I go on service and am made prisoner by an old lady, who, not able to
obtain my hand, takes part of my finger as a token--O'Brien rescues me--
A lee shore and narrow escape.
Two or three days after this conversation with Mr Chucks, the captain
ran the frigate in shore, and when within five miles we discovered two
vessels under the land. We made all sail in chase, and cut them off from
escaping round a sandy point which they attempted to weather. Finding
that they could not effect their purpose, they ran on shore under a
small battery of two guns, which commenced firing upon us. The first
shot which whizzed between the masts had to me a most terrific sound,
but the officers and men laughed at it, so of course I pretended to do
the same, but in reality I could see nothing to laugh at. The captain
ordered the starboard watch to be piped to quarters, and the boats to be
cleared, ready for hoisting out; we then anchored within a mile of the
battery, and returned the fire. In the meantime, the remainder of the
ship's company hoisted out and lowered down four boats, which were
manned and armed to storm the battery. I was very anxious to go on
service, and O'Brien, who had command of the first cutter, allowed me to
go with him, on condition that I stowed myself away under the
foresheets, that the captain might not see me before the boats had
shoved off. This I did, and was not discovered. We pulled in abreast
towards the battery, and in less than ten minutes the boats were run on
the beach, and we jumped out. The Frenchmen fired a gun at us as we
pulled close to the shore, and then ran away, so that we took possession
without any fighting, which, to confess the truth, I was not sorry for,
as I did not think that I was old or strong enough to cope hand to hand
with a grown-up man. There were a few fishermen's huts close to the
battery, and while two of the boats went on board of the vessels, to see
if they could be got off, and others were spiking the guns and
destroying the carriages, I went with O'Brien to examine them: they were
deserted by the people, as might have been supposed, but there was a
great quantity of fish in them, apparently caught that morning. O'Brien
pointed to a very large skate--"Murder in Irish!" cried he, "it's the
very ghost of my grandmother! we'll have her if it's only for the family
likeness. Peter, put your finger into the gills, and drag her down to
the boat." I could not force my finger into the gills, and as the animal
appeared quite dead, I hooked my finger into its mouth; but I made a sad
mistake, for the animal was alive, and immediately closed its jaws,
nipping my finger to the bone, and holding it so tight that I could not
withdraw it, and the pain was too great to allow me to pull it away by
main force, and tear my finger, which it held so fast. There I was,
caught in a trap, and made a prisoner by a flat-fish. Fortunately, I
hallooed loud enough to make O'Brien, who was close down to the boats,
with a large codfish under each arm, turn round and come to my
assistance. At first he could not help me, from laughing so much; but at
last he forced open the jaw of the fish with his cutlass, and I got my
finger out, but very badly torn indeed. I then took off my garter, tied
it round the tail of the skate, and dragged it to the boat, which was
all ready to shove off. The other boats had found it impossible to get
the vessels off without unloading--so, in pursuance of the captain's
orders, they were set on fire, and before we lost sight of them, had
burnt down to the water's edge. My finger was very bad for three weeks,
and the officers laughed at me very much, saying that I narrowly escaped
being made a prisoner of by an "old maid."
We continued our cruise along the coast, until we had run down into the
Bay of Arcason, where we captured two or three vessels, and obliged many
more to run on shore. And here we had an instance showing, how very
important it is that a captain of a man-of-war should be a good sailor,
and have his ship in such discipline as to be strictly obeyed by his
ship's company. I heard the officers unanimously assert, after the
danger was over, that nothing but the presence of mind which was shown
by Captain Savage could have saved the ship and her crew. We had chased
a convoy of vessels to the bottom of the bay: the wind was very fresh
when we hauled off, after running them on shore, and the surf on the
beach even at that time was so great, that they were certain to go to
pieces before they could be got afloat again. We were obliged to
double-reef the topsails as soon as we hauled to the wind, and the
weather looked very threatening. In an hour afterwards, the whole sky
was covered with one black cloud, which sank so low as nearly to touch
our mast-heads, and a tremendous sea, which appeared to have risen up
almost by magic, rolled in upon us, setting the vessel on a dead lee
shore. As the night closed in, it blew a dreadful gale, and the ship was
nearly buried with the press of canvas which she was obliged to carry;
for had we sea-room, we should have been lying-to under storm staysails;
but we were forced to carry on at all risks, that we might claw off
shore. The sea broke over as we lay in the trough, deluging us with
water from the forecastle, aft to the binnacles; and very often as the
ship descended with a plunge, it was with such force that I really
thought she would divide in half with the violence of the shock. Double
breechings were rove on the guns, and they were further secured with
tackles, and strong cleats nailed behind the trunnions, for we heeled
over so much when we lurched, that the guns were wholly supported by the
breechings and tackles, and had one of them broken loose, it must have
burst right through the lee side of the ship, and she must have
foundered. The captain, first lieutenant, and most of the officers,
remained on deck during the whole of the night; and really, what with
the howling of the wind, the violence of the rain, the washing of the
water about the decks, the working of the chain-pumps, and the creaking
and groaning of the timbers, I thought that we must inevitably have been
lost; and I said my prayers at least a dozen times during the night, for
I felt it impossible to go to bed. I had often wished, out of curiosity,
that I might be in a gale of wind, but I little thought it was to have
been a scene of this description, or anything half so dreadful. What
made it more appalling was, that we were on a lee shore, and the
consultations of the captain and officers, and the eagerness with which
they looked out for daylight, told us that we had other dangers to
encounter besides the storm. At last the morning broke, and the look-out
man upon the gangway called out, "Land on the lee beam." I perceived the
master dash his fist against the hammock-rails, as if with vexation, and
walk away without saying a word, and looking very grave.
"Up, there, Mr Wilson," said the captain, to the second lieutenant, "and
see how far the land trends forward, and whether you can distinguish the
point." The second lieutenant went up the main-rigging, and pointed with
his hand to about two points before the beam.
"Do you see two hillocks inland?"
"Yes, sir," replied the second lieutenant.
"Then it is so," observed the captain to the master, "and if we weather
it, we shall have more sea-room. Keep her full, and let her go through
the water; do you hear, quarter-master?"
"Ay, ay, sir."
"Thus, and no nearer, my man. Ease her with a spoke or two when she
sends; but be careful, or she'll take the wheel out of your hands."
It really was a very awful sight. When the ship was in the trough of the
sea, you could distinguish nothing but a waste of tumultuous water; but
when she was borne up on the summit of the enormous waves, you then
looked down, as it were, upon a low, sandy coast, close to you, and
covered with foam and breakers. "She behaves nobly," observed the
captain, stepping aft to the binnacle, and looking at the compass; "if
the wind does not baffle us, we shall weather." The captain had scarcely
time to make the observation, when the sails shivered and flapped like
thunder. "Up with the helm; what are you about, quarter-master?"
"The wind has headed us, sir," replied the quarter-master, coolly.
The captain and master remained at the binnacle watching the compass,
and when the sails were again full, she had broken off two points, and
the point of land was only a little on the lee bow.
"We must wear her round, Mr Falcon. Hands, wear ship--ready, oh, ready."
"She has come up again," cried the master, who was at the binnacle.
"Hold fast there a minute. How's her head now?"
"N.N.E., as she was before she broke off, sir."
"Pipe belay," said the captain. "Falcon," continued he, "if she breaks
off again we may have no room to wear; indeed there is so little room
now, that I must run the risk. Which cable was ranged last night--the
best bower?"
"Yes, sir."
"Jump down, then, and see it double-bitted and stoppered at thirty
fathoms. See it well done--our lives may depend upon it."
The ship continued to hold her course good; and we were within half a
mile of the point, and fully expected to weather it, when again the wet
and heavy sails flapped in the wind, and the ship broke off two points
as before. The officers and seamen were aghast, for the ship's head was
right on to the breakers. "Luff now, all you can, quarter-master," cried
the captain. "Send the men aft directly. My lads, there is no time for
words--I am going to _club-haul_ the ship, for there is no room to wear.
The only chance you have of safety is to be cool, watch my eye, and
execute my orders with precision. Away to your stations for tacking
ship. Hands by the best bower anchor. Mr Wilson, attend below with the
carpenter and his mates, ready to cut away the cable at the moment that
I give the order. Silence, there, fore and aft. Quarter-master, keep her
full again for stays. Mind you ease the helm down when I tell you."
About a minute passed before the captain gave any further orders. The
ship had closed--to within a quarter of a mile of the beach, and the
waves curled and topped around us, bearing us down upon the shore, which
presented one continued surface of foam, extending to within half a
cable's length of our position. The captain waved his hand in silence to
the quarter-master at the wheel, and the helm was put down. The ship
turned slowly to the wind, pitching and chopping as the sails were
spilling. When she had lost her way, the captain gave the order, "Let go
the anchor. We will haul all at once, Mr Falcon," said the captain. Not
a word was spoken, the men went to the fore brace, which had not been
manned; most of them knew, although I did not, that if the ship's head
did not go round the other way, we should be on shore, and among the
breakers in half a minute. I thought at the time that the captain had
said that he would haul all the yards at once, there appeared to be
doubt or dissent on the countenance of Mr Falcon; and I was afterwards
told that he had not agreed with the captain, but he was too good an
officer, and knew that there was no time for discussion, to make any
remark; and the event proved that the captain was right. At last the
ship was head to wind, and the captain gave the signal. The yards flew
round with such a creaking noise, that I thought the masts had gone over
the side, and the next moment the wind had caught the sails, and the
ship, which for a moment or two had been on an even keel, careened over
to her gunnel with its force. The captain, who stood upon the
weather-hammock rails, holding by the main-rigging, ordered the helm
amidships, looked full at the sails, and then at the cable, which grew
broad upon the weather bow, and held the ship from nearing the shore. At
last he cried, "Cut away the cable!" A few strokes of the axes were
heard, and then the cable flew out of the hawsehole in a blaze of fire,
from the violence of the friction, and disappeared under a huge wave,
which struck us on the chess-tree, and deluged us with water fore and
aft. But we were now on the other tack, and the ship regained her way
and we had evidently increased our distance from the land. "My lads,"
said the captain to the ship's company, "you have behaved well, and I
thank you; but I must tell you honestly that we have more difficulties
to get through. We have to weather a point of the bay on this tack. Mr
Falcon, splice the main-brace, and call the watch. How's her head,
quarter-master?"
"S.W. by S. Southerly, sir."
"Very well; let her go through the water;" and the captain, beckoning to
the master to follow him, went down into the cabin. As our immediate
danger was over, I went down into the berth to see if I could get
anything for breakfast, where I found O'Brien and two or three more.
"By the powers, it was as nate a thing as ever I saw done," observed
O'Brien: "the slightest mistake as to time or management, and at this
moment the flatfish would have been dubbing at our ugly carcases. Peter,
you're not fond of flatfish, are you, my boy? We may thank Heaven and
the captain, I can tell you that, my lads; but now, where's the chart,
Robinson? Hand me down the parallel rules and compasses, Peter; they are
in the corner of the shelf. Here we are now, a devilish sight too near
this infernal point. Who knows how her head is?"
"I do, O'Brien: I heard the quarter-master tell the captain S.W. by S.
Southerly."
"Let me see," continued O'Brien, "variation 2 1/4 lee way--rather too
large an allowance of that, I'm afraid; but, however, we'll give her 2
1/2 points; the _Diomede_ would blush to make any more, under any
circumstances. Here--the compass--now we'll see;" and O'Brien advanced
the parallel rule from the compass to the spot where the ship was placed
on the chart. "Bother! you see it's as much as she'll do to weather the
other point now, on this tack, and that's what the captain meant, when
he told us we had more difficulty. I could have taken my Bible oath that
we were clear of everything, if the wind held."
"See what the distance is, O'Brien," said Robinson. It was measured, and
proved to be thirteen miles. "Only thirteen miles; and if we do weather,
we shall do very well, for the bay is deep beyond. It's a rocky point,
you see, just by way of variety. Well, my lads, I've a piece of comfort
for you, anyhow. It's not long that you'll be kept in suspense, for by
one o'clock this day, you'll either be congratulating each other upon
your good luck, or you'll be past praying for. Come, put up the chart,
for I hate to look at melancholy prospects; and, steward, see what you
can find in the way of comfort." Some bread and cheese, with the remains
of yesterday's boiled pork, were put on the table, with a bottle of rum,
procured at the time they "spliced the mainbrace;" but we were all too
anxious to eat much, and one by one returned on deck to see how the
weather was, and if the wind at all favoured us. On deck the superior
officers were in conversation with the captain, who had expressed the
same fear that O'Brien had in our berth. The men, who knew what they had
to expect--for this sort of intelligence is soon communicated through a
ship--were assembled in knots, looking very grave, but at the same time
not wanting in confidence. They knew that they could trust to the
captain, as far as skill or courage could avail them, and sailors are
too sanguine to despair, even at the last moment. As for myself, I felt
such admiration for the captain, after what I had witnessed that
morning, that, whenever the idea came over me, that in all probability I
should be lost in a few hours, I could not help acknowledging how much
more serious it was that such a man should be lost to his country. I do
not intend to say that it consoled me; but it certainly made me still
more regret the chances with which we were threatened.
Before twelve o'clock, the rocky point which we so much dreaded was in
sight, broad on the lee-bow; and if the low sandy coast appeared
terrible, how much more did this, even at a distance: the black masses
of rock, covered with foam, which each minute dashed up in the air,
higher than our lower mast-heads. The captain eyed it for some minutes
in silence, as if in calculation.
"Mr Falcon," said he at last, "we must put the mainsail on her."
"She never can bear it, sir."
"She _must_ bear it," was the reply. "Send the men aft to the mainsheet.
See that careful men attend the buntlines."
The mainsail was set, and the effect of it upon the ship was tremendous.
She careened over so that her lee channels were under the water, and
when pressed by a sea, the lee-side of the quarter-deck and gangway were
afloat. She now reminded me of a goaded and fiery horse, mad with the
stimulus applied; not rising as before, but forcing herself through
whole seas, and dividing the waves, which poured in one continual
torrent from the forecastle down upon the decks below. Four men were
secured to the wheel--the sailors were obliged to cling, to prevent
being washed away--the ropes were thrown in confusion to leeward, the
shot rolled out of the lockers, and every eye was fixed aloft, watching
the masts, which were expected every moment to go over the side. A heavy
sea struck us on the broadside, and it was some moments before the ship
appeared to recover herself; she reeled, trembled, and stopped her way,
as if it had stupefied her. The first lieutenant looked at the captain,
as if to say, "This will not do." "It is our only chance," answered the
captain to the appeal. That the ship went faster through the water, and
held a better wind, was certain; but just before we arrived at the point
the gale increased in force. "If anything starts, we are lost, sir,"
observed the first lieutenant again.
"I am perfectly aware of it," replied the captain, in a calm tone; "but,
as I said before, and you must now be aware, it is our only chance. The
consequence of any carelessness or neglect in the fitting and securing
of the rigging, will be felt now; and this danger, if we escape it,
ought to remind us how much we have to answer for if we neglect our
duty. The lives of a whole ship's company may be sacrificed by the
neglect or incompetence of an officer when in harbour. I will pay you
the compliment, Falcon, to say, that I feel convinced that the masts of
the ship are as secure as knowledge and attention can make them."
The first lieutenant thanked the captain for his good opinion, and hoped
it would not be the last compliment which he paid him.
"I hope not too; but a few minutes will decide the point."
The ship was now within two cables' lengths of the rocky point; some few
of the men I observed to clasp their hands, but most of them were
silently taking off their jackets, and kicking off their shoes, that
they might not lose a chance of escape provided the ship struck.
"'Twill be touch and go indeed, Falcon," observed the captain (for I had
clung to the belaying-pins, close to them, for the last half-hour that
the mainsail had been set). "Come aft, you and I must take the helm. We
shall want _nerve_ there, and only there, now."
The captain and first lieutenant went aft, and took the forespokes of
the wheel, and O'Brien, at a sign made by the captain, laid hold of the
spokes behind him. An old quarter-master kept his station at the fourth.
The roaring of the seas on the rocks, with the howling of the wind, were
dreadful; but the sight was more dreadful than the noise. For a few
moments I shut my eyes, but anxiety forced me to open them again. As
near as I could judge, we were not twenty yards from the rocks, at the
time that the ship passed abreast of them. We were in the midst of the
foam, which boiled around us; and as the ship was driven nearer to them,
and careened with the wave, I thought that our main-yard-arm would have
touched the rock; and at this moment a gust of wind came on, which laid
the ship on her beam-ends, and checked her progress through the water,
while the accumulated noise was deafening. A few moments more the ship
dragged on, another wave dashed over her and spent itself upon the
rocks, while the spray was dashed back from them, and returned upon the
decks. The main rock was within ten yards of her counter, when another
gust of wind laid us on our beam-ends, the foresail and mainsail split,
and were blown clean out of the bolt-ropes--the ship righted, trembling
fore and aft. I looked astern: the rocks were to windward on our
quarter, and we were safe. I thought at the time, that the ship,
relieved of her courses, and again lifting over the waves, was not a bad
similitude of the relief felt by us all at that moment; and, like her,
we trembled as we panted with the sudden reaction, and felt the removal
of the intense anxiety which oppressed our breasts.
The captain resigned the helm, and walked aft to look at the point,
which was now broad on the weather quarter. In a minute or two, he
desired Mr Falcon to get new sails up and bend them, and then went below
to his cabin. I am sure it was to thank God for our deliverance: I did
most fervently, not only then, but when I went to my hammock at night.
We were now comparatively safe--in a few hours completely so; for
strange to say, immediately after we had weathered the rocks, the gale
abated, and before morning we had a reef out of the topsails. It was my
afternoon watch, and perceiving Mr Chucks on the forecastle, I went
forward to him, and asked him what he thought of it.
"Thought of it, sir!" replied he; "why, I always think bad of it when
the elements won't allow my whistle to be heard; and I consider it
hardly fair play. I never care if we are left to our own exertions; but
how is it possible for a ship's company to do their best, when they
cannot hear the boatswain's pipe? However, God be thanked, nevertheless,
and make better Christians of us all! As for that carpenter, he is mad.
Just before we weathered the point, he told me that it was just the same
27,600 and odd years ago. I do believe that on his death-bed (and he was
not far from a very hard one yesterday), he will tell us how he died so
many thousand years ago, of the same complaint. And that gunner of ours
is a fool. Would you believe it, Mr Simple, he went crying about the
decks, 'O my poor guns, what will become of them if they break loose?'
He appeared to consider it of no consequence if the ship and ship's
company were all lost, provided that his guns were safely landed on the
beach.
"'Mr Dispart,' said I, at last, 'allow me to observe, in the most
delicate way in the world, that you're a d----d old fool.' You see, Mr
Simple, it's the duty of an officer to generalise, and be attentive to
parts, only in consideration of the safety of the whole. I look after my
anchors and cables, as I do after the rigging; not that I care for any
of them in particular, but because the safety of a ship depends upon her
being well found. I might just as well cry because we sacrificed an
anchor and cable yesterday morning, to save the ship from going on
shore."
"Very true, Mr Chucks," replied I.
"Private feelings," continued he, "must always be sacrificed for the
public service. As you know, the lower deck was full of water, and all
our cabins and chests were afloat; but I did not think then about my
shirts, and look at them now, all blowing out in the forerigging,
without a particle of starch left in the collars or the frills. I shall
not be able to appear as an officer ought to do for the whole of the
cruise."
As he said this, the cooper, going forward, passed by him, and jostled
him in passing. "Beg pardon, sir," said the man, "but the ship lurched."
"The ship lurched, did it?" replied the boatswain, who, I am afraid, was
not in the best of humours about his wardrobe. "And pray, Mr Cooper, why
has heaven granted you two legs, with joints at the knees, except to
enable you to counteract the horizontal deviation? Do you suppose they
were meant for nothing but to work round a cask with? Hark, sir, did you
take me for a post to scrub your pig's hide against? Allow me just to
observe, Mr Cooper--just to insinuate, that when you pass an officer, it
is your duty to keep at a respectable distance, and not to soil his
clothes with your rusty iron jacket. Do you comprehend me, sir; or will
this make you recollect in future?" The rattan was raised, and descended
in a shower of blows, until the cooper made his escape into the head.
"There, take that, you contaminating, stave-dubbing, gimlet-carrying,
quintessence of a bung-hole! I beg your pardon, Mr Simple, for
interrupting the conversation, but when duty calls, we must obey."
"Very true, Mr Chucks. It's now striking seven bells, and I must call
the master--so good-by."