BRUTALITY AT SEA
In those days the deep-sea shipmaster looked upon the
collier skipper as his inferior in everything, and regarded
himself in the light of an important personage. His bearing
was that of a man who believed that he was sent into the
world so that great deeds might be accomplished. He lavishly
patronised everybody, and never disguised his desire to
repudiate all connection with his less imposing
fellow-worker in a different sphere. He would pace the poop
or quarter-deck of his vessel with the air of a monarch.
Sometimes a slight omission of deference to his monarchy
would take place on the part of officers or crew. That was
an infringement of dignity which had to be promptly reproved
by stern disciplinary measures.
There were various methods open to him of inflicting
chastisement. An offending officer was usually ordered to
his berth for twenty-four hours--that is put off duty. The
seamen's offences were rigorously atoned for by their being
what is called "worked up," _i.e.,_ kept on duty during
their watch below; or, what was more provoking still, they
might be ordered to "sweat up" sails that they knew did not
require touching. This idle aggravation was frequently
carried out with the object of getting the men to revolt;
they were then logged for refusing duty and their pay
stopped at the end of the voyage. It was not an infrequent
occurrence for grown men to be handcuffed for some minor
offence that should never have been noticed. The sight of
human suffering and degradation was an agreeable excitement
to this class of officer or captain. If some of the villainy
committed in the name of the law at sea were to be written,
it would be a revolting revelation of wickedness, of
unheard-of cruelty. Small cabin-boys who had not seen more
than twelve summers were good sport for frosty-blooded
scoundrels to rope's-end or otherwise brutally use, because
they failed to do their part in stowing a royal or in some
other way showed indications of limited strength or lack of
knowledge. The barbarous creed of the whole class was to
lash their subjects to their duties. A little fellow, well
known to myself, who had not reached his thirteenth year,
had his eyes blacked and his little body scandalously
maltreated because he had been made nervous by continuous
bullying, and did not steer so well as he might have done
had he been left alone. It is almost incredible, but it is
true, some of these rascals would at times have men hung up
by their thumbs in the mizen rigging for having committed
what would be considered nowadays a most trivial offence.
One gentleman, well known in his time by the name of Bully
W----, stood on the poop of the square-rigged ship
_Challenge_, and _shot_ a seaman who was at work on the main
yardarm! It was never known precisely why he did it; but it
was well known that had he not made his exit from the cabin
windows, and had he not received assistance to escape, he
would have been lynched by a furious public. This man once
commanded a crack, square-rigged clipper called the _Flying
Cloud_. His passages between New York and San Francisco were
a marvel to everybody. He was credited, as many others like
him have been, with having direct communication with the
devil, and is said never to have voluntarily taken canvas
in. He was one of those who used to lock tacks and sheets,
so that if the officers were overcome by fear they could not
shorten canvas. His fame spread until it was considered an
honour to look upon him, much less to know him. He became
the object of adoration, and perhaps his knowledge of this
swelled his conceit, so that he came to believe that even
the shooting of his seamen was not a murderous, but a
permissible act, so far as _he_ was concerned. But this man
was only one among scores like him.
There was once a famous captain of a well-known Australian
clipper, a slashing, dare-devil fellow, who made the
quickest passages to and from Australia on record. But at
last he lost his head, and then of course his money, and
died in very pinched circumstances. Poor fellow, he couldn't
stand corn! The people of Liverpool gave a banquet in honour
of him. He arrived late in the banqueting hall, and there
were indications that he was inebriated. When he had to
respond to the toast of his health he shocked his audience
by stating that he would either be in hell or in Melbourne
in so many days from the time of sailing. Destiny ordained
that he was not to be in hell, and not in Melbourne
either--only hard and fast on Australian rocks! His
misfortunes and his habits soon put an end to his
professional career, but his deeds are deservedly talked of
to this day. He was undoubtedly one of the smartest men of
his time, and ought to have been saved from the end that
befell him.
Captains who claimed public attention for reasons that would
not now be looked upon with favour were usually known by the
opprobrious name of "Bully this" or "Bully that;" but "Jack
the Devil" and "Hell Fire Jack" were perhaps as widely used
names as any others. There were various causes for the
acquisition of such distinction. It was generally the
fearless way in which they carried sail, and their harsh,
brutal treatment of their crews that fixed the epithet upon
them. I am quite sure many of them were proud of it. They
were conscious of having done something to deserve it. It
will appear strange that seamen should have been found to
sail with such commanders; not only could they be found, but
many were even eager to sail with them, the reason being
that they desired to share some of the notoriety which their
captains had acquired. They loved to talk of having sailed
in a vessel made famous by the person who commanded her,
even if he were a bully! His heroics were made an
everlasting theme. The A.B.s rarely made more than one
voyage with him; many of them deserted even at the first
port. The dreadful usage, and the fear of being killed or
drowned, were too much for them sometimes.