IN AND OUT OVER THE BAR.
Two whaleships were lying at anchor outside the "bar" as the Lydia
Ann passed in--one lately arrived from a long voyage, her rusty sides
and rough bends nearly naked of copper, with the long grass clinging
to the bare sheathing; her stump topmasts and general half-dismantled
appearance presenting a striking contrast to the trim, newly-painted
outward-bounder, which had just completed her preparations for sea,
and, with everything aloft in its place, mainroyal yard crossed, and a
full quota of showy, white-bottomed boats on the cranes and overhead,
was to weigh anchor for the Pacific next morning. Loud rose the
cheerful, measured sound of the hoisting song from the gang on board
the inward-bound ship, as the heavy casks of oil were seen to rise
slowly from her hatchway, and were discharged into the schooner lashed
alongside of her to receive them, while another lighter, deeply loaded,
had dropped astern, and was hoisting her mainsail.
"I thought the 'Pandora' had sailed before this time," said the old
skipper, as we passed just out of hail of the ships. "They have been
a long time fitting her for sea. I wonder," said he to his mate, "who
that is that has got in since we left. Get the glass, and see if you
can make out her name when we cross her stern."
The mate brought an old battered telescope from a cleet in the
companionway, and, after squinting for some time, muttered:
"P--her stern is so rusty that hang me if I can make out the
letters--the name begins with a P; I can see that. There's a T in it,
and the last letter looks like an H."
"Yes, that's all right," said the skipper. "That's the old 'Plutarch.'
She has been expected some time, and has had a long passage home; but
she is one of the old Anno Dominy ships, and sails about as fast as
you can whip a toad though tar. I was in her two v'y'ges myself in my
young days, and we never could drive more than six knot out of her in a
gale of wind. She seems to have a foul bottom, too. But she has crawled
home at last, and she has brought a good load of ile, too. She had
twenty-one hund'ed at last accounts, and that ain't to be sneezed at,
nowadays."
"No, indeed, it ain't," returned his partner. "But when was you in the
Plutarch? Who had her then?"
"Old Hosea Coffin had her; that's when she was new, and was called a
dandy ship at that time. Then I steered a boat in her next v'y'ge with
'Bimelech Swain--you knew him?"
"Yes, I remember; that's when I was in the 'Viper' on the Brazeel
Banks."
I could not but look with admiration upon these old veterans, who
talked about long voyages round Cape Horn and on the "Banks" as though
they had been mere pleasure trips across a harbor and back, or any
such trifling matter. Two or three years in these old fellows' lives
seemed like the same period in the history of nations, occupying but
a line or two of the chronicler. But the vessel was rapidly drawing
in round "Brant Point," and all my comrades, many of whom had not yet
fully recovered from sea-sickness, had mustered on deck to see the low,
sandy island and busy little town of Nantucket, which now lay fairly
before us. Several more whaleships were lying at the wharves, some of
them dismantled, and stripped to a girtline, others partly rigged for
sea, and two or three hove down for coppering. This was in the summer
of 1841, when Nantucket may be said to have been in the zenith of its
prosperity. More new ships were built than in any previous season, and
the general impression appeared to be that the partisan cries of "two
dollars a day and roast beef to the laboring man" were to be literally
fulfilled, and that the price of oil was to reach a standard positively
fabulous. And so it did--fabulously low, as every poor whaleman can
testify, who arrived in 1842-3, and sold his sperm oil for fifty or
sixty cents a gallon.
As the sloop warped in alongside the wharf, a spruce young man jumped
on deck, and, saluting the skipper, asked him when he left New York,
and, in the same breath, how many men he had brought. "Twenty-five,"
said the old man. And, having thus satisfied himself that the cargo
delivered corresponded with the invoice, he invited us all to come
up to "the store." Then, mounting into a one-horse cart--a sort of
green box on two wheels--which stood in waiting, he called upon us
to "jump up." We jumped up till the box was full of us, standing in
solid phalanx, and the rest followed, as infantry of the rear guard;
and thus, the admired of all beholders, we proceeded up the central or
"Straight Wharf," and up Main Street to the store. The spruce young man
informed us that his name was Richards, and that he was connected with
the establishment as a sort of out-door clerk.
The store of Messrs. Brooks & Co. fronted directly on the square
or grand plaza of Nantucket. They dealt in all kinds of ready-made
clothing and dry goods, infitting as well as outfitting goods; and
the store was a grand resort and rendezvous of seafaring men. At the
time of our arrival, it was enlivened by the presence of numerous
whalemen, of various grades in rank, from chief mates of ships,
sedate, dignified-looking men, dressed in long togs in neat style,
who sat smoking, comparing notes about matters and things, "round the
other side of land," and re-killing, at a safe distance, many "forty
barrel bulls," which they had years ago slaughtered, at imminent peril
of life and limb, down to overgrown boys, who had made one voyage,
aspirants for boatsteerers' berths, who wore fine blue round jackets
and low-quartered morocco pumps, with a great superabundance of ribbon,
as was the fashion at that period, carried flaming red handkerchiefs
either awkwardly in their hands or hanging half out at their jacket
pockets, masticated tobacco in prodigious quantities, and in various
ways aped the tar, to the great amusement of their elders, who passed
remarks to each other in confidential tones.
"Here comes young Folger, rolling down to St. Helena, eighteen cloths
in the lower studdingsail, and no change out of a dollar."
"What ship was he in?" asked another.
"In that plum pudd'ner that got in last week--what's her name?"
"O, that old brig over at the New North Wharf? The 'Sphynx.'"
"He wants a bilge pump in each pocket to pump the salt out."
"Yes--Lot's wife never was half as salt as some of these boys."
"They'll outgrow that after they have made two or three more voyages,
and got the feather-edge rubbed off."
"Yes, they'll find it isn't all fun to come and go, 'happy go lucky,'
when they have more to think about. Well, we've all had our thoughtless
days."
The last speaker had lately married a young wife, and was to sail the
next morning, mate of the Pandora.
"Well, Gardner, your time is getting short," said his next neighbor,
with a careless laugh, slapping him on the back. "I'm sorry for you,
boy, but it can't be helped, and I wish you a good voyage," continued
the rough sympathizer, a powerful young man, who had just arrived
second mate of the Plutarch, and had not yet begun to wear the bronze
off his face.
"Never mind, Chase; you can blow for a short time, but you'll be
travelling the same road soon."
"Not this winter," returned Chase, with a triumphant shake of the head.
"I'll set my foot down on that."
"Don't be too sure of that," said Gardner. "I'll bet you'll be out
again this fall."
"Not I."
"Well, I expect to see you in Talcahuano in the spring, and I'll put
you in mind of this."
"If you see me there as soon as that, I'll stand treat."
"I see the old slaver has brought a lot of bran new sailors from New
York to-day. I suppose, Gardner, you'll have the training of some of
these young fellows," said another.
"No, not this lot; ours are all on board. These are to go in the
Fortitude and the Arethusa."
"Well, Grafton's going in the Arethusa. They'll all find their right
places there."
"There's a fellow will make a slashing midship oarsman," said one.
"Yes, and here's another for a bowman," replied his neighbor, with a
glance at me, as I stood within ear shot, and overheard this colloquy.
I had no chance to hear more at present; for the whole party, after
their names had been registered, were handed over to the tender
mercies of the boarding-house keeper, and the procession moved off, in
straggling order, "down under the bank" to dinner.
Mr. Loftus, the boarding-master, was an elderly gentleman of pompous
appearance, who had been whaling himself in his younger days, and
thought himself quite an oracle in his way. He entertained his boarders
with many thrilling reminiscences of his youth, interspersed with sage
advice how to conduct ourselves so as to get ahead, and rise in our
profession, as he himself had done, and regretted that ill health had
prevented him from following it up until he got command of a ship,
which must inevitably have been the case in a few more years. He
informed us that the majority of us would probably be shipped the next
day in the Arethusa, and we might consider ourselves truly fortunate
in getting this opportunity, as the Arethusa was a new ship, with all
the modern improvements, and a crack appointment, so that we might look
upon the voyage as already made, before the ship left home. Furthermore
the ship carried three maints' gall'nt sails, and had more backstays
than any other ship in port, which fact, he said, had a material
bearing on the success of the cruise.
All this produced a feeling of anxiety in the minds of the newly
enlisted to be chosen on the roll of the Arethusa rather than to be
left for the Fortitude and other less desirable ships.
The next day we were all mustered at the store, and introduced in the
aggregate, to the agent of the ship, and Captain Upton, the future
commander, a middle-sized man, all bone and muscle, with keen eyes, and
a peculiar stride in his gait, which might admit of a small wheelbarrow
being driven between his legs without touching either. He seemed to
have his own way in the selection of his crew, the agent leaving the
matter in his hands; and twelve of us having been called out, of whom
I was flattered to find myself one, the rest were left for Captain
Wyer, of the Fortitude, who, being a young man, just entering on his
first command, was fain to content himself with what he could get
in many particulars, where Captain Upton would have what he wanted.
We were catechised, in brief, concerning our nativity and previous
occupation, and the build and physical points of each were looked to,
not forgetting the eyes, for a sharp-sighted man was a jewel in the
estimation of the genuine whaling captain.
A formidable document lay on the desk, awaiting our signatures, and,
almost before I knew it, I found myself entered on the Arethusa's
articles, with the hundred an fiftieth, as blacksmith and green hand.
Our outfits of "clothing and other necessaries" were put into our
chests for us at the store; and most of us now donned some articles to
replace such of our clothing as was in a dilapidated condition, while
the best garments of which we happened to stand possessed were still
retained in wear. The result was an incongruity in the various parts
of our attire, which occasioned much merriment. Thus, one wore a check
shirt under the shade of a glossy beaver; another a "claw-hammer" or
dress-coat over bright red flannels; while tarpaulin hats surmounted
with white shirts and dickeys, and patent leather peeped out under
voluminous duck trowsers. The whalemen criticised us as "half-Jack
half-gentlemen," as we took a stroll down the busy wharves, to look
at the shipping generally, and especially to inspect the noble vessel
which was to be our future home.
We wound our tortuous way down through a labyrinth of old anchors
and trypots, spars, timber and oil-casks, now diving under a capstan
bar, and again making a detour to double a long pair of trucks or
skids, backed up at a tier of oil to parbuckle its load on. We all
fell in love with the Arethusa at sight, which might, in our case,
be termed an illustration of "love after marriage," seeing that our
names were already on her papers. She was indeed a fine specimen of
naval architecture, and her model was much admired at that time, for
this was before the day of extreme clippers. She was painted with the
bright waist, a style more in vogue then than now, consisting of a
broad yellow streak, relieved by narrow white moulding or ribbons. She
appeared to justify all that the boarding-master had said of her; and,
in the simplicity of our hearts, we had no doubt that his enumeration
of her mainto'gall'nt-s'ls and backstays was perfectly correct.
It being a holiday afternoon, there was a crowd of boys on the wharf,
who appeared to me to be quite a distinctive class of juveniles,
accustomed to consider themselves as predestined mariners. Their
fathers and grandfathers before them had spent the whole period of
their lives "round Cape Horn;" their elder brothers were even now
serving their apprenticeship in the same manner, and, as regarded
themselves, it was only a question of time how soon they should start.
They climbed ratlines like monkeys--little fellows of ten or twelve
years--and laid out on the yardarms with the most perfect nonchalance,
shouting and laughing at our awkward attempts to perform the same
feats. They ridiculed us as "greenies," and there was no help for it
but to take it all in good part, and bear with their boyish impudence
as philosophically as might be. Hostile advances were useless, for we
might as well have kicked at the empty air.
We certainly could not complain of want of attention during our stay
among these plain-hearted people. We could hardly turn a corner but we
were saluted with the war-cry of some of these embryo circumnavigators.
"See the greenies, come to go ileing;" while the smiles of beauty were
extorted by our amphibious costumes wherever we strolled about town.
I understood that two of the boys were going with us in the ship.
Wishing to know something of my future shipmates, I made inquiry of the
landlord's daughter. Of course she knew them both. One was Kelly's son
who lived away in Egypt, and the other was Obed B.
"And who is Obed Bee?" I asked.
"Why, he's a second cousin of ours."
"And does Mr. Bee live in Egypt, too?"
"Who?" she asked, with surprise.
"Why, Mr. Bee, Obed's father," said I innocently.
"Mr. Hoeg, you mean," said she, as soon as she could suppress her
laughter so as to speak. "I forgot to tell you that his name was Obed
B. Hoeg. No, _he_ don't live in Egypt; he lives over in Guinea."
I was more and more mystified; I thought of Ledyard and Mungo Park, and
pursued my African researches by inquiring:
"What part of the world is this where you live--Nubia or Abyssinia?"
"Neither," answered the young lady, now fairly screaming with laughter.
"Why this is _Newtown_."
"Indeed!" said I. "And have you an 'Oldtown,' too?"
"Not in Nantucket," she replied; "that's on the Vineyard."
I did not learn, till long afterwards, that the name was universally
used among the Nantucketers for Edgartown.
But our stay in this quaint old town was short, indeed, for the next
afternoon we all reported ourselves on board, under the fatherly care
and escort of Messrs. Brooks and Richards; and the Arethusa, with only
topmasts aloft, and topsail yards crossed, dropped out from the wharf,
in tow of the "Telegraph" steamer, for her station outside of the bar,
there to complete rigging and loading for sea. She was at this time in
charge of a pilot, and a superannuated whaling captain, who, having
outlived active service, now found employment as chief stevedore and
temporary captain, in cases where the regular officers preferred to pay
for "lay days," and remain with their friends till the ship was quite
ready for sea.
Directly on getting clear of the wharf, we poor bewildered green
hands, whose senses had gone wool-gathering amid the confusion of
unintelligible orders connected with "hooking on," were set to work
to heel the ship by rousing the chain cables and other ponderous
articles all on one side, in order to lessen her draught of water; and
this being accomplished, the ship, after rubbing for a few minutes on
the flats, went over clear, and about dark came to, with both anchors
ahead, in the berth vacated by the Pandora which had gone to sea the
day before.