THE WRECK OF THE SYLVIA.
The people in the dismasted ship had discovered the Young America, as it
appeared from the efforts they were using to attract her attention. The
booming of a gun was occasionally heard from her, but she was yet too
far off to be distinctly seen.
On the forecastle of the Academy Ship were two brass guns,
four-pounders, intended solely for use in making signals. They had never
been fired, even on the Fourth of July, for Mr. Lowington would not
encourage their use among the boys. On the present occasion he ordered
Peaks, the boatswain, to fire twice, to assure the ship in distress that
her signals were heard.
The top-gallant sails were set, and the speed of the ship increased as
much as possible; but the heavy sea was not favorable to rapid progress
through the water. At four bells, when all hands but the second part of
the port watch were piped to attend divine service in the steerage, the
Young America was about four miles distant from the dismasted vessel.
She was rolling and pitching heavily, and not making more than two or
three knots an hour.
Notwithstanding the impatience of the crew, and their desire to be on
deck, where they could see the wreck, the service on that Sunday
forenoon was especially impressive. Mr. Agneau prayed earnestly for
those who were suffering by the perils of the sea, and that those who
should draw near unto them in the hour of their danger, might be filled
with the love of God and of man, which would inspire them to be faithful
to the duties of the occasion.
When the service was ended the students went on deck again. The wreck
could now be distinctly seen. It was a ship of five or six hundred tons,
rolling helplessly in the trough of the sea. She was apparently
water-logged, if not just ready to go down. As the Young America
approached her, her people were seen to be laboring at the pumps, and to
be baling her out with buckets. It was evident from the appearance of
the wreck, that it had been kept afloat only by the severest exertion on
the part of the crew.
"Mr. Peaks, you will see that the boats are in order for use," said Mr.
Lowington. "We shall lower the barge and the gig."
"The barge and the gig, sir," replied the boatswain.
"Captain Gordon," continued the principal, "two of your best officers
must be detailed for the boats."
"I will send Mr. Kendall in the barge, sir."
"Very well; he is entirely reliable. Whom will you send in the gig?"
"I am sorry Shuffles is not an officer now, for he was one of the best
we had for such service," added the captain.
"Shuffles is out of the question," replied Mr. Lowington.
"Mr. Haven, then, in the gig."
"The sea is very heavy, and the boats must be handled with skill and
prudence."
"The crews have been practised in heavy seas, though in nothing like
this."
The barge and the gig--called so by courtesy--were the two largest boats
belonging to the ship, and pulled eight oars each. They were light and
strong, and had been built with especial reference to the use for which
they were intended. They were life-boats, and before the ship sailed,
they had been rigged with life-lines and floats. If they were upset in a
heavy sea, the crews could save themselves by clinging to the rope,
buoyed up by the floats.
The Young America stood up towards the wreck, intending to pass under
her stern as near as it was prudent to lay, the head of the dismasted
ship being to the north-west.
"Boatswain, pipe all hands to muster," said the captain, prompted by Mr.
Lowington, as the ship approached the wreck.
"All hands on deck, ahoy!" shouted the boatswain, piping the call.
The first lieutenant took the trumpet from the officer of the deck, and
the crew, all of whom were on deck when the call was sounded, sprang to
their muster stations.
"All hands, take in courses," said the executive officer; and those who
were stationed at the tacks and sheets, clew-garnets and buntlines,
prepared to do their duty when the boatswain piped the call.
"Man the fore and main clew-garnets and buntlines!" shouted the first
lieutenant. "Stand by tacks and sheets!"
The fore and main sail, being the lowest square sails, are called the
courses. There is no corresponding sail on the mizzenmast. The ropes by
which the lower corners of these sails are hauled up for furling are the
clew-garnets--the same that are designated clewlines on the topsails.
The tacks and sheets are the ropes by which the courses are hauled down,
and kept in place, the tack being on the windward side, and the sheet on
the leeward.
"All ready, sir," reported the lieutenants forward.
"Haul taut! Let go tacks and sheets! Haul up!"
These orders being promptly obeyed, the courses were hauled up, and the
ship was under topsails and top-gallant sails, jib, flying-jib, and
spanker.
"Ship, ahoy!" shouted the first lieutenant through his trumpet, as the
Young America rolled slowly along under the stern of the wreck.
"Ship, ahoy!" replied a voice from the deck of the wreck. "We are in a
sinking condition! Will you take us off?"
"Ay, ay!" cried Haven, with right good will.
"You will heave to the ship, Mr. Haven," said the captain, when she had
passed a short distance beyond the wreck.
"Man the jib and flying-jib halyards and down-hauls," said the first
lieutenant.
"All ready forward, sir," replied the second lieutenant, on the
forecastle.
"Stand by the maintop bowline! Cast off! Man the main braces!"
"Let go the jib and flying-jib halyards! Haul down!" And the jibs were
taken in.
"Slack off the lee braces! Haul on the weather braces!"
The main-topsail and top-gallant were thus thrown aback, and the Young
America was hove to, in order to enable her people to perform their
humane mission.
"Stand by to lower the barge and gig!" continued Haven.
"Mr. Haven, you will board the wreck in the gig," said Captain Gordon.
"Yes, sir," replied he, touching his cap, and handing the trumpet to the
second lieutenant.
"Mr. Kendall, you will take charge of the barge," added the captain.
"The barge, sir," answered Kendall, passing the trumpet to Goodwin, the
third lieutenant, who, during the absence of his superiors, was to
discharge the duty of the executive officer.
The boats were cleared away, and every preparation made for lowering
them into the water. This was a difficult and dangerous manoeuvre in the
heavy sea which was running at the time. The professors' barge, which
was secured at the davits on the weather side of the ship, was to be
lowered with her crew on board, and they took their places on the
thwarts, with their hands to the oars in readiness for action. The
principal had requested Mr. Fluxion to go in the barge and Mr. Peaks in
the gig, not to command the boats, but to give the officers such
suggestions as the emergency of the occasion might require.
"All ready, sir," reported Ward, the coxswain of the barge, when the
oarsmen were in their places.
"Stand by the after tackle, Ward," said Haven. "Bowman, attend to the
fore tackle."
At a favorable moment, when a great wave was sinking down by the ship's
side, the order was given to lower away, and in an instant the barge
struck the water. Ward cast off the after tackle, and the bowman did the
same with the forward tackle. At the moment the order to lower was
given, as the wave sank down, the ship rolled to windward, and the boat
struck the water some eight feet from the vessel's side.
"Up oars!" said the coxswain, with energy.
"Lively, Ward," added the first lieutenant.
"Let fall!" continued the coxswain, as a billow lifted the boat, so that
those on board could see the ship's deck. "Give way together!"
The barge, tossed like a feather on the high seas, gathered headway, and
moved off towards the wreck.
The lowering of the barge had been so successful that the same method
was adopted with the gig; but as she was under the lee of the ship,
there was less difficulty in getting her off. She pulled round the
ship's bow, and having made less stern way in starting both boats came
up under the counter of the wreck at about the same time. When the barge
and gig reached the ship, a line was thrown to each of them over the
quarter, which the bowman caught, and made fast to the ring.
"Where is the captain of the ship?" demanded Mr. Haven.
"Here," shouted that officer.
"How many have you aboard?"
"Eighteen!"
"You must slide down on a rope over the stern; we can't go alongside,"
continued the first lieutenant.
"Ay, ay, sir!" responded the captain of the ship. "I have two women and
two children on board."
"You must lower them in slings," added Haven, prompted by Mr. Fluxion.
[Illustration: THE WRECK OF THE SYLVIA. page 254.]
The people on board the wreck went to work, and one of the women was
lowered into each boat at the same time. A long loop was made in the end
of the rope, and the woman sat down in the bight of it, holding on to
the line with her hands. At a moment when the sea favored the movement,
the boats were hauled up close to the ship's stern, the passenger caught
by two of the crew, and hauled on board. A boy and a girl were let down
in the same manner. The captain, mates, and seamen came down the rope
hand over hand.
Each boat now had nine passengers, who were stowed in the stern sheets
and on the bottom. The ropes from the ship were cast off, and the
oarsmen were ordered to give way. The barge and the gig rose and fell,
now leaping up on the huge billows, and then plunging down deep into the
trough of the sea; but they had been well trimmed, and though the comb
of the sea occasionally broke into them, drenching the boys with spray,
the return to the Young America was safely effected.
"How happens it that you are all boys?" asked the captain of the wrecked
ship, who was in Paul Kendall's boat.
"That's the Academy Ship," replied the second lieutenant.
"The what?" exclaimed the captain.
"It is the Young America. She is a school ship."
"O, ay!"
There was no disposition to talk much in the boats. The officers and
crews were fully employed in keeping the barge and gig right side up in
the tremendous sea, and though all hands were filled with curiosity to
know the particulars of the wreck, all questions were wisely deferred
until they were on the deck of the ship.
When the gig came up under the counter of the Young America, a line was
thrown down to the bowman who made it fast to the ring. The passengers
were then taken aboard in slings rigged on the spanker-boom, which was
swung over the lee quarter for the purpose. Part of the boat's crew were
taken on board in the same way, and then the gig was hoisted up to the
davits with the rest in her.
Before the barge was allowed to come up under the counter, the officer
of the deck wore ship, so as to bring the port quarter, on which the
boat was to be suspended, on the lee side. Her passengers were taken on
deck as those from the gig had been, and she was hoisted up.
"Mr. Kendall, I congratulate you upon the success of your labors," said
Mr. Lowington, when the second lieutenant reached the deck. "You have
handled your boat exceedingly well, and you deserve a great deal of
credit."
"That's a fact, sir," added Boatswain Peaks, touching his cap. "I hardly
spoke a word to him, and I've seen many a boat worse handled in a sea."
Paul blushed at the praise bestowed upon him, but he was proud and happy
to have done his duty faithfully on this important occasion. The same
commendation was given to the first lieutenant, after the barge had been
hauled up to the davits, and the order given for the ship to fill away
again.
The women and children were conducted to the professors' cabin as soon
as they came on board, and the seamen were taken into the steerage. All
of them were exhausted by the anxiety and the hardships they had
endured, and as soon as their safety was insured, they sank almost
helpless under the pressure of their physical weakness.
"This is a school ship, I'm told," said Captain Greely, the master of
the shipwrecked vessel, who had also been invited to the main cabin.
"Yes, sir; we call it the Academy Ship, and we have eighty-seven young
gentlemen on board," replied Mr. Lowington.
"They are smart boys, sir. I never saw boats better handled than those
which brought us off from the ship," added Captain Greely, warmly.
"Your voyage has come to an unfortunate conclusion," said Mr. Lowington.
"Yes, sir; I have lost my ship, but I thank God my wife and children are
safe," answered the weather-beaten seaman, as he glanced at one of the
women while the great tears flowed down his sun-browned cheeks.
"Poor children!" sighed Mr. Agneau, as he patted the little girl on the
head; and his own eyes were dim with the tears he shed for others' woes.
Captain Greely told his story very briefly. His ship was the Sylvia,
thirty days out of Liverpool, bound to New York. She had encountered a
heavy gale a week before, in which she had badly sprung her mainmast.
Finding it impossible to lay her to under the foresail, they had been
compelled to set the main-topsail, reefed; but even this was too much
for the weak mast, and it had gone by the board, carrying the second
mate and five men with it. The Sylvia was old, and the captain
acknowledged that she was hardly sea-worthy. She became unmanageable,
and the foremast had been cut away to ease off the strain upon her. Her
seams opened, and she was making more water than could be controlled
with the pumps. For eighteen hours, all hands, even including the two
women, had labored incessantly at the pumps and the buckets, to keep the
ship afloat. They were utterly worn out when they discovered the Young
America, were on the point of abandoning their efforts in despair, and
taking to the boats, in which most of them would probably have perished.
After the boats started from the Young America, Mr. Lowington had
ordered the cooks to prepare a meal for the people from the wreck; and
as soon as they came on board, coffee and tea, beefsteaks, fried
potatoes, and hot biscuit were in readiness for them. Tables were spread
in the main cabin and in the steerage, and the exhausted guests,
providentially sent to this bountiful board, were cordially invited to
partake. They had eaten nothing but hard bread since the gale came on,
and they were in condition to appreciate the substantial fare set before
them.
By the forethought of Captain Greely, the clothing of the women and
children had been thrown into one of the boats. The bundle was opened,
and its contents dried at the galley fire. The doctor and the chaplain
gave up their state room to the captain, his wife and children, while
Mr. Lowington extended a similar courtesy to the other woman, who was
Mrs. Greely's sister. Mr. Fluxion was the first to offer his berth to
the mate of the Sylvia, which was reluctantly accepted; and all the
professors were zealous to sacrifice their own comfort to the wants of
the wrecked visitors.
In the steerage, every boy, without an exception, wanted to give up his
berth to one of the seamen from the Sylvia; but the privilege was
claimed by the adult forward officers, the cooks, and stewards. The
principal was finally obliged to decide between them: and for obvious
reasons, he directed that the guests should occupy the quarters of the
men, rather than of the boys. The people from the Sylvia needed rest and
nourishment more than anything else. They were warmed, and fed, and
dried, and then permitted to sleep off the fatigues of their severe
exertion.
At three o'clock, though they had slept but an hour or two, most of the
shipwrecked people appeared at divine service, for this was a privilege
which they had long been denied, and it would be strange, at such a
time, if the hearts of those who had been saved from the angry flood
were not overflowing with gratitude to God for his mercy to them. Mr.
Agneau, whose sensitive nature had been keenly touched by the events of
the day, made a proper use of the occasion, delivering a very effective
address to the students and to the shipwrecked voyagers, who formed his
little congregation.
The next morning the wind came up fresh and warm from the southward,
knocking down the heavy sea, and giving a delightful day to those on
board the ship. The passengers appeared on deck, and were greatly
interested in the Young America and her juvenile crew. Captain Greely's
son and daughter were little lions, of the first class, among the boys.
All hands vied with each other in their efforts to do something for the
guests of the ship, and it really seemed as though the era of good
feeling had dawned upon them. Even Shuffles and Pelham forgot, for a
time, the interests of the Chain League, and joined with others in
petting the children of the wreck, and in laboring for the happiness of
the involuntary guests.
On this day, observations for latitude and longitude were obtained, and
at noon the ship was found to be in latitude 42°, 37', 5" N.; longitude
64°, 39', 52" W. The position of the ship was marked on the chart by the
masters, in council assembled, and the calculations made for the course.
Bowditch's Navigator, an indispensable work to the seaman, was consulted
frequently both for the rules and the nautical tables it contains. The
course, after allowing for the variation of the compass, was found to
be north-east by east, which, agreeing with the calculations of Mr.
Fluxion, was given out to the quartermaster conning the wheel.
The wind continued to blow fresh from the south and south-west during
the rest of the day and the succeeding night; and the log-slate showed
ten and eleven knots until midnight, when the wind hauled round to the
westward, and soon came strong from that quarter. At noon on Tuesday,
April 5, the Young America had made two hundred and forty-four miles
during the preceding twenty-four hours, which was the best run she had
had during the voyage.
On the afternoon of this day, a ship, bound to the westward, was seen,
and Captain Greely expressed a desire to be put on board of her, with
his family, as he did not wish to return to the point from which he had
just come. The Young America bore down upon the sail, and spoke her at
sundown. Her captain was willing to take the shipwrecked voyagers on
board his ship, which was bound to New York, and they were transferred
in the barge and gig. Captain Greely and his party were very grateful
for the attentions they had received; and the little boy and girl almost
rebelled at the idea of leaving their new and partial friends.
As the two ships were filling away, after the transfer of the
passengers, the seamen of the New York ship, having learned what the
Young America was, gave three cheers, and dipped her ensign in
compliment to her. All the young tars were immediately ordered into the
rigging by Captain Gordon, and "three times three" were most lustily
given. The American flag at her peak was lowered three times, in reply
to the salute of the stranger. As the Academy Ship stood off on her
course, the two children of Captain Greely were seen, on the poop-deck
of the other vessel, waving their handkerchiefs; and they continued to
do so as long as they could be seen.
The departure of the guests had a saddening effect upon the crew of the
Young America, as they missed the children and the ladies very much;
for, during their presence on board, the ship had assumed quite a
domestic aspect, and all the idlers on deck found pleasing companions in
the little boy and girl.
The limits of this volume do not permit a full detail of the entire
voyage across the ocean. Enough has been given to show the discipline of
the ship, and the daily life of the boys on board of her. For the next
ten days the weather was generally favorable, and she laid her course
all the time. Some days she made two hundred miles, and others less than
one hundred.
On the sixteenth day from her departure, she was in latitude 51°, 4',
28" N.; longitude 31°, 10', 2" W.; course, E. by N. In going from Cape
Race, the southern point of Newfoundland, to Cape Clear, the southern
point of Ireland, the Young America did not lay a straight course, as it
would appear when drawn on a map or chart. La Rochelle, on the western
coast of France, and Cape Race are nearly on the same parallel of
latitude, and the former is exactly east of the latter. But the parallel
on which both points lie would not be the shortest line between them. A
great circle, extending entirely around the earth in the broadest part,
going through both, would not coincide with the parallel, but would run
to the north of it a considerable distance at a point half way between
the two places, the separation diminishing each way till the great
circle crosses the parallel at Cape Race and La Rochelle. The shortest
course between the two points, therefore, would be the arc of the great
circle lying between them. A skilful navigator would find and follow
this track. This is called great circle sailing.
The Young America followed a great circle from Cape Race to Cape Clear.
Off the former point, her course was two points north of east; off the
latter, it was half a point south of east. On her twentieth day out she
sailed due east.
After the excitement of the wreck and the departure of the passengers,
Shuffles and his confederates resumed their operations in the Chain
League, assisted somewhat by a case of discipline which occurred at this
time. When the ship was sixteen days out the Chain consisted of
thirty-one links, in the cabalistic language of the conspirators, and
Shuffles was in favor of striking the blow.