THE LOSS OF THE _GRAMPUS_
It could not possibly have escaped the memory of Mr. Court that he had
been told by the skipper that their next cruising-place would be the
‘Japan-ground.’ Not that he was foolish enough to place any serious
reliance upon anything said by Captain Da Silva, only he knew, as every
whaling officer did in those days--I write of half a century ago--that
the Japan grounds were the most prolific of all known haunts of the
sperm whale. He was just a little startled, then, on getting clear of
the Bonins, to find a course set S.W., which looked very much like
getting down on to the Line grounds, and in any case could not mean
that the _Grampus_ was bound for the carrying out of the previously
arranged programme. But he had such an implicit faith in the astounding
ability of his skipper, and he felt so sure that even revenge would be
made to wait until the money-making was over, that he did not trouble
his head much about the rather startling change in the course. He could
not know, of course, what Captain Da Silva did, that the common talk of
Port Lloyd had been the inexplicable absence of sperm whales from the
Japan grounds that season, neither could he tell by what curious chain
of reasoning, amounting almost to instinct, the skipper had decided
upon going south among the islands and gradually working his way down
to the Line whaling grounds.
For two days they steered S.E., and then, as if in justification of
the skipper’s foresight, they ran into a vast school of whales. Now,
without going over previously well-trodden ground, I may remark that
it will have been noticed how on board a whaleship, as in an army,
things may be done by officers with impunity in time of war that would
certainly cause a mutiny in time of peace. And the skipper’s eyes
glistened as the boats took the water at the thought of how, during the
coming campaign, he would take the last ounce out of his officers and
men, making them pay most dearly for any little ‘let-up’ they might
have enjoyed during his enforced retirement. One other step he had
taken which I have omitted to mention, the separation of Rube and Mr.
Pease, taking the former to pull his own midship oar, and putting the
latter under his third mate, a Portuguese very much after his own heart.
Now for the next three months Reuben led the life of a daily martyr,
a galley slave. The ship seemed never to be out of sight of whales,
and exercising the greatest possible skill in the manipulation of his
forces, the skipper managed to keep the war going continually, favoured
as the ship was by the finest of weather. But he never in the midst of
all his multifarious energies forgot for one hour the exercise of his
awful animosity towards Reuben. The other Americans suffered also, but
in a much lesser degree. It was Reuben who for any fault committed by
anyone in the boat was smitten with the heavy oak tiller over head or
shoulders or face, Reuben who was selected for every dangerous, filthy,
and heavy piece of work; Reuben, in fact, saved the rest of his white
shipmates much pain and trouble by being the lightning conductor,
attracting nearly all the skipper’s cruelty. And strangely enough, it
seemed to make little difference to him. He did not smile so sweetly as
he used to do, and his rather worn face wore a puzzled look that was
very pathetic. But he never resented any of his ill-treatment, never
seemed to notice it, in fact, after the first week or two.
What the condition of the ship became during those three strenuous
months I do not propose attempting to describe. Only the pen of a Zola
could do it justice, and the result would be almost, if not quite,
unreadable to any cleanly living person. She was an offence to the
clean, wide sea--much worse, indeed, than she was in the Mozambique
Channel in respect of foulness, but not so bad with regard to health,
because of the sweet breeze that steadily blew, and kept clearing off
some of the miasma she exhaled. The skipper, however, alarmed for the
health of Priscilla, for the reasons before noted, caused a little
bower to be built on the top of the tiny deck aft, and did away with
the spanker boom so that it (the bower) should not be disturbed. Here
Priscilla sat all day long carefully screened from the smell as far as
could be, and exposed to the fresh air. And, although she naturally
suffered very much, as she always had done, since first she came on
board, from lack of exercise, she became better in her general health,
and more ready to take a little interest in life than she had been for
a long time. Nevertheless, little as her ship surroundings had ever
power to impress her, she got very weary of the incessant inflow of
greasy masses from overside, heartily sick of the aroma of slaughter.
Also it seemed to her as if, instead of her husband growing more and
more satisfied at the way in which he was accumulating wealth without
any other ship near to share his good fortune, he became ever more
morose and scowling. Nor was she wrong. The check to his cruelty which
he had received worried him like a green wound, and all his prosperity
was not nearly sufficient to compensate him for the loss of prestige
he felt he had endured. If only, without destroying the efficiency of
his ship’s company, he could have set his foot upon the neck of those
pale-faced men of an alien race, who, despite his masterfulness, had
succeeded in great measure in setting themselves free from his tyranny,
and who now strode before him with erect heads and clear eyes! The
story of Haman is no myth. It is being repeated all around us every
day, and I do not know of any more cogent proof of the existence of the
devil than this.
At last the whales seemed to have learned their lesson, and began to
fight shy of this lonely ship which had transferred so many of them
to her own interior. No longer did they crowd around like a flock of
frightened sheep awaiting the butcher and unable to see whither to
flee in all that wide expanse of ocean. There came a time when the
thoroughly wearied men were able to, not rest, but find an intensely
welcome relief from the all-pervading filth in strenuously endeavouring
to cleanse it away. And although they worked just as hard as ever, they
went about their altered occupation with something like enthusiasm.
Meanwhile the skipper had by frequent secret conferences, by sundry
quietly bestowed tots of grog, and such grim pleasantries as he could
give utterance to, been endeavouring quite successfully to regain his
former status among his countrymen. Mr. Court saw, in common with
every other white man on board, the trend of matters, and passed,
therefore, many uneasy hours, unable to formulate any plans, since he
knew not what was brewing except that it meant mischief for him and
his compatriots. But in the absence of any overt act of offence on the
part of the skipper he could take no step, he could only whisper Mr.
Winslow to keep a bright look-out for whatever devilry might be afloat.
What troubled him principally was his utter want of knowledge of the
ship’s whereabouts. This is always a hardship at sea even under the
best conditions, and if sailors were only to allow their minds to dwell
upon the fact that they are not allowed by the skipper to know even the
approximate position of the ship there would be far more discontent
than there is now. I have been in a ship on a passage of nearly seven
months between Liverpool and an Indian port, and during the whole of
that time not one foremast hand ever knew the ship’s position within a
thousand miles, so carefully was the secret guarded. And I have been
in ships where the skipper refused to allow his mate to know, would
not let him take an observation, seeming to take some insane pleasure
in knowing that he alone of the ship’s company had any idea where upon
that vast blank space of sea the tiny dot of a ship was poised.
Thus it was in the _Grampus_, when at the last clearing up certain
sail was set, and a definite course to the eastward was steered.
Indications of land were many, for they were now in that part of the
Pacific where Nature would appear to have her busiest workshops;
where islands rise in a few hours from unknown depths and isolated
patches of land are suddenly met with, summits of submerged mountains
rivalling the Himalayas in their tremendous altitudes. So, although no
more whales were seen, the watchers at the masthead scarcely passed
an hour without reporting some new appearance, some discolouration
of the bright sea that upon nearer approach resolved itself into a
floating island of weed about which played an innumerable company of
bright-hued fish making the water foam again with their blithe gambols.
Or a derelict cocoa-palm torn from its reef-edge moorings, and long
since denuded of its feathery crown, floated by, recognisable only to a
whaleman’s eye as anything belonging to earth at all from the wealth of
parasitic life which had accumulated upon it, making it look more like
the head of some vast sea-serpent with a snowy mane than anything else
the mind can depict. An occasional canoe, waterlogged or bottom-up,
floated along, making the watcher wonder where the recent occupant
had gone, and what manner of struggle he or she made for life ere the
fateful moment came when the sea claimed its toll as of right.
All through this pleasant time Priscilla kept her vigil during the
daylight hours in her breezy house aloft, above the working people’s
heads. There was a sort of placid wonder why the Captain should
have so radically altered in his behaviour towards her. Benumbed as
her faculties had undoubtedly become, since she had lived up on the
after-deck she had begun to regain a certain interest in life which
had not been possible to her while confined to the cabin. And she
certainly found herself speculating upon the change in her husband.
She noticed that he was less brutal in his behaviour to the crew,
too, as far as physical ill-treatment went, but, of course, she did
not know the cause. There was no easement of the hardships of their
lives, nor any relenting in those fierce black eyes when looking upon
a subordinate. But when his gaze fell upon her it changed into the
puzzled, frightened glance of the savage face to face with the unknown,
and dominated by an illogical fear, a state of mind which culminates in
a sudden plunge into nameless cruelties.
She and her husband never held any conversation, their intercourse
being limited to monosyllables almost. Discussion was out of the
question, since she was docile as a well-trained dog, and besides
did not seem to care about anything sufficiently to discuss it. Yet
all unknown to her, a change was taking place in her mind. A renewed
interest in life was springing up there. It may have been her long
contemplation of the ever-wonderful and changeful life of the sea,
but I am inclined to think that it was the intensity of that unknown
love burning in one loyal breast near her, the outpouring of those
fervent supplications for her well-being that Reuben was continually
offering communicating something of their own force in some mysterious
way, not understandable as yet, but some day surely to be explained
to us. At last, after about a fortnight of this pleasant sailing, she
came up to her little haven of refuge to witness a scene of almost
fairy-like loveliness. Stretching away to the northward like a
cluster of jewels set upon the shining bosom of the sea was a group of
islands. Some rose sheer from the waves that rolled creamily against
their jet-black bases, just failing to reach the tender festoons of
every shade of green that clothed them from high-water mark to summit.
Others glittered in dazzling white against the intense blue of the
quiet lagoon, shielded from all ruffling by a barrier of living rock
encircling them, and crested with a mighty feather of purest white
as the great swell surged up against it, and found its onward sweep
effectually stayed. Others from serene palm-fringed heights sloped
sweetly seaward to inviting beaches of all colours sheltered from any
onslaught of waves and apparently inviting the weary seafarer to come
and rest himself after all his ocean wanderings.
Quite close to the ship was a long, formidable barrier of black rocks,
outliers of the main group, whose jagged, saw-like teeth snarled
threateningly up from the fret and foam of the sea around. But even
they were robbed of half their terrors by the beautiful play of light
and colour around them, gift of the golden sun which hung in the limpid
sky, shedding his fervent fires upon sea and land, and investing the
most commonplace objects with supreme beauty. As Priscilla gazed upon
the lovely scene she felt the tears steal down her cheeks: the whole
panorama appealed to her innate sense of loveliness so strongly that
the happy tears would come, and her heart was lifted by the adoring
creature’s joy in the Creator’s lovely handiwork. She forgot all
else in the glories of the present scene, took no heed of the swift
changing of the view as the homely old ship glided past that long,
long barrier through the smoothest and brightest of seas. She took
no heed of the skilful handling of the ship, all her mind being bent
upon the wonders overside. It seemed to her as if now for the first
time she understood what voyaging really meant, as if only now was she
realising some of the impressions given her long ago in reading records
of wonderful voyages. A faint flush mounted into her pale cheeks, her
breath came and went quickly through her parted lips, and she was
nearer happiness than she had been since the first week out from home.
Suddenly she became conscious of an apparent increase in the wind,
caused by an alteration in the vessel’s course, bringing her
close-hauled, and like magic the whole scene changed. The ship was
now running in between a wide opening in the great barrier before
mentioned, where on either side of her the frowning rocks with their
white crests of foam stopped abruptly in a sea of deepest blue. Ahead
this lovely colour took a dozen different shades from inequality in the
depth, and here and there, where a patch of coral neared the surface
and the sun’s rays touched its summit through the intervening water,
there was a blending of hues that would make an artist despair.
Thus, piloted with the utmost skill by the skipper, the _Grampus_ drew
near the main group of islands, sheltered as they were by all this
intricate network of reefs from any roughness of water, and, finally,
turning sharply to starboard, she came up into the wind behind a low
bluff, and by her own impetus forged ahead into a little bay, sheltered
from every wind of heaven, bordered by a snow-white beach, which,
in its turn, was fringed by tropical growth of trees and shrubs of
many kinds, and looking an ideal haven of rest. Midway of the bay’s
semicircle, and at less than half a mile from the beach, at a hoarse
shout from the skipper the anchor rattled down, its crash and roar
awakening echoes that long resounded like peals of distant thunder.
Then the shouts of the officers succeeded as they gave the necessary
orders for furling sails and clearing up the ship generally. And in
half-an-hour, when the word ‘supper’ was given, an intense hush as of
the first Sabbath succeeded--a calm and peace over sea and land that
fell upon Priscilla’s heart like the touch of a mother’s cool hand upon
the hot brow of her ailing child.
Captain Da Silva’s officers, however, were far from enjoying a like
serenity of mind. That very peace which was so grateful to an unknowing
one was to them like the calm preceding the outburst of a hurricane.
They looked anxiously around, precluded from consulting each other by
their absurd relations, yet fearing the worst. Then the skipper, going
below and summoning his unfortunate steward, had the ‘trade,’ always
carried by these ships in that day for the purpose of barter among the
islands, brought out and placed in readiness for conveyance on deck.
His (the skipper’s) plans had long been made, but only his Portuguese
accomplices on board knew anything of them. As far back as the visit to
Brava he had been preparing for this event, when that load of cases of
most potent liquor was brought on board. And now it was not so much the
possibility of treachery on the part of the natives as the ruin of his
plan of pleasure (?) which made him anxiously scan beach and bay for
any sign of human life.
The sun neared the horizon, the busy fishing birds began to fly
shoreward to their nests laden with the fruits of their labours, and
the fresh sweetness of the coming night began to make itself felt.
Then, as if at a given signal, a whole fleet of canoes came rushing
round the headland into the bay, the water foaming around them under
the strokes of multitudinous paddles. As they neared the ship it was to
be seen that each canoe carried a green branch with streamers of white
‘tapa’ or native cloth, betokening peace, also that the still green
coverts ashore had suddenly burst into life and scores of dusky female
forms were hurling themselves into the water, and almost like denizens
of the deep sea were rushing towards the ship. A few sharp orders from
the skipper, and the Portuguese members of the crew hurried aft to
assist him in the handing and distribution of his presents. They had
barely got the things on deck when with yells of delight the natives
reached the vessel, climbing on board everywhere like an invasion of
happy children without one thought save the joyful indulgence of idle
infantile curiosity. Priscilla had previously retired, being sternly
ordered below by her husband as soon as the natives were seen, and in
the little state-room she sat listening with mingled feelings to the
hubbub prevailing on deck, not knowing what it meant.
It was well that she did not, for there was now commencing on board
the _Grampus_ one of those orgies which have done so much to hinder
the spread of Christianity among these savage isles. There is no
danger that I should attempt to particularise; that, I am sorry to
say, has been done _ad nauseam_, and to what good end I am unable to
see. Even the bald official records of such scenes strike a chill of
horror into any decent mind, but they also leave a sense of profound
gratitude that in spite of all these dire hindrances to the spread of
the Gospel it does spread, it is embraced by these simple children of
Nature, so apt to be influenced by the latest impression, especially
if that impression be evil. Every careful reader of South Sea Island
records must have noticed the frequency with which the good work of the
missionaries--and, let it be said, in all justice, the good work of
the honest, sober, truthful, and decent trader--has been undone by the
infernal exploits of a crew of black-guards coming soon after. Also, it
must have been seen how frequently the ill-usage (in the worst sense)
of the confiding but undiscriminating natives by some bad ship’s crew
has led to the awful massacre of the next ship’s company calling there,
and the subsequent laying waste of the village of these dispensers
of wild justice. In Stevenson’s ‘Wrecker’ one of the most appalling
facts is stated quite dispassionately concerning the murder of Bishop
Patteson, and it makes the flesh creep. Here it is:--
‘He was tried for his life in Fiji in Sir Arthur Gordon’s time, and
if ever he prayed at all, the name of Sir Arthur was certainly not
forgotten. He was speared in seven places in New Ireland--the same
time his mate was killed--the famous outrage on board the brig _Jolly
Roger_, but _the treacherous savages made little by their wickedness_’
(the italics are mine) ‘and Bostock, in spite of their teeth, got
seventy-five head of volunteer (?) labour on board, of whom not more
than a dozen died of injuries. He had a hand besides in the amiable
pleasantry which cost the life of Patteson; and when the sham bishop
landed, prayed, and gave his benediction to the natives, Bostock,
arrayed in a female chemise out of the trade-room, had stood at his
right hand and boomed Amens. This, when he was sure he was among good
fellows, was his favourite yarn. “Two hundred head of labour for a
hatful of Amens,” he used to name the tale; and its sequel, the death
of the real bishop, struck him as a circumstance of extraordinary
humour.’
It was evident to Mr. Court at once what his commander had come into
this bay for, and he was in a greater difficulty than ever. The ship
was practically in possession of the natives, all uproariously good
humoured, but all, liable to pass at once from riotous pleasantry to
mad fury of slaughter. The only comfort he had was that no natives were
allowed to invade the cabin. The foc’s’le, the half-deck, was overrun
by them, and nearly all the crew had been induced to join them in their
curious gambols--all the more curious that the skipper had liberally
distributed his fire-water among them. Reuben, at the first descent of
native men and women into the foc’s’le, had made his way on deck and
into the fore-top, then along the topgallant stay he had climbed to the
main-crosstrees, and in similar fashion had reached the mizen-top. Here
he determined to camp until morning with some vague idea of watching
over the safety of Priscilla, and at the least, descending among the
natives if they should prove treacherous (?) and losing his life in her
defence. From his lofty perch he looked down upon that ugly scene, and
his clean soul revolted at it. But he saw to his intense satisfaction
the actors therein gradually sink to slumber, overcome by fatigue, and
by midnight the pale moon shone down upon heaps of sleepers in all
sorts of varied attitudes, exposing shamefulnesses that the tender dark
had hidden. And overwearied at last he slept also.
The morning brought tumult, a renewal of the orgies of the previous
night. All work, discipline, order, seemed to be at an end. The
skipper, like a maddened Bacchanal, swayed to and fro between two dusky
nymphs, daughters of the paramount chief, and Mr. Court, looking at him
with disgust, could take no steps. Once, indeed, finding a huge native
endeavouring to force his body down through the insufficient opening
of the cabin skylight, the mate almost forgot the stern control he had
placed upon himself, and was just about to seize the man fiercely and
hurl him away when he was seized from behind, and turning furiously to
see who it was he looked into the mild but fearless eyes of Reuben, who
said, ‘For heaven’s sake, sir, don’t anger them--for her sake.’ That
was all, and Mr. Court’s anger died instantly away.
But none of the devoted few who throughout this terrible time retained
their manliness and clean living were able to retain much hope that a
final and terribly complete disaster could be avoided. And all they
could do was to look helplessly on and see it coming, powerless to
avert it. For the skipper, in spite of the madness of his orgies,
not only kept cunning watch over his end of the ship, and allowed no
native, whether male or female, to enter the cabin, but he also kept
the sober ones in view also, and by this I do not merely mean those
to whom he had handed out drink--his own countrymen--but those of the
white men who had allowed themselves to wallow in debauchery.
The end came very suddenly, on the fourth night. All the revellers had
been carrying on furiously, with but brief intervals of exhaustion,
and the number of natives was greatly increased by fresh arrivals from
some of the outlying islands. Several serious quarrels had broken out,
and been patched up without bloodshed, and there was much murmuring
among the natives because the supply of liquor seemed to be failing--at
any rate, the Captain was not so free with it as he had been. More, a
belief had steadily gained ground among them that something of great
value was secured in that after-part of the ship into which none of
them had been permitted to penetrate. Now, whether either of these
causes had anything to do with the final catastrophe, or whether it was
just an outburst of savagery like the mischief of petulant children,
no one will ever know, but the fact remains that about midnight there
was a strong smell of fire, and before any of the sleeping roysterers
had awakened, tall flames upreared their terrible shapes from the
main-hatch, and a roar as of some vast furnace was heard. Almost in
an instant the ship was alive with men running hither and thither as
if dazed, others fiercely fighting, others drawing water in buckets,
and casting it into the glowing furnace of the main-hatch without the
slightest appreciable effect. In the midst of it all four men kept
their heads clear--Reuben, Mr. Court, Mr. Winslow, and Mr. Pease. As it
was very evident at an early stage that the fire, even if attacked by
competent hands, was unsubduable, and that, moreover, the natives were
bent not only upon destroying the ship but the lives of every European
on board, these four devoted all their energies to the means of escape.
The Captain was somewhere in the midst of the yelling crowd, fighting
fiercely, no doubt, his voice heard occasionally above the tumult, so
that no counsel could be taken with him. And to make the confusion
still more terrible, blinding columns of smoke began bursting, as it
seemed, out of every crevice of the vessel. This decided Reuben that
the time had come to act finally, and tearing the cabin door off its
hinges by one effort of his strength, he rushed below, and seizing
the half-suffocated Priscilla in his arms bore her on deck, and,
half-blinded, groped his way to the port quarter boat, and placed her
safely in the stern sheets. He had previously ‘racked’ the falls--that
is, fastened two of the parts of each together--and had thrown the
coils into the boat. Now he took a round turn round the midship thwart
with both the falls, and, holding them firmly, went to both ends of the
boat consecutively and cut the rackings, the boat falling a foot or so
each time with an ugly jerk. Then he lowered away handsomely, feeling
sure that in the hubbub on deck the rattle of the blocks would never
be noticed. She took the water, he unhooked and pushed off, full of
anguish of mind as to the fate of his three friends, but not knowing
what to do for them without risking the helpless woman for whom he
would gladly have suffered any pain or manner of death.