WEST INDIES AGAIN.
Owing to ravages of yellow fever go to Jamaica to obtain more
seamen—Difficulties and humours of impressment—Author attacked by
yellow fever—Proceed to Cape St. Nicholas mole—Great mortality
among the officers.
On the fourth evening after our arrival it was thought necessary to
despatch two armed boats to Kingston to procure seamen either by entering
or impressing them. Finding there was no chance of the first, we entered
on the unpleasant duty of the last. We boarded several of the vessels in
the harbour, but found only the mates and young boys, the seamen having on
seeing our boats gone on shore. We had information of three houses
notorious for harbouring seamen. To the first of these we repaired, where,
after strictly searching the premises, we were unsuccessful. A sailor we
had recently impressed, and who the day after entered, informed us that it
was the fashion for the men of the West Indian and Guinea ships, when on
shore, to disguise themselves, sometimes as American women, at other times
as tradesmen, such as coopers, shoemakers, etc.
On entering the second house, the scene was laughably ridiculous. At a
table sat three slovenly-dressed females with old, coarse stockings in
their hands, which they appeared to have been mending, and on the table
near them were some children’s shirts, with needles, thread and a small
basket. Not far distant from them was a cradle of a large size,
half-covered by a thick mosquito net. The bed in the room had also a net,
and in it was lying a person in the last stage of illness. Another female,
who appeared to be a nurse, was near the head of the bed, persuading the
invalid to take the contents of a bottle of some red mixture. At the foot
of the bed stood a man dressed in the uniform of the town militia, who
acquainted us that the woman in bed was his wife in the last stage of
consumption; that in consequence he had sent for all her friends to take
leave of her before she died, and to attend her funeral; and that the
person dressed in black standing near him was the doctor. This last, with
a countenance full of gravity, assured the lieutenant that he did not
think his patient could live more than an hour, and begged him to examine
the house as quietly as possible, as he had another sick patient in the
next room who had arrived from the other side of the island, and from
fatigue and distress had been seized with a fever. The lieutenant, who
really was a humane man, listened to his mournful story with much
attention, and replied he was sorry to disturb a dying person. Then
turning to the women, he assured them it was with much reluctance he
entered on the duty he had to perform, but as he had information of seamen
frequenting the house he must be under the necessity of searching it. One
of the persons sitting at the table, who was most like a female in
appearance, rose and said they had only the room they sat in and the next,
which was occupied at present by the other sick female. “But I guess,”
said she, “your notion of there being British seamen in the house must be
false, as we are not acquainted with any.” During this speech, uttered
with as much grace as a Yankee lady of the seventh magnitude is capable,
the coxswain of one of our cutters, who had been searching the features of
one of those dressed as a female sitting at the table mending a shirt,
exclaimed, “If I ever saw my old shipmate, Jack Mitford, that’s he.”
Another of our men had been cruising round the cradle, and whispered to me
that the baby in it was the largest he had ever seen. After the coxswain’s
ejaculation, all the party appeared taken aback and began to shift their
berths. Perceiving this, we immediately locked the door and insisted on
knowing who they were; but when they spoke we were convinced that they
were all men except the American, who began to scream and abuse us. I
approached the bed, and on looking closely at the sick person I discovered
a close-shaved chin. The lieutenant, who had followed me to the bed,
desired two of our men to move the clothes a little, when we found the
dying person to be a fine young seaman about twenty-six years of age, and
who, on finding he was detected, sprang out of bed, and joining the doctor
and nurse, who had armed themselves with hangers, attempted to resist us.
As we were sixteen in number, and well armed, we told them it was useless,
and the constable who was with us desired them to be peaceable and put
their weapons down. As they saw they were on the wrong tack, they
surrendered. The dear little sleeping infant in the cradle proved a fine
lad sixteen years old. The over-fatigued female in the next room turned
out a young seaman, whom we secured with the pretended sergeant, the
nurse, and the doctor, making in the whole eight good seamen. This was a
good haul. We got them without accident to the boats. The delicate
American female followed us screaming and abusing us the whole way. We
could hear her voice for some time after leaving the wharf. The men a few
days after being onboard, finding the boatswain’s mates did not carry
canes, entered. The nurse, sergeant, doctor and his dying patient were
rated quartermaster’s and gunner’s mates, and the remainder topmen. We had
been a month refitting when we made another attempt to procure seamen at
Kingston, but only sent one boat with a lieutenant, myself, and twelve
seamen. On landing, we made for the house we had not entered on our last
visit, where we knocked at the door, and had to wait some short time
before it was opened, when a mulatto man appeared and asked “What Massa
Buckra want? He hab nutting for sell; he no hab any grog.” “Why, that
copper-skinned rascal,” called out one of our men, “is the fellow who
deserted from the _Thorn_ sloop of war when I was captain of the mizzen
top.” “Take hold of him!” said the lieutenant; but before this could be
done he slammed the door against us; this was the work of a moment. Three
of our seamen instantly set their backs against it, and with a
“Yo-heave-ho,” they forced it in. We now entered the house. After passing
through two small rooms, which, as an Irishman might say, had no room at
all, for they were very small, dirty and barely furnished, we came to a
door which was fastened. We attempted to open it, when an elderly, dingy
white woman made her appearance and informed us the house belonged to
herself and sons, who were coopers, and at work in the cooperage. “That
door,” said she, “leads to it, but I have the key upstairs; wait, and I
will fetch it.” The old woman, on going out, turned the key of the room we
were in. I remarked this to the lieutenant, who, apprehending some
treachery, ordered the men to force the door we had endeavoured to open.
It soon gave way, when we suddenly came on four men dressed as coopers.
Two of them were knocking a cask to pieces, the other two drawing off a
liquid which had the appearance of rum. They did not desist from their
occupation, nor were they surprised at our visit, but told us very coolly
we had mistaken the house. So should we have thought had we not seen our
copper-faced acquaintance who had in such unmannerly fashion shut the door
in our faces. “Come, my lads,” said the lieutenant, “there’s no mistake
here; you must leave off drawing rum for your old mother, who wished to
take great care of us by locking us in, and go with us, as we want
coopers.” “Rum,” said one of the boat’s crew, who had tasted it, “it’s
only rum of the fore-hold. A fellow can’t get the worse for wear with such
liquor as that, sir. It’s only Adam’s ale.”
“Oh, oh!” cried out some of our men, “is this the way you work to
windward, my knowing ones? Come, come, you must be more on a bowline
before you can cross our hawse; so pack up your duds, trip your anchors,
and make sail with us.”
The old woman again made her appearance, and asked us if we were going to
take her sons. “If you dare do it,” said she, “I will prosecute the whole
of you for breaking through my premises, and have you all put into gaol.”
“Hold your tongue, mother,” said one of the men we had taken, “what’s the
good of your kicking up such a bobbery about it? You only make it worse.
If you don’t see us to-morrow, send our clothes to Port Royal.” They then
quietly submitted. We returned through the rooms entered, and on turning
into the passage leading to the street, we encountered Master Copperskin.
Two of our men immediately seized him; he struggled violently, and
attempted to draw a clasped knife, which on the coxswain perceiving he
gave him a stroke on his calabash with his hanger, which quieted him. He
was then pinioned with one of the seamen’s neck-handkerchiefs. On getting
into our boats a party of about twenty men and women of all colours came
down to the wharf in the hope of rescuing the mulatto man, but they were
too late. When we put off from the shore we found it no joke, as they
fired into our boat and seriously wounded the man who pulled the stroke
oar. Luckily the awning was canted towards them, or they would have shot
several of us, as it had seven shots through it. We were obliged to fire
in self-defence, killing one man and wounding several others. I remarked
the man we killed jumped a considerable height from the ground and then
fell prostrate. Finding they had had enough fighting, they marched off
with their killed and wounded. The day after we were summoned to Kingston
to explain our adventure before the magistrates, who, finding we were
first attacked, acquitted us of wilful murder as we had been compelled to
act in self-defence, but informed us it was necessary to appear before a
jury next day for the satisfaction of the townspeople. This was vexatious.
The day following, after rowing about three hours in a hot sun, we were
examined by twelve very wise and common-looking bipeds, who, after
questioning us in a most stupid and tiresome manner, found a verdict of
justifiable homicide. On returning to the boat we were followed by a
number of women and boys, who made a most horrible squalling, and some
stones were thrown at us on our pushing off. The yellow fever was still
making havoc amongst the officers and crew. We had lost five lieutenants,
the surgeon’s mate, captain’s clerk, and eight midshipmen, one of whom
died singing “Dulce Domum.” It was at length my turn. I was seized with a
dreadful swimming in my head; it appeared so large that it was painful to
carry it. I was much distressed by a bitter nausea in my mouth and sudden
prostration of strength. The doctor gave me an emetic, and soon after I
ejected a quantity of bitter bile. It tried me exceedingly, and when I put
my head down I thought I was not far from “Kingdom come.” The second
morning I knew no one, and was in a high fever. The third was much the
same until about noon, when I slept for about two hours. On awaking I
found the pain in my head less, and was perfectly sensible. I requested
something to drink, when the sentinel gave me some orange-juice and water,
which refreshed me. About dusk, one of the mids who had just come on board
from Port Royal, came to me with a cup filled with some sort of herb tea
mixed with rum. He requested me to drink it off. This I refused to do. He
assured me he had been on shore on purpose to procure it for me, that old
Dinah, who was a grey-headed washerwoman, had made it, and I must drink
it. I was so weak that I could scarcely answer him, when he put it to my
mouth and forced more than half of it down my throat. With the exertion I
fainted. He told me the following day he thought he had killed me, and had
called the doctor, who gave me a draught. On the morning of the fourth day
I was considerably better and in a gentle perspiration, and had passed a
quiet night. My three messmates, who alone survived out of eleven, came to
cheer me. He who had given me the tea and rum told me he was certain they
had cured me, and I really believe it caused the pores to open and in a
great measure drove the fever from the system. I was removed to the
gun-room, and in a few days was able to sit up and eat oranges.
A week had now elapsed since the doctor had reported me convalescent, when
I was painfully distressed by seeing my open-hearted, generous messmate
brought in his hammock to the gun-room, attacked by the fatal malady. As
he was placed near me, I watched him with intense anxiety. On the fourth
morning he died. He was a very florid and robust youth of sixteen. He
struggled violently, and was quite delirious. When the sail-maker was
sewing him up in his hammock he gave a convulsive sigh. I immediately
ordered the stitches to be cut, but it availed nothing. He was gone. Poor
fellow! I felt his loss.
In the fifth week I began to crawl about. The boatswain’s wife was very
kind to me and brought me fresh fruit every day. The doctor, who although
a little hasty, was a clever and excellent character, paid me great
attention. The kindness and care I experienced, and the affectionate
letters I received from my mother, informing me of the happy marriage of
my only sister and of the appointment of my youngest brother in India, all
these possibly contributed to my recovery and cheered my spirits. Our
acting-captain, who was a good and active officer, was appointed to a
frigate. He was superseded by an elderly, farmer-looking man, who, we
understood, was what a black man considers a curiosity—a Welshman. When in
harbour we never saw him, and at sea very seldom. He left everything to
the first lieutenant. He appeared to have too much pride to ask an humble
mid to dine at his table, so that when he departed this life, which he did
four months after he joined us, of yellow fever, he died unregretted.
Having received a draft of men from the flagship, we were ordered to our
old station, Cape St. Nicholas mole, it being considered more healthy than
Jamaica, although the yellow fever was carried from thence to the other
islands in 1794 by the vessels captured at Port-au-Prince.
We arrived there three weeks afterwards, having captured on our passage a
French brig laden with coffee. We completed our water, and took on board a
Capuchin friar and two mulatto officers, for what purpose we never could
find except to give them a cruise. The friar, who was a quiet, fat, rather
good-looking man, messed in the cabin. The wicked mids said to “confess”
the captain.
One afternoon we anchored in a bay to the westward of Cape François. The
carpenter was directed to go on shore and cut some bamboos for boats’
yards. The pinnace was despatched with himself, a master’s mate and nine
men. They landed and had cut about nine poles when they were fired on from
the bushes. They, not being armed—for the mulatto officers assured us
there was no danger—attempted to reach the boat, but before they could do
so the carpenter was killed and two men seriously wounded and taken
prisoners. The rest jumped into the boat and came on board. The captain
appeared to feel he had done wrong in placing confidence in people who
were strangers to him. After cruising on the north side of St. Domingo
without capturing anything, we returned to the mole. Our worthy,
hasty-tempered skipper was taken unwell about a month after our arrival,
and took apartments on shore, where he in a fortnight afterwards died.
The captain who stepped into his shoes was a dark, tolerably well-built,
good-looking man, who had a very good opinion of himself, and by his
frequently looking at his legs, imagined there was not such another pair
in the West Indies. This gallant officer proved the quintessence of
gallantry. He loved the ladies, loved a good table, loved the games of
crabs and _rouge-et-noir_, was a judge of hock and champagne. He had seen
much of high and low life, had experienced reverses, he said, through the
imprudence of others, and had been detained in a large house in London
much longer than he wished. He had run through two handsome fortunes, and
was willing to run through two more. He had the misfortune, he told us, of
being a slave to the pleasures of the world, although he knew it was
filled with rogues. Whilst I was with him his memory was rather impaired,
for he forgot to repay several sums of money he borrowed, although he was
frequently written to on the subject. In short, he was a libertine, liked
but by no means respected. He brought with him six mids and his clerk. The
first were complete scamps, picked up from the scrapings of London; the
last was a fine young man. Our martinet mastheading first lieutenant, who
had outlived all the others save one, was promoted as commander into a
sloop of war, in which he died a few months after of apoplexy in
consequence of repletion. The only one remaining of those who sailed from
England with me was a few months afterwards also promoted as commander
into a brig sloop, and he, poor fellow! was drowned on his second cruise.
The six lieutenants who came from England were now no longer living, and
out of eighteen midshipmen only another and myself were in existence. The
lieutenants who had superseded those who died were rather commonplace
characters. The discipline of the ship was totally changed. The first
lieutenant was a disappointed officer and a complete old woman, and the
ship was something of a privateer.