drunk to die, because he was afraid to die sober--no
unusual case with sailors.
"Don't tell me; d----n me, who is a-feard to die? I arn't. I swore she
should never enter a British port, and I have kept my word."
He then began to use curses and execrations; and, at last, fell on the
deck in a fit of drunken frenzy.
I now called my people all together, and having stated to them the
peril of our situation, we agreed that a large boat, which lay on the
booms, should be instantly hoisted out, and stowed with every thing
necessary for a voyage. Our clothes, bread, salt meat, and water, were
put into her, with my sextant and spy-glass. The liquor, which was in
the cabin, I gave in charge to the midshipman who was sent with me;
and, having completely stowed our boat, and prepared her with a good
lug-sail, we made her fast with a couple of stout tow-ropes, and
veered her astern, with four men in her, keeping on our course in the
supposed track of the frigate till daylight.
That wished-for hour arrived, but no frigate was to be seen, even from
the mast-head. The ship was getting deeper and deeper, and we prepared
to take to the boat. I calculated the nearest part of South America to
be seven hundred miles from us, and that we were more than twice that
distance from Rio Janeiro. I did not, however, despond, for, under all
circumstances, we were extremely well off: and I inspired the men with
so much confidence, that they obeyed in everything, with the utmost
alacrity and cheerfulness, except in one single point.
Finding the ship could not in all probability float more than an hour
or two, I determined to quit her, and ordered the boat alongside. The
men got into her, stepped the mast, hooked on the lug-sail, ready to
hoist at my orders; and, without my bidding, had spread my boat cloak
in the stern-sheets, and made a comfortable place for me to repose in.
The master proceeded to get into the boat, but the men repulsed him
with kicks, blows, and hisses, swearing most dreadfully that if he
attempted to come in, they would throw him overboard. Although in
some measure I participated in their angry feeling, yet I could not
reconcile myself to leave a fellow-creature thus to perish, even in
the pit which he had dug for others, and this too at a time when we
needed every indulgence from the Almighty for ourselves, and every
assistance from his hand to conduct us into a port.
"He deserves to die; it is all his own doings," said they; "come into
the boat yourself, Sir, or we must shove off without you."
The poor captain--who, after sleeping four hours, had recovered his
senses, and felt all the horror of his situation--wept, screamed, tore
his hair, laid hold of my coat, from which only the strength of my men
could disengage him. He clung to life with a passion of feeling which
I never saw in a criminal condemned by the law; he fell on his knees
before me, as he appealed to us all, collectively and separately; he
reminded us of his wife and starving children at Baltimore, and he
implored us to think of them and of our own.
I was melted to tears, I confess; but my men heard him with the most
stoical unconcern. Two of them threw him over to the opposite side of
the deck; and before he could recover from the violence of the fall,
pushed me into the boat, and shoved off. The wretched man had by this
time crawled over to the side we had just left; and throwing himself
on his knees, again screamed out, "Oh, mercy, mercy, mercy!--For God's
sake, have mercy, if you expect any!--Oh, God! my wife and babes!"
His prayers, I lament to say, had no effect on the exasperated seamen.
He then fell into a fit of cursing and blasphemy, evidently bereft of
his senses; and in this state he continued for some minutes, while we
lay alongside, the bowman holding on with the boat-hook only. I was
secretly determined not to leave him, although I foresaw a mutiny in
the boat in consequence. At length, I gave the order to shove off. The
unhappy captain, who, till that moment, might have entertained some
faint hope from the lurking compassion which he perceived I felt for
him, now resigned himself to despair of a more sullen and horrible
aspect. He sat himself down on one of the hen-coops, and gazed on us
with a ghastly eye. I cannot remember ever seeing a more shocking
picture of human misery.
While I looked at him, the black man, Mungo, who belonged to the ship,
sprang overboard from the boat, and swam back to the wreck. Seizing a
rope which hung from the gangway, he ascended the side, and joined his
master. We called to him to come back, or we should leave him behind.
"No, massa," replied the faithful creature; "me no want to lib: no
takee Massa Green, no takee me! Mungo lib good many years wi massa
cappen. Mungo die wi massa, and go back to Guinea!"
I now thought we had given the captain a sufficient lesson for his
treachery and murderous intentions. Had I, indeed, ever seriously
intended to leave him, the conduct of poor Mungo would have awakened
me to a sense of my duty. I ordered Thompson, who was steering the
boat, to put the helm a-starboard, and lay her alongside again. No
sooner was this command given, than three or four of the men jumped up
in a menacing attitude, and swore that they would not go back for him;
that he was the cause of all their sufferings; and that if I chose to
share his fate, I might, but into the boat he should not come. One of
them, more daring than the rest, attempted to take the tiller out of
Thompson's hand; but the trusty seaman seized him by the collar, and
in an instant threw him overboard. The other men were coming aft
to avenge this treatment of their leader; but I drew my sword, and
pointing it at the breast of the nearest mutineer, desired him,
on pain of instant death, to return to his seat. He had heard my
character, and knew that I was not to be trifled with.
A mutineer is easily subdued with common firmness. He obeyed, but was
very sullen, and I heard many mutinous expressions among the men. One
of them said that I was not their officer--that I did not belong to
the frigate.
"That," I replied, "is a case of which I shall not allow you to be the
judges. I hold in my pocket a commission from the King's Lord High
Admiral, or the commissioners for executing that duty. Your captain,
and mine also, holds a similar commission. Under this authority I
act. Let me see the man that dares dispute it--I will hang him at the
yard-arm of the wreck before she goes down;" and, looking at the man
whom Thompson had thrown overboard, and who still held by the gunwale
of the boat, without daring to get in, I asked him if he would obey
me or not? He replied that he would, and hoped I would forgive him.
I said that my forgiveness would depend entirely on the conduct of
himself and the others; that he must recollect that if our own ship,
or any other man-of-war, picked us up, he was liable, with three or
four more, to be hanged for mutiny; and that nothing but his and their
future obedience could save them from that punishment, whenever we
reached a port.
This harangue had a very tranquillising effect. The offenders all
begged pardon, and assured me they would deserve my forgiveness by
their future submission.
All this passed at some little distance from the wreck, but within
hearing; and while it was going on, the wind, which had been fair when
we put off, gradually died away, and blew faintly from the south-west,
directly towards the sinking wreck. I took advantage of this
circumstance to read them a lecture. When I had subdued them, and
worked a little on their feelings, I said I never knew any good come
of cruelty: whenever a ship or a boat had left a man behind who might
have been saved, that disaster or destruction had invariably attended
those who had so cruelly acted; that I was quite sure we never
should escape from this danger, if we did not show mercy to our
fellow-creatures. "God," said I, "has shown mercy to us, in giving us
this excellent boat, to save us in our imminent danger; and He
seems to say to us now, 'Go back to the wreck, and rescue your
fellow-sufferer.' The wind blows directly towards her, and is foul for
the point in which we intend to steer; hasten, then," pursued I, "obey
the Divine will; do your duty, and trust in God. I shall then be proud
to command you, and have no doubt of bringing you safe into port."
This was the "pliant hour;" they sprang upon their oars, and pulled
back to the wreck with alacrity. The poor captain, who had witnessed
all that passed, watched the progress of his cause with deep anxiety.
No sooner did the boat touch the ship, than he leaped into her, fell
down on his knees, and thanked God aloud for his deliverance. He then
fell on my neck, embraced me, kissed my cheek, and wept like a girl.
The sailors, meanwhile, who never bear malice long, good-naturedly
jumped up, and assisted him in getting his little articles into the
boat; and as Mungo followed his master, shook hands with him all
round, and swore he should be a black prince when he went back to
Guinea. We also took in one or two more little articles of general
use, which had been forgotten in our former hurry.
We now shoved off for the last time; and had not proceeded more than
two hundred yards from the ship, when she gave a heavy lurch on one
side, recovered it, and rolled as deep on the other; then, as if
endued with life and instinct, gave, a pitch, and went down, head
foremost, into the fathomless deep. We had scarcely time to behold
this awful scene, when the wind again sprang up fair, from its old
quarter, the east.
"There," said I, "Heaven has declared itself in your favour already.
You have got your fair wind again."
We thanked God for this; and having set our sail, I shaped my course
for Cape St Thomas, and we went to our frugal dinner with cheerful and
grateful hearts.
The weather was fine--the sea tolerably smooth--and as we had plenty
of provisions and water, we did not suffer much, except from an
apprehension of a change of wind, and the knowledge of our precarious
situation. On the fifth day after leaving the wreck we discovered land
at a great distance. I knew it to be the island of Trinidad and the
rocks of Martin Vas. This island, which lies in latitude twenty
degrees south, and longitude thirty degrees west, is not to be
confounded with the island of the same name on the coast of Terra
Firma, in the West Indies, and now a British colony.
On consulting Horseberg, which I had in the boat, I found that the
island which we were now approaching was formerly inhabited by the
Portuguese, but long since abandoned. I continued steering towards
it during the night, until we heard the breakers roaring against the
rocks, when I hove-to, to windward of the land, till daylight.
The morning presented to our view a precipitous and rugged iron-bound
coast, with high and pointed rocks, frowning defiance over the
unappeaseable and furious waves which broke incessantly at their feet,
and recoiled to repeat the blow. Thus for ages had they been employed,
and thus for ages will they continue, without making any impression
visible to the eye of man. To land was impossible on the part of the
coast now under our inspection, and we coasted along, in hopes of
finding some haven into which we might haul our boat, and secure her.
The island appeared to be about nine miles long, evidently of volcanic
formation, an assemblage of rocky mountains towering several hundred
feet above the level of the sea. It was barren, except at the summit
of the hills, where some trees formed a coronet, at once beautiful
and refreshing, but tantalising to look at, as they appeared
utterly inaccessible; and even supposing I could have discovered a
landing-place, I was in great doubt whether I should have availed
myself of it, as the island appeared to produce nothing which could
have added to our comfort, while delay would only have uselessly
consumed our provisions. There did not appear to be a living creature
on the island, and the danger of approaching to find a landing-place
was most imminent.
This unpromising appearance induced me to propose that we should
continue our course to Rio Janeiro. The men were of another opinion.
They said they had been too long afloat, cooped up, and that they
should prefer remaining on the island to risking their lives any
longer, in so frail a boat, on the wide ocean. We were still debating,
when we came to a small spot of sand, on which we discovered two wild
hogs, which we conjectured had come down to feed on the shell fish;
this decided them, and I consented to run to leeward of the island,
and seek for a landing-place. We sounded the west end, following the
remarks of Horseberg, and ran for the cove of the Nine-Pin Rock. As we
opened it, a scene of grandeur presented itself, which we had never
met with before, and which in its kind is probably unrivalled in
nature. An enormous rock rose, nearly perpendicularly, out of the sea,
to the height of nine hundred or one thousand feet. It was as narrow
at the base as it was at the top, and was formed exactly in the shape
of the nine-pin, from which, it derives its name. The sides appeared
smooth and even to the top, which was covered with verdure, and was so
far above us that the sea birds, which in myriads screamed around it,
were scarcely visible two-thirds of the way up. The sea beat violently
against its base--the feathered tribe, in endless variety, had been
for ages the undisturbed tenants of this natural monument; all its
jutting points and little projections were covered with their white
dung, and it seemed to me a wonderful effort of Nature, which had
placed this mass in the position which it held, in spite of the utmost
efforts of the winds and waves of the wide ocean.
Another curious phenomenon appeared at the other end of the cove. The
lava had poured down into the sea, and formed a stratum; a second
river of fused rock had poured again over the first, and had cooled so
rapidly as to hang suspended, not having joined the former strata,
but leaving a vacuum between for the water to fill up. The sea dashed
violently between the two beds, and spouted magnificently through
holes in the upper bed of lava to the height of sixty feet, resembling
much the spouting of a whale, but with a noise and force infinitely
greater. The sound indeed was tremendous, hollow, and awful. I could
not help mentally adoring the works of the Creator, and my heart sunk
within me at my own insignificance, folly, and wickedness.
As we were now running along the shore, looking for our landing-place,
and just going to take in the sail, the American captain, who sat
close to the man at the helm, seemed attentively watching something on
the larboard bow of the boat. In an instant he exclaimed, "Put your
helm, my good fellow, port-hard." These words he accompanied with a
push of the helm so violent, as almost to throw the man overboard who
sat on the larboard quarter. At the same moment, a heavy sea lifted
the boat, and sent her many yards beyond, and to the right of a
pointed rock, just flush or even with the water, which had escaped our
notice, and which none suspected but the American captain (for these
rocks do not show breakers every minute, if they did they would be
easily avoided). On this we should most certainly have been dashed to
pieces, had not the danger been seen and avoided by the sudden and
skilful motion of the helm; one moment more, and one foot nearer, and
we were gone.
"Merciful God!" said I, "to what fate am I reserved at last? How can I
be sufficiently thankful for so much goodness?"
I thanked the American for his attention--told my men how much we were
indebted to him, and how amply he had repaid our kindness in taking
him off the wreck.
"Ah, lieutenant," said the poor man, "it is a small turn I've done you
for the kindness you have shown to me."
The water was very deep, the rocks being steep; so, we lowered our
sail, and getting our oars out, pulled in to look for a landing. At
the farther end of the cove, we discovered the wreck of a vessel
lying on the beach. She was broken in two, and appeared to be
copper-bottomed. This increased the eagerness of the men to land; we
rowed close to the shore, but found that the boat would be dashed to
pieces if we attempted it. The midshipman proposed that one of us
should swim on shore, and, by ascending a hill, discover a place to
lay the boat in. This I agreed to; and the quarter-master immediately
threw off his clothes. I made a lead-line fast to him under his arms,
that we might pull him in if we found him exhausted. He went over the
surf with great ease, until he came to the breakers on the beach,
through which he could not force his way; for the moment he touched
the ground with his foot, the recoil of the sea, and what is called by
sailors the undertow, carried him back again, and left him in the rear
of the last wave.
Three times the brave fellow made the attempt, and with the same
result. At last he sunk, and we pulled him in very nearly dead. We,
however, restored him by care and attention, and he went again to his
usual duty. The midshipman now proposed that he should try to swim
through the surf without the line, for that alone had impeded the
progress of the quarter-master; this was true, but I would not allow
him to run the risk, and we pulled along shore, until we came to
a rock on which the surf beat very high, and which we avoided in
consequence. This rock we discovered to be detached from the main; and
within it, to our great joy, we saw smooth water; we pulled in, and
succeeded in landing without much difficulty, and having secured
our boat to a grapnel, and left two trusty men in charge of her,
I proceeded with the rest to explore the cove; our attention was
naturally first directed to the wreck which we had passed in the boat,
and, after a quarter of an hour's scrambling over huge fragments of
broken rocks, which had been detached from the sides of the hill, and
encumbered the beach, we arrived at the spot.
The wreck proved to be a beautiful copper-bottomed schooner, of about
a hundred and eighty tons burthen. She had been dashed on shore with
great violence, and thrown many yards above the high-water mark. Her
masts and spars were lying in all directions on the beach, which
was strewed with her cargo. This consisted of a variety of toys
and hardware, musical instruments, violins, flutes, fifes, and
bird-organs. Some few remains of books, which I picked up, were French
romances, with indelicate plates, and still worse text. These proved
the vessel to be French. At a short distance from the wreck, on a
rising knoll, we found three or four huts, rudely constructed out of
the fragments; and, a little farther off, a succession of graves, each
surmounted with a cross. I examined the huts, which contained some
rude and simple relics of human tenancy: a few benches and tables,
composed of boards roughly hewn out and nailed together; bones of
goats, and of the wild hog, with the remains of burnt wood. But we
could not discover any traces of the name of the vessel or owner; nor
were there any names marked or cut on the boards, as might have been
expected, to show to whom the vessel belonged, and what had become of
the survivors.
This studied concealment of all information led us to the most
accurate knowledge of her port of departure, her destination, and her
object of trade. Being on the south-west side of the island, with her
head lying to the north-east, she had, beyond all doubt, been running
from Rio Janeiro towards the coast of Africa, and got on shore in
the night. That she was going to fetch a cargo of slaves was equally
clear, not only from the baubles with which she was freighted but also
from the interior fitting of the vessel, and from a number of hand and
leg shackles which we found among the wreck, and which we knew were
only used for the purposes of confining and securing the unhappy
victims of this traffic.
We took up our quarters in the huts for the night, and the next
morning divided ourselves into three parties, to explore the island. I
have before observed that we had muskets, but no powder, and therefore
stood little chance of killing any of the goats or wild hogs, with
which we found the island abounded. One party sought the means of
attaining the highest summit of the island; another went along the
shore to the westward; while myself and two others went to the
eastward. We crossed several ravines, with much difficulty, until we
reached a long valley, which seemed to intersect the island.
Here a wonderful and most melancholy phenomenon arrested our
attention. Thousands and thousands of trees covered the valley, each
of them about thirty feet high; but every tree was dead, and extended
its leafless boughs to another--a forest of desolation, as if nature
had at some particular moment ceased to vegetate! There was no
underwood or grass. On the lowest of the dead boughs, the gannets, and
other sea birds, had built their nests in numbers unaccountable. Their
tameness, as Cooper says, "was shocking to me." So unaccustomed did
they seem to man, that the mothers, brooding over their young, only
opened their beaks, in a menacing attitude at us, as we passed by
them.
How to account satisfactorily for the simultaneous destruction of this
vast forest of trees, was very difficult; there was no want of rich
earth for nourishment of the roots. The most probable cause appeared
to me, a sudden and continued eruption of sulphuric effluvia from the
volcano; or else, by some unusually heavy gale of wind or hurricane,
the trees had been drenched with salt water to their roots. One or the
other of these causes must have produced the effect. The philosopher,
or the geologist, must decide.
We had the consolation to know that we should at least experience no
want of food--the nests of the birds affording us a plentiful supply
of eggs, and young ones of every age; with these we returned loaded
to the cove. The party that had gone to the westward, reported having
seen some wild hogs, but were unable to secure any of them; and those
who had attempted to ascend the mountain, returned much fatigued, and
one of their number missing. They reported that they had gained the
summit of the mountain, where they had discovered a large plain,
skirted by a species of fern tree, from twelve to eighteen feet
high--that on this plain they had seen a herd of goats; and among
them, could distinguish one of enormous size, which appeared to be
their leader. He was as large as a pony; but all attempts to take one
of them were utterly fruitless. The man who was missing had followed
them farther than they had. They waited some time for his return; but
as he did not come to them, they concluded he had taken some other
route to the cove. I did not quite like this story, fearing some
dreadful accident had befallen the poor fellow, for whom we kept a
watch, and had a fire burning the whole night, which, like the former
one, we passed in the huts. We had an abundant supply of fire-wood
from the wreck, and a stream of clear water ran close by our little
village.
The next morning, a party was sent in search of the man, and some were
sent to fetch a supply of young gannets for our dinner. The latter
brought back with them as many young birds as would suffice for two
or three days; but of the three who went in quest of the missing man,
only two returned. They reported that they could gain no tidings of
him: that they had missed one of their own number, who had, no doubt,
gone in pursuit of his shipmate.
This intelligence occasioned a great deal of anxiety, and many
surmises. The most prevalent opinion seemed to be that there were wild
beasts on the island, and that our poor friends had become a prey to
them. I determined, the next morning, to go in search of them myself,
taking one or two chosen men with me. I should have mentioned, that
when we left the sinking vessel, we had taken out a poodle dog, that
was on board--first, because I would not allow the poor animal to
perish; and, secondly, because we might, if we had no better food,
make a dinner of him. This was quite fair, as charity begins at home.
This faithful animal became much attached to me, from whom he
invariably received his portion of food. He never quitted me, nor
followed any one else; and he was my companion when I went on this
excursion.
We reached the summit of the first mountain, whence we saw the goats
browsing on the second, and meant to go there in pursuit of the
objects of our anxious search. I was some yards in advance of my
companions, and the dog a little distance before me, near the shelving
part of a rock, terminating in a precipice. The shelf I had to cross
was about six or seven feet wide, and ten or twelve long, with a very
little inclined plane towards the precipice, so that I thought it
perfectly safe. A small rill of water trickled down from the rock
above it, and, losing itself among the moss and grass, fell over the
precipice below, which indeed was of a frightful depth.
This causeway was to all appearance safe, compared with many which
we had passed, and I was just going to step upon it, when my dog ran
before me, jumped on the fatal pass--his feet slipped from under
him--he fell, and disappeared over the precipice! I started back--I
heard a heavy squelch and a howl; another fainter succeeded, and all
was still. I advanced with the utmost caution to the edge of the
precipice, where I discovered that the rill of water had nourished
a short moss, close and smooth as velvet, and so slippery as not
to admit of the lightest footstep; this accounted for the sudden
disappearance, and, as I concluded, the inevitable death of my dog.
My first thoughts were those of gratitude for my miraculous escape; my
second unwillingly glanced at the fate of my poor men, too probably
lying lifeless at the foot of this mountain. I stated my fears to the
two seamen who were with me, and who had just come up. The whole bore
too much the appearance of truth to admit of a doubt. We descended the
ruins by a circuitous and winding way; and, after an hour's difficult
and dangerous walk, we reached the spot, where all our fears were too
fully confirmed. There lay the two dead bodies of our companions,
and that of my dog, all mangled in a shocking manner; both, it would
appear, had attempted to cross the shelf in the same careless way
which I was about to do, when Providence interposed the dog in my
behalf.
This singular dispensation was not lost upon me; indeed, latterly, I
had been in such perils, and seen such hair-breadth escapes, that I
became quite an altered and reflecting character. I returned to my
men at the cove, thoughtful and melancholy; I told them of what had
happened; and, having a Prayer-book with me in my trunk, I proposed to
them that I should read the evening prayers, and a thanksgiving for
our deliverance.
In this, the American captain, whose name was Green, most heartily
concurred. Indeed, ever since this poor man had been received into the
boat, he had been a very different character to what I had at first
supposed him; he constantly refused his allowance of spirits, giving
it among the sailors; he was silent and meditative; I often found him
in prayer, and on these occasions I never interrupted him. At other
times, he studied how he might make himself most useful. He would
patch and mend the people's clothes and shoes, or show them how to
do it for themselves. Whenever any hard work was to be done, he was
always the first to begin, and the last to leave off; and to such a
degree did he carry his attention and kindness, that we all began to
love him, and to treat him with great respect. He took charge of a
watch when we were at sea, and never closed his eyes during his hour
of duty.
Nor was this the effect of fear, or the dread of ill-usage among so
many Englishmen, whom his errors had led into so much misfortune. He
very soon had an opportunity of proving that his altered conduct was
the effect of sorrow and repentance. The next morning I sent a party
round by the sea-shore, with directions to walk up the valley and
bury the bodies of our unfortunate companions. The two men who had
accompanied me were of the number sent on this service; when they
returned, I pointed out to them how disastrous our residence had been
on this fatal island, and how much better it had been for us if we had
continued our course to Rio Janeiro, which, being only two hundred and
fifty or two hundred and sixty leagues distant, we should by that time
nearly have reached: that we were now expending the most valuable part
of our provisions, namely--our spirits and tobacco; while our boat,
our only hope and resource, was not even in safety, since a gale
of wind might destroy her. I therefore proposed to make immediate
preparations for our departure, to which all unanimously agreed.
We divided the various occupations; some went to fetch a sea stock
of young birds, which were killed and dressed to save our salt
provisions; others filled all our water-casks. Captain Green
superintended the rigging, sails, and oars of the boat, and saw that
every thing was complete in that department. The spirits remaining
were getting low, and Captain Green, the midshipman, and myself,
agreed to drink none, but reserve it for pressing emergencies. In
three days after beginning our preparations, and the seventh after our
landing, we embarked, and after being nearly swamped by the surf, once
more hoisted our sail on the wide waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
We were not destined, however, to encounter many dangers this time, or
to reach the coast of South America: for we had not been many hours
at sea, when a vessel hove in sight; she proved to be an American
privateer brig, of fourteen guns and one hundred and thirty men, bound
on a cruise off the Cape of Good Hope. As soon as she perceived us,
she bore down, and in half-an-hour we were safe on board; when having
bundled all our little stock of goods on her decks, the boat was cut
adrift. My men were not well treated until they consented to enter for
the privateer, which, after much persuasion and threats, they all did,
except Thompson, contrary to my strongest remonstrances, and urging
every argument in my power to dissuade them from such a fatal step.
I remonstrated with the captain of the privateer, on what I deemed a
violation of hospitality. "You found me," I said, "on the wide ocean,
in a frail boat, which some huge wave might have overwhelmed in a
moment, or some fish, in sport, might have tossed in the air. You
received me and my people with all the kindness and friendship which
we could desire; but you mar it, by seducing the men from their
allegiance to their lawful sovereign, inducing them to become rebels,
and subjecting them to a capital punishment whenever they may (as they
most probably will) fall into the hands of their own government."
The captain, who was an unpolished, but sensible, clearheaded Yankee,
replied that he was sorry I should take any thing ill of him; that no
affront was meant to me; that he had nothing whatever to do with my
men, until they came voluntarily to him, and entered for his vessel;
that he could not but admit, however, that they might have been
persuaded to take this step by some of his own people. "And, now,
Leftenant," said he, "let me ask you a question. Suppose you commanded
a British vessel, and ten or twelve of my men, if I was unlucky enough
to be taken by you, should volunteer for your ship, and say they were
natives of Newcastle, would you refuse them? Besides, before we
went to war with you, you made no ceremony of taking men out of our
merchant-ships, and even out of our ships of war, whenever you had an
opportunity. Now, pray, where is the difference between your conduct
and ours?"
I replied, that it would not be very easy, nor, if it were, would it
answer any good purpose, for us to discuss a question that had puzzled
the wisest heads, both in his country and mine for the last twenty
years; that my present business was a case of its own, and must be
considered abstractedly; that the fortune of war had thrown me in his
power, and that he made a bad use of the temporary advantage of his
situation, by allowing my men, who, after all, were poor, ignorant
creatures, to be seduced from their duty, to desert their flag, and
commit high treason, by which their lives were forfeited, and their
families rendered miserable; that whatever might have been the conduct
of his government or mine, whatever line pursued by this or that
captain, no precedent could make wrong right; and I left it to himself
(seeing I had no other resource) to say, whether he was doing as he
would be done by?"
"As for that matter," said the captain, "we privateer's-men don't
trouble our heads much about it; we always take care of Number One;
and if your men choose to say they are natives of Boston, and will
enter for my ship, I must take them. Why," continued he, "there is
your best man, Thompson; I'd lay a demijohn of old Jamaica rum that
he is a true-blooded Yankee, and if he was to speak his mind, would
sooner fight under the stripes than the Union."
"D----n the dog that says yon of Jock Thompson," replied the Caledonian,
who stood by. "I never deserted my colours yet, and I don't think I
ever shall. There is only one piece of advice I would wish to give to
you and your officers, captain. I am a civil spoken man, and never
injured any soul breathing, except in the way of fair fighting; but if
either you, or any of your crew, offer to bribe me, or in any way to
make me turn my back on my king and country, I'll lay him on his back
as flat as a flounder, if I am able, and if I am not able, I'll try
for it."
"That's well spoken," said the captain, "and I honour you for it. You
may rely on it that I shall never tempt you, and if any of mine do it,
they must take their chance."
Captain Green heard all this conversation; he took no part in it, but
walked the deck in his usual pensive manner. When the captain of the
privateer went below to work his reckoning, this unhappy man entered
into conversation with me--he began by remarking--
"What a noble specimen of a British sailor you have with you."
"Yes," I replied, "he is one of the right sort--he comes from the land
where the education of the poor contributes to the security of the
rich; where a man is never thought the worse of for reading his Bible,
and where the generality of the lower orders are brought up in the
honest simplicity of primitive Christians."
"I guess," said Green, "that you have not many such in your navy."
"More than you would suppose," I replied; "and what will astonish you
is, that though they are impressed, they seldom, if ever, desert; and
yet they are retained on much lower wages than those they were taken
from, or could obtain; but they have a high sense of moral and
religious feeling, which keeps them to their duty.
"They must needs be discontented for all that," said Green.
"Not necessarily so," said I: "they derive many advantages from being
in the navy, which they could not have in other employments. They have
pensions for long services or wounds, are always taken care of in
their old age, and their widows and children have much favour shown
them, by the government, as well as by other public bodies and wealthy
individuals. But we must finish this discussion another time,"
continued I, "for I perceive the dinner is going into the cabin."
I received from the captain of the privateer every mark of respect and
kindness that his means would allow. Much of this I owed to Green, and
the black man Mungo, both of whom had represented my conduct in saving
the life of him who had endangered mine and that of all my party.
Green's gratitude knew no bounds--he watched me night and day, as a
mother would watch a darling child; he anticipated any want or wish I
could have, and was never happy until it was gratified. The seamen on
board the vessel were all equally kind and attentive to me, so highly
did they appreciate the act of saving the life of their countryman,
and exposing my own in quelling a mutiny.
We cruised to the southward of the Cape, and made one or two captures;
but they were of little consequence. One of them, being a trader from
Mozambique, was destroyed; the other, a slaver from Madagascar, the
captain knew not what to do with. He therefore took out eight or ten
of the stoutest male negroes, to assist in working his vessel, and
then let the prize go.