"Stop!" he cried, "if I am well my men shall feel well too; they have
been grumbling for several days; I'll moisten their throats with rum;
we're perfectly safe here; tell the steward to roll a barrel on deck;
they shall drink until they can't stand."
The storm had, in the meantime, blown over; the sea was placid, and
the full moon was rising gloriously. The table was already spread; I
hastened to the cabin, taking with me the laudanum bottle from the
medicine chest, out of which I poured a stupefying dose into the
rum-cask and into every bottle of Bordeaux, except the one destined
for my own use, which I marked by a cut in the cork. Then I gave the
captain's orders to the steward, who immediately obeyed them, and the
crew expressed their gratitude by three cheers and a "Long live the
captain!"
I now placed the bottles of Bordeaux upon the table so that the one I
had marked stood by my plate. Eight o'clock struck during these
preparations; supper was brought and we immediately took our places.
The crew lay about on the deck, and seemed very good humored. When the
keenness of their appetite was appeased, they began to drink, and the
officers broke the necks of the bottles of Bordeaux.
I did not neglect the captain meanwhile; he was very well content, for
he had already emptied half the bowl. I perceived that the laudanum
was taking effect upon all, and when I returned to the officers I
found them all very much excited. They were relating their various
exploits so noisily that scarcely a word could be heard. On deck the
wildest confusion reigned, and the sailors were shouting their
horrible pirate songs. The noise lasted about a half an hour and then
grew fainter and fainter till it ceased entirely; the opium had done
its duty; all lay buried in profound slumber, just where they had been
drinking.
The steward and I delayed not an instant in taking advantage of this
favourable moment. We immediately put into one of the fishing boats, a
cask of water, a brandy flask, a ham and some other provisions, and
then provided ourselves with the necessary clothes. I put on my
overcoat, into which I had sewed a considerable number of gold-pieces;
took a pocket compass, and a good spy glass, and was in the boat in
less than five seconds. The steward threw down a bundle and followed
me immediately.
We quickly cut the rope that fastened us to the hated schooner, put up
the sail, and as the wind was favourable, were soon out of sight of
her. We got into the current and shot along like an arrow. I was
rather terrified when the moon set, but the stars shone brightly, and
the steward was indeed well acquainted with those waters. When the sun
rose, we were not more than five leagues from Havana, and as the wind
and current continued to be favorable, we sailed into port a little
after nine o'clock, heard the bells ringing, and the great city with
its threatening fortifications and forest of masts lay before us. We
landed, and before a half an hour had elapsed, were in the house of
the English consul, relating to him our wonderful escape from the
pirates, whom I had served, much against my will, for more than a
month.
Two days afterwards, an English frigate set sail for home. I took my
passage in it, and after a short, prosperous voyage, landed at
Plymouth, my native town.
Captivity among the Japanese.
On the fifth of July, A. D., 1811, the Russian sloop of war, Diana,
approached Kumachir, one of the most southerly of the Kurile islands,
belonging to Japan, for the purpose of seeking shelter in one of its
bays against an approaching storm. They were received, on their
arrival, by a shower of balls from a fort which commanded the bay. As
no one, however, approached the vessel, its commander, Vassillii
Golownin, considering this hostile reception as the natural
consequence of former deeds of violence perpetrated by his countrymen
in those waters, did not return the fire, but endeavored, by means of
signs, to make the natives understand that his intentions towards them
were friendly, and that he wished to land merely to fill his water
casks. After a protracted negociation, a nearer conference was agreed
on, and Golownin was imprudent enough to fall into the snare set for
him. But we will let him describe the dangers and sufferings he
underwent, in his own words:
After we had cast anchor, says he, in the spot designated to us, I
landed with midshipman Moor, the steersman, Chleb Nikow, four sailors,
and Alexis, a native of the Kuriles, who acted as interpreter. So
deceived were we by the apparent friendliness of the Japanese, that we
took no arms with us, except our swords. In order to destroy any
distrust they might feel towards us, I ordered our boat to be partly
drawn on shore, and left a sailor to watch it. The rest of the men, by
my orders, carried after us some chairs, and the presents we intended
for the natives. As I entered the fort, I was astonished to find that
a large crowd had collected in it. There were at least four hundred
soldiers, armed with guns, pikes, and javelins, drawn up in an open
space to the right of the gates. Opposite to them was a tent made of
striped cotton stuffs, into which we were conducted. The commander of
the fort, a stately man, dressed in a complete suit of armor, and
wearing two sabres by his side, rose on our entrance, and when we had
saluted him, politely begged us to be seated on some benches which
were set ready for us. We thanked him for his courtesy, but preferred
taking our seats on the chairs which we had brought with us. When we
were seated, they served us with tea without sugar, which they carried
on lacquered wooden waiters. According to the Japanese custom, the
cups were only half full. After we had partaken of it, they supplied
us with pipes and tobacco, and the conference began. They first
inquired the name and rank of each of us, and then asked repeatedly,
and in an insidious manner, where we came from, whither we were going,
and why our countrymen had formerly ravaged their northern coasts.
When we had returned guarded answers to these questions, they wanted
to know how many men were in our vessel. As I thought it prudent to
magnify our strength, I replied "a hundred;" but Alexis could not
translate this number, and I was obliged to make a hundred marks on a
piece of paper, with a pencil, and let the Japanese count them.
Whilst they were thus employed, midshipman Moor observed that naked
sabres were being distributed among the soldiers, and immediately
advised me of the fact; but as we had been so kindly treated, I
thought little of the circumstance, especially as they were preparing
for us a feast, consisting of rice, fish served up with a green sauce,
and many other delicacies, the names of which we did not know. After
we had partaken heartily of these solids, and for a drink been given a
kind of beer called "Sagic," I declared that we could not stay any
longer, and begged them to tell us the price of the meal, which we
designed paying for. To this request of mine, they returned very
evasive answers, and when they saw that we were tired of the useless
and fruitless questioning we had undergone, and were making
preparations to depart, they suddenly threw off the mask they had
hitherto worn, and by their threatening gestures showed plainly enough
what their intentions were. Their chief, who, until the present
moment, had spoken in a friendly and pleasant manner, now raised his
voice, and pronouncing the name of the Russian who had ravaged their
coasts, made a long speech, during which he often fiercely struck his
hand on his sword, and ended by swearing that the Emperor would have
him cut in two if he suffered a single Russian, who was in his power,
to escape. As soon as Alexis, in whose anxious countenance we
discovered coming evil, had translated these words to us, we sprang to
our feet, and made for the door. The Japanese immediately set up a
loud and threatening cry, but did not attempt to seize us, contenting
themselves with throwing oars and blocks of wood in our way, in order
that in running we might stumble over them and fall. When we had
almost reached the entrance of the fort, they fired a volley at us,
but fortunately hit no one, although the balls whistled most
unpleasantly near to our heads. We were lucky enough to get out of the
fort, and had almost reached our boat, when I saw to my horror that it
was lying high and dry on shore, for in our absence the tide had
ebbed. As our pursuers were well aware that we could not float it
again, and had also made themselves acquainted with the fact that
there were no weapons in it, they grew bolder, and surrounded us on
all sides, brandishing their huge sabres, which they held in both
hands. As resistance in such a case would be little less than madness,
we surrendered ourselves to them as their prisoners. They seized me by
the arms, and dragged me back to the fort, together with my unhappy
companions. On the way a soldier struck me with a small iron rod, but
an officer angrily ordered him to desist, and no more blows followed.
They took us into a large building resembling a barrack, which stood
on the shore, and having forced us to kneel, bound us with cords of
the thickness of one's finger. Over these they lapped thinner ones,
which gave us great pain. The Japanese are perfect masters of this
art, and we were excellent specimens of their skill. We had about us
just the same number of ropes and knots, and were tied in precisely
the same parts of our bodies. Cords ran round our breasts and necks,
our elbows nearly touched each other behind our backs, and our hands
were tied fast together. A long rope was fastened to us, one end of
which a Japanese held, and on the least intimation of flight, had only
to pull it, and our elbows were painfully pressed together, whilst the
ropes around our necks were so tightly drawn, that we were nearly
choked. But as if this was not enough, they bound our legs together
above the knees and ancles, and then making slip-knots in the ends of
some ropes, they put them over our necks, and tied them to the rafters
of the building, pulling them so tight that we could not stir. They
then searched our pockets, and having taken from them every thing they
could find, very coolly lit their pipes and sat down to smoke. Whilst
they were binding us, the chief came in, and taking his station in
front of us, made a speech, during which he frequently pointed to his
mouth, with the intention probably of intimating to us, that at
present they had no intention of starving us. In this pitiful and
agonizing position we remained for an hour, not knowing what was to be
our fate. When I saw them put the ropes over the rafters, I concluded,
of course, that their intention was to hang us, and never have I so
despised death as I did in that moment; my only wish was, that they
would finish the murderous work as soon as possible. But the Japanese,
it seemed, had no idea, whatever, of taking such a step. Their sole
design and object was to render futile any attempt at escape on our
part. After a while they unbound our ancles, loosened the ropes about
our knees, and leading us out of the building, conducted us through
some cultivated fields into a wood. We were so tightly and skilfully
bound that a boy ten years of age might have conducted us in perfect
safety, but these anxious and careful people did not think so, for
each of us had an especial watchman who held the rope, and an armed
soldier to walk by his side. From a hill we saw our vessel for the
last time, and with bleeding hearts, bid it and our native land, a
long farewell.