The _Dores_, a schooner of about sixty feet in length and fifteen in
breadth, had been taken at Quettah in June, and sent in charge of the
_Dolphin's_ gunner to Sierra Leone. Six weeks afterwards she was found
about twenty miles below Accra, having performed scarcely thirty miles
of her passage, and lost almost all her prize-crew, including the
gunner, from fever. Mr Murray, who had but just recovered from wounds
received in the action with the _Firme_, was then put in command of her,
with a crew of two men, two boys, and a prisoner boy, the only one who
had survived the fever.
His orders were to proceed to Sierra Leone; and the indomitable
perseverance with which he adhered to them, through formidable dangers
and difficulties, together with his care for the men under his command
during a voyage of 146 days, are well worthy of being recorded.
The only cabin which was at all habitable was eight feet in length, five
in height at the centre, and three at the sides, the breadth decreasing
from eleven to two and a half. It was entirely destitute of furniture,
swarming with vermin, and, before the end of the voyage, the fumes of
the rotting tobacco, with which the vessel was laden, clinging to the
beams, formed a coat nearly an inch in thickness. This, with an awning
of monkey skins, manufactured by themselves, was the only refuge for the
young officer and his men. The fourth night of the voyage was ushered
in by the most fearful squalls, which gradually freshened till about two
in the morning, when a tremendous storm came on, and obliged them to
bear up under bare poles; the seas washing over the little vessel, and
the wind blowing in the most terrific manner until about seven, when it
moderated and fell calm. The schooner was then observed to float much
deeper than before, and on sounding, nearly three feet of water were
found in the hold. The pump was immediately set to work, but it had
hardly fetched when it broke and became useless. This was repaired by
about sunset, and in two hours afterwards the vessel was cleared.
They then made sail and tacked, steering for Sierra Leone, till, on the
morning of the 14th of September, they sighted land just below the river
Sestos. Finding that they had but three days' provisions left, the
commander determined to make them last six, and stood on, in the hope of
weathering Cape Palmas. This was baffled by a tide that set down along
shore; but, on the 20th of September, they anchored off Cape Coast
Castle. They had no provisions remaining, but the governor supplied
them with sufficient for forty days; and, having refitted the schooner,
they put to sea again on a close, sultry morning, which was succeeded by
a violent gale, lasting three days.
About two o'clock one afternoon, a rakish-looking brigantine was
perceived standing towards the _Dores_; and judging her to be a slaver,
the young officer called his crew together, and having loaded the
muskets and got the cutlasses ready, they silently awaited her coming
up, determined to defend themselves. To their great joy, when she got
within two miles and a half of them, a strong breeze sprang up, which
placed the schooner dead to windward, and in the morning the brigantine
was out of sight. Their sails were now so worn that they were obliged
to lower them, and drift about for a whole day to repair them. Having
neither chronometer nor sextant, and only a quadrant of antique date,
often ten and even twenty miles out of adjustment, the position of the
vessel could only be guessed. The men behaved admirably during this
weary time, employing themselves in cleaning their arms, fishing, or
mending their clothes. The rain generally fell in torrents till the 4th
October, when the day closed in with appearances threatening heavy
weather. All preparations were made for the coming gale; the sails were
lowered down with the exception of the fore-staysail, and everything
lashed and secured. The fore-staysail was kept up in order to put the
schooner dead before the wind.
At about five in the evening it became a dead calm, the atmosphere
close, and all around dark. After about half an hour, a sound like
heavy thunder was heard in the distance, and through the gloom a bank of
foam was seen hastening towards the schooner; in a few minutes the
staysail was stowed, and the wind caught her, gradually freshening until
it burst upon her in all its fury; the rolling sea broke in upon her,
and completely filled her upper deck; but the side bulwarks were open,
and the sea found vent. Having battened his crew down below, Mr Murray
lashed himself to the deck, and steered the vessel through the storm,
which continued with heavy thunder and torrents of rain till about two
in the morning, when, completely exhausted, he fell asleep, and was
aroused by the crew (who, having knocked once or twice without reply,
believed him to have been washed overboard) hammering at the skylight to
get out. This gale so strained the schooner that the water gained two
feet a day, and, to add to their disasters, one of the crew was ill for
a fortnight.
From the 10th of October till the 4th of November, when land was again
discovered, the _Dores_ continued her course for Sierra Leone,
experiencing the whole weight of the rainy season. It now became
evident that she could not stem the current, for in the course of many
days she had not made more than four or five miles. Mr Murray then
determined to try again to reach Cape Palmas, by standing along the
land; and thus nearly incurred a new danger from the natives, who
assembled on the beach, armed with pikes and clubs, and as night drew on
prepared to attack the schooner should she run on shore. Happily a
slight breeze sprang up, which gave her steerage way, and enabled her to
draw off the land. No resource remained but to shape her course again
for Cape Coast Castle, to obtain provisions, their stock being
exhausted. The governor made every effort to prevail on Mr Murray to
relinquish the undertaking, which now appeared so hopeless, but he was
resolute in staying by the charge entrusted to him; and, calling his men
together, he gave them the choice of going on shore to await a passage
down to the _Dolphin_. With one consent they replied that they would
never leave him; holding to the old feeling of a true seaman, never to
leave his officer at a time of difficulty till death parts them. Their
provisioning was just completed when a fatal accident diminished the
number of the crew. They had been bathing after their day's work, and
one of them, a black, was still in the water, when he was seized by a
shark, and so fearfully injured that he died before he could be got on
board. The weary voyage recommenced, and, as before, their chief
diversion was fishing. The sharks, skipjacks, dolphins, and bonetas
which were caught were counted by hundreds, for they literally sailed
through a sea of fish. Two parrots had been added to their crew, and
were a great amusement, becoming so tame that they would obey their
master's call, and follow him afterwards through the streets like a dog.
The 9th of December was marked by a serious disaster. Seeing a huge
shark alongside, they had fastened a boneta as a bait to a piece of
small line, and made a running bowline in the end of a peak-halliard
with the fish towing a little ahead of it; the shark immediately saw it
and swam after it; they were already on the bowline to run him up the
side with his head a little out of water; gliding silently along, not
two feet from them, he came up to the bowline, which was held wide open,
while the bait was quietly hauled ahead until he was far enough through
it; then, giving a sudden jerk on it, they closed it just behind the two
side-fins and tried to catch a turn with the rope; but, quick as
lightning, the shark gave a terrific plunge and tore it through their
hands, when Mr Murray unfortunately got in the middle of the coil, and
as the men had all let go, it had got a half-hitch round his leg, and in
an instant he was drawn up and over the gunwale. Catching at the
peak-halliards, which were belayed close to him, he held on with his
only sound hand as he was flying overboard, the men also seizing him by
the arm. Before he could be extricated, the limb was severely injured
and torn. The only remedy which could be applied was bathing it in oil.
In the meantime the _Dores_ progressed, though very slowly; she had
become much more leaky, the cargo was completely rotten, and the stench
drove them all on deck; nor could they heave a particle of it overboard,
for then the vessel would have capsized, as she had no ballast in. The
sails were perfectly rotten--so bad that the vessel was often a whole
day without a stitch of canvas set when the wind fell light, that they
might be repaired with monkey skins, of which there was a good stock on
board.
The fourth month closed, and the schooner had not yet performed a voyage
of ten days, from seven to fifteen miles a day being the progress lately
made; but now the current seemed to favour her, for a change of forty
miles a day was observed in the latitude, and the hearts of officer and
men grew lighter, notwithstanding their miserable plight, always wet to
the skin, and unable to change their clothes for days together. Two
terrific storms were still to be encountered; and, at the commencement
of the second, Mr Murray sent the men below, and remained alone on the
deck, which he never expected to leave alive. The heat of each flash of
lightning was felt as if from a fire; the rain falling in torrents,
leaked in every direction through the deck, and the schooner was fast
filling with water. At length the rain ceased, and the lightning became
fainter, when they made sail again, pumped out, and proceeded till they
had made sufficient northing for Sierra Leone. They then bore up east,
and, on the 31st December, the colour of the water showed that they were
nearing the land. On this day they kept their Christmas, and many were
the hearty toasts they drank to those at home. It was not till the 6th
January, 146 days from the commencement of their voyage, that they
anchored off Sierra Leone, where it was fully believed that they were
lost. Here Mr Murray found his promotion awaiting him for the capture
of the _Firme_, and was at once invalided home.