THE VOYAGE AND INCIDENTS THEREON--RATS ON BOARD, THE WHITE
SQUALL, HARPOONING A SHARK, BURIAL OF THE TWINS, A TROPICAL
ESCAPADE--ICEBERGS--EXCHANGE OF COURTESIES AT SEA, ETC.
The "Mary Anne" was, as I stated, an emigrant ship, and carried on the
voyage about four hundred men, women, and children, sent out chiefly
through the Government Emigration Agents. Persons going out in this way
were assisted by having a portion of their passage paid for them as an
advance, to be refunded after a certain time passed in the colony. The
only first-class passengers in addition to C----and myself were two old
maiden ladies, the Misses Hunt, who, with the doctor and his wife, the
captain and first-mate, comprised our cabin party. In the second-class
were three passengers--T. Smith, whose name will frequently appear in
these pages, and two brothers called Leach, going out to join a rich
cousin, a sheep farmer in Canterbury. Smith was the son of a wealthy
squire, with whom, it appeared, he had fallen out respecting some family
matters, and in a fit of pique left his home and took passage to New
Zealand. His funds were sufficient to procure him a second-class berth,
but on representing matters to the captain, who knew something of his
family, it was arranged that he should join us in the saloon, hence he
became one of our comrades, and eventually a particular friend.
The captain's name was Ashby, and he soon proved to be a most jolly and
agreeable companion. The first-mate, Lapworth, also became a favourite
with us all.
The doctor was usually drunk, or partly so, and led his wife, a kind and
amiable little lady, a very unpleasant life. The Misses Hunt were
elderly, amiable, and generally just what they should be.
Our cabins we had (in accordance with the usages of emigrant ships)
furnished ourselves, and they were roomy and comfortable, but I will not
readily forget the horror with which I woke up during the first night at
sea, with an indescribable feeling that I was being crawled over by
some loathsome things. In a half-wakeful fit, I put out my hand, to find
it rest upon a huge rat, which was seated on my chest. I started up in
my bunk, when, as I did so, it appeared that a large family of rats had
been holding high carnival upon me and my possessions; fully a dozen
must have been in bed with me. I had no light, nor could I procure one,
so I dressed and went on deck until morning. As a boy I was fond of
carpentering, and was considerably expert in that way. My father
thinking some tools would be useful to me, provided me with a small
chest of serviceable ones (not the ordinary amateur's gimcracks), and
this chest I had with me in my cabin. On examination I discovered
several holes beneath the berth, where no doubt the previous night's
visitors had entered. I set to work, and with the aid of some deal boxes
given me by the steward, I had all securely closed up by breakfast,
where the others enjoyed a hearty laugh at my experience of the night.
The captain said there were doubtless hundreds of rats on board, and
seemed to regard the fact with complacency rather than otherwise.
Sailors consider that the presence of rats is a guarantee of the
seaworthiness of the ship, and they will never voluntarily take passage
in a vessel that is not sound.
The captain's supposition proved true enough, and it was not unusual of
an evening to see these friendly rodents taking an airing on the ropes
and rigging, and upon the hand-rails around the poop deck, and while so
diverting themselves, I have endeavoured to shake them overboard, but
always in vain; they were thoroughbred sailors, knew exactly when and
where to jump, and flopping on the deck at my feet would disappear, with
a twist of their tails amidships.
I do not think that the sailors approved of the rats being destroyed,
and rather preferred their society than otherwise.
We soon settled down to our sea life, and the groans of sickness and the
screaming of children from between decks ceased in time. Our own party
of nine had the poop to ourselves, and were very comfortable; we soon
got to like the life, and generally arranged some way of spending each
day agreeably. We had a fair library, chess, backgammon, whist, etc.,
and when we got into the Tropics and had occasional calms, we went out
in the captain's gig; then further south we had shooting matches at Cape
pigeons and albatrosses, and in all our amusements the captain and
Lapworth took part.
There were not many incidents on the voyage worthy of note, but I will
mention the most interesting of them which I can recollect. The first
was when we encountered a white squall about a week out from England. It
was a lovely evening, a slight breeze sending us along some four knots
under full sail. We were lounging on deck watching the sunset, and
occupied with our thoughts, when suddenly there was a cry from the "look
out" in the main fore-top which created an instantaneous and marvellous
scene of activity on board. It was then that we witnessed the first
example of thorough seamanship and discipline; the shrill boatswain's
whistle, the captain shouting a few orders, passed on by the mates, a
crowd of sailors appearing like magic in the rigging, and in another
instant the ship riding under bare masts; a deathlike stillness for a
few seconds, and then a snow white wall of foam, stretching as far as
the eye could reach, came down upon us with a sweeping wind, striking
the ship broadsides, and over she went on her beam ends. Half a minute's
hesitation or bungling would in all probability have sent us over
altogether. There was a shout to us novices to look out--away went deck
chairs and tables. The Misses Hunt--poor old ladies--who had been
quietly knitting unconscious of any coming danger, were unceremoniously
precipitated into the lee scuppers. I seized the mizen-mast, while C----
falling foul of a roving hen-coop, grasped it in a loving embrace, and
accompanied it to some haven of safety, where he stretched himself upon
it until permitted to walk upright again. The officers and crew appeared
like so many cats in the facility with which they moved about; so much
so that deciding to have a try myself, I was instantly sent rolling over
to the two old ladies, creating a shout of laughter from all hands. The
squall lasted about half an hour, and was succeeded by a fine night and
a spanking breeze.
[Illustration: HARPOONING A SHARK.]
Another bit of excitement was the harpooning and capture of a shark
which had been following the ship for days. This is always an omen of
ill-luck with sailors, who are very superstitious, believing that a
shark under such circumstances is waiting for a body dead or alive, and
will follow the ship until its desire is appeased. They are always,
therefore, keen to kill a shark when opportunity offers. Fortunately,
for our purpose, a calm came on while the shark was visiting us, and
he kept moving about under the stern in a most friendly manner. The plan
of operations was as follows:--A large junk of pork was made fast to a
rope and suspended from the stern, letting it sink about a foot under
the surface. C----, Smith, and I were in the captain's boat, with three
sailors, under the orders of Lapworth, who had taken his stand
immediately above with a harpoon. The shark came up, nibbling and
smelling at the pork, so close to us in the boat that he almost rubbed
along the side without apparent alarm or taking any notice of our
presence. He was a monster, nearly nine feet in length, and as he came
alongside, his back fin rose some inches above the surface. He did not
seem inclined to seize the pork until Lapworth had it quickly jerked up,
when the brute made a dash at it, half turning as he did so, and at the
same instant received the harpoon through his neck. I recollect the
monster turning over on his back, Lapworth swinging himself over into
the boat, a little organised commotion among the men, and in a few
moments running nooses were passed over head and tail, and he was
hoisted on deck and speedily despatched. The body was cut up and divided
amongst the crew, some of whom were partial to shark steak. A piece of
the backbone I secured for myself as a memento of the occasion.
As if to bear out the superstition I have mentioned, a few days
subsequently a death, or rather two deaths, did actually take place;
they were the twins and only children of a Scottish shepherd and his
wife, both on board. Pretty little girls of eight, as I remember them,
playing about the deck, and favourites with all, they died within a day
of each other. The father was a gigantic fellow, and I have pleasant
recollections of him in after years, when time and other children had
helped to assuage his and his wife's grief for the loss of their two
darlings at sea by one stroke of illness.
There is something more affecting in a burial at sea than one on land.
In this instance the little body was wrapped in a white cloth, to which
a small bag of coals was fastened, and laid upon a slide projecting from
the stern of the vessel ready for immersion. The captain read the Burial
Service, all on board standing uncovered. At the words "Dust to dust,"
etc., the body was allowed to slide into the sea--where it immediately
disappeared. The mother was too ill to be present, and the father's
grief was severe, as it might well be, to witness his child laid in so
lonely a resting place in mid-ocean without sign or mark. The following
evening a similar scene was enacted when the body of the other little
sister was committed to the deep, and the father had to be taken away
before the service was completed.
No ceremonies I ever beheld impressed and affected me so much as the
burial of the little twins at sea.
While in the Tropics we had occasional calms, sometimes lasting for two
or three days; the sea was like molten glass, and the sun burnt like a
furnace. On such occasions we were permitted to row about within a
reasonable distance of the ship, so that if a breeze suddenly sprang up
we might not be left behind. Once this very nearly occurred, when we had
rowed a long way off, after what was supposed to be a whale spouting. We
suddenly felt a gentle breath of air, and noticed the glassy surface
giving place to a slight disturbance. We were a mile off the ship, but
could distinctly hear the summons from aboard, and noticed the sails
filling. We rowed with all our strength, stripped to the waist, and
succeeded in getting up when the ship was well under weigh. It was a
stiff piece of work, and the captain was so concerned and annoyed at our
disobedience of his orders that he refused to allow us to boat again
during the voyage. We suffered sorely for our escapade, for not knowing
the strength of a tropical sun, we exposed ourselves so that the skin
was burned and peeled off, and we were in misery for several days, while
our arms and necks were swathed in cotton wool and oil.
After leaving the tropics we had a pleasant voyage and fair winds until
we rounded the Cape, where we encountered some rough weather, and at 56°
S.L., it being then almost winter in those latitudes, we passed many
icebergs of more or less extent. Few of them appeared to be more than
ten or fifteen feet above water, but the greater portion of such blocks
are submerged, and considerable caution had to be observed night and day
to steer clear of them. They were usually observable at first from the
large number of birds resting on them, causing them to appear like a
dark speck on the horizon. One of these icebergs (according to an entry
made in the ship's log) was stated to be five miles long and of great
height, and we were supposed to have passed it at the latter end of the
night so near that "a biscuit might be thrown upon it." I am afraid the
entry was open to criticism, and that the existence, or at any rate, the
extent of this particular iceberg might have been due to an extra glass
of grog on the mate's imagination.
We sighted no land during the voyage, except the Peak of Teneriffe, as
it emerged above a cloud; and but few vessels, and of those only two
closely. One was a Swedish barque, homeward bound, the other a large
American clipper ship. We spoke the latter when the vessels were some
miles apart, but as the courses were parallel, she being bound for
London, while we were from thence, we gradually neared, when an amusing
conversation by signals took place. Our captain, by mistake of the
signaller, invited the Yankee captain to dinner, and the reply from the
American, who good-naturedly took it as a joke, was "Bad roadstead
here." Our captain thought they were chaffing him, and had not the
mistake been discovered in time, the rencontre might not have ended as
pleasantly as it did. Our captain and second mate went on board the
Yankee, and their captain returned the visit. While this was proceeding
the two ships appeared to be sailing round each other, and the sight was
very imposing. When the ceremonies were over, and a few exchanges of
newspapers, wines, etc., were made and bearings compared, the vessels
swung round to their respective courses, up flew the sails, and a
prolonged cheer from both ships told us this little interchange of
courtesies in the midst of the South Pacific was at an end.
I think it was the same night that we experienced a very heavy gale; the
lightning, thunder, rain, and wind were terrific, and the sea ran
mountains high. I stayed on deck nearly all the night, half perished
with wet and cold; but such a storm carries with it a peculiar
attraction, and one which I could not resist. I do not know anything
more weird and impressive than the chant of the sailors hauling on the
ropes, mingled with the fierce fury of the storm, and every now and
again the dense darkness lit up by a vivid flash of lightning; the deck
appears for the moment peopled by phantoms combined with the fury of the
elements to bring destruction on the noble little vessel with its
precious freight struggling and trembling in their grasp.
The following morning the storm had quite abated, but the sea was such
as can be seen only in mid-ocean. Our little ship (she was only 700
tons) appeared such an atom in comparison with the enormous mountains of
water. At one moment we would be perched on the summit of a wave,
seemingly hundreds of feet high, and immediately below a terrible abyss
into which we were on the point of sinking; the next we would be placed
between two mountains of water which seemed going to engulf us.
I always took a place with the sailors on emergencies, to give a hand at
hauling the ropes, and got to be fairly expert at climbing into the
rigging. The rope-hauling was done to some chant started by the
boatswain or one of the sailors--this is necessary to ensure that the
united strength of the pullers is exerted at the same moment. One of the
chants I well remember. It was:--
"_Haul_ a bowlin', the 'Mary Anne's' a-_rollin'_.
_Haul_ a bowlin', a bowlin' _haul_;
_Haul_ a bowlin', the good ship's a-_rollin'_;
_Haul_ a bowlin', a bowlin' _haul_."
The chant is sung out in stentorian notes by the leader, and on the word
in italics every man joins in a tremendous and united pull.
Crowds of Cape pigeons and albatrosses accompanied us all across the
South Pacific. These birds never seem to tire and but rarely rest on the
water, except when they swoop down and settle a moment to pick up
something that has been thrown overboard; this is quickly devoured, and
they are again in pursuit. The albatrosses, some white, some grey, and
some almost black, are huge birds; some that we shot, and for which the
boat was sent, measured nine feet from tip to tip of wings.
On August 1st we rounded Stewart's Island, the southern-most of the New
Zealand group. It is little more than a barren rock, and was not then
inhabited, whatever it may be now. Although it was the winter season,
and the latitude corresponded to that of the North of England, we
remarked how mild and dry was the atmosphere in comparison. Indeed the
weather was glorious and seemed to welcome us to the land we were coming
to.
On the 3rd of August we sighted the coast of Canterbury, and at daylight
on the 4th we found ourselves lying becalmed about 12 miles off Port
Lyttelton Heads, from whence the captain signalled for a pilot steamer
to take the ship to harbour. In the clear rare atmosphere, and the pure
invigorating feeling of that glorious morning, we were all impatient of
delay. A couple of fishing boats were lying not far off, and we begged
the captain to let us row out to them and he permitted us,
conditionally that we returned and kept near the ship, because
immediately the tug arrived we would start. We rowed to the boats and
obtained some information from the fishermen, with whom were two of the
natives, Maori lads; indeed, I think the boat partly belonged to the
Maoris, for these people do not take service with the white settlers.
They pointed out to us where the entrance lay, and told us that Port
Lyttelton was some five miles further down a bay.
Before we returned to breakfast we had decided to anticipate matters by
going ahead of the ship. We quietly laid in a small supply of food and
appeared at the cabin table like good and obedient boys. Incidentally,
one of us asked the captain if it would be easy to row into port, and he
replied that it would be very risky to attempt it; it was a long way,
and the wind or a squall might get up at any moment, or the tide might
be contrary, and he positively forbade us to entertain any such idea.
All this, however, only increased our desire for the "lark," as we
called it, and about 9 o'clock, having rowed about quietly for a while,
we suddenly bade good-bye to the "Mary Anne" and steered straight for
the Heads, where we had been told Port Lyttelton lay. Our crew consisted
of Smith, the two Leaches, C----, and myself, with a man named Kelson,
who was a good oarsman, and we thought he would be useful as an extra
hand, but he had no notion of our freak when we started, and was
considerably chagrined when he discovered our real intention; he had a
young wife on board, whom he feared would be in distress about him.
For some time we pulled away manfully, but at length began with some
dismay to notice two facts, one, that we were losing sight of the ship,
and the other that the hills did not appear to be any nearer!
Some one suggested returning, but as that would have looked like funk,
it was overruled, and we went to the oars with renewed vigour. After
some hours pulling we had the satisfaction to find that although the
masts of the ship were scarcely visible we were certainly drawing nearer
to the land, and could occasionally distinguish waves breaking on the
rocks. The coast apparently was quite uninhabited, with no sign of life
on land or sea. We had evidently been working against the tide or some
current, for we had been rowing steadily from 9 to 4, which would have
amounted to less than two miles an hour, whereas we could pull five. Our
course must have been true, as also the directions we received, for on
entering between the heads we found ourselves in a lovely bay stretching
away to where we were able to discern the masts of vessels in the
distance, and soon after a large white object lying upon the shore. To
satisfy our curiosity and obtain news of our whereabouts we rowed over
and found that the white object was the carcase of a whale which had
been washed on shore, and on which several men were engaged cutting it
up. These speedily discovered our "new chum" appearance, but with true
Colonial hospitality at once offered us a nip of rum, at the same moment
somewhat disturbing our equanimity by telling us that if we went on to
the Port we would be put in choky for leaving the ship before the
Medical Officer examined her.
It was strange and very pleasant to feel the solid ground under our feet
after 94 days at sea, and we sat awhile with the whale men before
resuming our boat. Then we proceeded quietly down the Bay, which was
very beautiful, the dense and variegated primeval forests clothing the
lower portions of the hills and fringing the ravines and gullies to the
shore, the pretty caves and bays lying in sheltered nooks, with a
mountain stream or cascade to complete the picture, and all undefiled by
the hand of man. The bold outline of the bare rocky summits, the deep
blue of the silent calm bay, and the distant view of the little Port of
Lyttelton picturesquely sloping up the hillside.
Seeing no sign of the ship, and fearing to approach the town, we rowed
into a little sandy cove, where we fastened the boat and proceeded to
ascend the hill to endeavour to discover the ship's whereabouts. About
half-way we came upon a neat shepherd's cottage in one of the most
picturesque localities imaginable, and commanding a magnificent view of
the bay and harbour. On calling we found the cottage occupied by the
shepherd's wife, a pleasant buxom Scots-woman, who immediately proffered
us food, an offer too tempting to be declined, and we presently sat down
to our first Colonial meal of excellent home-made bread, mutton, and
tea, and how delighted we were to taste the fine fresh mutton after many
weeks of salt junk and leathery fowls on board the "Mary Anne"!
We had finished our hearty dinner, and were giving our loquacious
hostess all the news we could of the old country, when the ship hove in
sight, towed by a little tug steamer. We ran for our boat and gave
chase, but only reached her side as the anchor was being dropped in
Lyttelton Harbour. We received from the Captain and Lapworth a sound but
good-humoured rating, but there would be no opportunity of further
"larks" from the "Mary Anne"! The voyage was over, and a most pleasant
one it had been, especially for our small party, and I am sure that no
voyagers to the New World ever had the luck to travel with kinder or
more sympathetic captain and officers, or with abler seamen, than those
in command of the good ship "Mary Anne."
Poor Mrs. Kelson was in sore distress about her husband, whom she
persisted in giving up for lost, and doubtless she looked pretty sharply
after his movements for a while.