In those days of foreign travel it was necessary to await a vessel
that might by chance be sailing in the direction of the desired
destination. Fortunately the ship _Grafton_, Captain Abbott, was
found to be loading for a direct voyage to China, and passage was
obtained for a party of missionaries en route for the Orient,
including the trio for Siam. On July 27, 1846, the _Grafton_ sailed
from New York.
A journey to the Far East then was a matter of time and tedious
delays, as well as of adventure. The course of the _Grafton_ lay
southward through the Atlantic, now near the coast of Africa, now
near the coast of South America, with glimpses of Liberia and
of Brazil; around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Indian
Ocean, among the East Indies and thence northward to China. The
indirectness of the voyage by which Dr. House reached Siam is
shown by this fact: one hundred days after leaving New York, the
_Grafton_ put in for water at Ampanan on the island of Lombok, one
of the smaller of the East India chain. This port was within four
weeks’ direct sail of the Siamese capital; whereas the _Grafton_
was headed for the port of Canton, to reach which required fifty
days more; thence by another vessel it was necessary to retrace the
course to Singapore and transfer for Bangkok.
Could the missionary have taken passage direct from Ampanan to
Bangkok he would have reached his destination in about two-thirds
the actual time consumed. But even the most direct course to China
could not then be taken because the season had arrived for the
northeast monsoons on the China Sea, which are a peril to sailors.
The _Grafton_ was compelled to pass to the eastward among the Isles
of Spice, past Pelew Island, out into the Pacific, east of the
Philippines, within sight of Formosa and thence westward to Canton.
The doctor writes home to the children of the Sunday school that
“It was a dream of childhood come true to sail among these fabulous
islands.” On the 28th day of December, one hundred and sixty days
from New York, the _Grafton_ arrived at Macao, the Portuguese port
for Canton, which during the stormy days of early foreign relations
with China was a place of safe entry, transfer and retreat for
merchants and missionaries alike.
No vessel was to be found bound towards Siam, so the missionaries
had to wait. The American merchants Olyphant & Co., of Canton, with
hospitality “as generous as it was elegant,” took the doctor into
their home for the sojourn during the delay. Dr. House visited the
mission school of Dr. Happer, located at the port, and also went
up to Canton to visit the hospital conducted by Dr. Parker, who
had been a lecturer in the University of Pennsylvania when he was
a student there. On Feb. 7, the party for Siam took passage on the
_John Bagshaw_, Captain Dare. After a call at Hong Kong they had
a quiet passage southward through the China Sea, and on the 23rd
reached Singapore, the maritime capital of the South China Sea.
Here they were fortunate in finding in the harbour the native-built
trading vessel _Lion_, Captain Dupont, owned by the King of Siam.
Although the ship was modeled after western vessels, it was of the
rudest native workmanship, without conveniences for occidental
travellers; and even the orientals who took passage had only deck
space allotted to them. For these three Westerners one small cabin
was made available and had to serve them day and night for the
twenty-four day voyage, a sail cloth being suspended in the middle
as a concession to foreign ideas of privacy. Provisions had to be
secured at Singapore and the Chinese cook of the vessel paid to
prepare them.
The passage from the South China Sea into the Gulf of Siam proved
to be the climax of the whole trip. A violent and prolonged storm
was encountered which not only added greatly to the misery of the
ship’s company but imperiled their lives:
“For nearly three days,” writes Dr. House, “we have not
had one cheering glimpse of the sun. Squall after squall
of rain has burst in its fury upon us; indeed it has been
almost one incessant rain, and the wind all the time from the
most unfavourable quarter has at last increased to a gale,
driving the ship from her course towards we know not what
islands and rocks.... The waves are rolling wildly, scowling
rain clouds begird the horizon and shut out the sky above
us and the view before us. It is now three days since the
captain has been able to get an observation, and the dead
reckoning is in these seas little to be depended upon, owing
to the strong currents. Our situation is no more safe than
it is agreeable.... Every wave rolls us also to and fro, so
that if one sits or stands he is obliged to be continually
bracing himself, now this way, now that, to keep the center
of gravity; and every now and then is pitched by some sudden
lurch against the nearest object so that sides and arms and
elbows fairly ache with the bruises.... And all this time
there is in your ears the creaking of the rudder chains and
the dismal splashing of the great waves as they surge up
under the stern windows. But a greater annoyance yet remains
to be spoken of. The deck over us (the roof of our cabin)
leaks in a hundred different places upon us, not in drops but
in streams. In my compartment there is but one dry place, and
that is the mattress; and even that is not wholly dry, for
now and then it drops down upon the pillow. The floor is as
wet as if being mopped; wet trunks, wet books, wet baskets
lie around. The chairs are too wet to sit upon, and so the
bed is the only place for rest.”