A YOUNG MAN’S VOYAGE.
[Sidenote: 1881.]
“Uncle Fritz,” said Horace, “why did you say, when we were talking of Humboldt, that those were the days of boys?”
“Oh, my boy, I am very sorry I said so, if it seemed as if those were more the days of boys than these are. There were never times when young men, well-trained, came to the front more readily than they do now. What I meant to say was, that in just that period of the Napoleon wars, old things had been so thoroughly broken up that boys had chances they had not fifty years before. Those boys have since become old men. They have written their lives and adventures, and so there is a literature of that time about the adventures of youngsters, which we do not have of earlier times, and cannot, as yet, have of later.
“Will you go into Lady Oliver’s sitting-room, take the steps, and look along the books at C till you find two little volumes of Cleveland’s Travels?”
Horace found the book in a moment. It is a miscellaneous collection in that room, and they catalogue themselves by the convenient way, for such a collection, of standing in alphabetical order of the authors.
“Now, here,” continued Uncle Fritz, “is a charming little book of adventures, written at the end of life by a gentleman who was sent out from Salem very young, in command of a vessel which was to go to Mocha for coffee. But they stopped at Havre, in France, first. There the vessel was recalled, and poor Cleveland found himself in a strange port without an adventure.
“What does he do but make one. He bought a little Dover packet-boat of thirty-eight tons. Packet-boats between Dover and Calais were not worth much when France was at war with England. He had fifteen hundred dollars with which to buy a cargo. Two friends contributed each a thousand, on condition that all three should share equally when the voyage was over. This little vessel he meant to take to the Island of Bourbon, knowing well what that market required. See what happened to him.”
A VOYAGE WITH FOUR SAILORS.
[Sidenote: 1797.]
The difficulty of procuring men seemed to increase with each additional day’s detention. Those whom I engaged one day would desert the next, alarmed by some exaggerated story of our first attempt. In the course of three weeks I shipped no less than four different men as mates, and as many different crews, and each in turn abandoned me. At length I procured an active and capable young seaman from a Nantucket ship, one whom the captain recommended, as mate, and another man and a boy in addition to George, who had held true to his engagement. I was desirous of procuring one more, but my attempt to do so was unsuccessful, and, fearing that by any delay for this purpose I might lose those already on board, I sailed immediately.
Our expedition had become a subject of general conversation in the town, and the difficulty of getting away the Indiaman (as she was called) was known to every one. The day, therefore, that we sailed the pier-head was again thronged with people, who cheered us as we passed by, wishing us “un bon voyage,” but no small portion of them considered us as bound to certain destruction. It was now the 21st day of December, a season of the year when the loss of a few hours only of the easterly wind then blowing might be attended with disagreeable, if not disastrous consequences. We therefore set all our sail to improve it, and, while making rapid progress towards the channel, were brought to by a British frigate, commanded by Sir R. Strachan. The boarding officer was very civil. He declared our enterprise to be a very daring one, caused us as little detention as possible, and, returning to his ship, immediately made the signal that we might proceed.
It was soon very evident that no person on board, excepting the mate and myself, was capable of performing the very common and indispensable business of steering; and though there was no doubt our men would soon learn, yet, in the mean time, we had the prospect before us of a tedious, though not very laborious course of duty. As the wind continued to be favorable, our passage down the Channel was easy and expeditious, and the day after leaving Havre we passed by and in sight of the Island of Ushant. We were now in a position to feel the full effect of the westerly gales, which are so prevalent at this season of the year; and in order to have plenty of sea-room in case of encountering one, I directed a course to be steered which should carry us wide of Cape Ortegal....
A sufficient time had now elapsed since leaving Havre (it being the third day) to give me a very tolerable knowledge of my crew, whose characters, peculiarities, and accomplishments were such that a sketch of them may not be without interest to the reader. My mate, Reuben Barnes, was a young man of nineteen or twenty, who, having been engaged in the whale-fishery, had profited by that excellent school to acquire not only the knowledge of the seaman’s profession, but also enough of the mechanic arts to fish a spar with dexterity, to caulk a seam, or to make a bucket or a barrel. The intelligence, activity, watchfulness, and adroitness of this young man relieved me from much anxiety and care, and in his conduct with me he evinced all the steadiness and fidelity which the recommendation he brought, as well as the place of his birth, had led me to expect.
Decidedly the most important personage of my foremast hands was the black man, George, who had dared to embark on our second voyage, after having shared in the disasters of the first. In his capacity and dialect, George was the veriest negro that can be imagined. For honesty, fidelity, and courage he may have been equalled, but can never have been surpassed. He stood about six feet and three inches, was rather slender, very awkward, and of a much more sable hue than common, but with an expression of countenance mild and pleasing. With simplicity of character approximating to folly, he united a degree of self-conceit which led him to believe that he could do whatever could be done by another, and, in some cases, to suppose he could make great improvements,--an instance of which occurred before we had been out a week. In his previous voyages George had been cook, and had therefore nothing to do with the compass; but now, having to take his regular turn at steering, he was greatly puzzled with its unsteadiness. He could steer in the night with tolerable accuracy, by giving him a star by which to steer, but the compass appeared to him to be calculated only to embarrass. With a view of remedying this difficulty George had taken off the cover to the till of his chest, on which, having marked the points of the compass, and pierced a hole in the centre for the pivot, he brought it aft, and with great appearance of complacency and expectation of applause, placed it on deck before the helmsman, with the proper point directed forward to correspond with the course, and then exclaimed: “Dair, massa, dat compass be teady. George teer by him well as anybody.”
But this simplicity and conceit was more than redeemed by his tried fidelity and heroic courage, of which the following is a remarkable instance: George had been a slave to some planter in Savannah; and one day, being in the woods with his master, they encountered an Indian, who was hunting. Some dispute arising, the Indian, having the advantage of being armed, threatened to shoot them. In consequence of this threat they seized him and took away his gun, but after a little while, and with urgent entreaties and fair promises from him, they were induced to return it, first taking the precaution to dip it into water to prevent an immediate use of it. This served again to rouse the anger of the Indian, who immediately took the readiest means for drying it. In the mean time George and his master had entered a canoe, and, pursuing their way in a narrow river or creek, had got a long distance from the spot where they had left the Indian, when, on looking back, they perceived him running after them on the bank. On arriving abreast of them he immediately took aim, which George perceiving threw himself as a shield between his master and the ball, and was so severely wounded that his life was for many weeks despaired of. After a confinement of six months he entirely recovered, and, as a reward, his master gave him his liberty.
At the time he engaged with me he had been a sailor about two years, and had been so invariably cheated out of his wages that he had no other means of clothing himself than the advance I paid him. Such treatment had been productive of a tinge of misanthropy, and it was not until after long acquaintance that he gave me his entire confidence. As this acquaintance continued for many years (even as long as he lived), and as he was a sharer of my various adventures, I shall have frequent occasion to mention his name in connection with my own while narrating them.
My other man had been a Prussian grenadier. He had served in the army of the Duke of Brunswick at the time of his invading Holland to restore the authority of the Stadtholder, and in other campaigns; but having a dislike to the profession, he had deserted, and had been about eighteen months a sailor in English vessels. During this time he had not acquired such a knowledge of steering that we could leave him at the helm without watching him, and however brave he may have been in the ranks, he was the veriest coward imaginable when called to the performance of duties aloft. In addition to this incapacity he possessed a most ungovernable temper; and, being a powerful man, we had considerable difficulty in keeping him at all times in a state of subordination,--a difficulty which was in some degree augmented by his very imperfect knowledge of our language and the consequent embarrassment he found in making himself understood.
The last as well as the least of our members was a little French boy of fourteen years, who possessed all the vivacity peculiar to his countrymen, and who, having been some time on board the Carmagnole and other privateers, had acquired many of the tricks of a finished man-of-war’s man. Some months’ residence in an English prison had given him the command of a few English words, but they were not of a selection that indicated much care in the teacher.
It was not uncommon for George, the Prussian grenadier, and the French boy to get into a warm debate on the relative merits of their respective countries, for they were all men of great vivacity and patriotism; and sometimes (probably from not understanding each other) they would become so angry as to render it necessary for the mate to interfere to restore tranquillity. At such moments I used to think that if Hogarth could have been an observer his genius would have done justice to the group. It may fairly be presumed, however, that such a ship’s company, for an India voyage, was never before seen, and, moreover, that we “ne’er shall look upon its like again.”
[Sidenote: 1798.]
For several days after passing the Isle of Ushant, the wind was light from northwest and west-northwest, accompanied with a heavy swell from that quarter, and though our progress was in consequence slow, it was proportionally comfortable. Before we had reached the latitude of Cape Finisterre the light wind, before which we had been sailing with all our canvas spread, died away, and left us some hours becalmed. During this time one of our pigs had got overboard and was swimming away from the vessel. George, being an excellent swimmer, did not hesitate to go after him; but when he had caught him, at the distance from us of about twenty fathoms, a light puff of wind, termed by seamen a cat’s-paw, took the sails aback, and suddenly increased our distance from George, who perceiving it and becoming alarmed let go the pig and swam for the vessel, crying out lustily, as he approached, “I dead, I dead!” As he had not been long in the water, nor used such exertion as to cause extraordinary exhaustion, I was apprehensive that he might be attacked by a shark. We threw towards him a spar and set immediately about clearing away the boat, but before we could be ready to launch it George had seized the spar, and, by its aid, had succeeded in getting alongside. When taken on board he did not hesitate to express his belief that our going from him was intentional, and that, had the breeze continued, we should have left him for the purpose of saving his wages. Nor was it until after long experience, and repeatedly receiving his wages when due, that he would acknowledge that he had judged me erroneously.
The day succeeding this adventure we had another, which nearly brought our voyage to a close. Early in the morning we fell in with the British frigate, Stag. The wind was so light and its influence on the manœuvres of the ship so counteracted by a deep and hollow swell that, getting sternway, her counter came in contact with our broadside with a tremendous force, which threatened immediate destruction, and which must have been the result but for the order instantly given and obeyed to “fill away.” This saved us from a second shock, and we were happy to perceive we had received no other damage than that of breaking the rail. The officer of the frigate very politely offered to send their carpenter on board to repair this, but I declined, from my desire of not losing a moment’s time in advancing towards those latitudes where gales of wind were of less frequent occurrence. When we were released from this visit the mate immediately set about exercising his ingenuity as carpenter; and, with great application, he completed the repairs, in a workmanlike manner, on the third day after meeting the accident.
We had now advanced far into the second week of our departure. The wind, though light, was fair, and the prospect was favorable for the continuance of good weather. These encouraging circumstances led me to hope that we should reach the tropical latitudes without encountering a gale, and also without meeting what was more to be dreaded, any one of those Spanish or French privateers, which had frequented the track we were passing, and whose conduct, in many instances, to defenceless merchant vessels had nearly equalled that of the ancient buccaneers.
We had passed by many vessels, but had carefully avoided speaking with any one. At length, on a very fine morning, as the sun rose, and when we were about fifty leagues west of Cadiz, we perceived a small sail in the northwest. At ten o’clock she was equally plain to be seen, and by noon we were satisfied she was in chase of, and was gaining on us. We kept steadily on our course, hoping that an increase of wind would give us an advantage, or that some other object might divert their attention. But our hopes were fallacious. The wind rather decreased, and when this was the case we observed she appeared to approach us faster. By two o’clock we perceived she had lateen sails, and hence had no doubt of her being a privateer. Soon after she began to fire at us, but the balls fell much short. As the wind continued very light it was soon apparent that we could not escape, as we perceived that her progress was accelerated by means of a multitude of sweeps. To run any longer would only have been incurring the risk of irritating the captain of the buccaneer; we therefore rounded to and prepared to be plundered.
As they came up with us, about five o’clock, they gave such a shout of “Bonne prise! bonne prise!” as would be expected from banditti subject to no control; but I felt considerable relief in the persuasion that, as their flag indicated, they were French, and not Spanish. After the shouting had ceased I was ordered, in very coarse terms, to hoist out my boat and come on board with my papers. I replied that I had not men sufficient to put out the boat. The order was reiterated, accompanied with a threat of firing into us. I then sent my men below and waited the result, which was that they got out their own boat. The officer who came on board I suppose to have been the captain himself, from the circumstance of his being a very intelligent man, and from my presence not being required on board the privateer. A cursory examination of our papers convinced him of our neutral character, and the exhibition of a passport, with a seal and signature of one high in authority in the French government, while it astonished, seemed also to satisfy him that the less trouble and detention he gave us the better, as he immediately ordered his ruffians to desist from clearing away for opening the hatches, which they had already begun, and to go on board their boat, where, after wishing me a good voyage and regretting the detention he had caused, he joined them, and they returned to their privateer and sailed in pursuit of other adventures.
The result of this rencontre was better than I had anticipated, aware, as I was, of the general insubordination on board of Vessels of this description. I had feared that, even if the chief had been disposed to prevent his men from plundering, it would not have been in his power, and I was much relieved by finding myself mistaken.
Pursuing a course for the Cape de Verde Islands, we came in sight of them the thirtieth day from leaving Havre. It was my intention to stop at Port Praya to obtain a supply of fruit and vegetables, but I was prevented by a gale of wind, in which we lay to twelve hours, and had a fair opportunity of testing the good properties of the vessel for this important purpose. This was the only gale of any severity that we experienced during the passage; and, as evidence that it was of no inconsiderable violence, a ship came into the Cape of Good Hope, three days after our arrival there, which had lost her mizzenmast in the same gale.
It is well known to all who have crossed the ocean, and may easily be imagined by those who have not, that a passage at sea presents to the observer little else, from day to day, than the same unbounded and (in tropical climes) unvaried horizon; the same abyss of waters, agitated more or less as it is acted upon by the wind; the same routine of duties to be performed on board, which, in the trade winds, have seldom even the ordinary excitement caused by reducing and making sail; and when this monotonous round is interrupted by speaking a vessel, by catching a porpoise, or by seeing a whale, the incident is seized with avidity as an important item to be inserted in the ship’s log-book, or journal of the day’s transaction.
As our experience was of this kind I have only to notice that we crossed the equator in the longitude of 25°, and that we met with no occurrence, worthy of note, from the time of our leaving the Cape de Verde Islands to our arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, excepting that one night, when going before the wind with a strong breeze, the Prussian soldier brought over the main boom with such violence as to part the sheet and rouse all hands from their slumbers. As there was a considerable sea, it was not without great difficulty and risk that the boom was again secured.
On passing the equator we discovered that one of our casks of water had nearly leaked out; and, having failed to fill up the empty ones, it was doubtful if we had sufficient to carry us to the Isle of France. This consideration, and the desire of obtaining refreshments and a short respite from the fatigue and anxiety of such a passage, determined me to stop at the Cape, as I believed, also, that our cargo might be sold advantageously there.
Shaping our course accordingly, we came in sight of the Table Mount on the 21st March, 1798, just three months from the time of our leaving Havre. We were so near in before dark as to perceive that we were signalled at the lion’s head, but were not able to reach the anchorage until between nine and ten o’clock in the evening. We had scarcely dropped our anchor when we were boarded by a man-of-war’s boat; the officer of which, finding we were from France, immediately hurried me ashore, in my sea-garb, to see the Admiral (Sir Hugh C. Christian), who, surrounded by a group of naval officers, appeared very earnest for such European news as I could give them. After passing nearly an hour with the Admiral, who treated me with great civility, and answering the many questions which were asked by the company, the officer who took me from my vessel was desired to convey me on board again; an hour having been previously named by the Admiral at which I was to meet him, the next morning, at the government house.
The arrival of such a vessel from Europe naturally excited the curiosity of the inhabitants of the Cape, and the next morning being calm, we had numerous visitors on board, who could not disguise their astonishment at the size of the vessel, the boyish appearance of the master and mate, the queer and unique characters of the two men and boy who constituted the crew, and the length of the passage we had accomplished.
Various were the conjectures of the good people of the Cape as to the real object of our enterprise. While some among them viewed it in its true light, that of a commercial speculation, others believed that under this mask we were employed by the French government for the conveyance of their despatches, and some even went so far as to declare a belief that we were French spies, and, as such, deserving of immediate arrest and confinement. Indeed, our enterprise formed the principal theme of conversation at the Cape during the week subsequent to our arrival.
At the hour appointed I presented myself at the government house, and was introduced to the Governor, Lord Macartney, in whose company I found, also, the Admiral. There was so much urbanity and affability in the reception I met with from the Governor as well as the Admiral that it inspired me with confidence and prevented my feeling any embarrassment. The Governor very politely handed me a chair; and, seated between these two distinguished men, I was prepared to answer, to the best of my knowledge, such questions as they should ask me, and to give them all the information respecting European affairs that my residence in that country and my recent departure enabled me to do. It was just at this period that the flotilla was assembling in the ports of the Channel for the invasion of England, and on this subject in particular they were very earnest to obtain information, seeming to be not without apprehension that an invasion was really intended. While I related to them what had come under my own observation with regard to the preparation and what I had heard from others, I expressed to them the belief, founded on the desperate nature of the undertaking, that nothing more was intended by it than to keep England in a state of alarm, and to cause a corresponding increase of expenses.
Having interrogated me to their satisfaction on the political affairs of France, they adverted to the more humble business of the object of my enterprise, which the Admiral did not hesitate to declare he believed to be for the conveyance of despatches for the French government; and, in this belief, informed me that he should take measures to prevent my going to the Isle of France. At the same time, and as an additional evidence of this persuasion, he had ordered that a search should be made on board my vessel for the supposed despatches, and that all the letters and papers found on board should be brought to him. Consequently, my journal, book of accounts, and private letters and papers were submitted to his inspection, and the letters I had for French gentlemen in the Mauritius were all broken open.
On the conclusion of my visit to the Governor, who gave me permission to dispose of my cargo here if I desired, I went to the house of an old acquaintance, where I had lodged in a former voyage, and in what he considered more propitious times. Both he and his family seemed glad to see me, and invited me to take up lodgings there again; but the safety of my vessel required my presence on board not less in port than at sea, and I therefore declined.
The day following my letters and papers were returned to me by the secretary of the Admiral, and I was surprised by a proposition from him for the purchase of my vessel. I delayed giving an answer until the next day, and in the mean time my inquiries led me to believe that my cargo would sell advantageously, but there was nothing but specie which would answer my purpose to take away for it, and this was prohibited. With a provision for the removal of this difficulty, and a good price for my vessel, I was prepared to negotiate with the secretary. Meeting him, therefore, at the time appointed, and both being what in trade is called off-hand men, we soon closed the bargain by his engaging to pay me, on delivery of the Caroline and stores, five thousand Spanish dollars, and to obtain for me permission to export ten thousand. This so far exceeded the cost of the vessel, and was even so much more than I had expected to receive at the Isle of France, that I considered myself already well indemnified for all my trouble and anxiety.
As the Admiral was pressing to have the vessel discharged, it was my intention to land the cargo, next day, on my own account; but in the mean time, I contracted with the merchant, at whose house I now resided, for the whole of it, at a moderate advance on the invoice; it being agreed that he was to pay the duties, the expense of landing, etc. My spirits were now much elevated with my success, and with the prospect of soon being rid of the Caroline and of the care inseparable from having such a vessel, so circumstanced.
But I was allowed but a short period to my exultation; new and alarming difficulties awaited me, of which I had no suspicion, and which were more harassing than the dangers of the winds and the waves. It appeared that the duties on entries at the custom house were a percentage on the invoice, and that it was a very common practice with the merchants to make short entries. The purchaser was aware that, to stand on equal footing with other merchants, he must do as they did; but he seems not to have reflected that, being known to be more hostile to the English government than any other individual at the Cape, he would be rigidly watched, and, if detected, would have less indulgence than any other. The consequence was a detection of the short entry and seizure of vessel and cargo. The merchant went immediately, in a supplicating mood, to the collector, in the hope of arranging the affair before it should become generally known; but it was all in vain.
The only alternative which seemed now to be left me was to appeal to the highest authority, and I determined to write to Lord Macartney and prove to him that, by my contract for the sale of the cargo, the duties were not to be paid by me, and that consequently I should have derived no benefit had the attempt for evading them succeeded; but that, on the other hand, if the vessel and cargo were to be confiscated I should be the sufferer, as it was doubtful if the merchant could make good the loss. I hoped that he might thus be induced to advise a less severe course than the collector intended to pursue. But how to write a suitable letter embarrassed me. I had no friend with whom to advise. I was entirely ignorant of the manner of addressing a nobleman, and at the same time was aware of the necessity of doing it with propriety. In this dilemma I remembered to have seen, in an old magazine on board, some letters addressed to noblemen. These I sought as models, and they were a useful guide to me. After I had completed my letter in my best hand, and enclosed it in a neat envelope, I showed it to the Admiral’s secretary, who appeared to be friendly to me. He approved of it, and advised my taking it myself to his lordship immediately.
As the schoolboy approaches his master after having played truant, so did I approach Lord Macartney on this occasion. I delivered my letter to him; and, after hastily reading it, he sternly said, “he could not interfere in the business; there were the laws, and if they had been infringed the parties concerned must abide the consequence,” but added, “he would speak to the collector on the subject.” This addition, delivered in rather a milder tone, led me to encourage the hope that the affair would not end so disastrously as if left entirely to the discretion of the collector. Nor were my hopes unfounded, as the next day the vessel and that part of the cargo yet remaining on board were restored to me, while the portion in the possession of the collector was to be adjudged in the fiscal court, where it was eventually condemned, to the amount of about two thousand dollars.[24] The success of my letter was a theme of public conversation in the town, and was the means of procuring me the acquaintance of several individuals of the first respectability.
The delay caused by this controversy with the collector was unfavorable to the views of the Admiral, who began to evince symptoms of impatience, and would probably have taken out the cargo with his own men if we had not set about it with earnestness as soon as the vessel was released from seizure. Having, the day following, completed the unlading, I delivered the vessel to the officer who was authorized to take possession. In two days after she was expedited with a lieutenant and competent number of men (I believe for India); and, in a subsequent voyage, I learned that she had never been heard of afterwards.
“Now,” said Uncle Fritz, “that man went to sea at eighteen, at twenty-one he commanded a vessel. See what your friend Richard H. Dana--yes, Two-Years-before-the-Mast Dana--says of such commanders. Here is a scrap from his review of Cleveland’s book.
“‘We do not hesitate to say that an intelligent, firm young man, who, at the age of eighteen or twenty, after some years spent in receiving an education on shore, enters for the first time the nautical service, makes a long voyage before the mast, keeps his watch and carries on duty a year or so in each of the inferior grades of office, by the help of his books and a close practical observation and diligent attention while master, and the acquired habit of commanding others and relying upon himself, will work a ship better at thirty than one of the same age would do who was set adrift at twelve, and has stayed in the forecastle splicing ropes and hauling out ear-rings until he was six-and-twenty.’”
“That advice,” said Tom Rising, “does not seem to favor Bob’s escape from his tyrants by the sheets of his bedroom, and going a-whaling before he knows a vulgar fraction from a noun predicate.”
Uncle Fritz laughed. “If you want to know how these youngsters crossed oceans in boats with such assistants, read what Captain Cleveland wrote at sixty-seven years of age.
“‘To the present sixty-eighth year of my life I have never taken a drop of spirituous liquor of any kind; never a glass of wine, of porter, ale, or beer, or any beverage stronger than tea or coffee; and, moreover, I have never used tobacco in any way whatever, and this not only without injury but, on the contrary, to the preservation of my health. Headache is known to me by name only, and, excepting those fevers which were produced by great anxiety and excitement, my life has been free from sickness.’ Now go on with your story.” So Tom went on.
It is probable that the officer in charge, having been accustomed only to large and square-rigged vessels, was not aware of the delicacy of management which one so small and differently rigged required, and to this her loss may be attributed.
The various drawbacks on my cargo, arising from seizure, some damage, and some abatement, reduced the net proceeds to about the original cost. This, with the amount of the vessel, I collected in Spanish dollars, making together, after my various disbursements, the sum of eleven thousand dollars, which I kept in readiness to embark in the first vessel that should enter the bay on her way to India or China.
“But,” said Uncle Fritz, “you must not suppose that these gentlemen found it all sunshine in such enterprise. Look further and you will find my mark at an adventure Cleveland had in Valparaiso. That will show you what is meant in our history by ‘Spanish claims,’ or claims on the Spanish government. It will show you, also, how prompt and how brave these adventurers had to be.”
[Sidenote: 1802.]
On entering the Bay of Valparaiso we were boarded by a naval officer from a guardacosta, then lying in port. He desired us not to cast anchor till the captain had presented himself to the Governor and obtained his permission. Consequently, while Mr. Shaler accompanied this officer to the Governor, we lay off and on in the bay. More than an hour had elapsed before his return with a permission to anchor, and to remain till a reply could be received from the Captain-General at Santiago to our request for leave to supply our wants, for which a despatch was to be forwarded immediately.
We were surprised to find no less than four American vessels lying here, viz.: the ship Hazard of Providence, on a voyage similar to our own, detained on suspicion of being English, from the circumstance of being armed; the ship Miantonomo and schooner Oneco of Norwich, Conn., each with valuable cargoes of seal-skins taken at the Island of Masafuera, both detained, and finally confiscated on a charge of having supplied English privateers, then on the coast, with provisions which they had obtained at Talcahuaua; and the ship Tryal, of Nantucket, a whaler, also detained for alleged illicit trade. If we were surprised to meet so many of our countrymen here, we were equally mortified, and in some degree alarmed for our own safety, to find them all under seizure. Yet, while we violated no law, and required no other than the privileges secured to us by treaty, we could not believe that we should be molested.
On the third day after the Governor’s messenger had been despatched a reply was received from the Captain-General, the purport of which was that our passage had been so good that we could not be in want of provisions if we had provided such quantity in Europe as we ought to have done. But if it were otherwise, and our wants were as urgent as represented, the mode by which we proposed paying for them, by a bill on Paris, was inadmissible; and, therefore, that it was his Excellency’s order that we should leave the port at the expiration of twenty-four hours after this notification. On remonstrating with the Governor, and pointing out to him the inhumanity of driving us to sea, while in possession of so small a supply of the first necessaries of life, he very reluctantly consented to our remaining another post, and even promised to make a more favorable report on the urgency of our necessities than he had done. But, as the order was reiterated, we doubted his having performed his promise, and therefore determined to write directly to the Captain-General. In conformity with this decision Mr. Shaler addressed a letter to the Captain-General, in the Spanish language, expressing his surprise at the order for his departure, without affording him the supplies which were indispensable, and for which provision had been made by treaty. “Presuming that his Excellency’s intentions had been misconceived by the Governor, he had ventured to disobey the order, and to remain in port till the reception of his Excellency’s reply.” A prompt and very polite answer to the letter was received, granting us permission to supply ourselves with everything we desired; and, what was very extraordinary, giving us further permission, which had not been asked, of selling so much of the cargo as would be sufficient to pay for the supplies. After which he desired we would leave the port immediately, and added that if we entered any other port on the coast we should be treated as contrabandists.
The latter paragraph of his Excellency’s letter evidently conveyed a doubt in his mind whether our destination and the object of our voyage was what we had stated it to be. But, having subjected ourselves to the mortification of having the correctness of our statement doubted, there seemed to be no other remedy than patience and forbearance. At any rate, our embarrassments were more entirely relieved than we had anticipated. We procured our provisions and paid for them in manufactures, and were engaged in settling our accounts preparatory to our departure on the morrow, having already exceeded a month since our arrival.
But we were unconscious of what a day would bring forth, and entirely unprepared for a train of unfortunate events, in which every American in port was more or less involved. It appeared that a part of the cargo of the ship Hazard consisted of muskets. These were demanded by the Governor, on pretext of being contraband of war, and were very properly refused by Captain Rowan, who stated to the Governor that they were taken on board at a neutral port, that they were not destined to any port of the enemies of Spain, and that they did not come under the sixteenth article of the treaty.
During our stay here we had ascertained that the actual Governor of the place was with his family on a visit to the capital, and that the person with whom we had been treating, and who represented here the Majesty of Spain, Don Antonio Francisco Garcia Carrasco, was an officer of inferior grade, acting as governor during the absence of his superior. Don Antonio was about sixty years of age, of pleasing manners, of prepossessing countenance, and apparently of amiable disposition, but of no decision of character; of contracted mind, puffed up with vanity, and confounded at the audacity that should dare to refuse compliance with an order given in the name of his king; indeed, in his person, character, and capacities, there was a striking resemblance to the portrait drawn by Cervantes of the celebrated Governor of Barrataria.
The pride of the Governor was evidently wounded by the refusal of Rowan to obey his demand of the muskets, and his subsequent measures to obtain them were calculated to exhibit his folly, and to increase his mortification and hostile feelings. To suppose, with his feeble means, that he could coerce a compliance with his demand, was to suppose the American to be as great a poltroon as himself. As far, however, as the attempt could prove it, he certainly did expect to do so.
The troops of the garrison, about thirty in number, with drums beating and colors displayed, were seen marching from the castle to the sea-shore, in the afternoon of the day on which the muskets had been refused. Rowan, who was on the alert, saw them embark in a large launch, accompanied by the Governor, and prepared himself for resistance. The launch, which with rowers and soldiers was excessively crowded, approached the Hazard with the royal colors flying. When within hail of the ship the Governor stood up, and demanded if he might come on board. Rowan replied that he should be happy to be honored with his company, but that he would not permit any one of his soldiers to come on board. The launch approached nearer to the ship, to enable the parties to converse with more ease. The Governor again formally demanded the surrender of the arms, and was again refused. He remonstrated, and urged the consequences of resisting the authority of the King’s representative. But it was all unavailing, and perceiving that neither threats nor persuasion had the desired effect, that armed sentries were stationed at the gangways of the ship, and the proper precautions taken against a _coup de main_, he returned to the shore with his soldiers, deeply mortified, excessively irritated, and vowing vengeance.
But it is not unusual that what is done in the moment of great excitement is not of the most judicious character, and that by suffering ourselves to be controlled by our passions, we commit acts which increase the absurdity of a ridiculous position, and augment our embarrassments. This was precisely the case with the Governor, in this instance. Without adverting to consequences, but influenced by the violence of his passion, he, immediately on landing, ordered every American who could be found on shore to be arrested and shut up in the castle. Shaler, Rouissillon, and myself, being of this number, were accordingly arrested, and, with four others of our countrymen, were marched to prison in charge of a file of soldiers, who by their conversation during the time, evinced that their feelings were in unison with those of the Governor.
At the same time with the order for our arrest, and as if to consummate his folly, the Governor made another attempt to intimidate, by ordering the captain of a large Spanish ship, which mounted eighteen heavy guns betwixt decks, to bring his broadside to bear on the Hazard, and order her colors to be hauled down in token of submission, on penalty of being sunk. After what had occurred, to make such a threat, without daring to take the responsibility of executing it, served only to increase the awkwardness of the Governor’s position. While all, both on shore and on board the shipping, were watching with intense interest the result of this threat, a man was observed on board the Hazard engaged in nailing the colors to the mast. A more significant reply could not possibly be made. The Governor was foiled, and a calm succeeded the storm, during the time required to despatch a courier to the Captain-General, and to receive his instructions in the case.
Our arrest prevented our sailing, as we intended to do, the same evening. Having passed a most uncomfortable night, without beds, in the castle, where we were annoyed by myriads of fleas, and having been without food of any kind since noon of the preceding day, we wrote to the Governor in the morning, requesting to be provided with food and beds. Our letter was returned unopened; but about noon, by a verbal message from the Governor, we were informed that liberty was given us to go on board our respective ships. We were doubtful of the propriety of availing ourselves of this liberty, so ungraciously proffered, till an apology should be made to us for the aggression. It was finally settled that Shaler, being the most important person, as master of the vessel, should remain in prison. We therefore sent to him a bed and provisions. This was a determination for which the Governor was entirely unprepared, and which seemed to confound him. With characteristic imbecility, he went to the castle, and greeting Mr. Shaler with apparent cordiality, begged him to go on board his vessel, and proceed to sea. This Shaler offered to do, on condition of receiving a written apology for imprisoning us. He declined giving it. Permission was then asked to send an express with a letter to the Captain-General. This he peremptorily and angrily refused, and then suddenly started off to superintend the preparations which he was making to compel a surrender of the Hazard, the orders for which he expected to receive the next day.
Although the ostensible reason for refusing a compliance with the Governor’s orders to go to sea was to obtain satisfaction, yet the real cause of our delay was the hope and belief of being able to render essential service in aiding to extricate Rowan from his difficulties. It was evident that the Governor desired only the sanction of the Captain-General to attempt coercion; and, in expectation of receiving it, he was making the requisite preparations. The soldiers of the garrison, and the populace, were busily engaged, under the direction of the Governor, in placing cannon in every direction to bear on the ship. The inhabitants of the houses in the vicinity left them, and retired to the hills. The activity and bustle of business had given place to the preparation and excitement of war, and the confusion and apprehension could hardly have been exceeded if the town had been on the point of being taken by assault.
While Mr. Rouissillon and myself were walking through one of the streets we encountered the Governor, who saluted us, and asked me if I was not next in command on board to Mr. Shaler. Answering in the affirmative, he ordered me to go on board, and proceed to sea. On my rejoining that I could not go without my captain, he threatened to seize the vessel, and without waiting for a reply, left us abruptly, and apparently in an angry mood. In the course of the following day, being the fourth from the beginning of hostilities, the express arrived from Santiago, bringing a letter to Captain Rowan from the Captain-General. It contained such promise of redress, if he would comply with the requisitions of government by delivering up the arms, that he was induced to yield. The arms were accordingly delivered to the order of the Governor, and his receipt taken for them. The portentous cloud, which had been lowering over the affairs of our countrymen in this place, appeared to be now dissipated. The colors of defiance, which had been waving on the ships and at the castle from the beginning of the dispute, were hauled down; the cannon which had been transported to the beach were returned to their ancient position; the sentries were no longer seen at the gangways of the Hazard; the old women and children returned to their habitations; and everything indicated peace and repose.
This repose, however, was only the treacherous calm that precedes the hurricane. The Governor could not brook the indignity he had suffered. The vengeance he had vowed, and which he had not the courage to take openly, he determined to execute treacherously; and his measures, which were taken with great secrecy, and with the stimulus of plunder, were executed with such success as must have satisfied his highest ambition, and served as a balm to his wounded feelings.
On the evening of the day when the muskets were surrendered, Mr. Rouissillon and myself made a visit to the Governor, and found him to be as affable and pleasant as was naturally to be expected on attaining the object of which he had so long been in pursuit. He hoped we should proceed to sea the next day, and inquired why Rowan did not come on shore; adding, to our surprise, that if he did not come voluntarily he should use coercion. We assured him of our belief that his not having been on shore that day was accidental, and not from any apprehension of molestation, begged him not to think of coercion, and offered our guarantee that he should present himself at the castle in the morning. On leaving the Governor we went on board the Hazard and reported to Rowan our conversation with the Governor. He had no hesitation in determining to act in accordance with his desire by visiting him as early as it was permitted strangers to be on shore.
BOARDING THE HAZARD.
Fearing, in this instance, a too ready compliance, in which case the opportunity for revenge would escape him, the Governor must have had everything planned and prepared in the evening, probably while we were with him, to execute his cowardly design in the morning, before it was permitted to Rowan to come on shore. The launches, which were used to transport wheat from the shore to the large ship before mentioned, passed and repassed near the Hazard while thus engaged; consequently, they would excite no suspicion when approaching the ship. An enterprize involving so little risk, and which promised so golden a harvest of plunder, had not to wait for the requisite number of men. About two hundred ruffians, armed with pistols, swords, and knives, embarked in the launches used for carrying wheat, and boarded the Hazard on each side, while her men were entirely off their guard, unsuspicious of any cause of hostility. To save their lives, such of the crew as were able made a hasty retreat to the hold. But there were two poor fellows lying sick in their hammocks, and these were both dangerously wounded. Rowan was screened from the vengeance of the banditti by the interference of an officer, taken immediately on shore, and sent to the castle.
The scene of plunder and confusion which ensued beggars all description. Perceiving that the mischief was likely to be more extensive than he had imagined, the Governor went on board with a party of soldiers to arrest its progress. But he soon discovered that it is easier to set a mob in motion than to control it afterwards. With his utmost efforts, aided by the soldiers, and by the commandant of the custom-house guards and his satellites, he was incapable of resisting the progress of the plunderers, until, being satiated, they retreated with their booty to the shore as opportunity offered. When there were but few remaining he succeeded in driving them away, and placed the ship in charge of the mates.
CALL ON THE GOVERNOR.
After such an achievement, such a gathering of laurels, there was some hazard to a foreigner in calling on the Governor, even though it were to compliment him. But, being determined that the Captain-General should have our version, of the transaction, I called on him at noon for leave to send an express to the capital to complain of the outrage, and to demand that redress there which we asked in vain here. In an angry tone, and instead of replying to my request, he inquired if we were desirous of provoking him to serve us in the manner he had done the ship. I replied that I hoped there was no danger of our causing him any provocation, but should it be our misfortune to do so to the extent intimated, there could exist no cause for such violent measures as had been used towards the ship, as no resistance would be made. I then remarked on the advantage that would result to the government in keeping away the rabble, and thus securing the whole property. I stated, also, that there were many valuable instruments, charts, and books on board which would be useful to the Spanish marine, but which might be destroyed if, as he suggested, “he served us in the manner he had done the ship”; and I repeated a hope that he would not do so. Seeing that I was not to be intimidated, and was, moreover, determined not to go to sea without communicating with the Captain-General, he at length reluctantly consented to our sending an express....
LETTERS.
The letter written by Mr. Shaler in Spanish, and complaining of the outrageous conduct of the Governor to the unoffending citizens of a friendly power, was sent by a courier. It produced an interchange of several letters, the purport of which was, on one side, to deny the right of any foreign vessel to traverse these seas, which, his Excellency said, like the territory, belonged exclusively to his Catholic Majesty; on the other, to refute the absurd doctrine of any nation’s possessing an exclusive right to any particular sea, and giving chapter and verse in the treaty, not only for our right to sail where we please, but to enter their ports and demand succor. His Excellency closed the correspondence by expressing a hope that if we did not admit their exclusive right to these seas, we would, at least, allow them to be masters in their own ports....
WAIT ON THE GOVERNOR.
Having assisted in bringing Rowan’s affairs into such a train as promised a speedy and satisfactory adjustment, there existed no farther inducement to remain longer in port. Accordingly, having settled our various accounts of disbursements, Mr. Shaler, accompanied by Mr. Rouissillon, waited on the Governor to notify him of his intention to proceed to sea next morning, and to take leave. He received them with great cordiality, expressed much regret at what had occurred, promised to remedy the mischief as far as he was able, offered us every facility in his power to insure our departure at the time appointed, and, though it would not have been surprising if he had wished us to the devil, on the contrary, wished us a good voyage.
There was a number of our unfortunate countrymen in port, principally the crews of the condemned vessels, who had lost their little all, and whose situation excited commiseration. We knew that if they could get to Masafuera with the provisions they could obtain here, they would, by pursuing their vocation, soon bring up arrears. We determined, therefore, to go so far out of our way as to give them all passages thither. They all very gratefully accepted our invitation. Being ready on the 21st of April, and on the point of leaving the port, a message was brought from the Governor, requesting to see Mr. Shaler. He went immediately to him, and found, to his astonishment, that he wanted him to defer his departure a few days. It appeared that some suspicious or malicious person had suggested to this silly governor that our object in taking so many men on board was to capture the large ship, then on the point of sailing for Lima. To guard against this, he begged Mr. Shaler to defer sailing till forty-eight hours after that ship had sailed, and, moreover, hoped we would not revenge ourselves on any unarmed Spanish vessel we might chance to meet....
QUICKSILVER.
The time we had agreed to wait had not quite expired when we were all taken aback again. It appeared that one of our sailors, an Irishman, who had deserted, had given information that we had many kegs of dollars on board, stowed under the ballast. As he had pointed out precisely where they were, an armed force came on board by order of the Governor, and, proceeding directly to the place indicated by the sailor, found, instead of kegs of dollars, kegs of quicksilver, of which they took away four, giving a receipt for them.
We flattered ourselves that this aggression would be the means of opening the way for our going to the capital. Renewing, therefore, our correspondence with the Captain-General, to complain of this outrage, and remarking on our entire want of confidence in the capacity or honesty of the Governor and his advisers, we reiterated our request for leave to repair to Santiago for the more speedy adjustment of our grievance. In reply, his Excellency remarked on the loss of time which our coming to Santiago would cause, and observed that the difficulty could be easily adjusted at Valparaiso by answering satisfactorily the following questions, viz.: Why was the quicksilver hidden under the ballast? To whom does it belong? To what port destined? These interrogatories, being solemnly propounded by the Governor to Mr. Shaler, a notary public being present, he replied to the first that it was not hidden; to the second, that it belonged to the owners of the vessel and cargo; to the third, that its destination was round the world; and to this deposition he took an oath on an odd volume of Shakespeare, presented him by the Governor for that purpose.
The result of this investigation was immediately despatched to the Captain-General, and an answer returned by his Excellency with the least possible delay, the purport of which was that the four kegs of quicksilver should be restored to us on board, and that we should then leave the port without further delay.... During this controversy, the men whom we intended taking to Masafuera had dispersed in various directions, so that having on board only our original small complement of men, the authorities had no cause to apprehend any acts of piracy from us.
TAKING LEAVE.
The functions of Don Antonio as Governor _ad interim_ having ceased on the arrival of his senior from Santiago, when we were on the point of sailing, we made him a visit as soon after his arrival as etiquette would permit. He gave us a most cordial, frank, and friendly reception, and expressed much regret at having been absent on our arrival; as, he said, not only would the trouble we had experienced have been avoided, but he would have obtained permission for us to visit Santiago. The order for our departure, however, being now given by the Captain-General, was irrevocable, and he therefore hoped there would be no further delay. On taking leave he inundated us with civilities and good wishes, promising, moreover, to use his best endeavors to bring the affair of our unfortunate countryman, Rowan, to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion. These civilities, professions, and promises passed with us for no more than they were worth, after the observations our opportunities had afforded us of judging of the character and motives of action of the authorities here.
It was now the 6th of May, being two and a half months from the date of our arrival,--a long time, considering that we were allowed only twenty-four hours by the Captain-General to remain in port; and for the third time had settled our accounts, and made all ready for our departure. No further obstacle to our sailing occurring, and having taken leave of our acquaintance and countrymen, we left Valparaiso to the great satisfaction of the Governor and authorities, no less than of ourselves.
“Another such book,” said Uncle Fritz, “is Captain Bennett Forbes’s account of his reminiscences. But as you are all Boston bred, I suppose you have all seen that.”
And it proved that they had.