A NARROW ESCAPE
They were hardly anchored before the gale showed signs of breaking, and in
a few hours the sun shone out and the wind subsided. The destruction of
the timber on the hillsides had been prodigious, and large spaces were
entirely cleared.
The captain and first lieutenant had an anxious consultation. Every boat
had gone, and all the masts and rigging. They were in what was practically
a hostile country, for although Spain had not declared war against us, she
gave every assistance to the French and left her ports open to them. In a
few weeks probably she would openly throw herself into the scale against
us.
“It is clear that we must communicate with Port Royal somehow,” the
captain said, “but it certainly isn’t clear how we are to do it. Between
this and the nearest port there may be miles and miles of mountain all
encumbered by fallen trees, which it would be almost impossible to get
through. Then again we have heard that there are always bands of fugitive
slaves in the mountains, who would be sure to attack us. As to the sea, we
might possibly make shift to build a boat. There is certainly no lack of
timber lying round, and we have plenty of sail-cloth for sails, so we
could fit her out fairly well. It would be a journey of fully a thousand
miles, but that seems the most feasible plan. A small craft of, say, forty
feet long might be built and got ready for sea in the course of a week.”
“I should say so certainly, sir. With the amount of labour we have at our
disposal it might be built even sooner than that. We have plenty of handy
men on board who could give efficient help to the carpenter’s gang.”
“I suppose you would build it rather as a ship than as a boat?”
“Yes, I think so. We could build her of one-and-a-half-inch planks, fill
the seams well with oakum, and give her a couple of coats of paint. Let
her be of shallow draft with plenty of beam. She should, of course, be
decked over, as she might meet with another tornado. The crew would
consist of an officer and ten men. With such a vessel there should be no
difficulty in reaching Port Royal.”
The carpenters were at once told off to carry out the work.
“You can have as many hands to help you as you wish,” the captain said to
the head of the gang. “What will you do first?”
“I shall get some planks from below, sir, and make a raft. By means of
that we can get on shore and choose the trunks that would be most suitable
for the purpose; we are sure to find plenty about. Then we will find a
suitable spot for a ship-yard, and at once start on the work. I will set a
gang of men with axes to square the trunks and make them ready for sawing.
They need not be more than six inches square when finished, and as I have
a couple of double-handed saws we can soon rip these into planks.”
“How long do you think you will be?”
“I should say, sir, with the help I can get, I ought to be ready to start
in less than a week. Of course the ribs will take some time to prepare,
but when I have them and the keel and stem- and stern-post in place the
planking will not take us very long.”
“She is to be decked, Thompson.”
“All over, sir?”
“Yes, I think so. She may meet with weather like that we have just come
through, and if she is well decked we may feel assured that she will reach
Port Royal. I will leave Mr. Farrance and you to draw out her lines.”
“I think,” said the first lieutenant, “she should be like a magnified
launch, with greater beam and a larger draft of water, which could,
perhaps, best be gained by giving her a deep keel. Of course she must be a
good deal higher out of the water than a launch, say a good four feet
under the deck. There should be no need to carry much ballast; she will
gain her stability by her beam.”
“I understand, sir. The first thing to be done is to form the raft.”
The ship’s crew were soon at work, and it was not long before a raft was
constructed. A rope was at once taken ashore and made fast to a tree, so
that the raft could be hauled rapidly backwards and forwards between the
ship and the shore.
The carpenter and his mates were the first to land, and while the chief
selected a suitable point for a yard his assistants scattered, examining
all fallen trees and cutting the branches off those that seemed most
suitable. These were soon dragged down to the yard. Then strong gangs set
to work to square them, and the carpenters to cut them into planks.
The first lieutenant remained with them, encouraging them at their work,
while the junior officers and midshipmen were divided among the various
gangs. By six o’clock, when the _Furious_ signalled for all hands to come
on board, they had indeed done a good day’s work. A pile of planks lay
ready to be used as required. The carpenters had made some progress with a
keel, which they were laboriously chopping out from the straight trunk of
a large tree. By evening of the next day this was finished and placed in
position. On the third day some started to shape the stem- and
stern-posts, while the head-carpenter made from some thin planks templates
of the ribs, and set others to chop out the ribs to fit.
In two more days all was ready for fastening on the planks. A hundred and
fifty men can get through an amazing amount of labour when they work well
and heartily. The planks were bent by main strength to fit in their
places, and as there was an abundance of nails and other necessary
articles on board, the sheathing was finished in two days. The rest of the
work was comparatively easy. While the deck was being laid the hull was
caulked and painted, and the two masts, sails, and rigging prepared. The
boat had no bulwarks, it being considered that she would be a much better
sea-boat without them, as in case of shipping a sea the water would run
off at once. The hatchways fore and aft were made very small, with
close-fitting hatches covered with tarpaulin.
The captain was delighted when she was finished.
“She is really a fine boat,” he said, “with her forty feet of length and
fifteen of beam. It has taken longer to build her than I had expected, but
we had not reckoned sufficiently on the difficulties. Everything, however,
has now been done to make her seaworthy, so those of us who remain here
may feel sure that she will reach Port Royal safely. In case of a gale the
sails must be lowered and lashed to the deck, and all hands must go below
and fasten the hatchways securely. She has no ballast except her stores,
but I think she will be perfectly safe; there is very little chance of her
capsizing.”
“With such beam and such a depth of keel,” said the first lieutenant, “she
could not possibly capsize. In case of a tornado the masts might very well
be taken out of her and used as a floating anchor to keep her head to it.”
“Now whom do you intend to send in her, sir?”
“I will send two officers,” the captain said. “Peters, and a midshipman to
take his place in case he should be disabled. I think it is Robson’s turn
for special service.”
The next morning the boat started soon after daybreak, the ship’s crew all
watching her till the two white lug-sails disappeared through the opening.
“Now we will take a strong party of wood-cutters,” the captain said, “and
see if we can make a way to the top of the hill and get some idea of the
country round. I don’t expect we shall see much of interest, but it is
just as well that we should be kept employed. By the way, before we do
that, we will get hawsers to the shore and work the frigate round so as to
bring her broadside to bear upon the opening; we ought to have done that
at first. The French may know of this place, or if they don’t they may
learn of it from the Spaniards. Those two ships astern of us probably got
themselves snug before the tornado struck them, and weathered it all
right, though I doubt very much if they did so, unless they knew of some
inlets they could run for. If they did escape, it is likely that they will
be taking some trouble to find out what became of us. They may have seen
their companion’s fate, but they would hardly have made us out in the
darkness. Still, they would certainly want to report our loss, and may
sail along close inshore to look for timbers and other signs of wreck. I
think, therefore, that it will be advisable to station a well-armed boat
at this end of the cut, and tell them to row every half-hour or so to the
other end and see if they can make out either sailing or rowing craft
coming along the shore. If they do see them they must retire to this end
of the opening, unless they can find some place where they could hide till
a boat came abreast of them, and then pounce out and capture it.”
“It would certainly be a good precaution, sir. I will see to it at
once—but we are both forgetting that we have no boats.”
“Bless me, I did forget that altogether! Well, here is that little dug-out
the carpenters made for sending messages to and from the ship. It will
carry three. I should be glad if you would take a couple of hands and row
down to the mouth of the entrance and see if there is any place where,
without any great difficulty, a small party with a gun could be stationed
so as not to be noticed by a boat coming up.”
“I understand, sir.”
The lieutenant started at once, and when he returned, some hours later, he
reported that there was a ledge some twenty feet long and twelve deep. “It
is about eight feet from the water’s edge and some twelve above it, sir,”
he said, “and is not noticeable until one is almost directly opposite it.
If we were to pile up rocks regularly four feet high along the face, both
the gun and its crew would be completely hidden.”
“Get one of the hands on board, Mr. Farrance; I will myself go and see it
with you.”
One of the men at once climbed on deck, and the captain took his place in
the little dug-out. When they reached the ledge he made a careful
inspection of it.
“Yes,” he said, “ten men could certainly lie hidden here, and with a rough
parapet, constructed to look as natural as possible, they should certainly
be unobserved by an incoming boat, especially as the attention of those in
the stern would be directed into the inlet. Will you order Mr. Forster and
one of the other midshipmen to go with as many men as the raft will carry,
and build such a parapet. They had better take one of the rope-ladders
with them and fix it to the ledge by means of a grapnel. There is plenty
of building material among the rocks that have fallen from the precipices
above. I must leave it to their ingenuity to make it as natural as
possible.”
When they returned to the ship the first lieutenant called Forster and
gave him the captain’s orders.
“You can take young Gilmore with you,” he said. “Your object will be to
make it as natural as possible, so as to look, in fact, as if the rocks
that had fallen out behind had lodged on the ledge. The height is not very
important, for if a boat were coming along, the men would, of course, lie
down till it was abreast of them, and the cannon would be withdrawn and
only run out at the last moment.”
“Very well, sir, I will do my best.”
The raft was again brought into requisition, and it was found that it
could carry twelve men. Dimchurch and nine others were chosen, and, using
oars as paddles, they slowly made their way down to the spot.
“It will be a difficult job to make anything like a natural wall there,”
Forster said.
“Yes,” Will agreed, “I don’t see how it is to be managed at all. Of course
we could pile up a line of stones, but that would not look in the least
natural. If we could get up three or four big chunks they might do if
filled in with small stones, but it would be impossible to raise great
blocks to that shelf.”
The ladder was fixed and they climbed up to the ledge. When they reached
it they found that it was very rough and uneven, and consequently that the
task was more difficult than it had seemed from below.
“The only way I see,” Forster said, “would be to blast out a trench six
feet wide and one foot deep, in which the men could lie hidden. The
question is whether the captain will not be afraid that the blasting might
draw attention to our presence here.”
“They were just starting for the top of the hill when we came away,” Will
said, “and may be able to see whether there are any habitations in the
neighbourhood. A couple of men in the dug-out would be able to bring us
news of any craft in sight. I certainly don’t see any other way.”
When Forster made his report the captain said:
“I believe it will be the best plan. At the top of the hill we could see
nothing but forests, for the most part levelled; we could make out no sign
of smoke anywhere. The operation of blasting can be done with
comparatively small charges, and occurring as it does at the foot of a
gorge like that, the sound would hardly spread much over the surrounding
country, and we could, of course, take care that there was no ship in
sight when we fired the charges.
“Well, you can begin to-morrow. I believe there are some blasting-tools in
the store. Take the gunner with you; this work comes within his province.”
On the following morning the raft went off again, and at midday a number
of sharp explosions told that the work was begun. In the evening another
series of shots were fired, and the party returned with the news that the
ground had been broken up to the depth of two feet and of ample size to
give the men cover. The next morning the rocks were cleared out, and a
seven-pounder and carriage, with tackle for hoisting it up, were sent
over.
In the afternoon the captain went in the dug-out and inspected the work,
and expressed himself as thoroughly satisfied with it. A garrison
consisting of an officer and ten men was then placed in the fort. They
remained there all day and returned to the ship as darkness fell, as it
was thought pretty certain that no one would try to explore the inlet
during the night. The next morning another party was told off to garrison
duty, and so on, no man being given two consecutive days in the fort.
On the fourth day the dug-out returned in haste to the ship from its post
at the mouth of the gap, and reported that two men-of-war were to be seen
in the distance cruising close inshore. Mr. Farrance landed, and with
difficulty made his way up the hill to a point near the mouth of the
opening, which commanded a view over the sea. From that point he could
easily see the hulls of the ships with his telescope, and had no doubt
whatever that they were the former antagonists of the _Furious_. After
watching for some time he made out four little black specks very close to
the shore. He examined them closely and then hurried down to the cove.
“They are searching the coast with boats,” he reported, “as I feared they
would.”
The news had been given to the little party at the battery as the dug-out
came in, and they were at once on the alert. The carpenters, who after the
departure of their first boat had been employed in building a large gig to
pull twelve oars, were at once recalled to the ship, and the magazines
were opened and the guns loaded. All the guns from the larboard main deck
had been brought up to the upper deck and port-holes made for them, and a
boom of trees had been built from the bow and stern of the ship to the
shore, so as to prevent any craft from getting inside her. Thus prepared,
the captain considered that he was fully a match for any two ships of his
own size, but he knew, nevertheless, that, even if he beat them off, he
might be exposed to attack from a still larger force unless assistance
arrived from Jamaica.
But he did not think only of the ship. The dug-out, which had brought Mr.
Farrance back with his report, was at once sent off with orders to the
party at the battery that they must, if possible, sink any boat or boats
that entered, but that if ships of war came in they must not try to work
their gun after the first shot, as if they did so they would simply be
swept away by the enemy’s fire. That one shot was to be aimed at the
enemy’s rudder; then they were to lie down, and if they had not disabled
the ship they were to keep up a heavy musketry fire, aimed solely against
her steersman. It was hardly likely that they would be attacked by boats,
as the enemy would be fully engaged with the _Furious_; but even if they
should, the Frenchmen would have no means of climbing the eight feet of
precipitous rock.
The dug-out went to and from the entrance, bringing back news of the
progress made by the enemy’s boats. About three hours from the time when
they had first been made out by Mr. Farrance the little boat reported that
they were only two or three hundred yards from the entrance. On board the
ship all listened anxiously, for a slight bend in the narrow passage
prevented them from seeing the battery. Presently the boom of a cannon was
heard, followed by a cheer, which told that the little garrison had been
successful; then for two or three minutes there was a rattle of musketry.
When this stopped, the dug-out at once went out to the fort, and returned
with the news that two boats had come up abreast, that one of them had
been sunk by the cannon at the fort, and that its crew had been picked up
by the other boat, which had rowed hastily back, suffering a good deal
from the musketry fire under which the operation was carried on.
“That is act one,” the captain said; “now we shall have to look for act
two. I will go up with you, Mr. Farrance, to the place whence you saw
them; we may be sure that there will be a great deal of signalling and
consultation before they make any further step.”
Accordingly they landed and went up to the look-out. The two vessels were
lying close to each other with their sails aback. The more fortunate of
the two boats which had attempted to explore the passage had just returned
to them with its load of wounded and the survivors of its late companion,
and boats were passing to and fro between the two ships.
“It is an awkward question for them to decide,” the captain said. “Of
course they know well enough that a ship must be in here, the gun shows
them that, but they cannot tell that we are capable of making any defence
beyond the single gun battery on the ledge.”
It was an hour before there was any change in the position, but at the end
of that time the sails were filled and the two vessels headed for the
mouth of the inlet. They had evidently concluded that the English ship was
lying there disabled. The two officers hurried back to the _Furious_, and
gave orders to prepare for the attack. The men at once stood to their
posts. Presently the gun of the fort boomed out again, and by the cheering
that followed the sound it was evident that the shot had taken effect and
smashed the rudder of one of the French ships. Several guns were fired in
reply, but a minute later the bowsprit of the leading ship came into view.
The men waited until they could see the whole vessel, then a crashing
broadside from every gun on board the _Furious_ was poured into her bow.
The effect was tremendous; a hole ten or twelve feet wide was torn in her
bow, and the ship was swept from end to end by balls and splinters, and
the shrieks and groans that arose from her told that the execution was
heavy. It was evident that the battle was already half-won as far as she
was concerned. There was not room enough in the little inlet for her to
manœuvre in the light wind so as to bring her broadside to bear on the
_Furious_, and another crashing broadside from the latter vessel completed
her discomfiture. The other vessel now came up by her side, but she had
been disabled by the fort, and her helm would not act. Her captain at once
lowered her boats and tried to get her head round, but these were smashed
up by the fire of the _Furious_, and the two vessels lay together side by
side, helpless to reply in any efficient way to the incessant fire kept up
upon them. The Frenchmen did all that was possible for brave men to do in
the circumstances, but their position was hopeless, and after suffering
terribly for ten minutes, one after the other hauled down their flag.
A tremendous burst of cheering broke from the _Furious_. She had lost but
two men killed and four or five wounded by the bullets of the French
topmen. She had also been struck twice by balls from the bow-chaser of the
second ship; but this was the extent of her damage, while the loss of life
on board the French frigates had been frightful. Some sixty men had been
killed and eighty wounded on the first ship, while thirty were killed and
still more wounded in the boats of the second vessel.
Captain Harker went on board the captures to receive the swords of their
commanders.
“You have done your best, gentlemen,” he said; “no one in the
circumstances could have done more. Had there been ten of you instead of
two the result must have been the same. If your boats had got in and seen
the situation you would have understood that the position was an
impossible one. There was no room in here for manœuvring, and even had one
of you not been damaged by the shot from that little battery of ours, your
position would have been practically unchanged, and you could not possibly
have brought your broadsides to bear upon us.”
The French captains, who were much mortified by the disaster, bowed
silently.
“It is the fortune of war, sir,” one of them said, “and certainly we could
not have anticipated that you would be so wonderfully placed for defence.
I agree with you that our case was hopeless from the first, and I
compliment you upon your dispositions, which were certainly admirable.”
“You and your officers will be perfectly at liberty,” the captain said;
“your crews must be placed in partial confinement, but a third of them can
always be on deck. My surgeon has come on board with me, and will at once
assist yours in attending to your wounded.”
A considerable portion of the crew of the _Furious_ were at once put on
board the French frigate _Eclaire_, and set to work to dismantle her. The
masts, spars, and rigging were transferred to the _Furious_ and erected in
place of her own shattered stumps, which were thrown overboard. Thus,
after four days of the hardest work for all, the _Furious_ was again
placed in fighting trim.
Preparations were immediately made for sailing. The _Furious_ led the way,
towing behind her the dismantled hull in which the whole of the prisoners
were carried. A prize crew of sixty were placed on board the _Actif_.
When they were about half-way to Jamaica a squadron of three vessels were
sighted. Preparations were made to throw off the _Eclaire_ if the ships
proved to be hostile, but before long it was evident that they were
English. They approached rapidly, and when they rounded-to near the
_Furious_ the crews manned the yards and greeted her with tremendous
cheers. The officer in command was at once rowed to the _Furious_. As the
boat neared the ship his friends recognized Mr. Peters and Robson sitting
in the stern.
“What miracle is this, Captain Harker?” the officer cried as he came on
deck. “Your lieutenant brought us news that you were dismasted and lying
helpless in some little inlet, and here you are with what I can see is a
French equipment and a couple of prizes! I can almost accuse you of having
brought us here on a fool’s errand.”
“It must have that appearance to you; but the facts of the case are
simple;” and he told the story of the fight. “The battle was practically
over when the first shot was fired,” he said. “The two French ships lost
upwards of seventy killed and over a hundred wounded, while we had only
four men killed and two wounded. If the place had been designed by nature
specially for defence it could not have been better adapted for us.”
“I see that,” Captain Ingham said; “but you made the most of the
advantages. Your plan of laying her broadside to the entrance, getting all
your cannon on one side, and building a boom to prevent any vessel from
getting behind you, was most excellent. Well, it is a splendid victory,
the more so as it has been won with so little loss. The French certainly
showed but little discretion in thus running into the trap you had
prepared for them. Of course they could not tell what to expect, but at
least, whatever it might have cost them, they ought to have sent a strong
boat division in to reconnoitre. No English captain would have risked his
vessel in such a way.”
With very little delay the voyage to Jamaica was continued. Two of the
relief party went straight on, the other remained with the _Furious_ in
case she should fall in with a French fleet. When the little squadron
entered Port Royal they received an enthusiastic welcome from the ships on
the station. Both prizes were bought into the service and handed over to
the dockyard for a thorough refit. Their names were changed, the _Eclaire_
being rechristened the _Sylph_, the _Actif_ becoming the _Hawke_.
Lieutenant Farrance was promoted to the rank of captain, and given the
command of the latter vessel, and some of the survivors of a ship that had
a fortnight before been lost on a dangerous reef were told off to her. He
was, according to rule, permitted to take a boat’s crew and a midshipman
with him from his old ship, and he selected Will Gilmore, and, among the
men, Dimchurch and Tom Stevens.
The planters of Jamaica were celebrated for their hospitality, and the
officers received many invitations.
“You are quite at liberty to accept any of them you like,” Captain
Farrance said to Will. “Till the vessel gets out of the hands of the
dockyard men there is nothing whatever for you to do. But I may tell you
that there is a good deal of unrest in the island among the slaves. The
doings of the French revolutionists, and the excitement they have caused
by becoming the patrons of the mulattoes has, as might be expected, spread
here, and it is greatly feared that trouble may come of it. Of course the
planters generally pooh-pooh the idea, but it is not to be despised, and a
few of them have already left their plantations and come down here. I
don’t say that you should not accept any invitation if you like, but if an
outbreak takes place suddenly I fancy very few of the planters will get
down safely. I mean, of course, if there is a general rising, which I hope
will not be the case. Negroes are a good deal like other people. Where
they are well treated they are quite content to go on as they are. Where
they are badly treated they are apt to try and better themselves. Still,
that is not always the case. There is no doubt that altogether the French
planters of San Domingo are much gentler in their treatment of their
slaves than our people are here. Large numbers of them are of good old
French families, and look on their slaves rather as children to be ruled
by kindness than as beasts of burden, as there is no doubt some, not many,
I hope, but certainly some of the English planters do. With San Domingo in
the throes of a slave revolution, therefore, it will not be surprising if
the movement communicates itself to the slaves here. I know that the
admiral thinks it prudent to keep an extra ship of war on the station so
as to be prepared for any emergency.”
“Very well, sir. Then I will not accept invitations for overnight.”
“I don’t say that, Mr. Gilmore. In nine cases out of ten I should say it
could be done without danger; for if a rebellion breaks out it will not at
first be general, but will begin at some of the most hardly-managed
plantations, and there will be plenty of time to return to town before it
spreads.”
As Will had no desire to mix himself up in a slave insurrection, he
declined all invitations to go out to houses beyond a distance whence he
could drive back in the evening. At all the houses he visited he was
struck by the apparently good relations between masters and slaves. The
planters were almost aggrieved when he insisted on leaving them in the
evening, but he had the excuse that he was a sort of aide-de-camp to
Captain Farrance, and was bound to be there the first thing in the morning
to receive any orders that he might have to give. He generally hired a gig
and drove over early so as to have a long day there, and always took
either Dimchurch or Tom with him. He enjoyed himself very much, but was
not sorry when the repairs on the _Hawke_ were completed.
As the admiral was anxious for her to be away, some men were drafted from
the other ships; others were recruited from the crews of the merchantmen
in the port by Dimchurch, who spoke very highly of the life on board a
man-of-war, and of the good qualities of the _Hawke’s_ commander. The
complement was completed by a draft of fresh hands from England, brought
out to make good the losses of the various ships on the station. Within
three weeks, therefore, of her leaving the dockyard the _Hawke_ sailed to
join the expedition under Sir John Laforey and General Cuyler, to capture
the island of Tobago, where, on 14th April, 1793, some troops were landed.
The French governor was summoned to surrender, but refused, so the works
were attacked and carried after a spirited resistance. But the attempt to
capture St. Pierre in the island of Martinique was not equally
successfully. The French defended the place so desperately that the troops
were re-embarked with considerable loss.