Having resolved to undertake a work, the first point to be considered is
how it is to be performed. I therefore immediately made every inquiry
in my power, and found a Dutch brig sailing direct for Batavia. My
intention, on arriving there, was to prosecute my inquiries for the
_Emu_, and then to continue my voyage to the eastward, on board any
craft I could find.
When I paid my last visit to Mr Noakes, he winked his eye at me with a
most knowing look, observing, "I guess you've got some little trading
spec in hand, or you wouldn't be running your nose into those outlandish
places. Well, good-bye, young one, you're a 'cute lad; and I hope
you'll turn a cent or so before you get home."
The worldly trader could not believe that my sole object was to look for
my sweet little sister. Wishing farewell to all my friends, I went on
board the _Cowlitz_, Captain Van Deck. Both he and his crew spoke
English; indeed, besides the Dutch, there were Englishmen or Americans,
with the usual number of Malays to do the hard work.
The captain had his wife on board--his frow, as he called her; and Mrs
Van Deck appeared to take no inconsiderable part in the government of
the ship. She had her husband's niece with her, a very pretty girl,
whom she used to make attend on her like a servant; and there were two
lady passengers, a mother and daughter, also Dutch, going to their
family. So, as may be supposed, we had plenty of ladies to make tea in
the cabin. Unfortunately none would agree whose duty it was to perform
that office; and though Miss Van Deck, the captain's niece, was ready
enough to do it, her aunt would not let her; and so we ran a great risk
of going without it altogether, till the captain volunteered in order to
keep concord within the bulkhead. As the disputes were carried on in
Dutch, I could only partly understand what was said; but the gestures of
the speakers made me fully comprehend the whole matter; especially as
the worthy master used to relieve his feelings with a running commentary
in English, and sundry winks of the eye next to me, and shrugs of the
shoulder, expressive of his resignation to his fate.
"My good frow is a very excellent woman," he used to say. "We all have
our tempers, and she has hers. It might be better--we none of us are
perfect. I took her for better and for worse, and so--"
He never finished the sentence, but shrugged his shoulders; and if he
was smoking, which he generally was when he spoke on this delicate
subject, he blew out a double quantity of vapour. His was true
philosophy: he was very fond of saying, "What we cannot cure, we must
endure, and hope for better times."
Although Captain Van Deck was a philosopher, he was not much of a
seaman, nor was his personal courage of first-rate order. He was only
perfectly confident when he had a coast he knew well on his weather
beam; and then he was rather apt to boast of his knowledge of seamanship
and navigation. Fortunately the first mate of the _Cowlitz_ was a
better seaman than the master, or she would not have been able to find
her way from one port to another even as well as she did.
The second mate was an Englishman of a respectable family. He had run
away to sea because he did not like learning or the discipline of
school; but he acknowledged to me that he had more to learn, and was
kept much more strictly, on board ship than on shore. His former ship
had been cast away on the coast of Java; when, finding the _Cowlitz_, he
had joined her, and had since remained in her.
I liked Adam Fairburn very much. He had certainly been wild, careless,
and indifferent to religion; but adversity had sobered him, and allowed
his thoughts to dwell on holy and high objects. The many misfortunes he
had met with, he assured me, were, he felt, sent by a kind Providence
for his benefit. Far from repining, he received them gratefully. I
found his advice and counsel of great assistance; indeed, he was the
only person on board whom I could truly consider as a companion.
I need not describe the rest of the crew; but there was a little
personage on board who must not be forgotten. He went by the name of
Ungka; and though he did not speak, as one looked at his intelligent
countenance, and watched his expressive gestures, one could scarcely
help believing that he could do so, if he was not afraid of being
compelled to work. Ungka was in fact a baboon from the wilds of
Sumatra. He had been caught young by a Malay lad, who sold him to
Captain Van Deck. He was about two feet and a half high, and the span
of his arms was four feet. His face was perfectly free from hair,
except at the sides, where it grew like whiskers. It also rather
projected over his forehead, but he had very little beard. His coat was
jet black, as was the skin of his face. His hands and fingers were
long, narrow, and tapering; and both feet and hands had great prehensile
power, as he used to prove by the fearless way in which he swung himself
from rope to rope. He used to walk about the deck with great
steadiness, let the ship roll ever so much, though with rather a
waddling gait, and with a quick step, sometimes with his arms hung down,
but at others over his head, ready to seize a rope, and to swing himself
up the rigging. His eyes were very close together, of a hazel colour,
and with eye-lashes only on the upper lid. He had a nose, but a very
little one; his mouth was large, and his ears small; but what he seemed
most to pride himself in, was having no tail, or even the rudiment of
one.
One of his chief amusements used to be attacking two other monkeys who
had longer tails. He would watch his opportunity, and, catching hold of
little Jacko's tail, would haul him up the rigging after him at a great
rate. Ungka would all the time keep the most perfect gravity of
countenance, while poor little Jacko grinned, chattered, and twisted
about in a vain endeavour to escape. The tormentor, at last, tired of
what was very great fun to him and the spectators, but not at all so to
the little monkey, would suddenly let him go, to the great risk of
cracking his skull on deck. Ungka, having nothing which his brethren
could seize in return, very well knew that they could not retaliate. At
last they grew too wary for him, and then he set himself to work in the
rather hopeless task of endeavouring to straighten the crisply curling
tail of a Chinese pig, which was among our live stock. He always came
to dinner, and sat in a chair with all due propriety, unless he saw
something very tempting before him, when he could not always refrain
from jumping across the table and seizing it. He was, however, well
aware that he was acting wrongly; and one day, moved by the angry look
of the captain, he went back and put the tempting fruit in the dish,
from which he had taken it. He had as great an objection to being made
the subject of ridicule as have most human beings; and if any one
laughed at his ludicrous actions at dinner, he would utter a hollow
barking noise, looking up at them with a most serious expression till
they had ceased, when he would quietly resume his dinner. He and I got
on very well; but he was most attached to little Maria Van Deck, his
constant playmate, as also to a young Malay, who brought him on board.
He seemed to consider the captain a person worthy of confidence, and he
would let no one else take him in their arms. He certainly had a great
antipathy to the captain's frow and the lady passengers. His general
sleeping-place was in the main-top; but if the weather looked
threatening, he would come down and take up his berth on a rug in my
cabin. So much for poor little Ungka.
We had been some days at sea, delayed by light baffling winds. The
captain began to grow impatient; his wife scolded him more than ever;
and the lady passengers began to inquire when they were likely to see
their homes, while I began to regret that I had not taken some more
rapid means of conveyance. It now first occurred to me that it would
have been better had I secured a small vessel to myself, so that I might
at once sail in any direction I might deem advisable.
I was one evening walking the deck with the second mate, Adam Fairburn,
when he stopped, and I saw him look earnestly ahead. He immediately
took a telescope to watch the object which had attracted his attention.
"What is that you see?" I asked.
"Why it may be the curl of some wave, or a low shore, with some
scattered trees on it, or a fleet of prahus; or it may be only fancy,
for this uncertain light deceives one," he replied. "However, I'll go
aloft and take a better look before I tell the master, and frighten him
and the ladies out of their wits."
Saying this he sprung into the rigging and ascended to the
fore-topgallant mast-head. When he came down, I asked him what he had
seen.
"A fleet of Malay craft, of some sort or other, there is no doubt of
it," he answered. "They may be honest traders; but they may be Illanon
pirates from Sooloo, on the coast of Borneo, bound on some plundering
expedition. The rascals often venture into the China seas, and
sometimes right up the strait of Malacca, though they like best to skulk
about their own coasts, and steal out on any craft passing that way. If
there is a good breeze we need not fear them; but they are fellows not
to be trifled with. I must tell the master."
Captain Van Deck was seen hurrying from his cabin and ascending to the
mast-head. His countenance on his return showed what he thought about
the matter; and summoning his mates, he held earnest consultation with
them. Fairburn was for standing boldly on and running past them in the
night, keeping a look-out, to give them a warm reception should they
come near us; but the Dutchman thought that the safest plan would be to
keep altogether out of their way. As they were steering about
south-west, our course was altered to south-east. We soon, however,
perceived that we were seen and watched, for some of their prahus
shortly tacked and stood in a direction to cut us off--so thought
Captain Van Deck. On this his trepidation became excessive, not a
little increased by the alarm expressed by his better half. He saw that
the safest plan was to keep well to windward of the enemy; so he ordered
the yards to be braced sharp up, and we stood away on a north-east
course.
The breeze was fresh, and we might hope before morning, even should the
prahus attempt to follow us, to run them out of sight; so Captain Van
Deck lighted his pipe and betook himself to a bottle of his favourite
schiedam. None of the officers were disposed, nor was I, as may be
surmised, to turn in during the night, for the Sooloo pirates were not
fellows to be trifled with. In those days they plundered every craft;
and if they did not destroy their prisoners, they sold them into
captivity, whence there was no hope of redemption. Since then, thanks
to the enlightened plans of Sir James Brooke, aided by the British ships
of war in those seas, their depredations have been somewhat lessened;
but much must be done before their destructive power is completely
destroyed, and the surrounding people can enjoy to the full the
blessings of unrestricted commerce. The night was sufficiently light to
enable us to see a considerable distance. Our captain walked the deck
with an uneasy step, his night-glass constantly to his eye, and he
declared that he could distinguish in the far distance the suspicious
prahus, as they were endeavouring to beat up to capture us. The more he
looked the more alarmed and agitated he became, till at last he appeared
to lose all command over himself. With a groan he rushed down to
console himself with a glass of his favourite schiedam. Taking the
telescope which he had left on deck, I looked towards the spot where the
Malay vessels were last seen. I looked for some time, but could make
nothing out on the dark horizon. I then handed the glass to Fairburn.
"I begin to doubt whether the prahus are there at all," I observed. "I
trust they are conjured up by the skipper's fears."
His answer was a low laugh; but he, notwithstanding, swept the telescope
carefully round the southern horizon.
"Whether the skipper's fears conjured them up or not, I don't know; but
there they are, sure enough," he quietly remarked, turning my hand in
the proper direction. His practical eye had discovered what I had
neglected, and as I now looked I saw what appeared a number of black
spots floating on the water.
"If the wind holds good we may laugh at them," he remarked; "but if it
should chance to fall calm, the rascals would very soon be up with us."
"But could we not fight?" I asked. "We have boarding-nettings, and
plenty of hands, and muskets, and two guns; surely we might beat them
off."
"From what I have seen of the captain, he is not a fighting man,"
answered Fairburn. "I trust the breeze will hold; but if not, we shall
run a very great chance of having our throats cut by those fellows, if
they do not think we shall make good slaves to their friends in Borneo."
"You surely are not serious," I remarked. "The captain would not yield
without a struggle for life and liberty. But if he will not fight, we
certainly have a right to make him; and I have no doubt the men will be
ready enough to second us."
Fairburn shook his head. "I fear not," he said. "But here he comes
again, with some Dutch courage in him, I suspect."
The captain paced the deck all night in great anxiety; and I certainly
do not think he could have used better means than he did to get away
from the enemy. We knew that they must have been in force, and that
they felt sure of being able to overcome a vessel of our size, which
they were well able to distinguish to be only a merchantman. I cannot
say that I felt afraid of the result, though I did not shut my eyes to
it; but my hope of escaping was the strongest feeling.
The breeze rather freshened than fell as the morning came on; and as the
brig had every stitch of canvas she could carry set on her, she went
through the water far more rapidly than was her custom. The night was
bright and clear, the stars shone forth from the sky with a brilliancy
unknown in the northern latitudes, and ever and anon flashes of light
burst from the ocean, and, as the ship ploughed her onward way, she left
a golden thread in her wake. I could scarcely persuade myself that we
were in any danger, or that we were no longer pursuing our voyage in the
direction we wished to go.
The ladies remained below, trembling with fear; for the captain, for the
sake of having some one more alarmed than himself, had taken care to
tell them that a whole fleet of pirates were rowing as fast as they
could after us. Little Maria Van Deck was the only one who behaved
heroically. When I went below, I found her in the cabin, offering up
prayers to Him who had power to protect us. I watched her as she knelt,
the lights from the cabin-lamp falling on her upturned childish
countenance. She was too much absorbed to observe me. At length she
rose from her knees. She smiled when I spoke to her, and thanked her
for setting so good an example.
"Oh, I have no fear," she answered; "God is good, and will not allow us
to be injured."
Reminded of my duty by the little girl, I also knelt and prayed
earnestly for our safety. Returning on deck, I waited till the rising
sun should show us the position of our enemies, or assure us that we
were beyond their reach. The first mate went aloft with the glass in
his hand directly the first faint streak of day appeared in the sky, to
look-out for the prahus the moment the rays of the sun, striking on
their sails, should enable him to see them. The captain, meantime,
paced the deck in a state of no little agitation. We all watched
anxiously for the mate's report, as the coming sun gradually lighted up
the whole sky with a glow of brightness. Each instant it grew more
intense, till all near objects could be clearly distinguished, but still
the mate gave no announcement from his lofty perch. Had not the matter
been too serious for laughter, I could have laughed heartily at the poor
master's ludicrous expression of countenance, so full was it of fear,
doubt, and anxiety, as he turned up his eyes to the mast-head, to watch
for any signal which might relieve his mind. The mate kept his glass
sweeping round the southern horizon, till at last he seemed satisfied.
"Nothing in sight in any quarter," he shouted from aloft.
"What! are you sure--nothing?" exclaimed the master, scarcely believing
his senses. "Then we shall not this time have to dig yams for the
blackamoors." And he gave a grunt of satisfaction, so loud that I
thought he had exploded, while he sank down on a gun, overcome by his
feelings. He now became much braver than he had been all the night, and
talked boldly of how we would have treated the pirates if they had dared
to attack us. We, however, still continued standing to the northward.
At last Fairburn, to whom he had been addressing himself, lost patience.
"Well, sir," he exclaimed, "if we keep away, and make all sail after
them, there is little doubt we shall fall in with them before long."
This silenced the captain for the time; but he again broke out when he
found himself in the cabin with the ladies, till he made them believe
that he was a very brave man, except his wife, who knew him too well to
be so deceived. All day we continued standing away from where the
captain thought the pirates might be, and it was not till night that he
was persuaded again to stand on his proper course.
I did not repine at the increased length of the voyage as much as might
be expected; for my time was busily employed in studying the geography
of the Archipelago, the productions of the islands, the habits and
manners of the people, and more particularly the Malay language, which I
knew, in order to obtain my object, it would be important for me to
speak well. With so powerful a stimulus, aided by a Malay seaman on
board, I acquired a fair knowledge of it with great rapidity. I also
studied Dutch, which I knew I should also find useful.