LOOK OUT FOR SLAVERS IN A BOAT--WEARY OF WAITING--A SAIL IN SIGHT--
CAPTURE HER--ATTACKED BY A LARGER SLAVER--DESPERATE FIGHT--BEAT HER OFF.
We had been some weeks on the coast without having taken a prize,
although we had chased several suspicious-looking craft, which had
contrived to get away from us. At Sierra Leone we had shipped a dozen
Kroomen, to get wood and water for the ship, a work which Europeans in
that climate are unable to perform without great risk. At length
Captain Idle began to grow impatient. One day he sent for Waller, who
had been on the coast before with him, and was a very clever, active
fellow.
"Waller," said he, "I want you to go away in the pinnace, and while some
of these slaving gentlemen are running away from us, perhaps you may be
able to render a good account of them. You will require a companion.
Will you like to take D'Arcy with you?"
Waller expressed his readiness to go, and to have my society; and so it
was settled. Among his other accomplishments, he was a first-rate shot
with a rifle, and it was reported, when he was before on the coast, that
he used to pick off the men at the helm, and any of the crew who went
aloft or appeared above the bulwarks, and had thus caused the capture of
several slavers. I was to see this talent exerted. Jack Stretcher, who
was a capital companion, went with us as coxswain. We were all dressed
in thick flannel shirts, and had blankets in which to wrap ourselves at
night. We had water and provisions for ten days, and a small stove,
with which to warm up our cocoa and tea, and to make a stew or a broil
on occasion. I do not remember that we had any other luxuries. Towards
the end of the afternoon watch we shoved off from the brig's side,
having wished our shipmates "Good-bye!" with a sort of feeling that we
might not meet again. While the _Opossum_ stood away on a bowline to
the northward, we shaped a course for the mouth of the Gaboon river. We
arrived at our cruising ground before daybreak. Waller then ordering
the men to lay in their oars, which had hitherto been kept going, and
lowering the sail, told them to wrap themselves in their blankets, and
to lie down under the thwarts. I kept watch while he also slept. The
night was bright and beautiful, and the sea, smooth as a mirror,
reflected the glittering stars which shone forth from the dark blue
heavens, while our boat lay floating idly on its slumbering bosom. So
deep was the silence which reigned around, that the breathing of the
sleepers sounded strangely loud, and I fancied that I could hear
vessels, even though out of sight, passing by, or fish rising to the
surface to breathe, or cleaving the water with their fins. At other
times my imagination made me fancy that I could hear beings of another
world calling to each other as they flew through the air or floated on
the ocean; and I almost expected to see their shadowy forms glide by me.
About an hour before dawn, Waller got up and told me to take some rest.
I was not sorry to lie down, albeit my rest was far from refreshing. I
soon began to dream, and dreamed that I was a plum-pudding, and that
Betty, the cook at Daisy Cottage, had fastened me up in a flannel
pudding-bag, and put me into a pot to boil. The water soon began to
simmer, and I to swell and swell away, till the string got tighter and
tighter round my throat, while a thick black smoke arose from some coals
which she had just put on. I was looking out of the pot, and meditating
on the proverb, "Out of the frying-pan into the fire," when, being
unable to stand it any longer, I jumped out of the pudding-bag, and
found myself rolling at the bottom of the boat.
"Why, D'Arcy, I thought you were going to spring overboard," said
Waller. When I told him my dream, he laughed heartily, and agreed there
was ample cause for it.
Our blankets were wet through and through, and a dense black fog hung
over us, through which it was impossible to discover the position of the
sun, which had some time been up, or of any object ten fathoms off;
while the sea was as smooth as a sheet of glass, and as dull-coloured as
lead. As I awoke I found my throat sore from the unwholesome moisture I
had inhaled. We had nothing, therefore, to do but cook and eat our
breakfast, and practise patience. There was little use exhausting the
men's strength by pulling, as we were as likely to pull from, as
towards, a vessel. Hour after hour thus passed away, till at length the
sun conquered the mist, and gradually drew it off from the face of the
deep, discovering a wide expanse of shining water, unbroken by a single
dot or speck which was likely to prove a sail; while to the eastward
arose a long dark line of mangrove-trees, at the mouth of the Gaboon
river. The land-breeze came off to us, smelling of the hot parched
earth; and we turned our eyes anxiously whence it blew, in the hope of
seeing some white sail dancing before it over the bar of the river; but
we were doomed to disappointment. The hot sun struck down on our heads,
and tanned and scorched our cheeks, and the upper works of the boat
cracked with the heat, till a beefsteak might have been broiled on the
gunwale. At last the land-wind died away; there was again a dead calm,
in which we roasted still faster, till the sea-breeze set in and
somewhat cooled our parched tongues. Now we looked out seaward, in the
hopes of finding some slaver, unsuspectingly standing in, either to ship
the whole or the portion of a cargo, having already, perhaps, taken some
on board at another part of the coast. Nothing is more trying to the
temper than to have to sit quiet and do nothing; yet such was our fate
from day to day, as we lay like a snake ready to spring on its prey.
The sun rose, and roasted us, and set, leaving us to be parboiled, and
rose again, without a sail appearing. We ate our breakfasts, and
dinners, and suppers, and smoked our pipes, and sat up, and went to
sleep again, in the same regular manner for several successive days.
At length, one morning, a light breeze sprang up; and, as the fog was
blown off in dense wreaths, the topsails of a schooner were seen rising
above them.
"Out oars, my men, and give way with a will!" exclaimed Waller, in an
animated voice. "We are not yet seen, and may get alongside before they
find us out."
The men, in their delight at the prospect of having something to do,
would have cheered, but he silenced them. We hoped that she was a
slaver; but she might, after all, be only an honest Liverpool trader.
When first seen, she was little more than a mile off, to the south-west
of us, running in for the land with the wind, which was from the
northward abeam.
"What do you think of her, Jack?" asked Waller, after Stretcher had been
eyeing her narrowly.
"Why, sir, to my mind, those topsails have only been cut by Spanish
fingers; so I make pretty sure she's nothing else than a nigger
passage-vessel."
This announcement made the men give way still more heartily, for, though
the wind was fair, we did not make sail, as we should thereby have been
more quickly seen. Away we pulled, the water bubbling and hissing under
our bows as we cut through it. When we got within a quarter of a mile
of the chase, she saw us, we judged, by hearing a musket fired and
seeing a bullet strike the water near us.
"That proves he has got no guns on board. Give way, my lads!" shouted
Waller.
The men cheered, and bent to their oars with greater vigour. We then
hoisted the British ensign, and fired a musket to make the fellow
heave-to; but, taking no notice of the signal, he held on his course.
The wind continued so light, however, that we were overhauling him fast;
but there were signs, both on the sky and water, that it might again get
up, and afford him a better chance of escaping. At all events, he was
evidently not inclined to give in.
"I must teach the fellow that the British flag is not to be trifled
with," said Waller, taking up his rifle. "I have no compassion on these
slaving villains."
Scarcely had he spoken, when a man, whom we both took to be the captain,
jumped into the netting abaft the main-rigging, and made some very
significant gestures to us to be off; and directly afterwards, seeing
that we continued our course, several of his crew let fly their muskets
at us.
"You've brought it on your own head," exclaimed Waller, loading his
rifle. He fired. The next moment we saw the man fall back upon his
deck. There was then a great deal of shouting on board the schooner;
her helm was put up, and, the breeze freshening, she began to pay off
before the wind. She had not got round, though, before we were under
her quarter.
"Hook on to her main-chains, my lad,--hook on fast!" cried Waller.
Unfortunately the bowman missed his aim; and the schooner, falling off,
brought the stern of our boat in contact with her counter. Without a
moment's thought, Waller had sprung over her low bulwarks, followed by
Stretcher and me. In an instant we were attacked by the whole of the
slaver's crew, who, with loud shouts and ferocious gestures, rushed aft,
fully hoping, as they saw that the pinnace had dropped astern, to make
us an easy prey.
The mainsheet of the schooner had been eased off, the foreyards had been
squared, and, with the now strengthening breeze, the schooner was
running fast through the water. Waller took one glance over his
shoulder, and that showed him that there was scarcely a chance of the
boat overtaking us. Our fate was sealed: no mercy could we expect from
the slaver's crew. One hope only remained,--Waller had thought of it.
"Knock down the man at the helm, and jam the tiller down hard!" he sung
out to Stretcher. "We will keep the other fellows at bay in the
meantime."
"Ay, ay, sir," answered Jack, as coolly as if he had been merely ordered
to give a pull at the main-brace.
There was a cry, and the next moment the body of the helmsman dropped on
the deck. Jack had literally cut his head off with a sweep of his
cutlass. The sight had the effect of making the Spaniards hang back for
a moment, when Jack, putting the helm hard down, made the sails all
shiver, and finally got her fore-topsail aback. Seeing what had
occurred, the crew of the pinnace cheered, and, giving way, were soon
clambering over the counter, while we made a dash at the Spaniards, few
of whom attempted to oppose us even for a moment; most of them, indeed,
throwing away their arms, made their escape to the forecastle. The rest
followed their example; and in two minutes the schooner _Zerlina_, with
a hundred and fifty slaves on board, was ours. Besides the captain, and
the other man who was killed, there were twenty stout fellows, two or
three only being out of fighting order with their wounds. We had
difficulty enough to keep the rest quiet. They were, in truth, very
sulky, and inclined to revolt, when they had recovered from their
fright, and saw to how few they had succumbed. Curses, loud and many,
escaped their lips, and showed that, if they had an opportunity, they
would murder us, and retake their vessel, without scruple. We therefore
kept four of our men as a watch over them, with loaded muskets, with
orders to shoot the first who showed signs of proving mutinous. Having
made these arrangements, we turned our attention to the living cargo
crowded between her decks. It was a sickening sight, as we got the
hatches off and looked down upon the mass of black faces which, with
their white eyeballs rolling and mouths agape, gazed up at us, wondering
what was next to happen. There sat a hundred and fifty human beings
chained down to iron bars running across the deck--men and women of all
ages, their chins resting on their knees, without space to stretch out
their limbs, or to alter their position in any way; a rag round their
loins being their only covering. They were in good health, not having
been out many days; and there was a good supply of water and farina on
board. We did our best to make them understand that we were friends,
and would set them on shore again, and make them free, as soon as we
could.
During our examination of the schooner, we had discovered a number of
spare handcuffs. Jack Stretcher brought them from below, and threw them
on the deck, with a significant look at the Spaniards, who, in defiance
of orders, had made several attempts to come out on deck.
"I think if we was to clap 'em on to them Spanish lubbers, it wouldn't
be amiss, sir," said he to me, holding up a pair before me.
I mentioned the suggestion to Waller, who at length agreed that it would
be safe to follow it, taking one-half at a time, while the rest remained
in their berth under the forecastle. Jack received the necessary
orders.
"Ay, ay, sir," he answered. "Senhor Dons, understando, move forewardo
instanto, or I'll drive the pointo of my cutlasho into vostros
sternosos."
The prisoners understood his actions more than his words, for he fully
suited the one to the other, and they showed no inclination to dispute
them, he having evidently made them respect him, from his strength, and
the daring he had displayed on boarding. Some we confined forward--some
in the after-cabin; and most fortunate it was that we did so.
It was some time before all our arrangements were made. About an hour
before dark we tacked, to stand inshore again, Waller intending, should
we not fall in with the brig, to shape a course for Sierra Leone. We
tacked again about midnight; but when daylight came, not a sign was
there of the _Opossum_; and, accordingly, towards the above-mentioned
place we steered. We had the pinnace in tow; but we had taken the gun
out of her, and placed it amidships on the deck of the schooner.
Overcome with fatigue, Waller had thrown himself down aft, wrapped up in
his blanket, while I stood near him, with my eyes winking, and trying in
vain to be wide awake, when I was startled by the cry of "A sail on the
weather-bow!"
"Which way is she standing?" asked Waller, springing to his feet.
"Right down for us," answered Jack, who had gone aloft. "I was hoping
she might be the brig, at first; but she's a large square-topsail
schooner, and, by the cut of her canvas, she looks like a Spanish or a
Portuguese slaver."
As the stranger drew near, no doubt as to what she was remained on our
minds. Waller took his measures accordingly, with perfect coolness.
Seeing that the prisoners were thoroughly secured, we got ready all our
arms, and supplied ourselves with ammunition. The gun amidships was
also loaded to the muzzle, and covered with a tarpaulin. With the calm
courage which British seamen on all occasion display, our men waited the
approach of the stranger. As she drew near, we made out that she had
three guns on each side, and that her decks were crowded with men.
Notwithstanding this overpowering disparity of force, our men looked at
her in no way daunted; and I felt sure that what men could do they would
for our defence. Waller, however, judged that it would be as well to
animate their courage with a few words.
"Now, my men," said he, "we are but ten of us on board this craft, but
we are true and honest; and though there are probably fifty or sixty
Spaniards in yonder schooner, they are a set of slaving scoundrels, who
cannot stand up a moment before British seamen. They will not attempt
to hull us with their shot, because they will wish to get back the
schooner uninjured; so they will try to take us by boarding. I hope
they may, that we may show them that they have caught a Tartar. All we
have to do is to blaze away with our muskets till we can give them a
taste of our cutlasses. Our big gun we'll keep for a last dose; so now,
my boys, trust in a righteous cause, and huzza for Old England and
victory."
Our men cheered long and lustily, and the sound must have reached the
ears of the Spaniards, and at once showed them, had they before doubted
it, that the schooner was a prize to a British cruiser. They forthwith
began to blaze away with their guns; but, as we had expected, they fired
high, in the hope of cutting away some of our rigging, that they might
the more easily lay us aboard. We replied with our musketry as soon as
they got within range, and Waller picked off several of their people
with his rifle, so that they probably fancied we had some good marksmen
concealed under our bulwarks. When they drew nearer, however, they
could not have failed to discover the smallness of our numbers. As they
sailed faster than we did, all we could do to prevent their raking us,
which more than once they attempted to do, was to keep away when they
endeavoured to cross our bows, and to luff up again when they threatened
to pass under our stern. Seeing, therefore, that the quickest way of
deciding the engagement was to run us on board, they bore right down
upon us; and, unable to avoid them, the fluke of our anchor became
hooked on to their fore-rigging. At the same instant full thirty
swarthy figures were seen crowding into the Spaniard's riggings and
nettings, brandishing their swords, with fierce cries of vengeance,
thinking to terrify us into surrendering.
"Now, my lads! give them the dose I spoke of," shouted Waller.
The enemy leaped down on our deck, and were already in possession of the
forecastle. The tarpaulin was cast off from the gun, and the muzzle,
loaded as it was with missiles of all sorts, was turned towards them,
and fired right in among them where they mustered the thickest.
Scarcely a man escaped being hit; five were killed outright; and so
astonished were the rest, that, thinking probably that the vessel
herself was blowing up, they tumbled, scrambled, and clambered back into
their own schooner in the greatest confusion.
"On! my boys, on!" shouted Waller; and, making a dash at the fellows, we
much expedited their movements. In an instant not an enemy was left
alive on our decks.
"Up with the helm!" sung out Waller; and at the same time Jack and
another man cutting away at the fore-rigging of the enemy, we sheered
clear of him; while he, backing his fore-topsail, dropped under our
stern without firing a shot. We therefore hauled our wind, and kept on
our course, and soon afterwards he filled his sails, and stood away to
the southward. He had enjoyed a sufficient taste of our quality. Not
one of us was hurt, while a quarter of his people must have been killed
or wounded.
Our men gave a loud huzza as they found themselves free. To me it
seemed like a wild dream. A few minutes before we were engaged in a
desperate struggle for life; and now, uninjured, we were sailing gaily
over the calm water, victors in the strife. Had it not been for the
dead bodies of our foes remaining on the deck, we could scarcely have
believed our senses. This action is considered one of the most gallant
that has occurred on the coast.
The next day, to our great satisfaction, the _Opossum_ hove in sight.
Captain Idle, having taken our prisoners out of us, ordered us to
proceed forthwith with the negroes to Sierra Leone for adjudication.