A GLIMPSE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN
Sailing south, we arrived at the Straits of Gibraltar. The wind was dead
ahead. A strong current was running in from the Atlantic Ocean and we
managed to beat in past the Rock after tacking ship many times. All
hands were well tired out from bracing around the yards so often. On one
tack we would be headed for Spain, on the other it would be for Morocco.
During the night the wind died away. At daylight we found our ship was
rapidly drifting on to the rocky coast of Morocco. There was not a bit
of air stirring and the sea was as smooth as glass. Captain Otis was
very much discouraged, as the loss of so fine a vessel meant ruined
prospects for the future. He was quite a young man for such a
responsible position. The Moors on the shore had seen our danger and
spread the news to one another. Soon quite a number of small boats were
seen at the place where the ship would probably strike. It made all
hands feel a little nervous to see the reception which was awaiting us.
It was well known by sailors what a set of cutthroats the people were in
that locality. The officers and crew held a consultation as to what
should be done. My suggestion was acted upon, and that was, to take all
our boats and tow the ship, if possible, or at least to check her from
drifting, in hopes that a breeze might spring up. Strangely enough, I
was the only man on the ship who had ever seen the experiment tried. The
occasion took place when I was in the bushes at San Carlos watching my
old ship, the Courier, leaving the harbour. The wind having died away,
they lowered the boats and towed the ship a considerable distance. But
then the Courier was only half our size and had more and better boats
than we had. Our boats were quickly lowered and fastened in a row to a
rope from the ship's bows. By hard pulling we slowly turned the vessel
head to the current. The drifting was checked, and that was about all we
could do. Within half an hour a breeze sprang up and away started the
ship, swinging the boats around and towing them stern first. We had a
lively time in preventing them from capsizing when the towing business
was reversed.
In a few days we sighted what appeared to be an immense hill of chalk,
perfectly white from the water's edge to the summit. That was Algiers.
Before night we were inside the breakwater and at anchor. That was the
most interesting port I ever saw. A large number of French troops were
stationed in the city. The Italian war was then in progress. Such a
contrast in people and dress was probably never seen before. Only the
Algerian and Moorish women seemed to be without gaiety. They were all
dressed alike, a light gauzy dress and a long veil of the same material
covering the head and face, leaving only the eyes uncovered. The rich
wore shoes; the poor went barefooted. The young had smooth skins on
their wrists; the old were wrinkled. That was the only way we could tell
the difference between them. As to their beauty, we had no means of
judging. Other women were dressed in silk tights and gaily coloured
velvet jackets, the front being completely covered with jewels. In fact,
every conceivable sort of costume was to be seen. The streets were
always crowded; nobody seemed to be at home. The French soldiers were in
their element, all wearing their side-arms. One regiment of Turcos
looked fierce enough to annihilate a whole army. At nine in the evening,
an entire drum corps would double through the town beating tattoo. Then
the soldiers would disappear for the night. Wine was only eight cents a
quart bottle, so their dissipation did not cost them much, especially as
they did not get drunk. But how they could talk and get excited! An
Englishman with such an opportunity would drink more and talk less. Most
of our crew had a fondness for eau de vie--"water of life"--a cheap
brandy that cost us only fifteen cents a quart. Cafe royale was also a
favourite beverage with them--a cup of strong black coffee with brandy,
the latter being bought separate in a bottle. The coffee could be
doctored to any degree of strength. At first, my shipmates would take
one portion of brandy, a swallow of cafe royale, and in would go
another, and so it continued until each bottle was emptied. When ready
to pay the waiter, he would count the marks on the bottle at so much a
mark. There was no chance to dispute the bill, and no opportunity for
the waiter to defraud the boss. I was continually eating grapes--great
large bunches weighing two or three pounds each; they were white and
seedless, and only two cents a bunch. Algiers was once the great
stronghold of the Algerian pirates. They and the Moors laid a heavy
tribute on vessels of all nations that came within their clutches. The
United States sent a fleet of men-o'-war into their ports, destroyed
their vessels, and liberated a number of American seamen they held in
captivity. The city is built on the side of a very high and steep hill;
the streets running parallel with the harbour are level, but cross
streets leading up are one continuous flight of steps. You can go into a
house on one street and descend from one basement to another and find
yourself on the top floor of a house on another street. That cannot be
done in any other city. Some of the old streets are only six feet wide,
the doors in the houses being very heavy and studded thickly with large
iron bolts. The windows are high from the ground and only twenty inches
square, with heavy iron bars, the whole place resembling a strong
prison. The new part of the city is quite modern in construction. The
French introduced new ideas when they captured the country.
The French Government took the coal from our vessel as they needed it.
They were paying one hundred dollars a day for the time the ship was
detained in the harbour. One day I was sitting on the edge of the
fore-hatch, cleaning a brace-block, when suddenly my work ceased, and I
was laid up for a week. A man was aloft, tightening the truss bolts on
the foretop-sail yard. He had a small iron bar which he was using at
the work. Contrary to all rules, he neglected to fasten it with a
lanyard. He had difficulty in turning the bolt with his hands, so he
reversed the operation by holding to the rigging with both hands and
pushing the iron bar with his feet. It was a success, so far as he was
concerned. The bolt went around, the bar slipped out, and, whirling
through the air, fetched me a whack on the side of the head. The mate
gave him a good cursing for his carelessness. I was picked up, my head
dressed, and was nicely tucked away in my little bed. In about ten
weeks' time the coal was all discharged, the ship cleaned up, and one
hundred tons of stone ballast taken on board. We left Algiers, and
commenced our voyage for New Orleans. We had pleasant weather while in
the Mediterranean Sea. A couple of days after leaving port, a large
Swedish sailor and myself were taken sick--headache and fever--then
pustules commenced to appear on our faces and hands. We all knew what
that meant. It was smallpox. At first the captain intended to put us in
the lower hold, but, as our vaccination marks showed very plainly, he
waited for further developments. The fresh sea air and plain style of
living were in our favour; varioloid was all the disease amounted to.
The rest of the crew were a badly scared lot of men for a few days.
We sighted the Rock of Gibraltar, and were soon in the Straits, with a
fair wind driving us strong against the current. About three miles more
and we should be on the Atlantic Ocean. Suddenly the wind shifted dead
ahead. All we could do then was to go back and lie behind the Rock. All
sails were furled except the top-sails, and the ship hove to by backing
the main yards. We made several more unsuccessful attempts. The current
and wind were too much for us. We had a fine view of the Rock of
Gibraltar. The western side sloped very steeply to the bay. The eastern
part was perpendicular and inaccessible. A narrow, sandy strip of land
connected it with Spain. England, having possession of that
fortification, was there, like a big bulldog taking charge of the
entrance to a house against the occupant's will. For over a hundred
years the Spanish have been humiliated by their British guests. The Rock
commands the entrance to the Mediterranean, and is considered
impregnable. Improvements are being continually made. The galleries are
tunnelled through solid rock. The magazines, bomb-proofs, and casemates
cannot be penetrated by an enemy's shot. The upper guns can fire a
plunging shot on a ship's deck, but a ship cannot elevate its guns
enough to return the fire. The English can fire rifle bullets into
Spain. With the heavy guns they can drop shot and shell into Morocco and
into the Spanish forts, and, at the same time, throw tons of shot the
whole length of the Straits. As there are at present, in 1897, just that
number of guns in position, an enemy's fleet would receive a very warm
reception. An extra gun is mounted every year. By looking on the front
cover of an almanac, anybody can find out just how many cannon are
mounted on the Rock of Gibraltar. About the tenth day we got a fair wind
that took us through the Straits and into the Atlantic Ocean. The ship
was then headed southwest for the Gulf of Mexico. In six weeks' time we
sighted the lighthouse, and then the low sandy beach at the mouths of
the Mississippi River. A tugboat took us over the bar, and we let go the
anchor. When a tow of six vessels was obtained, a large tug towed us up
the river, each ship being fastened to the other with large hawsers,
stem and stern. It was a powerful boat to tow so many ships against the
strong current of the Mississippi. One man was at the wheel to keep the
ship straight after the tug, and all the rest of the crew were hard at
work unbending the sails and lowering them on deck. The third night,
about ten o'clock, we arrived at New Orleans. The ship was secured to
the levee, and the voyage on the C. C. Duncan was ended.
A number of boarding-house runners came on board. Each one, of course,
was working for the "best house." It was two o'clock in the morning when
our work was finished. Then all the crew went ashore to enjoy a sleep
on dry land. Captain Otis tried to induce us four Americans to remain on
the ship for another voyage. I gave him my reasons for leaving, as it
was my intention to return to my home from which I had been absent so
long. I received eighty-five dollars pay that was due me, and went by
steamboat to Mobile, Ala.