SAIL AGAIN--THE TRADES--CRUELTY OF MASTER AND MATE--MUTTERINGS OF
MUTINY--A SUSPICIOUS SAIL--BOARDED BY PIRATES--HOW THEY TREATED US.
We had now got the steady north-east trade-wind, and away went the
_Orion_, at the rate of nine knots, through the water. Fresh meat and
vegetables, with dry clothing and free ventilation, had contributed to
arrest the progress of the fever, and people were recovering their usual
spirits, forgetting, apparently, the trials they had gone through. The
captain was at first very quiet, and scarcely spoke to any one; then he
grew sulky, and muttered threats and curses against any one who opposed
him; and very soon he broke into open violence, and, in conjunction with
Mr Grimes--with whom he had made up his quarrel, it seemed--began to
ill-treat the crew as before. If any man did not do exactly what he
wanted, the captain would tear off his cap, seize his hair, and then,
kicking his legs, bring him down on the deck. One day he knocked a poor
fellow down with a hand-spike, and thrashed him with a boat-stretcher;
and soon afterwards threw a marlin-spike at the head of another, and
wounded him severely in the ear. It surprised me that the men did not
turn upon these tyrants.
"They know full well that if they did they would come off the worst,"
observed Mr Henley. "It is not fear, but wisdom, keeps them obedient.
However, they may be over-tried, and then, as in numberless cases, they
will not fail to exact a bitter retribution."
He then told me of several instances on board merchantmen, and some few
on board men-of-war, where the crews, driven to desperation, had risen
against their officers, and either put them to death or turned them
adrift, and run off with the ship. He, however, did not seem to dream
of any such thing taking place in our case. I at the same time was much
struck with his remarks, and could not help keeping my ears and eyes
open to watch the proceedings of the crew. From what I had seen of the
men, I considered that they were very likely some day to turn suddenly
on their persecutors. Still, ill as the captain was behaving, I felt
that at all hazards he must be supported against the men. Indeed, no
instance occurs to my memory in which a crew who have mutinied have made
even a sensible use of their success, and mostly they have come to
untimely and miserable ends.
We were standing to the southward, with the north-east trade well on our
port-quarter, the captain intending to keep close to the African coast,
instead of standing across to Rio de Janeiro, as is often done, and
keeping to the southward of the south-east trade-winds. We sighted the
Cape de Verde Islands, which, eight in number, extend between 14 degrees
and 17 degrees of north latitude. Ribeira Grande, on the island of
Santiago, is the capital, but Porto Praya, on the south coast, is the
chief harbour. They belong to the Portuguese; but the greater number of
the inhabitants are either blacks or mulattoes. The islands are all of
volcanic origin; and Fogo, one of them, contains a still active volcano.
They produce all sorts of tropical fruits, as well as asses, goats, and
poultry. I did not regret being unable to touch at the Cape de Verdes.
Now, for the first time, I saw what is called the zodiacal light. It
commenced below the horizon with a considerable breadth, and as luminous
as a moderate aurora, and extended upward in the direction of the star
Aldebaran, thus forming a triangle. Mr Vernon explained to me the
supposed cause of this phenomena. It is that the sun is surrounded by a
mass of nebulous matter, of which this light is but a manifestation.
Some philosophers have an idea that the matter has solid particles in
it, which, when they pass through the earth's atmosphere, produce
shooting stars, or are drawn towards it in the shape of meteoric stones.
It is seen always, it must be remembered, nearly in the elliptic, or
sun's path. Now, too, my eyes gazed for the first time on the
magnificent constellation of the Southern Cross, which rose night after
night higher in the heavens. Greater, also, grew the heat, till it was
impossible to sit, walk, or stand--indeed, to exist--without being in
rather an uncomfortable state of moisture. I had expected to see more
living beings--birds and fish--than we had hitherto met with. When the
ocean was rough, only the larger sorts--whales and dolphins, porpoises
and sharks--were likely to be distinguishable; and now in the calmer and
hotter latitudes the inhabitants of the deep seemed to eschew the
surface, and to keep to the cooler regions below. Now and then,
however, as some of the sportsmen on board declared, we flushed a covey
of flying-fish, or rather, they rose out of the water to avoid their
enemy the bonito. A hundred yards is said to be the utmost extent of
their flight; and that is a good flight, considering the weight of their
bodies and the size of their gauze-like wings. They can also turn at an
angle; but they seldom rise more than a dozen or twenty feet above the
surface. They thus frequently fall on the decks of vessels of no great
burden. When getting up a bucket of water from alongside, I was often
interested in examining the variety of minute creatures which it
contained. Among others, I found some beautiful specimens of swimming
crabs, with paddles instead of the usual sharp-pointed legs, by which
they propel themselves rapidly along.
Day after day, as we approached the line, our shadows grew less and
less, till at length those of gentlemen or ladies wearing wide-brimmed
hats were represented by circular discs on the deck, as the sun became
perfectly vertical. The alarm and anxiety of the passengers seemed now
to have ceased. The cabin passengers had their chairs up on the poop
deck, and sat talking, and working, and singing long after sunset,
enjoying the cool air and the magnificent display of stars which
spangled the dark sky. The whole expanse below the Southern Cross down
to the horizon was covered with the glorious luminosity of the Milky
Way, their thousand times ten thousand worlds then glowing before us;
while in the direction of Orion was another rich assemblage of stars,
presenting one of the most glorious of spectacles, speaking loudly of
the eternal power and might of the great Creator. As I gazed at that
innumerable multitude of worlds beyond worlds, all circling in their
proper orbits round one common centre, and thought that all might be
peopled with beings with minds perhaps far superior to the inhabitants
of our small globe, all engaged in praising and honouring Him who made
them all, I felt my own utter insignificance; and yet, at the same time,
my soul appeared to soar upward to a point far higher than it had ever
before reached, and got, as it were, a glimpse of the mighty scheme of
creation far more vivid and magnificent than I had ever before attained.
In a future world, I thought to myself, man will be able to comprehend
the wondrous mysteries of the universe, and the mists will be cleared
away which prevent him, while in his present mortal state, from
beholding all those unspeakable glories which he will fully comprehend
surely in a more spiritual state of existence. The soul of man is made
to soar. Its wings become helpless and weak, and without God's grace it
no longer has the desire to rise above the grovelling money-making
affairs of life; but, depend on it, those who would enjoy the purest
delights this world is capable of affording, must never lose an
opportunity of raising their thoughts to contemplate the mighty works of
the Lord of Heaven. Sailors, of all men, have great advantages in that
respect; but how few comparatively benefit as they might by them!
The night after this, during my watch on deck, I went forward, and stood
some time gazing on the sky, lit up by the new constellations that were
gradually rising. When tired from standing so long, I sat down on the
break of the forecastle. After I had been there for some time, I heard
two or three men speaking in low voices below me. As I was leaning
forward, they could not perceive me. I hate the feeling of being an
eaves-dropper; but I could not help listening to what they said, and
soon felt that it was important to hear more. Solon was at my feet, I
was afraid that their voices might arouse him. Only fragments of what
they said reached my ears. I could not, however, be mistaken as to the
meaning of their words.
"It might be done; and many's the like deed has been done ere now,"
observed one of the speakers, whom I suspected to be a fellow of the
name of Cobb, the greatest ruffian in the ship.
"And the passengers who won't join--what's to be done with them?"
The immediate answer I did not hear. The first words which reached me
were--
"They'll do very well. Some ship will take them off by-and-by."