We touched at Gibraltar, that the captain might obtain information as to
the ports he was to call at. Smyrna, we found, was to be our ultimate
destination. He gave notice of the attack made on us by the pirate, and
a brig of war was sent to look out for her. I shall have a good deal
more to say about our turbaned friends by-and-by. Gibraltar I thought a
wonderful place, with the face of its high rock, which stands out into
the sea, cut full of galleries, and ports with heavy guns grinning from
them in every direction. Of course, the seamen very often do not know
at what port the ship is to touch, or whereabouts they are. Such was my
case: I had never seen a chart of the Mediterranean. The first definite
notion I got of it was from Peter, who afterwards drew one for me with a
piece of chalk on the lid of his chest. I only knew that we were
steering towards the east, and that we were likely to see several
strange places and many strange people.
Some time after leaving Gibraltar, I had just come on deck one night to
keep my watch, when out of the dark ocean, as it seemed, I saw a bright
light burst forth and blaze up into the sky. I thought some ship must
have blown up; but the light continued, and grew stronger and stronger,
and reached higher and higher. The fire seemed to spout out, and then
to fall in a shower on every side, something like the branches of a
weeping ash, or some wide-spreading tree. The ship was standing towards
it, and I thought we should certainly be burned.
"Oh, Peter, Peter," I exclaimed, "what is the matter? Surely the world
has caught fire, and we shall all be destroyed!"
"No fear of that just yet, lad," he answered, laughing. "That's only a
burning island, which is called Stromboli. There are some mountains in
these parts, as I have heard say, which send out such a quantity of hot
stones, and ashes, and boiling earth, that whole towns, and villages,
and fields are overwhelmed and buried. In those countries you may buy
for a penny as much fruit as you can carry, and get as much wine as you
can drink for twopence, while all sorts of other good things are very
cheap; and the weather is almost always like summer. But, for my part,
I would rather live in Old England, with the foul weather and the fair
we get there, and a piece of beef, often somewhat hard to come at, than
in a country where your house may any moment be knocked down by an
earthquake or covered up with hot ashes. To my mind, all countries have
their advantages and their drawbacks; and the great thing is, to be
grateful for the one, and to learn how to guard against the other."
We touched at several places on our passage. Malta was one of them.
The English had not at that time taken possession of it.
At length we reached Smyrna, which is partly situated on level ground,
the harbour backed by a lofty hill. There is more trade here than in
any other place in the East. The climate, though hot, is very fine; but
the place is often shaken by earthquakes, which have at times caused
great destruction to lives and property. That dreadful scourge, also,
the plague, is a frequent visitor. The former may truly be said to be
beyond man's control; but the latter is, I am certain, brought about
very much by the dirty habits of the people, and their ill-ventilated
and ill-drained habitations.
In the neighbourhood of Smyrna grow great quantities of figs, which are
dried and packed in boxes and baskets. They formed part of our cargo
home. We had likewise raisins and other dried fruits, and preserves,
and rich silks and embroideries. None of the seamen were allowed to go
on shore, for Christians were very likely to get insulted, if not
ill-treated, by the Turks. In those days they used to look upon all
Christians as dogs, and to behave towards them as such. Besides Turks,
there were a great number of Jews and Greeks, and people from every part
of the East, living at Smyrna; but all had to submit to the caprices and
ignorance of the first.
I was not sorry when we once more made sail, with the ship's head to the
westward. We had a somewhat tedious passage down the Mediterranean,
having frequent baffling or light winds. At times of the year gales,
however, blow with great fury in that sea, though they seldom last long.
Most to be dreaded are the sudden gales which, under the name of "white
squalls," have sent many a vessel, caught unprepared, to the bottom.
At last we reached Gibraltar again. The Captain inquired if anything
had been seen of the pirate which had attempted to surprise us with her
boats; but the brig of war had returned without hearing anything of her.
We remained but a day at the Rock. We took on board there the crew of
a ship which had foundered at sea, and had been brought in by a Greek
brig which had picked them up, and, for a wonder, had not murdered them.
However, as they were nearly naked, and had promised the Greeks a
reward if they arrived in safety, more was to be got by keeping them
alive than by killing them. We were thus very strongly manned.
Foul winds and a heavy gale made us stand a good way to the westward on
our passage home, after getting clear of the Gut. Soon after sunrise
one morning a sail was reported away to windward, running down towards
us, the wind being about on her quarter. As she approached with all
sail set, she appeared to be sailing very wildly; that is to say,
instead of keeping a steady, straight course, her head went now on one
side, now on the other, as if a drunken man was at the helm. The
captain and mates were looking at her through their glasses.
"She looks like an English craft, by the cut of her canvas," observed
Mr Gale.
"I can make out the ensign at her peak, and there's no doubt she is
English," answered the captain. "There is something wrong aboard her,
however, depend on that. I suspect that they have had a fever among
them, or the plague, and that all her people are sick, and they have not
strength to shorten sail."
"Perhaps there is a mutiny aboard, or the people are all quarrelling
among each other," observed Mr Gale. "I have known of such things:
when the master and officers have ill-treated the men, the crew have
risen against them, and either hove them overboard or confined them
below, and carried the ship into an enemy's port."
I was surprised at the expression of the captain's countenance while the
mate was speaking. The words seemed to remind him, I thought, of some
occurrence of his youth.
"Depend on it, Gale, no good ever came of such a deed," he remarked.
"Either the actors in such work have gone on all their lives afraid of
detection, or have very speedily paid the penalty of it. Unless a man
has become a hardened wretch, the recollection of such an act will throw
a gloom over the whole of his after-life, and blight all his earthly
prospects."
"Not if he feels that he is forgiven, surely, sir," said the mate,
looking at him steadfastly. "Sincere repentance and firm trust in the
merits of One who died for us will gain us that boon, I am certain. I
am not learned in divinity, but this much I know and feel; and I believe
that it is the sum and substance of what a Christian should know and
feel."
I had never heard Mr Gale speak in that way before. I did not know
even that he was what is called a religious man. I certainly never
heard him swear or abuse any of the men, or accuse them wrongfully, as
too many officers do; but I just thought him a quiet, brave, amiable
young man, who was content to do his duty and let other people follow
their own ways. I afterwards had reason to know that he was even more
than that. He was eminently judicious, and he now felt that the time
had arrived when he might speak a word in season to good effect. The
captain listened, and after some time I saw him put out his hand and
grasp that of Mr Gale; but he said nothing in reply. Meantime the brig
was drawing near to us.
"Have a boat ready to board her," cried the captain, after he had again
examined her through his glasses. "It is strange, indeed; I can see no
one on her deck."
The _Rainbow_ was now hove-to, and a boat was lowered. I went in her;
so did Peter. Mr Gale had charge of her. We all were, by the
captain's orders, strongly armed, and he directed the mate to approach
cautiously, so as not to be taken by surprise. I never met a braver man
than the captain, or one who, at the same time, was more cautious and
careful of the lives of his people. During my apprenticeship with him,
on several occasions, had it not been for this constant caution and care
not to be taken by surprise, both he and all his people would have been
destroyed.
While the boat pulled towards the stranger, the brig, with her guns run
out, and the people at their quarters ready to fire, stood so as to
cross her bows, and to punish her should any treachery be intended. We
had to be careful in going alongside, lest she should run us down; for
as her head now went in one direction, now in another, it was difficult
to determine on which side she would come. She was a fine large brig,
fully as large as the _Rainbow_, and it did look strange to see her
sailing along over the wide Atlantic without apparently a human being to
guide her course. Still, from what I had heard the captain say, I could
not help fancying that there was some trick, and fully expected to see a
number of men start up the moment we touched her side, and either send
our boat to the bottom with a cold shot, or seize us and carry us as
prisoners below. It was a satisfaction, however, to feel that, with the
shipwrecked crew, we had plenty of men on board to carry the ship home,
and to punish those who might injure us.
I must say that I felt rather curious as, giving way, we dashed
alongside the stranger, and Peter with his boat-hook catching hold of
the fore-chains, we, with our cutlasses in our mouths, scrambled on
board. No one appeared. A perfect silence reigned over the deck. Our
first business was to shorten sail, and round-to the ship. Mr Gale
flew to the helm, and put it down, while we flattened in the
topsail-braces, and clewed up top-gallant-sails, and brailed up the
courses, throwing the foretop-sail aback. As this work occupied all our
attention, we had no time to make any remarks as to the state of affairs
on deck. As I was running forward, my foot slipped in a wet mass and I
came to the deck. Jumping up again, I seized the rope at which I had
been ordered to haul. When the work was done, and the ship hove-to, I
looked at my hands. A cold shudder came over me: they were covered with
_blood_!
I gave a cry of horror and disgust. It attracted the attention of my
shipmates. We now looked along the deck. In several places were other
dark clotted marks scarcely yet dry. Other signs there were which
showed that plunder had been the object of the deadly attack, which, it
was evident, had been made on the crew of the brig. Articles of dress
were strewed about, and cases of provisions, nautical instruments, books
and charts, and opened bales of merchandise; but there were no signs of
a struggle--nothing to show that the hapless crew had even been enabled
to fight for their lives.
"What has been the matter aboard?" shouted Captain Helfrich, as the
_Rainbow_ passed close to us.
"Murder, sir! foul murder!--there can be no doubt of it," answered Mr
Gale, who was about to descend the companion-hatch. I with others
followed him.
What a scene of havoc, confusion, and wanton destruction the cabin
presented, as seen in the dim light which came down the companion-hatch,
for the covering of the skylight was on. There had evidently been a
fierce strife there. A mirror over the stove was broken to atoms--the
chairs were overturned--china-plates and cut-glasses lay scattered about
in fragments amid clothing, and books, and boxes; the cabin lamp and a
cabin compass, and stores of every sort, of which the lockers had been
rifled--chests and trunks lay open, despoiled of their contents, but no
human form, either alive or dead, was to be seen.
Mr Gale ordered the hands on deck to lift off the skylight. As the
bright sunshine came down into the cabin, the full horror of the scene
was exhibited. Among a mass of articles, such as I have enumerated,
which lay on the cabin table, were six human heads with ghastly grins,
holding pieces of meat in their mouths! They were placed at each side
of the table, and knives, and forks, and plates with food, were placed
before them! They had evidently thus been arranged in savage mockery by
their ruthless murderers, as they were about to leave the scene of their
atrocity. We searched about: no bodies were found. On one side of the
cabin there was a complete pool of blood, though part of it had been
lapped up by the bedclothes, which had been dragged from one of the
berths. The beds in the other state-rooms had been undisturbed.
Everything in the cabin showed us that the vessel was English; and this
was confirmed by opening the books, which were all in English. So, as
far as we could judge, were the countenances of the murdered people--I
will not say men; for on examining one of the heads, our horror was
increased by discovering that one of them was that of a woman--young and
beautiful she had been. Oh, what a scene of horror must her eyes last
have beheld; with what anguish must her heart last have beat! Even in
death the features of the murdered men wore various expressions. Horror
on one was clearly portrayed--desperate determination on that of
another--fierce rage showed itself on the face of another. So I
fancied; but, at all events, had I known any of the people, I think that
I should have recognised them. There were the same Anglo-Saxon features
common to all. The complexions of some were fair, and of others
sunburnt. There was one with a weather-beaten countenance, and large
bushy whiskers, whom we took to be one of the officers of the ship,
while most of the others had the smooth complexions of shore-going
people, and were probably those of passengers.
What we had already discovered plainly told the story of the
catastrophe. The brig had been surprised in the evening by some
piratical miscreants, while the captain and passengers, and some of the
officers probably, were below at supper. The watch on deck must have
instantly been overpowered before those below had time to come to their
assistance. Some, probably hearing a scuffle, and coming on deck, were
instantly slaughtered, or, it might have been, secured and carried off
all prisoners. The people in the cabin could not even have been aware
of what was going forward, and the first announcement of the misfortune
which had befallen them, was the appearance of the pirates rushing into
the cabin. Rising from the table, they had seized whatever weapons came
nearest to hand to defend themselves. Desperately they might have
fought, but all in vain. One clearly had been dragged from bed, holding
fast to the clothes. Most likely the unfortunate lady had been so
treated, and deprived of life on the body of her husband.
Mr Gale's opinion was, that the captain's head was not among those in
the cabin; but that, on first hearing the scuffle, he had sprung on
deck, as being nearest the door, to ascertain its cause. This opinion
was afterwards confirmed by the discoveries we made. As soon as they
had been overpowered, their heads must have been cut off, perhaps to
make the rest show where any valuables they might possess were
concealed. However performed, at all events the butchery was complete.
Never, indeed, have my eyes beheld a scene of greater horror. Death
alone, we know, may bring peace and joy; but death under such outrageous
aspects as those I have described, affrights the soul.
While some of the men went forward to ascertain the state of matters in
the forepeak, Mr Gale kept Peter and me to look after the ship's
papers. We hunted about in a number of places for some time without
avail. At last I went into what I concluded to be the master's cabin,
and in a tin case, under his pillow, I found them. I took them to Mr
Gale, who glanced over them.
"The _Dolphin_, the vessel is called," he observed. "Ah, and here's a
name I think I remember,--Walter Stenning, master. Why, Poplar, is not
that the name of the young man we picked up at sea a few voyages back to
the West Indies?"
"Yes, sir; the very same," answered Peter. "I've had notice of him
since then, and I heard say that he had become master and owner of a
fine craft, and gone with his wife and family to live out in one of the
colonies; I don't know which."
"Halifax, Nova Scotia, the brig hails from, I see. She was bound from
Bristol to Demerara," continued Mr Gale, reading on from the papers.
"I suppose, though, we shall have to send her to Halifax, where, as far
as I can make out, her owners reside, as well as the merchants who have
shipped most of her freight."
While the mate was still looking over the papers, Captain Helfrich, who
had come on board in another boat, entered the cabin. He was more
affected than any of us by the horrid sight which met his eyes.
"Who can have done this?" he exclaimed, casting his eyes round in every
direction. "Ah, what is that I see in the corner there?" He pointed to
what proved to be a Moorish turban; while near it lay a piece of a
sabre, which, from its curved form, evidently belonged to the same
people.
"This work was done, I doubt not, by the very villains who attempted to
surprise us," he observed, as I handed him the articles to examine. "We
may truly be thankful that they did not find us unprepared, as they did
the unfortunate people of this vessel, or their lot might have been
ours."
"Indeed we have cause of gratitude to God, who, in His mercy, preserved
us," responded Mr Gale. "I wish that we could find the people who did
this work, to stop their committing further mischief."
"The miscreants cannot be far-off," exclaimed the captain. "If we could
fall in with them, we might punish them in a way they little expect."
"I suspect, sir, when the Moors let the brig go free, they must have
hauled their wind, and kept away to the eastward," observed Mr Gale.
"They are not fond, in general, of keeping so far away from their own
shores."
"You are right, Gale," said the captain. "However, though I think we
might find them, I should not be justified in going out of our course to
look for them. We must, therefore, consider how we are to dispose of
the brig. As far as I can judge, without thinking more of the matter, I
am bound to send her to Halifax at once to her owners, from whom we
shall obtain the proper salvage. Now, as I shall be glad to do what I
think will be of service to you, I will give you the command of her,
with a few hands whom I can spare; while with the seamen whom we have as
passengers on board, the _Rainbow_ will still be sufficiently manned to
reach home in safety."
Mr Gale did not refuse the captain's offer, and I was far from sorry
when I found that he had selected Peter Poplar and me among the people
who were to accompany him. Besides us, as the shipwrecked seamen were
all anxious to reach England, and would not volunteer, we had only three
other men; so that, considering the size of the _Dolphin_, we were
somewhat short-handed.
Before committing the heads to the deep, we examined their features, and
it was the opinion of all on board, who had known Walter Stenning, that
none of them bore any resemblance to him; so that if the young man, who
had for so long been on board the _Rainbow_, was the same person who
lately commanded this unfortunate vessel, his fate was still uncertain.
Too probably, however, he had been murdered by the miscreants on deck.
Scarcely less melancholy would be his lot if he still survived, for he
would have been carried away to Morocco, and there sold as a slave, to
labour in the fields or gardens.
One or two other bits of arms and ornaments were found about the deck;
and the captain, on examining them, gave it as his opinion that the
pirate was one of those craft which had long been known under the name
of Salee Rovers. At one time the greater number of vessels fitted out
by the Moors to plunder on the high seas hailed from that port. Before
the captain left the vessel, every part of her was examined, but not a
trace of a living being could be found. Still, too clearly to be
mistaken did she tell her own dreadful tale. The log-book showed that,
three days before, she had been in a dead calm since sunrise, and that a
strange sail was in sight. Little did her crew dream of the woe that
stranger was to work them!
We were allowed to go on board the _Rainbow_ to get our chests, and to
wish our shipmates good-bye; and then I bade farewell to my old captain,
and the craft I had learned to love as a seaman only can,--the vessel
within whose wide timbers I had spent many a happy day, and which had
carried me in safety across many a wide sea.
We found nearly everything we required on board the _Dolphin_. It took
some time, however, to get her to rights, to wash out the stains of
blood, and to put the cabin in order, and to remove all remnants of the
horrid deed which had been enacted there. It was some time, however,
before Mr Gale could prevail on himself to take possession of the
cabin. At last all the necessary arrangements on board the _Dolphin_
were made, and Captain Helfrich ordering Mr Gale to proceed on his
voyage, bore away to the north-east, while we kept to the westward of
north. I felt very strange as I found myself on board a new vessel, and
saw the old one, in which I had served for so many years, sailing away
from us. I should have felt very forlorn and melancholy if Peter had
not been with me. I was also very much attached to Mr Gale, and was
very glad that he was now my captain.
The Irish, I have observed, generally possess a considerable amount of
imagination, and I conclude that I inherited no small share of that
quality from my poor mother. I remember that the first night I passed
on board the _Dolphin_, I fancied in my sleep that I saw again the whole
of the scene of horror which had so short a time before been enacted
there. Several times I jumped up, thinking that the rovers were coming
on board, and that I had to fight for my life. Then I fancied that I
heard the cries and the groans of the poor fellows who had slept where I
was sleeping, and had met their death close to where I lay; and I looked
out and saw them writhing and struggling in the hands of their barbarous
murderers.
Peter, instead of laughing at me when I told him of my dreams, answered
me that the surest way to banish all such thoughts, was to say my
prayers earnestly at night whenever I turned in, and to pray that I
might be preserved from all dangers, and especially from the fate which
had overtaken these poor men. I was very fortunate in falling in, at
this time of my life, with two such men as Mr Gale and Peter Poplar.
The latter was uneducated, certainly, but had learned his religion from
the Bible, and therefore he possessed the true principles, the
essentials of a saving faith; and he was the instrument of gradually
opening my mind and heart to them.
Captain Gale, for so I shall now call him, had a very sharp look-out
kept lest we should again fall in with the Salee Rover, or any of his
consorts, which, it was very probable, might still be hovering about in
that part of the ocean. The first day after parting company with the
_Rainbow_ passed by without a single sail heaving in sight. The breeze
had got round to the southward, so that we had a fair wind; and as it
was light, we were able to carry all the canvas we could set. At night,
however, as we were somewhat short-handed, the captain ordered us to
furl top-gallant-sails, and to take a reef in the topsails, that we
might be better prepared should it come on to blow. The second night,
however, passed away, and the same fine weather continued.
The next morning, soon after daybreak, Captain Gale came on deck, and
ordered us to loose top-gallant-sails. On going aloft to obey the
order, as I cast my eyes round the horizon, I saw, right away on our
weather-beam, just rising out of the water, the top-gallant-sails of a
brig, close-hauled, standing, I judged, across our course. I hailed the
deck to say what I had observed; and after the reefs were shaken out of
the topsails, the captain told me to keep aloft to watch the movements
of the stranger. She stood steadily on till she rose her topsails out
of the water, and then, as I judged, on seeing us, kept more away, so as
to cut us off. On hearing this, the captain himself went aloft to have
a look at the stranger. He remained some time, examining her narrowly
through his glass. The breeze had freshened up a good deal, and it was
not a time, I should have supposed, to have made more sail; but the
moment he came down, he ordered us to set studden-sails and royals.
"We must make the craft put her best leg foremost," said he to Peter.
"I do not altogether like the look of that ship out there. She is
certainly not English; and by her movements she seems very much inclined
to overhaul us. Just tell us what you think about the matter."
Peter took the glass, and went aloft. He also was some time there.
When he came down, he handed the glass to the captain without speaking.
"Well, Peter, what do you think of her?" asked the latter. Peter took
off his hat, and passed his hand over his brow. "Why, to say the truth,
Captain Gale, I don't like her looks at all. If ever one craft was like
another, she's like that strange brig which lay becalmed near us the
time when we were attacked before going up the Mediterranean. It's
difficult to tell one vessel from another, but I very much suspect that
she's the very same piratical rascal we before fell in with, and that
this brig is no stranger to her either."
The captain replied, that he was afraid his apprehensions were too
well-founded.
The next question was, how we were to escape from the corsair, should
the stranger really be her. A couple of hours passed away, and although
we were going at a good rate through the water, there could be no doubt
that she was coming up with us. It was now blowing a stiffish breeze,
and I saw the captain and Peter often casting an anxious glance aloft,
to see whether the masts and spars would bear the heavy strain put on
them. Happily there was not much sea; and though the studden-sail-booms
bent and cracked again, they held on bravely. Our great hope was, that
we might be able to keep well ahead of the stranger till night came on;
and then that, by hauling our wind, he might pass us in the dark. We
had already got as much wind as the brig could stagger under, and thus
one of the greatest dangers we had to apprehend was from carrying away
any of our spars. Over and over again the captain looked up at the
mast-head, and exclaimed, "Hold on, good sticks, hold on, and serve us a
good turn!"
A stern chase is a long chase; and though this was not quite a stern
chase, by-the-by, it was nearly one, and we hoped it might prove so long
as to have no end. Still our pursuer kept after us. As he drew nearer,
we had less and less doubt that he was the very Salee Rover we had
before so much to do with. At the same time, our hopes of escaping him
decreased. Peter had set himself down on the heel of the bowsprit to
rest. I brought him his dinner there, for he had not left the deck for
a moment since the morning. He did not look up for some time till I
begged him to eat. Still he did not answer. At last I asked him what
he was thinking about.
"Why, Jack, how we may manage to escape from the pirate," he answered
after some time. "A very curious idea has struck me, and if the captain
will listen to me, we'll put it into execution. It can do no harm, and
if our pursuer comes up with us, I think it will make him haul his wind
in a pretty considerable hurry."