I was born in the city of Delhi, in Central India, where my father held
a command as major in the old East India Company's service. I was an
only son, and my mother died shortly after I was born. I resided at
Delhi until I was ten years of age. Having been attended as a child by
an ayah, and afterwards taught to ride by one of my father's syces, I
learned to speak Hindostani before I could speak English, and felt quite
at home amongst black people.
My father, Major Peterson, had a brother in England who was a bachelor,
and an East Indian merchant, and supposed to be very rich. I was named
Julius, after this uncle, who was my godfather, and who was much older
than was my father, and who, although he had never seen me, yet took
great interest in me, and mentioned me in all his letters.
It was just before my tenth birthday that my father received a letter
from my uncle, which caused a great change in my life, and led to those
adventures which I relate in this tale. In this letter my uncle wrote,
that from his experience of India he was certain that I could not be
properly educated in that country; that at my age the climate was very
trying; and that consequently he wished my father to send me home, in
order that I might be placed at a good school in England, and eventually
sent either to Addiscombe or Haileybury, according as I chose the
military or civil service of India. The expenses of my education, my
uncle stated, would be undertaken by him, so that money need not
interfere with the question. Young as I was I saw the advantages of
this proposition, and being by nature ambitious and fond of adventure, I
was pleased at the prospect of seeing England. After a little
hesitation my father consented to part with me, and I and my father
commenced our long journey from Delhi to Calcutta. In those early days
of my youth there were no railways in India; there was no Suez Canal,
and there were no steamers in the world. To reach England we embarked
at Calcutta in what was termed one of Green's ships--that is, a fine
East Indiaman, a full-rigged ship of about 1,000 tons--and having sailed
down the Hoogly river, commenced our four months' voyage, round the
Cape, and from thence by Saint Helena to England.
I can remember Delhi as it was in those days--its fine old fort, the
fortifications round the town, its long street, in which were the
bazaars and jewellers' shops. Many of the little native children to
whom I used to talk in my childhood were probably among those who,
during the Mutiny, were the murderers of my countrymen. Localities on
which I have sat with my ayah, and took my first steps, have since then
become famous as the places where our soldiers have fought and conquered
against overwhelming numbers. Though I have passed through many strange
scenes, I still remember Delhi, for it was my birthplace, and it has
ever had a charm for me on that account only.
After a journey of nearly a month we reached Calcutta, and were received
as guests by a friend who lived in Fort William. I was astonished at
the sight of the ships that were anchored close to the fort, for I had
no idea that any vessels could be so large. As the _Madagascar_--the
ship in which I was to sail--was ready for sea, we stayed but a few days
in Calcutta. I was placed in charge of the captain, bid my father
good-bye, promised to be a good boy and to do everything my uncle wished
me to do, and commenced my voyage to England.
On the second day after leaving Calcutta we entered the Bay of Bengal,
and with a fair wind sailed merrily over the dancing waves. During a
few days I was sea-sick; but I soon recovered, and was then much
interested in watching the sailors when they went aloft to take reefs in
the sails, or to take in a royal or studding-sail. There were several
passengers, and of all ages, many of whom, knowing that I was alone,
were very kind to me. There was one young lady about eighteen, who was
my special favourite, and who used to tell me stories as we sat on deck
in the evening. I called her Constance: I did not then know her by any
other name. Altogether, there were five ladies on board; for in those
days more ladies went to India than ever came back. Then sanitary
precautions were not as well-known as they are at present, and fever and
cholera claimed their victims in the Land of the Sun. I will refer only
to those with whom I was afterwards associated; and these were Mrs
Apton, a widow, and her daughter, a girl about twelve years old.
Our voyage continued, without anything remarkable occurring, until three
days after we had passed the Mauritius, when it became calm, and for
three days we merely drifted helplessly on a calm sea. On the fourth
day it became dark and gloomy; there were no actual clouds, but the sky
was nearly black, the sun was invisible, and the captain and his
officers looked anxious, whilst the passengers gathered together in
groups, and talked in low tones.
I had noticed that the captain had gone several times into the cabin and
looked at a long wooden instrument that seemed to interest him much, and
which I have since learned was a barometer. By means of this instrument
and the indications in the sky, he knew that a storm was coming. In the
days of sailing-vessels a storm was a more serious matter than it is in
the present days of steam. A lee shore is now not a matter of such
extreme danger; for a steamer is not at the mercy of the winds, though
she cannot escape the fury of the waves.
Darker and darker became the sky, whilst the ship was stripped of all
her sails except one on the fore mast and one on the mizen, and every
one was watching anxiously for the first burst of the expected storm.
It was about the hour of sunset when the gale began, and we ran before
it for a few minutes, the sea as yet being calm. Suddenly the wind
chopped round, and before the ship could obey her helm she was taken
aback, the foresail flattened against the mast, and in another instant
the mast snapped like a twig, and fell on deck. The passengers, at the
commencement of the storm, had been ordered below so as to be out of the
way of the sailors, and it was merely from the reports that the mates
occasionally brought us, that we knew what was happening on deck. The
sea soon rose, and the ship lifted and fell, just as though she had been
a small boat. During two days the gale continued; but no fears were
entertained for the vessel's safety until a tremendous sea, striking her
astern, carried away her rudder and left her a helpless log on the
water. The sky had been so completely overcast since the commencement
of the gale, that neither the sun nor a star had been seen; consequently
no observations could be taken to tell where the ship was; but the
captain considered that she was west of the Natal bluff, and about fifty
miles from the land. The currents in this part are, however, so
variable and run sometimes with such force, that it is difficult,
without observations, to ascertain a ship's position.
The night was pitch dark, and every one in a state of great anxiety. No
one had undressed, all the passengers being huddled together in the
principal saloon. It must have been shortly after midnight when we
heard a great noise on deck, shouts and running about, and then came a
crash and a shock that made every sailor and passenger aware that a
great catastrophe had occurred.
I was lying on one of the fixed sofas, and was sent flying across the
cabin, and was considerably bruised; but the pain I experienced I
scarcely thought of, as my alarm was so great to hear the terrific rush
of water which struck the vessel, poured over her, and deluged the
cabin. Two or three times the ship rose, and then, with a crash of
smashing timbers, came down again, and was once more deluged with water.
"We have struck on a rock!" was the cry (such was the fact), "and shall
all be drowned."
As though satisfied with its victim, the storm ceased as suddenly as it
had risen; but the sea continued to break over us all night, and every
minute we expected the ship to break up. Had she not been a strong
teak-built ship, she would probably have gone to pieces long before
morning; but the sea gradually went down as the tide receded, and we at
length saw that day was breaking. By this time some of the most daring
among the male passengers removed the hatch that had been placed over
the gangway to keep the water out, and ventured on deck, when the full
extent of our disaster was visible. The ship's masts had all fallen,
and of the captain and crew only five sailors remained; the others had
been washed overboard, or had been killed by the falling masts. The
ship had struck on a ledge of rocks about half a mile from the shore,
and had then been carried over this into a sort of bay inside. As the
tide fell, this ledge acted as a sort of breakwater, and fully accounted
for the sudden decrease in the force of the sea as the tide went down.
Between the ship and the land there was comparatively calm water,
spotted here and there with black-looking rocks just showing above
water.
Knowing that when the tide again rose we might again be exposed to the
heavy seas which were still running, the sailors at once called upon the
passengers to help them to construct a raft; for every boat had been
either smashed or carried away, and several small dark objects moving
rapidly through the water showed that sharks were ready to seize on any
human being, who ventured into their element.
A raft was soon constructed, and the females were first conveyed to the
shore. I followed on the second journey, and then the raft went
backwards and forwards, conveying to the shore some provisions,
clothing, valuables, two or three guns and pistols, with ammunition, a
large sail to serve as a tent, and other articles that might be deemed
necessary.
The men worked till past mid-day, when the tide rose, and with it the
wind, and it was no longer possible to make use of the raft. We were
all, however, busy on shore, making a sort of "lean-to" out of the sail,
cooking provisions, and searching for water; and we thus passed our
first day, the wind again blowing a hurricane. We lay down to rest that
night, thanking God for our escape; for although our future was
uncertain, yet we were better off than were the poor fellows who had
been washed overboard, and by this time had probably been eaten by
sharks.
On the following morning there was no sign of the wreck, but the shore
was strewn with her timbers and cargo: the latter, when not utterly
spoiled by the sea-water, were collected and piled up near our tent.
During the morning the men had been talking together as to what was best
to be done. It was hoped that some ship would pass the coast, and that
by aid of a flag which we had saved from the wreck, we could signal to
the ship, and thus be relieved from our position. One question which
could not be decided was on what part of the coast we had been cast.
Some of the sailors thought we were near Saint Lucia Bay, east of Natal,
others that we were nearer the Great Fish River. Of inhabitants or
houses we saw nothing, but at night we heard the cries of animals, some
of which I recognised as made by jackals, for round Delhi there were
hundreds of these animals which used to serenade us at night. We were
fortunate in finding water: an excellent clear stream ran into the sea
within a few yards of where we had landed. We also found oysters firmly
fixed to the rocks, which were very good. Some fish-hooks and lines
were among the articles saved from the wreck, and rough fishing-rods
having been cut from the trees, several fish were caught, which we fried
in our wood fire. Thus we had no fear of starving, and though our
position was not pleasant, none of the party despaired. To me, I must
own, the conditions were not unpleasant, I had read and heard of
shipwrecks and adventures of different kinds, and being by nature gifted
with a hopeful and fearless constitution, I rather enjoyed the whole
thing; for I was too young to think or feel deeply for the loss of the
captain and crew, who had been drowned. In fact, like most children, I
was thoughtless, and did not reflect enough for the disaster to impress
me much. I had kept beside Constance all the time we were on the raft,
and sat beside her in our tent. I felt very happy with her, and used to
gather flowers for her, as many grew close beside where we were
stopping. To me it seemed like a picnic, such as we used to have
sometimes in the cool weather at Delhi, but it was of longer duration.
The men had been talking about the possibility of travelling down the
coast to find either Natal, where there were a few traders, or if we
were west of Natal, to reach the Cape Colony, and then get some vessel
to come up the coast and rescue the females and the remainder of the
men. But the difficulties of the journey were unknown: they had no idea
of what rivers or other obstacles might be in the way; and so four days
passed without any move being made; and although a sharp look-out was
kept, no vessel was seen.