From ship's-boy to skipper; with variations

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

GIFT OB

Professor
Frank ff. Wadsworth

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From Ship's-Boy to Skipper

SOME PRESS NOTICES.

'* All Hiitobiographical record of a life that seems to have
contained its full share of adventure on land and sea. . . .
It is a story that contains many interesting sidelights on sea-
faring life, written in the manner of a man who has spent many
years afloat, and it will appeal strongly to those who beheve
that there is still something of human interest in life at sea." —
Glasffow Herald.

" The story of a life that, spent mostly upon the ocean wave,
has been full of strenuous endeavour and interesting incident.
It is a record of achievement over circumstances that might well
have daunted a heart less stout than that of the author." — The
Scotsman.

" He has seen much of life afloat, and his experiences may
be read with pleasure." — The Spectator.

"... Really a good biography, plainly written, and very
well arranged. Gold-digging, cooking, and stock-working in
Australia provided interludes in his sea life ; and he has many
interesting things to tell us of life on the old windjammers,
doings in port at home and abroad, and quite a crowd of yarns
and anecdotes. . . . His plain sailor story is well worth the
reading, and makes a capital sea tale for boys." — Liverpool
Daily Post and Mercury.

" The narrative of his experiences forms exceedingly interest-
ing, and at times even exciting reading. Mr. Moffat, while dis-
avowing literary skill, manifests a distinct aptitude for concise
and vivid narration. He has been a keen observer of men and
things, and his life story will be found both entertaining and
informing." — Aberdeen Free Press.

" Captain Moffat, in his reminiscences, depicts the lights and
shadows, the tragedy and comedy of a sailor's life during the
latter half of last century with a master hand, and in a fashion
that is no less fascinating to the modern seaman than it is to
the mere dweller ashore." — llie Nautical Magazine.

" A most interesting volume of reminiscences of an eventful
sea life. . . . The many stirring and changful scenes . . . are
recounted in an attractive and entertaining style, so that one
finds it difficult to lay down the book until the last chapter is
finished. " — Glasgoio Evening Times.

"The life story of a seaman, as told by Mr. Moffat, will ap-
peal to a wide constituency. His recollections, experiences,
and reflections make delightful reading." — JJundee Advertiser.

From Ship's-Boy to
Skipper

With Variations

BY

H. Y. MOFFAT

PAISLEY: ALEXANDER GARDNER

9abliahtc be ^;yyotnttntnt to th( l*U 9lixttn Victoria
I9II

LONDON :
SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO., LMD.

rRINTHD BY AI.KXANDBR GARDNKK, PAISI.KY

PREFACE

Five years ago I retired from active service after
half a century of strenuous work, in constant action,
on sea and land. The sport of Fortune in my
earlier years, and with a nomadic strain in the
blood, few can have experienced a greater variety
of life and incident or endured greater hardships
and changes. The transition from such a life to
the easy leisure of retirement was not altogether
plain sailing. It was here my good friend and late
colleague, Mr. Spencer E. Colchester, of London,
came to my aid with the suggestion that I should
write my memoirs. Knowing somewhat of my
eventful career, he wisely thought that in fighting
my battles over again — on paper — I would grad-
ually get into the stride of my new life.

To me the suggested task seemed perhaps the
hardest of a hard life. The hand that has grasped
the capstan bar and the wheel, the stock-whip
and the gold-digger's spade, the harpoon and the
g^m, may well falter when it takes up at last the
mightiest instrument of all. But I was " ever one
who never turned his back, but marched straight
forward,'' and so to the last task I set myself.

S PREFACE

Who shall wonder if I found the pen but a feeble
weapon in my unpractised hand ? Literary style
and grace, polished phrases, illuminated descrip-
tions and dramatic treatment of exciting episodes
were not for me. All I could compass was a sailor's
yarn, told in plain, unvarnished, but, let me add,
truthful language. Now that my work is done, no
one can be more conscious of its defects than my-
self. But yet the writing of my life story has not
failed of its primary purpose in that it has light-
ened and brightened many of my leisure hours, and
if it does a similar service to my indulgent readers
I shall be well repaid.

In addition to the kind assistance of Mr. Col-
chester, I have to gratefully acknowledge the
interest and help of my valued friend, Captain
Francis Brown (the retired marine superintendent
of the City Line in Glasgow), and of Mr. J. A.
MacKeggie, Glasgow, without whose encourage-
ment this work might not have seen the light.

H. Y. M.

He«ne Bay,

September, 1909.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Chapter I — Early Days - - - - 9

School-days — Religious training — Bad treatment at
school — Playing truant— Stolen visit to Glasgow —
Punishment on return — Retaliation — Start in life as
'* printer's devil " — Dismissed — Fresh start as gun-
smith's boy — Again dismissed — Resolve to go to sea
— Scheme for obtaining mother's consent.

Chapter II — The Navy of Fifty Years Ago - 25

Life in the navy — Refusal of Scotcli boys to bow dur-
ing recital of the Creed — Threatened punishment-
Resolve to stand or fall together — How it was settled
— Daily routine.

Chapter III — Reminiscences of the Navy - 35

Willie and the seven dumplings — The lost turkey —
Paddy's razor — Unique punishments — The way I
joined the navy discovered Interview with First
Lieutenant — I receive uiy discharge — Back to les-

Ch AFTER IV — Experiences in a Collier Brio - 43

I again run away — Join a collier brig at Shields- Voy-
ages to Hamburg and London — Aground at Wool-
wich— Naval assistance — " Watermen's nips" — How
we measured time— Smuggling tobacco— Suspicion
falls on me, but I escape- -Aground on the Hook of
Holland - Refloated.

3

4 CONTENTS

PAGE

Chapter V — Sailors of the Old School - 62

Present-day sailors compared with the old — Visit to
Petticoat Lane — Unfortunate result — Stories of the
old north-country sailors and pilots — " What's wege-
tables ? " — " Flying Jib," the cook.

Chai'ter VI — Mediterranean Voyages - - 74

I try piloting — Ship as A. B. in a South Spainer —
The " privilege pot " — The captain's mad attack
on me — Return to Glasgow and join a brig for
Port Said— The beginning of the Suez Canal-
Harpooning a porpoise — Dragged overboard —
Wells in the Canal.

Chapter VII — Adventures in the Holy Land 88

Captain incapable — Reading the Riot Act — " Gone,
gone ! " — In a Joppa cafe — A donkey ride to Jeru-
salem— Caves at Beyrout — I am appointed cook and
steward — Captain again incapable — Nobody to navi-
gate the ship — Arrival at Mersina — Arab passengers
to Smyrna— Crew demand more wages, and are
locked up — We act as rescuers at a fire — Home
again.

Chapter VIII — Wrecked on Lundy Island, and

Another Voyage to the Mediterranean 104

A sailors' boarding-house — I ship on a blocade runner
— Sail from Cardiff— Wrecked on Lundy Island — We
take to the boats — Looters on the wreck — We give
chase, and recover our property — Safely landed — I
ship for Barcelona — Encounter with a Spanish but-
cher— I escape from his vengeance by jumping into
the harbour — My head is cut open up aloft — Chalk-
ing for watches.

CONTENTS 5

PAGE

Chapter IX — Crossing the Line - - - 125

To Australia on a paddle steamer —Crossing the line
festivities— From King Neptune to laundryraan —
Catching an albatross — Albatross pie — Crew dis-
missed on arrival at Sydney — I blossom out as cook
at an hotel— I get the gold-digging fever, and depart
for the bush.

Chapter X — Off to the Diggings - - - 138

Our first night camping out— A ghostly midnight visi-
tor— I learn to use a stock-whip — Hospitality in the
bush— ^Christmas day in Australia— Our first glimpse
of bushrangers — They hold up the mail-coach— We
are arrested for bushranging — A night in a cell —
Acquitted— We reach the diggings.

CiiAi^ER XI — Digging for Gold - - - 159

Hard work — Poor results — Making damper — I leave
the diggings in disgust — A squatter's station — A
Scot in Australia — Bullock driving — Tales of the
bushrangers— The bullocks and dray disappear over
a precipice — Stranded.

Chapter XII — Road-making - - - - 179

In a new capacity at the diggings— Road-making —
My brother arrives in Australia — I journey to
Melbourne in search of him— I prophesy the loss of
the S. S. London — Attempt to join a Confederate
cruiser— Foiled by the police— Another try at road-
making -Cure for snake bites— Promoted to cook
at the camp— Another accident — Bush fires.

6 CONTENTS

PAGE

Chapter XIII — Afloat Again- . . - igs

Back to the sea — A voyage to Indict -Jungle fever
attacks the crew — A primitive hospital— Bad food —
Sailors' dishes — How we obtained fresh pork for the
forecastle— An artful dodge for securing poultry —
Outbreak of scurvy — Arrival in Liverpool — Sailors'
frolic — Opera glasses at the theatre.

Chapter XIV — Round the Horn - - - 210

Bound for Callao — A fiendish captain — A mixed crew
— Short allowance of bad food — The captain's vicious
dog — The captain's ire aroused — His murderous
attack on me — The injury aggravated — Frost-bite —
Great gale off the Horn.

Chapter XV — Fighting at Callao - - - 225
Appeal to the British Consul at Callao— Captain cir-
cumvents us — War between Peru and Spain — I offer
my services in defence of the port- -The bombard-
ment—Panic among the townspeople— Extraordinary
scenes of pillage — I rejoin my ship — The crew desert
— We sail for the Chincha Islands.

Chapter XVI — Out of the World for Three

Months ------- 239

Loading guano at the Chincha Islands — My coffin-
boat — Visits to the neighbouring ,shi])s — Bad pro-
visions— Present day ignorance of seamanship.

Chapter XVII — To Callao and Home Again - 253

The coffin-boat transformed — A curious cemetery— A
half-hearted send-off — Back in Callao — Lima Cathe-
dral— A dear drink of water— Bartering a $400
cheque for a panama hat and onions — A stowaway
— Primitive lamp — Repairing a broken topmast off
the Horn — Man overboard.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Chapter XVIII — I Leave the "Starlight" and

Join the City Line ----- 269

We lose two anchors off Cowes — Paid off at Rotter-
dam— Return to Glasgow — I join the City Line —
Changed days for me— Navigation classes — A bad
cook — Arrival in Calcutta.

Chapter XIX — Adventures in Calcutta and

Afloat ------- 284

A musical procession lands us in prison — Shopping in
a bottomless ghurry — A serious accident — Different
types of padres — Drill in the R.N. R. — Examination
for second mate— Cholera on board — I leave ships
for steam— Through the Suez Canal — Examinations
for chief officer and master — My first command.

Chapter XX — Work Ashore - - - - 303

I come ashore for good — Work in London after the
Dock strike — Fitting out a transport for South
Africa— Removal to Tilbury Dock— Sudden illness
— Resignation — Farewell presentations.

FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

CHAPTER I

EARLY DAYS

IN the fair city of Edinburgh, on the 24th Nov-
ember, 1844, I was launched upon the sea of
life ; but my memory will only carry me back as far
as my fifth year. At about that time I first went
to school, being placed in the first class to begin
with, and everything went smoothly until I was
promoted to the second class, when my troubles
began.

It was a rule at this school that when four mem-
bers of one family were attending at the same time
the fourth member was not charged for, and as I
had three elder brothers at the school, I became the
unfortunate fourth. The proprietor of the school
taught one of the higher classes, while two of the
lower grades were under the charge of his two sons
— Mr. Peter and Mr. John — who received as salary
so much per head for the pupils in their classes.
This was the only possible reason for the brutal
treatment to which I was subjected from the day I
entered the second class — taught by Mr. John —

10 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

until I left school. Day after day — most frequently
without the faintest shadow of an excuse — I received
a severe caning, or a sounding blow on the side of
the head if the cane was not at hand at the moment.
I used to go home with long, red-coloured streaks
across my neck and cheeks, but all the consolation
I received from my parents was : " You must have
deserved it, or Mr. John would not have done it ! "
Although I have had over half a century in which
to smooth over my resentment, I can still honestly
say that I was treated with great cruelty, which was
wholly undeserved.

Before proceeding further with mv unhappy
schooldays, I must describe our Sundays, as my
religious training will be called in question in an-
other chapter. All hands were called at 8 a.m. ;
breakfast at 9 ; Bible Class at 10 o'clock in a room
behind the church, which class was broken up at the
first sound of the church bells at 11 a.m. We then
took our seats in the church, where we had to sit as
quiet as mice, for our mother's eye was on us if ever
we budged. My brother, who was two years my
senior, and I, had to write down the heads and as
much of the sermon as we could grasp ; this was to
keep our attention fixed and prevent our thoughts
from wandering.

At the close of the service at one o'clock we
walked to the Dean Cemetery (weather permitting),
and finding a seat in a quiet corner, we were allowed
a few minutes' grace to refresh ourselves with a slice
of bread and butter or a biscuit, after which we had
to read our notes to our mother and hear her

EARLY DAYS 11

opinion, and also a lecture on the heads of the
sermon.

This was all very brief, for we had to be back at
the church at 2 p.m. for the afternoon service, which
lasted two hours, at the close of which the elder
members went home, and we young ones formed into
our respective Sunday School classes, which were
dismissed at 5 o'clock. We returned home for tea
about 5.30, as hungry as hunters, having had only
a small snack since breakfast, for in very few houses
was dinner thought of on a Sunday,

When tea was over, the dishes were piled up on
the kitchen dresser to be washed on Monday, and
then the order was issued, " Get your books." We
all produced our Bibles and took our seats in the
best room, which was only used on Sundays. There
we formed a half circle, with our mother in the
centre ; round the window in summer, and round
the fire in winter.

My mother wished us to read through the whole
Bible in the course of each year, so we read verse
and verse about for a few chapters, when we would
close our books, and our mother would give us an
exposition on the sermons we had heard that day,
pointing out various illustrations the minister had
used. Then one of my elder brothers would be
called upon to read aloud from some such book as
Bunyan's Pilgrini's Progress', Milton's Parculise Lo.st^
James' Sermons Jmon^st the Tombs, or sometimes
Gleanings Among the Mountains — Scotch Covenanter
stories being allowed on Sundavs.

At nine o'clock, before going to bed, we had each

12 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

a slice of bread and butter, and a cup of milk, for
porridge was never made in our house on the Day of
Rest, though we had it twice a day during the week,
and perhaps brose for dinner on washing day. I
will conclude my description of Sunday in our family
by saying that I had the best of characters at the
Sunday School and Bible Class, I could always repeat
the lesson which had been set for me to learn, and I
gained more prizes than any of my brothers.

Now I will return to the account of the relentless
treatment I endured at the day school. I cannot
speak for my qualifications as a scholar, though no
doubt I was the same in that respect as the average
boy of my age, but I am sure that, when I joined
the Second Class, I was as quiet and orderly a boy
as ever entered it.

A change came over the scene ; I became very
dull and hated school, and I tried shamming illness
to get clear of it, but my mother was not to be
caught that way. One of my elder brothers, who
was in the highest class, spoke to her over and over
again about my learning nothing, for which he
blamed Mr. John, but, although she consulted him
in many things, she would not hear a word against
my teacher, of whom she held a very high opinion.
This went on for some time, until at last I began
to play truant, which I did successfully for a con-
siderable time. I think Mr. John was rather pleased
than otherwise at my absence, and he never reported
it to his father, as he should have done, for the
father would have communicated with my mother if
he had known.

EARLY DAYS 13

One morning when I left the house as though
going to school, I met a boy chum (not a school-
mate) named Bruce, who had received such a
thrashing from his father that he had made up his
mind to run away to Glasgow, and he asked me to
join him. Money was necessary for our expedition,
and as I had ten shillings in the Savings Bank, I
ran home for my bank-book and lifted the money ;
we then had about fifteen shillings between us.

We took train to Glasgow after buying our
tickets, which were five shillings each, no seats
being provided, and arrived there, three hours after
leaving Edinburgh, as black as sweeps. We walked
about the city for some time, but people seemed to
know we were runaways, for we were asked a dozen
times where we had come from and where we were
going, until at last we were stopped by a policeman.

" Whaur dae you boys belong to .'' "" he asked.

We told him we were from Edinburgh.

" Are you here by yoursels .^" was his next query.

" Yes," we answered, trying to look innocent.
" Our uncle was to have met us at the train, but we
didn't see him, and we don't know where he lives."

" Whaur are you gaun to sleep the nicht.''"the
policeman then demanded. " Hae ye ony siller.?"

" Yes, a little," we replied.

" Well, come wi' me," he said, " and Fll show you
a gnid place."

He took us to the George Hotel in George Square,
where we got a bed for the two of us for half a
crown. We were out early next morning and got
as far as the Broomielaw Bridge where we found a

14 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

passenger steamer about to sail for somewhere, and
as we did not care where it was, we went on board,
and to this day I am not sure where that steamer
called. All I can remember of our day's outing is
that, when she got round the Cloch, it was very
rough and we were both very sick, and that we
arrived the same evening at the Broomielaw with
empty stomachs and empty pockets.

The sea-sickness had left us, but home-sickness
had set in, so we started there and then on our
homeward journey. I cannot say how we steered
our course to begin with, but I remember we came
to some large iron-works on the outskirts of the
town, and the big blazing fires looked very com-
forting to the two small, cold, and hungry bits of
humanity.

The gate stood open, so we ventured in, and as it
was, doubtless, very unusual to see two little boys
there at midnight, some of the workmen asked us
what we were doing out at that time of night. We
told them we were going to walk to Edinburgh, and
seeing the big fire, thought we would like to warm
ourselves by it before proceeding further on our
way. They took us to a little wooden shanty where
they kept their coats and cans of tea, the latter
standing at the side of a nice, bright fire, and there
they shared their tea and contents of their parcels
with us. That disposed of, they told us to lie down
on the seats with their coats for pillows, and they
would call us at six a.m. and show us the road we
should take to Edinburgh. We gladly availed
ourselves of this kind offer and slept soundly till

EARLY DAYS 15

we were called at six o'clock, when the men supplied
us with more tea and all the eatables they could
scrape together. They then showed us the way to
the Canal, which was not far off, and advised us to
keep beside it so that we should not lose our way.
We parted with these kind, hard-working men, and
set forth on our journey like giants refreshed.

Late in the evening of that day we reached
Falkirk, where Bruce had an uncle to whom he had
decided to go, but I, being very home-sick, was
determined to keep on, so we parted company. As
I was walking towards the town, a young fellow and
his sweetheart overtook me. He asked me where I
was bound for, and on hearing that my destination
was Edinburgh, he advised me to go no further that
night, but to go and sleep at the neighbouring
lime-kilns and start fresh in the morning. However,
the girl took another view of the matter and rounded
on him smartly.

" I think shame of ye," she cried, " tae tell a wee
laddie like that tae gang tae the lime-kilns ! He'd
be deid gin the morn's morning. I'll tak' him hame
tae my mither and see what she says."

Which the compassionate lassie did. The cottage
was a thatched one, the inside neat and clean ; but
there was only " a but and a ben," and there were a
man and his wife, with eight or ten children.

They treated me very kindly, and as it was bed-
time and the porridge all consumed, they made me
a bowl of brose, while the little ones gathered round
and stared at me as if I had descended from the
moon. They then made me up a little bed on the

16 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

lid of a chest, with a big chair at the end to lengthen
it, the family being stowed away as follows. The
guidman and his wife, with the youngest child, had
a concealed bed, from underneath which a truckle-
bed (called in Scotland a " hurly ") was pulled out,
and it accommodated four boys ; the girls all slept
" ben the house," and, I have no doubt, were dis-
posed of in the same compact manner.

I can still remember some of the good woman's
remarks to her man anent my appearance.

" He's rale weel cled," she said, as she took stock
of me. "They're a nice pair o' buits he has on, and
his claes are a' o' the best. Aye, he must be some-
body's bairn : we'll hear some day maybe."

Next morning I was sent on my way again, with
twopence in cash, and a piece of bread in my pocket.
The road ran no longer beside the Canal, but
towards Queensferry and Cramond, and farther on
Comely Bank.

Soon after passing Craig Leith, my attention was
attracted by a bill stuck on a tree, offering a reward
of d£'10 for a lost boy, who, I found on reading the
bill, was my valuable self! I was too young to
think of dodging home to save the dPlO, but anyway
I managed to get into the house without being seen.
I was at once taken to my mother's bedroom, where
I found her in bed, surrounded by a dozen or so of
friends who had come to comfort her. They left
on my arrival, and I was soon dispatched to bed,
which I was glad to reach, for I was footsore and
weary, and there I remained till well on next day,
when my mother put me through a severe question-

EARLY DAYS 17

ing as to my travels, my reasons for setting out, etc.
After a long, sharp lecture that scene closed.

The next day I was packed off to school, where I
took my place as if nothing had happened, but
Mr. John announced that in the afternoon he would
settle with me for having run away from school. I
informed my eldest brother of this during the mid-
day interval, and he told it to the other boys in the
highest class, who were very indignant. After
thinking it over, it was arranged that, if Mr. John
started to punish me in the cruel manner I had so
often experienced, I was to give a great shout and
all the senior boys would leave their room and come
to my rescue.

At the opening of the class that afternoon I was
told to go upstairs, which meant I was to receive
my punishment on a tender part. Up I went,
followed by Mr. John with his map pointer, which
was nothing more nor less than a billiard cue.
Without saying a word he lifted the pointer and
brought it down on my shoulders with such force
that it broke in two, and the heavy end fell on the
floor. My blood was up, and this was an oppor-
tunity not to be missed. I caught hold of the
broken cue and, with the heavy end, gave him a
blow on the forehead with all my might. Before
he had recovered from the effects of the blow I was
downstairs and out in the street. The worm had
turned !

That striking episode concluded my school-days,
A court-martial was held that night in our house
before my mother and Mr. John's father. I had

18 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

asked that my brothers might be allowed in, for I
knew they would speak the truth and clear me to a
great extent, but they were not admitted. I do not
know what passed between my judges, but I do
know I never went to school again. I was about
ten years of age at that time, and very big and
strong for my years, for on my eleventh birthday I
weighed eleven stones two pounds.

For a time I continued my lessons at home under
the supervision of my eldest brother, learning them
during the day and being examined by him at night,
but he found it a thankless job, for my studious
proclivities had been thoroughly beaten out of me.
He had now left school, and was with a firm of
publishers in Edinburgh. Through his interest I
was eventually installed as an errand-boy with an-
other publishing house, but soon afterwards, again
by his intercession, I was sent for by a large printing
firm, with whom he did business, to see if I could
pass an examination in reading, writing, etc., but I
failed, with the result that, instead of becoming a
compositor, I became a printer's devil, which was
quite to my liking. The following Monday morning
at six o'clock I appeared on the scene, arrayed in
all the splendour of a new white jacket, white apron,
and paper cap, and was first instructed to watch
how the other boys laid on and removed the sheets
of paper.

It was a large printing office with about eighteen
hand-presses and six steam-driven machines. During
the forenoon one of the boys came to me and told
me I was to go to B , the blacksmith, and ask

EARLY DAYS 19

him for the black file. I went off at once to the

smithy, and found Mr. B was out, but his son,

a young fellow of about twenty, was at work at the
bellows, so I went up to him and said I had been
sent for the black file.

"All right," he said, "just stand there and Fll
give it to you directly."

He proceeded to pour some oil over the palm of
his hand, which he then rubbed over the sooty
smoke-plate, and immediately applied it to my face
and spotless white jacket, which so enraged me that

I closed in on young B , got hold of him round

the waist, and swinging him off the ground, sat him
down on the fire.

I will say nothing of the result, except that it
necessitated a visit to the hospital as well as to the
tailor. The story spread like wild-fire, and effectu-
ally put a stop to any more tricks being played
on me-

The men in charge of the machine-room were very
kind in showing me my work, so I got on well and
rose over the heads of boys who had been there a
year before me, and my wages were raised from
half a crown to tiiree shillings a week after the first
month. I had also plenty of overtime, as we were
paid half a crown for a night's work, when the
machines had to be kept going all the time, and we
relieved each other for meals as well as we could.

After three months 1 was laying on at the cylinder
printing machine, and that was as high as I could
get as a "devil." I have no doubt that my brother's
influence had a great deal to do with my rapid

20 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

promotion ; he made a point of calling from time to
time to see the manager, whose reports of me were
always very favourable.

To encourage me in my business my brother
presented me with a small wooden printing press,
worked by a wooden screw, and with it I printed
the addresses of all letters written at home, an
ordinary-sized envelope being the largest-sized p^per
the press would take.

Then I tried cutting out pictures in wood as
frontispieces for books, and printed them on every
book I could lay hands on, and in so doing brought
fresh trouble on my devoted head. One of my
wood-cuts represented a big, dirty laddie in flowing
robes with a big bundle on his back. To my youth-
ful intelligence this seemed a singularly appropriate
frontispiece for the Pilgrirn's Progress, but, un-
fortunately for me, my mother thought otherwise !

I made another wood-cut of a rabbit which
everybody agreed was my masterpiece, and even
my foreman said it was very good. This rabbit
flourished on the pages of every book in the house,
from Robinson Crusoe to the Bibles, and for the
latter offience the original " bunny " was taken from
me and cast into the fire.

While I was amusing myself thus during the
evenings at home, everything was going smoothly
at my work, though I cannot say how long it was
before a storm arose. My employers were great
Bible printers, and I had a stereotyped one on my
machine, large print and easy paper for me to lay
on. We were printing between five and six hundred

EARLY DAYS 21

sheets per hour one day, and everything was going
nicely when, unknown to me, a pin went through
with the paper, with the result that it broke the
type on two plates, which had to be taken out and
sent to the foundry for the broken parts to be taken
out and new let in. That gave us an hour's leisure,
which was much appreciated by us youngsters; it
had not occurred to me that I might be suspected
of putting the pin through in order to get a rest.

We started again, and had gone on steadily for
over an hour when another pin went through. The
machine-man looked very hard at me, though he
said nothing, but when the manager heard of the
second pin he sent for me at once. I went up to
his office without fear, thinking he was going to
send me with a message to his home, as he had
frequently done before, but to my dismay he gave
me my wages up to date and ordered me to clear
out there and then.

It was a great blow to me, for I liked the work
and my foreman was pushing me on well. I can
remember still that I cried all the way home, and
when I reached the house I fairly howled. I ex-
plained it all to my mother, and this time I could
see she believed my version and would take my part
against my accusers.

In less than two hours a boy arrived from the
office to fetch me back ; he told us that when the
type came back from the foundry and my machine
had started again, another pin went through, and
then there was an enquiry, as there should have been
at first. They examined the paper and found several

22 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

more pins, not lying loosely between the sheets, but
stuck through and back again, as a woman puts a
pin into a shawl, and they were rusted into the
paper, so that they might have been there for
months or even years. It occurred to them to look
at the sheet which had got me the sack, and they
found that that pin was also rusted into the paper.
The manager then sent for me to go back, but my
mother said I should not go till my brother had
been consulted. When he came home we found he
knew all about it, for the manager had called on
him and begged him to allow me to return, but my
brother was so annoyed at the summary treatment
which had been meted out to me, that he stood
upon his dignity, and I believe those two never
spoke to one another again.

Thus, through no fault of my own, my printing
career came to an end.

Shortly afterwards a very decent working man,
who lived near us and was known to my people,
though not intimately, was about to open a shop
on his own account, and, wanting a boy, asked for
me. The matter was arranged, and a few mornings
later beheld me taking down the shutters of the
new shop in St. Andrew's Street.

My new master was no other than Alexander
Henry, the inventor of the Henry rifle, and, at that
time, the best shot in Scotland. I need scarcely say
how Henry's business increased ; he soon had seven
men working in the flat above the shop, and a year
later, finding the premises too small, he bought a
larger building a few doors farther down the street.

EARLY DAYS 23

Great alterations had to be made, and while they
were being carried out, Mr. Henry's son and I
frequently had a look over the new premises. On
one of these occasions we were in the backyard when
young Henry picked up a stone and threw it at a
pane of glass in a window on the second floor. I
remonstrated with him, but he said the old glass
wfis all to be taken out and new put in. Whether
he really believed it himself or not, I cannot now
say, but I accepted his statement in good faith,
picked up another stone and threw it at another
pane of glass. Mr. Henry happened to be inside at
the time, so we were caught in the act ; the other
boy received a thrashing there and then, and my
misdeed was reported at home by letter, which
resulted in my leaving Mr. Henry's service.

Home tuition was again planned for me as I was
so very far behind the other members of my family
as regards education, but I did not take kindly to
it, and sighed for other worlds to conquer.

At that time H.M.S. Pembroke, one of the old
72-gun line-of-battleships, was lying in Leith Roads,
and I made up my mind to try to join her, for I
had decided that the sea was the career for me.
However, it required much thought and manoeuvring,
for I was only twelve and a half years old, and the
age limit for the Navy is fourteen, and also, I knew
my mother would never give her written consent,
which was a sine qua non.

At last one evening, as we all sat by the fireside,
I learning my lessons, and my mother darning
stockings, I put a neat little plan of my own in-

24 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

vention into operation. I managed to abstract a
sheet of notepaper from the stationery drawer, and
under cover of my lesson-book, folded it into a
narrow strip, about an inch in width. That done, I
remarked : —

" Mother, you very seldom write now, and, do
you know, J have no idea what your signature is
like. Just write your name there."*'

So saying, I laid before her the narrow strip of
paper and a pen, all ready inked, and she at once
complied with my request. Thus I overcame the
first difficulty. After studying the signature for
some time, and passing a few remarks, I slipped it
into my pocket, and the following morning I pro-
ceeded to make use of it. I had a chum whose
father was a coal merchant, and the two of us
repaired to a little office in the coal-yard to fill up
my sheet of paper. After a few experiments on
another sheet of paper, our combined efforts produced
something like this : —

« To the Captain of H.M.S. ' Pembroke.'

" Sir,

" Having a great desire to go to sea, and
hearing that you are taking boys, I beg to offer myself.
I was fourteen years old on my last birthday. I am
strong and healthy, and I have my mother's consent.
" I am. Sir,

" Your obedient servant,

"HENRY YOUNG MOFFAT.

" My mother's signature — Margret Moffat."

CHAPTER II

THE NAVY OF FIFTY YEARS AGO

IT was on a Saturday in the month of May, 1857,
that I made my way to Leith Pier, where the
Pembroke's first cutter was lying, having come ashore
for the mail, and as I stood there trying to keep a
tight hold of my courage, the coxswain suddenly
appeared on the scene, and called out : —

" Hallo, white-headed Bob ! what do you want ? "

I said I wanted to go on board to join the ship if
they would take me, and he answered : —

" All right, my boy, get into the boat and Fll
take you off."

I afterwards found the coxswain's name was Leach
(nicknamed " Stickey " Leach) ; he was a good old
sailor with a very jolly face, as brown as a berry,
and slightly bandy legged which gave him a rolling
gait: also, like most sailors, he was a fine hand at
spinning yarns.

He took me off to the PembroJce, and, on arriving
at the top of the gangway ladder, he said to the
master-at-arms : —

" A boy come to join."

The master-at-arms took out his note-book in
which he jotted down my answers to various (|ues-
tions he put to me, such as : what was my name and

3 25

26 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

age, where did I live, and had I my parents' consent.
In answer to my last question, I handed him my
letter, with my heart beating like a sledge-hammer,
and he said : " Stand there till I come back," which
he did in a very short time, followed hy the First
Lieutenant, who asked me if I wanted to enter the
Navy, and I said : " Yes, sir."

The master-at-arms then read out my former
answers from his note-book, and the Lieutenant
said : " All right, take him down to the doctor,"

I stripped, was examined and passed in a few
minutes, the master-at-arms then taking me to the
office where a young clerk asked me the same ques-
tions as before. I was then enrolled as a second-
class boy in the British Navy.

When I came out of the office, I was taken under
the wing of a ship's corporal, who carried a cane in
his hand — a most unwelcome sight, for I thought I
had left all that on shore. He took me to the
purser's steward to be entered in his books, so that
on Monday I would be able to draw my cloth, serge,
flannel, duck, drill, knife, etc.

I was appointed to a mess on the lower deck.
All the sailors were divided into messes of twenty
to twenty-four men with one or two boys, and the
mess-tables hung between each gun on the lower
deck, the pigeon-holes formed by the timbers of the
ship-side being stowed with pannikins, plates, and
similar utensils.

The next day was Sunday and a very str.inge
Sunday it seemed to me, with the lios'n's pipe
whistling awav like a lark, and everybody hard at

THE NAVY FIFTY YEARS AGO 27

work, washing decks, flemish -coiling ropes, and
cleaning wood and brasswork.

At 9.30, the drummer beat to divisions, when all
hands mustered, dressed in their best, and arranged
themselves in a single line right round the upper,
main, and lower decks. When the junior officers
found that all the men of their several divisions
were present, they went on the quarter-deck and
reported to the First Lieutenant, who reported
"All present" to the Captain, and a small pro-
cession was then formed, consisting of the Captain,
First Lieutenant, and the officer of the division,
with the master-at-arms in their wake, carrying the
book of good and evil under his arm, and a pencil
in his hand, ready for action.

The second-class boys, of whom there were
eighteen, were stationed by the port fore-rigging in
charge of the schoolmaster with a cane in his hand
— oh, that cane !

As my uniform was still to be made I appeared in
mufti, the only one so clad out of a crew of about
six hundred. I might say here that it was unusual
for a strict Captain to go the rounds without finding
fault with something or somebody, and I never saw
divisions pass without the master-at-arms being
called upon to enter something in his book.

Divisions over, we were dismissed by the sound of
the drum ; then the bos'n's mate piped : " Aft all
mess-stools on the main deck," and a few minutes
afterwards the church bell began to ring, when all
hands assembled on the main deck, except Roman
Catholics, who were excused from the church service

28 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

— a strange service it appeared to me, who had been
brought up in a strictly religious family, according
to the customs prevailing fifty years ago in the
United Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

The second-class boys sat on the first two forms
in front, the next two being occupied by a brass
band, which accompanied the hymns and anthems.
As the trombone player was seated immediately
behind me, I got the blare of that instrument
(called a stomach-pump by the sailors) full in my
ears, and it seemed to me a very irreverent demon-
stration for the Sabbath.

Out of the eighteen second-class boys, fourteen
were Scotch lads who had joined previously at
various periods ranging from a week to six months,
but none of them had been in the service long
enough to have been converted to the Anglican
form of worship.

I had been in the Pembroke six months when a
new chaplain joined the ship, who was very strict in
all matters connected with the church service, and
he soon complained that the boys, in repeating the
Creed, did not bow their heads at the words " Jesus
Christ.'' He reported this to the schoolmaster, who
cautioned us.

After school was over, we fourteen Scotch boys
held a meeting in the cable tier (a place in the
orlop deck for coiling down the stand-by hemp
cable), and for the first time in my life I was called
to the chair. We all agreed that bowing and
scraping belonged to the Roman Church, and we
gave our word that, happen what might, we would

THE NAVY FIFTY YEARS AGO 29

never bow. We then closed the meeting by shaking
hands all lound.

When the critical moment arrived the following
Sunday we held our heads erect, and the school-
master, who was usually as white as chalk, turned
as red as a turkey with anger. After service we
were called to muster on the after-part of the main
deck, where the schoolmaster demanded from each
of us an explanation of our conduct.

I remember the first boy"'s answer was : " The
musical instruments knock me fair stupid, and I
didn't notice we had got to the place for bowing
till it was too late." Ingenious youth ! When it
came to my turn I replied : " Well, sir, I have been
brought up in the Scotch Presbyterian Church by
religious parents, and we would not be allowed to
bow in our church."

The thirteen other boys then spoke up to the
same effect, and the dominie seemed amazed at our
effrontery. We were entered in the master-at-arms'
little book, which meant we were to appear with
the defaulters next day on the half-deck a.t seven
bells (11.30 A.M.). That night we held another
meeting in a snug corner of the upper deck, and
pledged ourselves to stand firm and true to one
another in our trials. The whole affair had become
known on the lower deck, and the men were ragging
us in a joking way, with such remarks as: "I say,
white-headed Hob, if you don't bow your head when
you're told you'll iiave to kiss the gunner's daughter
when vou go before No. 1 " (First Lieutenant).

We duly appeared before No. 1 at seven bells.

so FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

and when he heard the charge against us, he flared
up in a mighty passion. " What ! " he cried.
" Because you have been dragged up in an irreligious
manner, you think you are going to dictate to us
what is right and what is wrong in the church
service ! I will give you each one week's first watch,
and we shall see if that won't make you bow next
Sunday."

A week's first watch meant that every evening at
eight o'clock we had to march on to the quarter-
deck and stand, seven of us on each side by the
mizzen rigging, toeing a line for four long houi's
without speaking or moving, and as we did not get
to bed till 12.30 and were called, with all hands, at
five o'clock, we only got four and a half hours' sleep.
A first watch punishment nowadays is from eight to
ten only.

The next Sunday found us in our usual places,
with the "stomach-pump" at the side of my head
as before, and every eye in the ship turned towards
the fourteen " heretics." When the Creed started,
the men who usually sat as far back as possible
pressed forward to see us bow, but they were
disappointed, for we stood as straight as hand-
spikes.

When the service was over we were put in leg
irons in the after cock-pit with a marine sentry
over us, which meant we were in the Captain's
report for Monday. When the Captain came on
board we were mustered on the (|uarter-deck, and
he sentenced us to three dozen strokes with a cane.

They were administered in this way : — a small

THE NAVY FIFTY YEARS AGO 31

field-piece was run out to a convenient part of the
quarter-deck, and each of us in turn stood with a
foot at each axle, with a leather strap to secure
them there and another strap round each wrist.
Then one of the ship's corporals, who was standing
ready with his cane, pulled the prisoner's blue frock
and flannel out of his trousers, leaving only the thin
No. 1 blue cloth between the cane and his flesh.
Each prisoner had to bend over the gun, and a
corporal bound his wrists tightly to it to prevent
him squirming during the infliction. Then, all
being ready, the corporals turned to with their
canes, each giving a dozen strokes, which were
counted by the master-at-arms.

I consider this punishment quite as bad as the
cat, for I have seen blood coming at the second or
third stroke, whereas with the cat I do not remem-
ber it appearing before the first dozen were over.

I think we all tried our best to keep back any
sound of pain, but it was no use, we all had to yell.
At the sound of the shouts three boys gave way
and promised to bow, so they were dismissed, leaving
eleven of us to be treated as above, and after the
punishment was over we were taken right aft abaft
the mizzen-mast and placed under a marine sentry
till sunset, whicii was to prevent us from doing
anything ra.sh while in such pain. We were allowed
to sit down on the signalman's grating if we liked —
a permission whicli might safely be granted, for we
were not likely to avail ourselves of it, a sbmding
position being more comfortable than sitting just
then.

32 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

During that week we sailed from Leith Roads for
a cruise, calling at Cromarty, and were then ordered
south to Sheerness. Thus we were at sea on the
Sunday after the flogging, and they tried a new way
of making the unregenerate Scotch boys bow the
head. Six of us were placed on the first seat with
a ship's corporal at each end, and five on the next
seat, guarded in the same way, with the band well
back to give the corporals room to swing their canes.
Wiien we stood up to repeat the Creed the corporals
raised their canes, and when we came to the words
" And in Jesus Christ " thev brought the canes
down on our bare necks with a force that made us
bow with a vengeance, and the sky-pilot left the
deck with a smile on his face. We used to think he
was the cause of all the trouble, and I still think so.

The Captain went on the quarter-deck after
church and called the First Lieutenant to him, and
they both laughed heartily. I often heard the men
say afterwards that was the only time they saw the
Captain laugh; he was known in the Navy as
" Black Jack," or, more frequently, " Chin-stay
Jack," because he always wore his chin-strap down
on his chin. Nicknames were very prolific among
us, and they always showed in what estimation a
man was held. Flogging was very frequent in
"Chin-stay Jack's" ship, but mostly among the
men.

I will conclude this chapter by giving a short
account of the daily routine of the second-class
boys' work in those days.

All hands were called at five o'clock, and while

THE NAVY FIFTY YEARS AGO 33

the men washed decks the boys scrubbed out the
wardroom or the gun-room. Breakfast was at 6.30,
and an hour later the boys mustered on the quarter-
deck, with trousers turned up to the knee, sleeves
up to the elbow, and neck exposed to show they
were properly washed and had left no " high-water
marks." If they all passed the First Lieutenant's
inspection without a fault the order was given to go
aloft, when they made a rush for the main-rigging,
ran up to topmast head, over the cross-trees, and
down the other side. If anyone was observed easing
down, even passing over the futtock-shrouds, he
would be received on the deck with a cut of the
cane and sent to do it over again.

On the other hand, if a boy was found to be
untidy, or with a " high-water mark," two of the
biggest boys would be told off to take him to the
head pump and scrub him with canvas wads, and
also with sand if it was a second offence.

We had a boy on board at one time whose name
was Willie, but as he hailed from St, Andrews he
received the nickname of " East Neuk." He was a
long, lanky boy with a very dark skin that made
him look dirty when he was actually as clean as
any of us, so he had frequently to submit to the
scrubbing operation. I remember one cold winter*'s
morning, when it fell to my lot to assist in scrubbing
him with sand and canvas, he tried to get out of
our hands and jump overboard.

Our little climbing exercise over, we had to attend
on our masters at the wardroom breakfast at eight
oVlock, and after that to tidy up their rooms.

84 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

At nine o'clock we were mustered at our gunsj
and about half an hour afterwards the bos"'n would
call the watches to their respective duties for the
day. For the boys that might mean sail drill,
knotting and splicing, palm and needle, gun drill,
rifle and cutlass, boat drill, down and up top-gallant
mast and royal yards, etc.

I think knotting and splicing was our favourite
work, as we were then sure to be under a sailor,
while in the other branches we might be under a
corporal of marines, and that we did not like.
Fancy work in plaits and sennits we usually learned
in our mess from any of the men who happened to
be working at some fancy article, such as a knife
lanyard or yoke-lines, and I always found them very
willing to teach us.

We learned tailoring in the same way, for all the
men could cut out and make their own clothes;
though there was a ship''s tailor on board no one
went to him, except for his first suit.

Dinner was from twelve to one o'clock, and during
this hour we had also to wait at lunch in the ward-
room. Afterwards we resumed our duties till 4.30,
when decks were cleared up, and the boys again
tidied up their master's room before tea, which was
at five o'clock.

The bugle would sound at 5.45 to dress for dinner,
and we had to smarten ourselves up before appearing
in the wardroom at six o'clock to attend at dinner.
At 6.30 the order was given to sling hammocks, and
we enjoyed ourselves in various ways till nine o'clock,
when we all had to turn in.

CHAPTER III

REMIKISCEXCES OF THE NAVY

WHEN the Pembroke arrived in Sheemess we
were paid off and put in barracks, but we
soon received orders to join our new ship, the Edin-
burffh, a ship of the same class as the Pembroke, but,
I should say, much shorter. I have heard that she
was called the "Grog Tub" in the Baltic during the
Russian war, not that they had any more grog than
the rest of the fleet, but on account of her relative
length and breadth.

We sailed for the north again, and this time made
Queensferry our headquarters. There were many
changes in the crew, both among men and officers,
and they had also got rid of several of the noted
eleven, but I had been spared.

The boy called Willie, or " East Neuk," whom I
mentioned in the last chapter, joined the ship about
this time, and we boys all liked him though he was
not very bright in the intellect. He used to «peak
very broad Scotch, especially when he was rebuked
by an officer for mistakes in his work, till the ollicer
was nonplussed.

Willie was gunroom boy, and the officers there
used to play terrible tricks on him, one of which was
as follows : — We were cruising in the Channel one

35

36 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

day, and the dinner for the gunroom was a poor one
as the potatoes were finished, so it consisted princi-
pally of soup and Norfolk dumplings, or " dough-
boys" as we called them, of which there were seven.
Just before dinner the Admiral had signalled to us
to shape our course for Tor Bay, and the officers
were so pleased at the prospect of getting into port
that, when they went down to dinner, they were very
independent and found fault with the fare. To add
to their displeasure a half-burnt match was found in
the middle of a dough-boy, and poor Willie had to
bear the brunt of it all.

They got up a mock court-martial and sentenced
him to sup all the soup and eat all the dough-boys,
there and then, while they stood over him. I think
he managed to struggle through the menu, but the
groans that issued from the cockpit during the after-
noon made me think that was the worst punishment
the poor unfortunate ever received.

Another misadventure befell Willie not long
afterwards. We returned from our cruise towards
Christmas, and the master"'s mate had a turkey sent
to him from friends on shore. It was delivered on
board alive and in a hamper, which was handed over
to the tender care of Willie, who stood it down by
the gunroom door. A live turkey being a very un-
usual sight on board, everyone who passed that way
lifted the lid of the basket to have a look at the
curiosity, until at last someone forgot to close it
again, with the result that the bird took French
leave.

When the master's mate went down to tea Willie

REMINISCENCES OF THE NAVY 37

announced in fear and trembling, " Sir, the bubbly
Jock's awa' ! "

" What on earth are you talking about ? Why
don't you speak English ? Moffat, come here ! "" he
called to me.

" Yes, sir."

" What is this fool of ours trying to say ?"

" What's wrong with you, Willie .?" I inquired, as
if I knew nothing of the matter.

" The bubbly Jock's awa'," he repeated.

I turned to the master's mate, and by way of
breaking it gently, innocently inquired : " Had you
a turkey, sir ? "

" Yes, d him ! has he lost it?" he exclaimed,

jumping up and discovering the empty hamper.

Willie was tried by mock court-martial, and that
evening was stretched across the gunroom table while
the officers gave him blow and blow about with the
scabbards of their swords on his bare skin.

Each second-class boy had a master whose cabin
he had to attend to, besides waiting on him at table,
and my master was the Second Lieutenant, a jolly
little Irishman who sported five medals and was very
lame, having been wounded during the Crimean
War.

He was not very prominent when the First Lieu-
tenant was on board, but he made things hum when
he was in charge. One morning after breakfast he
stepped into his cabin when I had just started to
tidy up — an unusual thing for him to do at that
hour of the morning. He had left his razor lying on
the table just as he had finished with it, and I had

38 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

picked it up to wipe it and put it away, but before
doing so I was trying its edge by cutting up an
empty match-box, when he stepped in and caught
me in the act. He told the schoolmaster to bring
me up with the defaulters at seven bells, and on my
appearance, sentenced me to a week"'s first watch,
and to call out my offence every half hour as the bell
struck, I stood half-way up the main rigging (that
position having been appointed at my sentence) and
when the bell struck, every half hour from eight
o'clock to midnight, the sentry on the bridge called
" All's well," and the sentry on the head gratings
replied " All's well.'' Then a voice from the main
rigging announced, " Here am I for chopping sticks
with my master's razor ! "

I could hear the men below laughing at me, but it
was no joke to stand on a ratline for four hours at a
stretch. Then when the Second Lieutenant came
on deck after his dinner, in a slightly elevated con-
dition, he looked up at me and exclaimed: "Chop
sticks with my razor, eh ? I'll teach you to chop
sticks with my razor ! You would chop sticks with
my razor, would you ? I'll teach you to chop sticks
with my razor ! "

He "looked upon the wine when it was red " every
night, but " Paddy,'*' as we called him, was a fine
officer for all that. One Saturday had been a very
wet day with a strong wind, and the ship's cook had
not sent his mate (who was a nigger) to coal-tar the
galley funnel as usual. " Paddy,'" on going the
rounds next day, noticed the galley funnel, and the
ship's cook was put in the report. On Monday he

REMINISCENCES OF THE NAVY 39

and his mate were sentenced to a week's first watch,
one in the port and one in the starboard main
rigging, so every half hour, after the usual " AlFs
well," came the nigger's voice, " Here am I for not
black de ship's galley funnel ! " Then from the other
side came in a deep baritone voice, " Here am I for
not see him do it ! " followed by loud laughter from
below.

Ship's cooks had very few friends on board in
those days, for the men were kept on short commons,
the food being of veiy bad quality, and they were
apt to blame the cook for it, so that he was anything
but popular.

I think it was about the end of the year 1859 that
our First Lieutenant, having wiitten a book which he
wanted to publish, was advised by a friend to consult
mv brother John, which he did, and after a few
meetings John asked how his young brother was
getting on in th» Edinburg-h.

"What!" said No. 1, "is the boy Moffat your
brother.'' Why did you allow him to go into the
Navy.^"

"We didn't allow him," replied Jolm, "he ran
away from home ! "

" But the Navy would not accept the boy with-
out his father's or mother's consent," said the
Heutenant.

My brother assured him I had not had that, so he
promised to inquire into the matter. When he came
on board next morning he called to the sentry:
" Pass the word for the boy Moffat," and although I
was tv () decks below him at the time I could hear

40 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

his stern voice, and it was enough to make any boy
shake in his shoes.

I heard the words " Boy MofFat ! " shouted from
sentry to sentry until it reached the one on the orlop
deck who came to me and said : " Here, white-
headed Bob, No. 1 wants you." Nearly all hands
had heard the call on its way to me, and I received
much sympathy from friends as I went up to the
First Lieutenant's room. The schoolmaster evidently
thought I should not be allowed to enter the
presence of such a great personage without a guard,
for he followed me up but came to a stand a few
yards from the cabin door.

When I reached the door the sentry knocked and
said, " Here is the boy MofFat, sir," and the answer
came sharply, " Come in ! " If the ship had
foundered, or gone on fire, or some other great
calamity happened at that moment, I would have
hailed it with joy ! However, nothing happened, so
I stepped in and found No. 1 sitting with his back
towards me, looking at some papers on his desk, but
he turned round in a few minutes and looked me in
the face.

" How did you manage to enter the Navy without
your parents' consent ? " he demanded. " Come,
speak out ! " I nearly collapsed, but I saw there was
nothing for it but to make full confession, and I
managed to get through my story with a struggle.
Then I saw him as I had never seen him before, for
he was quite kind and gave me words of advice. He
said my brother had told him of it, and that my
mother, through John, would probably apply for my

REMINISCENCES OF THE NAVY 41

discharge, but I had laid myself open to three dozen
with the cat.

At that I showed signs of excitement, and to calm
me he said, " But I will try to get you off the
flogging. I am very pleased to say that both the
wardroom steward and the schoolmaster have re-
ported to me that you behave very well. Now you
may go."

When I got outside of the door I felt as though
all the eyes on the ship were on me. The school-
master was standing where I had left him, but he
had been joined by the master-at-arms, bos'n,
gunner, and a few of the lesser lights. The bos'n
was a very loquacious man, who would surely have
been in danger of exploding had he been compelled
to hold his tongue for an hour, so he was the first to
speak on my appearance.

" What little hanky-panky trick have you been
up to now ? " he asked. " IVe told you before you
will never be drowned. Hanging will be your lot
some day ; see if it isn't ! "

Then he walked away, and I told my tale to the
schoolmaster but to no one else, though, somehow,
it soon spread over the ship, and for the remainder
of my time in the service everyone seemed extra-
ordinarily civil to me — even " Paddy." He gave me
many little punishments, but, on the other hand, he
gave me many presents. We were often allowed on
shore on Sunday afternoons from one to five o'clock,
when " Paddy " always gave me half-a-crown, and
when it came to my turn for twenty-four hours'
leave he gave me five shillings.

4

42 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

About three months after my interview with the
First Lieutenant I was sent for and told to pack up
and go. I did not pack much, for I distributed most
of my belongings among my friends, whom I was
very sorry to leave, and then went home, where I was
again set to my lessons, but with a very bad grace —
for who could meekly sit down to study the Rule of
Three after having roamed the. wild ocean from the
North of Scotland to the South of England?

CHAPTER IV

EXPERIENCES IN A COLLIER BRIG

ONE of the boys in H.M.S. Edinburgh, who
had been my particular chum, deserted soon
after I left, and went to Shields, where he joined a
ship in the coal trade. He wrote to tell me how
comfortable he was, and gave me an address to go to
in South Shields if I would like to join him. Soon
afterwards I again cleared out from home, with a
few articles of clothing, and went to Leith, where I
took my passage by the Newcastle steamer, and
eventually reached South Shields. I found the
people my chum had told me about, and they took
me in and were very kind to me.

I intended waiting there till my friend returned
from a voyage to London, but there was some delay,
as his brig had only got as far as Yarmouth Roads
when she, and a number of others, were caught by
strong northerly winds and detained there ten or
twelve days. Then the captain of the brig Premium
called one day at the house where I was staying, as
he had heard there was a very likely lad there,
wanting a ship, and he wanted an apprentice.

I was close at hand and was called in, the bargain
being fixed for three years, at £S the first year, £\0
the second, and £\9. the third. We went off at

43

44 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

once to a lawyer, who drew up the agreement, and
when all was settled I went on board my new home,
then lying in the Howdon Dock.

I had not mentioned my previous experiences, and
they thought they had the usual "green" boy to
deal with, so the only job I was entrusted with the
first evening was to sweep down the deck.

In the coal trade the men were engaged by the
voyage, but they would do certain work while the
ship was in Shields, such as putting her under the
shoots to load, without pay ; they all lived on shore
and were mostly married men. The mate came on
boai'd every day, and frequently brought his wife
with him for the day. While I was sweeping the
deck that first evening, just before the mate went
away, he brought a small coil of hemp-rope out of
the cabin and laid it in the galley, saying to the
other boy, "Leave that there till morning; I am
going to reeve a new lanyard in the fore rigging in
place of that stranded one." After that he called
the other boy to scull him ashore — the brigs in the
coal trade had two boys as a rule.

When my new friend came back we made our tea
in the galley and then adjourned to the forecastle
for a good tuck-in, which I much enjoyed, for no one
had asked me if I had a mouth all day.

The forecastle seemed both small and dirty to me,
but nevertheless we made ourselves very snug. Ijeing
strangers to each other we had much to talk over
and it was late before we got into our hammocks.

Next morning I was up first and lit the galley fire,
then the other boy appeared on the scene and

EXPERIENCES IN A COLLIER BRIG 45

started to cook our breakfast, while, to amuse my-
self, I unrove the broken lanyard, rove the new one,
and worked the knot on the end, but I did not know
about the tackle to set it up, so let it stand at that.
When my shipmate saw what I had done he looked
small, for he was quite ignorant of the way to man-
age it, and he was the oldest apprentice. Only by
six weeks, it is true ; but still he had that much
seniority, and every sea-faring man will remember
how he felt when he became the oldest apprentice —
almost a third mate !

When the mate arrived during the forenoon, he
noticed the lanyard was all ready for setting up, and
remarked, " I say, boy, I didn't know you had been
at sea before ? "

I said nothing, for I did not want anyone to think
I knew anything about a ship, knowing that the
time would soon come when I would be found very
green, say, in reefing a top-sail, I did not know
what to do with the points, for I had been used to
strop and toggle reeHng.

However, I think they were very pleased to get
me, and we sailed in two or three days for Hamburg.

In the middle watch of our first night at sea, the
mate gave us a hurried call out in this way : —
" Below there ! Jump out, boys — shorten sail !
Hurry up now — every other button!"

We soon appeared on deck and found there was a
very strong wind, with heavy rain and vivid
lightning. In a few minutes I was on the fore-
topsail-yard, tying a reef witli the help of the flashes
ot lightning. I managed it somehow, but I think I

46 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

learned more next day when I went up to shake out
the reef, for I saw the points I had tied were too
slack, and the spare canvas was not snug. I also
noticed that there were no cleats at the yard-arm for
each reef as there are in the Navy, Of course I had
tied many a reef before, though always as a part of
sail drill in fine weather, but I soon learned how to
do it properly by watching the others.

At Hamburg we had to discharge our own cargo,
so I had to learn how to handle the shovel and bell-
ropes, for the " Geordies " never discharged with
winches, but by jumping. It was very hard work
for a crew of eight to discharge coal at the rate of
about a hundred tons per day, especially for a
beginner, but I soon got used to it.

The ballast was always put in by shore men,
though we had to trim it, but that was not very hard
work as the brig took only sixty tons of ballast.

In the summer months we traded steadily to
Hamburg, with the exception of two trips to
Rotterdam, and in the winter months to London,
where gangs from the shore discharged our cargoes.

Now I shall recount a few of the remarkable
events that happened in the old brig Premium.

On our second voyage from Hamburg we sailed
at daybreak, about half ebb, but had only got a
few miles down when the brig took the ground, and
in taking soundings all round we found she was
hung by the heel, under which there appeared to be
a stone.

We soon noticed, as the tide fell, that she was
pushing the rudder up, and all the spars we could

EXPERIENCES IN A COLLIER BRIG 47

muster were used to shore it down, which kept it all
right, as we thought, but when we got into clear
water lower down, we found that the rudder was
broken and we had only nine inches of it under
water. However, we went on, for it takes more than
that to stop a crew who are paid by the voyage.

If the weather had kept fine we should have got
on all right, but we had a fresh beam-wind and a
little swell, and to steer her anything like straight
was out of the question. She, like the greater
number of the colliers of those days, was steered
with a tiller, and we might be trying to push the
tiller to windward when all at once she would lift
her rudder out of the water, and flat on the deck
we would go. All things have an end, and so had
that passage, but it gave us plenty of trouble.

On another voyage from Hamburg we had un-
usually bad weather for summer-time and our
position was not very well known. Our captain
was not a navigator, so I do not remember whether
the sun was obscured or not, it being no other use
to us than to supply us with light and warmth, but
there was a consultation at noon between the captain
and the mate.

I was at the helm till eight bells, and, on walking
past the skipper, I heard him say to the mate:
" I've a good mind to take the fore-sail in now, for
we must be drawing well in towards the Bar. Well,
let them have dinner first."

The mate came forward and said : " Be handy,
my lads, get your dinner, and then we'll shorten
sail. We must be close in."

48 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

" So I was thinking,'" said one of the men, and
the others answered : " Aye, aye, Charles, we won't
be long — it's pea soup for dinner."

We went below, and in less than fifteen minutes
I, as ship's-boy, was first up with the soup-kid to
return it to the galley, but first I went towards the
lee bow to throw the remaining soup overboard, and
to my great surprise found I had thrown it on to
a red-painted buoy. I roared out at the top of my
voice and all hands came running to see what was
the matter with me, but they saw the buoy and
recognised it as the Bar buoy at Shields. They did
not wait for orders, for every man knew what to do,
and at once set about it.

Before we had gone very far the fore-sail was up,
and the top-sails lowered, and it fell a dead calm as
we got under the lee of the Tynemouth land. The
tide was half ebb, the anchor down, a tug alongside
— all within a few minutes from the time I threw
the pea soup on the Bar buoy.

I used to think Hamburg a much nicer place than
London, for the weather was always bright there,
but in London it was always blowing or raining, if
it was not foggy. Of course that is accounted for
by the time of the year, for we sailed to Hamburg
in summer, and to London in winter, when we had
long, dark evenings, sitting round the bogie fire.

The men usually went on shore, leaving us two
boys in charge, and that was what we liked best, for
then we got the full benefit of the fire. If the men
stayed on board there was no room for us, and we
had to retire to the galley. We were better off' if

EXPERIENCES IN A COLLIER BRIG 49

it was Saturday night, for then we had to read
Reynold's newspaper, which was the favourite with
Shields men. Very few of them could read at all,
and none was sufficiently proficient to read aloud,
so it fell to the lot of the two boys to read in turn
while the men got into their hammocks out of the
way to listen, and passed remarks to one another
after the finish of each article. We were always
pleased when the remarks developed into a hot
argument over our heads, for then we got a rest
from the reading.

There was a little peculiarity in our reading which
may have a very amusing effect if tried nowadays.
Every time we came to a big word which we could
not pronounce we simply said '• Liverpool*' in place
of it, and went straight on. It was just as intelligible
to the men as if we had managed to struggle through
the right word.

There was one very bad thing we had to face in
the London trade ; the captain w ent on shore every
evening after tea, leaving ordere for the boat to be
sent for him at nine or ten o'clock, which meant
that, just as the men turned in for the night, we
boys were sent on a job that would, in all probability,
keep us out of bed till midnight, and sometimes
long past it. I do not rememl)or the captain ever
making his appearance till several hours after the
appointed time, and there we had to sit in the boat,
perishing with cold and hunger, for there was not
even a quay for us to walk about on to keep our
blood in circulation, as there were only steps leading
down to the river at the end of some alley. Nearly

50 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

all the steps we were sent to led up to RatclifF
Highway, and one favourite landing-place was called
Stone Stairs ; I looked for them a few years ago but
a wharf seems to have been built in their place.

When sent on those expeditions we thought
ourselves lucky if we could get hold of two potato
sacks, for then we would get right inside them,
which made a welcome addition to our scanty
clothing, as we seldom had either jackets or boots
with wages of £8 or d£'10 a year.

Being kept up so late did not excuse us from
being on duty again by six o'clock next morning,
but we had plenty of companions in misfortune — so
much so, that, soon after my boy-days, the police
stepped in and summoned any captain who kept his
boat waiting for him after nine o'clock.

Another Act, of which I missed the benefit, was
that compelling the ships to take fresh water from
water-boats ; we always filled our water casks from
the river at half ebb, and we did the same at Ham-
burg, but there the river was clearer water than the
Thames.

On one of our winter voyages we had orders to
discharge coal for the Government at Woolwich
Dockyard, and we arrived alongside the dockyard
wall one night at ten o'clock. Next morning we
were rather alarmed to find our ship was not float-
ing, though it was within an hour of high water, and
the water was washing over the deck. We sounded
the pumps and found just the usual water, but we
soon discovered that she had stuck in the mud, so
all hands set about doing something to get her out

EXPERIENCES IN A COLLIER BRIG 51

of it, for she would soon have filled by the hatches
and other ways.

We started the pumps first, for that is a good
way to shake a vessel, then one man and I went
aloft to jump and swing about the topmast rigging,
while another man got into the boat alongside with
a long pole which he stuck into the mud near the
bilge to make a blow-hole. In the meantime a
party of about two hundred and fifty men was dis-
patched from the guardship Fisgard to our
assistance, and a number of them ran our best six-
inch rope along to the capstan on the quay, while
others went aloft to shake her, which they did right
heartily.

When the water had reached about half way up
the coamings the rope was hove taut and they in-
tended to let go sharp, but just as the pipes sounded
" Vast heaving," the rope broke, and that did the
trick ! She jumped up like a porpoise and our
trouble was over.

The captain was pleased to see her all safe, but
he was very down-hearted about the good six-inch
hemp rope being broken, and I ventured to make
a suggestion to him. One of the sailors having
pointed out to me the Superintendent of the dock-
yard, I advised the captain to ask him for a new
rope, telling him it was the only one we had to de-
pend on, and freights were so low he could not afford
to buy another. He was doubtful of success, but he
tried it, and next morning a six-inch hemp was
delivered alongside, with a letter which the captain
was to hold as long as the rope lasted, for it had the

52 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

Woolwich Government mark in it. That was a fine
rope, and was there doing its work well when I left
the brig.

That reminds me of another occasion when I got
the captain out of trouble by telling him how to
work the oracle with Navy people. We were tack-
ing up Woolwich Reach, and when nearly abreast of
the frigate Fisgard we were reaching on the star-
board tack so that we would just fetch about the
stem of the frigate. At the same time there was a
barque running down, which should have passed
across our bows, but did not like to venture for fear
we did not put our helm down. He starboarded to
go under our stern, and to assist him and save our-
selves, our captain stood on rather too long, so that,
when we did put our helm down, our mast carried
away the Hying jib-boom of the Fisgard. When
we were clear and standing over to the north'ard, I
approached the captain and said that if he went on
board the frigate and told them he was very sorry,
but he had been placed in such a position that the
mishap was unavoidable, it would probably smooth
matters over ; otherwise, he would have to pay for
the damage.

He said to the mate : " Keep her going, but with
a good allowance of watermen's nips,"" then got into
the boat and I sculled him alongside the Fisgard^
and we were back again, with the matter amicably
settled, before the brig got far away.

For the benefit of the uninitiated I will explain
the meaning of a " waterman's nip." In the days of
which I write, a waterman was always employed to

EXPERIENCES IN A COLLIER BRIG 53

assist in the navigation of small coasters, of which
he took charge anywhere between Woolwich and
Greenwich. They were usually Greenwich men,
and a hardy lot, but very fond of grog. When they
were beating up with the flood, in company with
from fifty to a hundred brigs, it very often happened
that one could not allow the vessel to head-reach
for vessels ahead of him, so the watermen would put
the helm down, and let her come up in the wind and
shake the sails well, but he would not allow all the
way to get off the vessel. With great care the
waterman at the helm could take as long to reach
from one side of the river to the other as would
allow the crew time to take their dinner, and each
time he brought her up in the wind was what we
used to call a " waterman's nip."

All our berthing in those days was done without
the help of steam tugs. If we were ordered to such-
and-such a buoy at Gallion's Reach or Bugsby's, we
had to get there under sail, and, more often than
not, we managed by sailing as close to the buoy as
we could steer and working the sails and braces in
such a manner that the vessel's way would be checked
just as we reached the buoy. Then the youngest
man on board would jump on to the buoy with a
handy rope, catch a turn, and make fast another
rope at once, and then we would furl the sails. If
we made a mess of it we had to drop the anchor and
furl the sails, and then run a rope to the buoy.

We had also a good deal of kedge-anchor work,
for many of the mooring buoys were well off in the
fair-way, so to keep well in out of the traffic, we ran

54 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

the kedge inshore and hove it taut. We shifted it
to the outer bow at the change of the tide, and if
another vessel was ordered to the same buoy we
passed the rope to her; if four or five moored at the
same buoy the inside vessel looked after the kedge
and the outside ship kept the anchor watch, the
middle ships being all " farmers " or " sleepers."

The anchor watch, anywhere above Gravesend,
was not all beer and skittles, for the place was
infested with river thieves, who prowled about,
looking for a vessel with the look-out asleep in the
galley ; then they would set to work, and nothing
was too big for them to carry off. They used to
have an eye to the cabin funnel, which was always
made of copper, as it, of course, stood beside the
compass, but my captain always made sure of our
funnel when we anchored in the river, by taking it
under his arm when he retired to rest.

The thieves also looked for captains' or mates'
watches, as they were frequently hung up in the
cabin to keep the ship's time by, which plan works
very well at sea but is decidedly risky in the river.

Although we had no clock on board we had plenty
of sand-glasses — half-hour, one hour, and two hours
— but they were very unsatisfactory time-keepers,
though that was not the fault of the glass. Take a
case of anchoring in a roadstead, wind-bound, with
the watch from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. when the "doctor"
(cook) would be called. By the time he had got his
fire going and the coffee ready, he might perhaps
hear some clock on the shore strike five, and then
" the band began to play." None of the men would

EXPERIENCES IN A COLLIER BRIG 55

admit having turned the glass before the sand had
all run out, so, as usual, the boy would have to
bear the blame of it. I think it was always done
quite innocently. A man would look at the glass
and, finding it nearly run out, would turn it,
thinking such a little sand would make no difference,
when it might have run several minutes longer, and
that shortage would be doubled in the turning.

There was one branch of seamanship that was well
drilled into the youngsters on the brigs — casting the
lead. If we had a head wind anywhere between Yar-
mouth and London we had to keep the lead going,
for we were in very narrow water all the way. There
were no gas buoys then, but still we kept under way,
blow high, blow low, and even fog, if not too dense,
would not stop us.

As a rule, the helm was put down by the sound-
ings we called out, and not by the bearing of the
light-vessels. If it was daylight, or a very clear
night, we would only heave when the captain called,
" keep the lead going," but in the course of time we
learned from experience when to heave.

I had not been long in the Hamburg trade before
I started smuggling in a small way, and with good
intentions at the outset, but, like other things,
smuggling grows on one till it has a good hold. I
started by bringing a pound of tobacco to an old
sailor and a pound of tea to his wife, but I soon had
plenty of customers for as much as I liked to bring,,
and the old sailor, being a boatman on the river,
helped me to get my booty safely on shore.

On one occasion I had a big order for tobacco, it

56 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

being our last voyage for the year to Hamburg, and
I went on shore one evening to buy my stock. The
plugs of tobacco were all sticking together, so I
slung the big square block over my shoulders and
set out for the ship, but I stopped to rest on a low
wall overlooking the shipping. While I was sitting
there a gentleman came along and sat down beside
me on the wall.

" Good evening," said he ; " that's a fine lump of
tobacco you have there."

I made some suitable response, and he immediately
said, " I can hear from your tongue you are a Scotch
boy. What part of Scotland do you come from .'' "

I told him Stockbridge, Edinburgh.

" Do you really ?'''' he exclaimed. " I know Edin-
burgh very well, and the Stockbridge district too.
What is your name ? "

I said my name was MofFat, and he went on,
" You know, I am Scotch myself, and it is nice to
fall in with a countryman when you are abroad.
What ship do you belong to ? "

" The Premium, of Shields," I replied.

" Is that tobacco for the ship's stores, or is it your
own .'* " he inquired.

" Ifs my own," I explained. " I can make a few
shillings each voyage by buying it here at Is. 2d. a
pound of eighteen ounces, and selling it at Shields
for 2s. 6d. a pound of sixteen ounces."
., " Oh, that is very nice," said the interested gentle-
man, and soon after that we parted.

We had a good run across, and arrived in fine
weather at nearly low water, so we could not cross

EXPERIENCES IN A COLLIER BRIG 57

the Bar, but let go the anchor and hove out our
ballast. That was a usual practice when tide and
weather permitted, and for which the men were
allowed a shilling a ton, which in our case came to
twelve shillings each, the mate drawing the same as
the men, out of which each man gave a shilling to
the boys, making five shillings between us, and it
was understood that the boys should do the lion's
share of the heaving. My old sailor saw us at this
work, and knowing we would be in about half flood,
he came well below the Low Light to meet us.

I had my tobacco in a bag at the bow of the long-
boat, and I also had a gasket made ready for lower-
ing it over the side after crossing the Bar. I could
see my boat, for she was painted blue, but I also
noticed the Customs boat further seaward than
usual, and just abreast of my man, who was pulling
seaward, supposed to be looking for a job to moor
strangers. Then I realised that there was danger
afloat.

It was customary for the tug to stop towing as we
drew close to the l)oat and that suited my man also,
for both boats came alongside at the same time, my
boat on the port side and the Customs on the star-
board. I did not give my man a rope, but lowered
the bag close down, and as he came under it, I let
go, and at once ran round to the other side to see
the Customs come on board. There were two officers
on that dutv, one we called the little Englishman,
who was a very pleasant officer to deal with, the
other we called the big Scotchman, and he was a
terror. As luck would have it, it was the Scotch-

5

EXPERIENCES IN A COLLIER BRIG 6l

to eat, but just as it was ready the ship floated. In
a minute all was excitement, and "all hands on
deck," " shiver the main-topsail," " drop the bunt of
the fore-topsail," " heave away the windlass," and
numerous other orders were rapped out in quick
succession.

We soon got through them all and shaped our
course for Shields, where we arrived leaking badly,
and she was at once placed on the Gridiron to be
examined and caulked.

60 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

coming home, and the brig herself was complaining
very much. The butts were all started, and when
we lifted off a hatch to see how the hold and ballast
looked, we found every stanchion unshipped and
lying on the ballast, and we were afraid that, if the
wind did not take off, we would find the beams be-
side the stanchions.

Next low water we took away a bower anchor with
the help of tackles and skids, then took the cable
along and shackled it on, and went aboard again,
where we hove right taut. We then decided to go
on shore during the bumping hours as we stood much
in need of a rest.

We had no boat in the water, so we slid down
ropes and set out for terra firma; the water was
only knee-deep at the ship, but the beach was so flat
we had a long way to walk before we reached dry
land, nor did we get the expected rest when we
reached it, for we found the place was full of rabbits,
and we bagged fifty or sixty between us. There
were no houses there in those days, but the place is
greatly changed now, the Great Eastern Railway
Company having two mail steamers and one cargo
boat arriving there daily, and the same number
sailing. When we went on board again we found
the wind had shifted to N.N.W. and had done so be-
fore high water, the brig having shifted into a much
better position, and we thought she would come
away next time. We therefore remained on board
and took in the two kedges. We set the main-top-
sail and braced it flat aback, and after that was done
we had some spare time, so I looked for something

We then (lecicU-d to go ashore,

CHAPTER V

SAILORS OF THE OLD SCHOOL

SOME time ago I read a book called Windjammers
and Sea Tramps, by Walter Runcinian, which,
on the whole, I liked very much, but I take exception
to his remarks on the sailors of his time, which was
also my time. He speaks of the sailors of the pre-
sent day being very superior to those of forty or
fifty years ago, but I must say I cannot agree with
him there ; his experience must be a strange one if
it has led him to that conclusion.

Men of the present day are better educated, for
they have all grown up under the Compulsory
Education Act, but truly a little learning is a
dangerous thing — they know how to calculate the
freight on a cargo, but they do not understand, or
they ignore, the value of the ship and the great ex-
pense of sailing her, and look upon it as all clear
profit. For instance, they may read in the news-
paper that freights are twenty shillings a ton, and
their ship has 3000 tons on board. ^'That's J?3,000,"
says Jack. " There's ten of us with £3 a month —
that's cf 30 — and the officers and petty officers get
another ^30 between them, and we'll say the old
man has ,£'15 a month — that's £15 — we'll be three

SAILORS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 63

months on the passage — that's £225 — and if we
bring it up to .^£'500 for grub and other expenses,
that gives the owner ,^^2,500 for this trip, and we
only get <j6*9 each for doing all the work."

This discontented spirit was unknown to the
sailors of ray young days, most of whom could
neither read nor write, but I maintain they were
steadier, better-disposed, and better-conducted men
than the seamen of the present day, but under the
protection and dry-nursing of the Board of Trade
they have gone so very far down the hill that they
have nearly all disappeared out of sight.

If a ship were to sign on twenty A.B.'s at the pre-
sent day, how many of the twenty could pass a very
ordinary examination in seamanship so as to fully
entitle them to that rating ?

Not very long ago I told two sailors to get into
the boat and take another rope to the buoy, but
when one of them had got on to the buoy the other
managed to get adrift with the boat. When I ob-
served that, I called to him to scull up to the buoy
for his mate, but alas ! he knew no more about
sculling than he did about flying !

Three or four years ago I went on board a ship
that I was superintending; she was at Northfleet
and the crew had joined the previous day. They
had been sent to bend the main-sail, and they had
got it along, laid it athwart just before the main-
mast, opened it out, and were in the act of bending
on the gear when I arrived. I came over the side
just abaft the fore-rigging, so that I had a good
view of all that was going on, and I saw at once that

64 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

she had a crew of " know-nothings,'' but it was a
most amusing sight. Nobody had noticed my arrival,
so I asked the second mate to tell the captain I was
on board, and when he — a good old salt — came for-
ward, we both enjoyed the joke for a little, but I
could not stand it long, so the captain went on the
starboard side and I on the port, and I can truly
state there was not a man on the port side who could
clinch on a buntline.

I wonder where Sir Walter Runciman finds the
sailors who are better than they were fifty years ago ;
where are the boys of the old brigade ? I ask — echo
answers, " Where ? ^

Many of them may be found in the Australian
bush, in the backwoods of America, farming in
Canada — in short, everywhere and anywhere but the
forecastle, for the grandmotherly protection of the
Board of Trade has disgusted them and they have
all left. I see there are a number in Heme Bay,
where I now swing my cot, and I can tell them by
the cut of their jib, although I have not spoken to
many of them.

One day last summer I was on the beach watching
a boat race, and I had my glasses with me, the case
of which I had made from a piece of No. 5 canvas,
and coated it with Japanese black. This took the
eye of a man (who, I have since noticed, is a pick-
and-shovel man about the town), and after gazing at
the case for some time he remarked, "It was a sailor
made that."

I wonder how many sailors of the present day
carry the ditty bag which, in my time, was hung up

SAILORS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 65

at the head clew of every sailor's hammock, and
which contained marline-spike, pricker, palm,
rubber, sail-hook, a case with needles, usually hitched
all round with twine, the tip of a horn full of grease,
and a fancy little serving-board.

A mate or a bos'n had very little trouble in send-
ing a full crew to their jobs here and there about
the ship, and every man liked to work with his own
tools, but to turn to the same number of men at the
present day a mate would require the contents of a
chandler's shop. The " Geordies " had one tool
more than I have mentioned above ; if the brig they
were going in had no patent windlass they went on
board with a well-scrubbed handspike tied to the
outside of their bag of clothes.

These old north country sailors were very guilty
of blaming the boy for everything that went wrong,
and I have noticed the same thing on shore, as the
following story shows. A keelman was hauling his
keel up alongside H.M.S. Castor, then a drill ship
at Shields, and on this occasion the crew were at big
gun drill as if in a rough sea, which means that
every time they fired the guns and she recoiled, they
let go the port-tackle-fall, and down went the port
with a slam, to be traced up again when the gun was
loaded. Now, when Geordie had his hand on the
port sill down came the port on his hand, so he
immediately hauled to the gangway, which he
ascended, but was stopped by the sentry who asked
him what he wanted.

" Where's that boy ? " Geordie demanded. " He's
lowered the clapper down and jammed my hand !"

66 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

I have mentioned the pay the boys got in the
brigs, and I need hardly say it was impossible to
keep ourselves provided with many clothes on that
princely sum, so we had to do without oilskiais and
many other articles. I was always on the look-out
to make a little whenever possible, and I frequently
got a shilling for sculling people on board of their
ship while I was waiting for my captain, and I saved
these odd shillings till I had enough to buy some-
thing of which I stood in need. The sleeved waist-
coat of bye-gone days was a friend in need, for it
fitted closely, and kept out wind, rain, and cold
better than a " monkey-jacket," but, if fairly good,
it cost from twelve to fifteen shillings.

On one occasion I had five shillings saved and
fifteen shillings wages due, so one Sunday morning
in London I asked the captain to settle, which he
did after a growl, and I asked the mate for permis-
sion to go ashore, as I wanted to go to Petticoat
Lane for two pairs of moleskin trousers. He granted
the pei'mission, adding : " Mind you don't get taken
in."

" Oh, no fear," said I ; " Pm Scotch ! "

" Well, well see when you come back," he re-
sponded.

When I reached the great clothes market I
decided to walk through first and view the land
before buying, and I had not gone far when I over-
heard a Jew at his stall say to a young man : " I
vill give you sixteen shillings ; I have no more
monish."

I took no notice of the remark, but went on, and

SAILORS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 67

further down the market I bought two pairs of
moleskin trousers for eight shillings, the shop price
being seven shillings and sixpence a pair. With my
parcel under my arm I was leaving Petticoat Lane
when a man touched me on the shoulder and
whispered, " Will you buy a gold ring ? "

" No, I have no money," I answered.

" ril let you have it cheap,"" he persisted, " I must
get rid of it. Just step up this passage and I'll
show it to you."

We stepped aside from the crowd, and he
cautiously produced the ring, saying casually as he
did so, " An old Jew in the market offered me six-
teen shillings — all he was worth— for it, but I would
rather let you have it than a blooming old eTew."

I offered him eight shillings, which he accepted,
and I went on my way rejoicing, looking about me
all the way down the Minories for a quiet corner
that I might stop and gaze on the noble ring that
was to be the means of lifting me from poverty to
riches.

When I reached the brig the mate was performing
his a])lutions on the main-hatch, and he called out,
" Well, Harry, come and show me how you got on."

I produced the trousers and said I gave four
shillings a pair for them.

" Did you .'' " said he. " Fools and their money
are soon parted."

" Why, look at thorn ! " I protested, " did you
ever see anything better for the money .'* Thick
moleskin trousers like that would cost seven and six-
pence at the Milldam-b.nik, Shields."

68 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

By way of answer he put one of the trouser legs in
the bucket and gave it a slight rub, as if washing it,
and to my great dismay, he washed all the thickness
out and left something no thicker than a cambric
handkerchief! I could see I had been taken in on
that deal, but I had another shot in the locker, so I
produced the ring.

"Ah, look at that!" I said exultingly. "You
wont wash the starch out of that ! "

" Well, well ! what have you been doing now ? "
exclaimed the mate. " What did you pay for that —
twopence ? "

I told him I had expended eight shillings on it,
and he was very angry with me, for he said it was
only brass. However, I was convinced that he was
wrong, and next day I went to a jeweller and asked
him to tell me what the ring was made of, but he
said he charged sixpence for his opinion. I felt so
sure of the result that I ventured a sprat to catch a
whale, but, after a minute's examination, he in-
formed me that the ring was brass and only worth a
penny. So there was nearly all my money gone and
very little to show for it, but it taught me a lesson
which I have never forgotten, and I am sure it saved
me many a pound in after years.

The north countryman's idea of the four quarters
of the globe is well-known — " Roosha, Proosha,
Memel and Shields" — but it is not so generally
known that they used to say there were only three
inspired books — the Bible, the Pilg-rirrCs Progress,
and the Farmer of Inglewood Forest. They would

SAILORS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 69

lie in their bunks while the boy read aloud from one
of these works as mentioned previously.

These old salts had little or no book-learning,
and they were very far behind in things spiritual. I
remember one day when we had finished our dinner,
consisting of pea-soup and pork, one of the men, in
the act of wiping his spoon and sticking it up on
the beams in a little sennit becket, remarked, as he
got up, " Thank God for that ! " A " blue-nose,"
who heard it, jumped to his feet and cried, " I don't
see what you have to thank God for, we've only had
our Act of Parliament ! " This was said in all
sincerity, and he evidently thought the Lord should
only be thanked for extras.

One day on the Bank-tops in South Shields, where
pilots most do congregate, a missionary appeared,
but he did not get on with them very well for they
all claimed to belong to some particular sect.
Presently another pilot, very well known in those
days, arrived on the scene, and the missionary said
to him, " Well, Mr. Larboard, of what persuasion
are you ? "

" What per-sway-shun am I ? " he replied. " Pve
been a licensed pilot for twenty-five years, and Pve
never put a ship on the Herd Sands yet ! "

The old pilots of Shields were a hardy set of men,
though not over-burdened with education. One of
them boarded a man-of-war off' the Bar on one
occasion, and as soon as they reached the Bar, he
shouted in the usual North country tongue, " Clew
the fore-top-gallan'-sail up ! " But the captain said,

?0 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

" That is not how we do it here, pilot, we take in
all sails together. You just let me know and Fll
call the bos'n, then he will call the men and we will
take them all in together."

" Ah reet, hinny," returned the pilot, " Fll tell ye
and ye'll tell another, ah reet."

When the ship was close to her appointed moor-
ings, and all hands standing by for orders, the pilot
drew a long breath and rattled out without a pause,
" Clew the fore main and mizzen top-gallan'-sails up
haul the foresails up lower the topsails down brail
the spanker up haul the jib down fower hands in the
boat and run a warp ashore to the post ! ! ! "

Another man-of-war, cruising in the North Sea,
came close in to the Bar one day, and a pilot, think-
ing he might get a job, went alongside, but the
captain told him he was not going in.

" But if you like," he added, " I will engage you
to take some letters to the post and to buy us £9,
worth of vegetables."

So Geordie went on shore with the mail, and on
his way along the street he met another pilot whom
he asked for the meaning of vegetables.

" Wegetables ? Oh, they're just wegetables. Green
peas are wegetables, and scullions,* and er "

" Oh, green peas are wegetables, are they ? Ah
reet, hinny."

Off he went to the market-place, where he
expended £2 on green peas, which pretty well filled
his cobble, and then returned to the ship with his

Scallions — onions.

SAILORS OF THE OLD SCHOOL 71

purchase. He mounted the ladder, and on reaching
the deck, called out, " Pass down the buckets."

The captain advanced and said, " Oh, never mind
the buckets, pilot, we have plenty of men, so we will
pass them up one at a time."

Geordie exclaimed, " Wan at a time, sir ! It
would take ye ah day the day, and ah day the morn,
and then ye wouldn't have them up ! "

With which the captain agreed when he had had
a look at the cobble.

I must leave this digression about pilots and
return to the sailors. The old Geordies were very
prejudiced against whistling, and I had not been
long at sea when they recited to me : —

" All you young sailors take warning from me.
Never whistle when you are at sea ;
For if you do you are sure to rue,
For the wind will howl and whistle too."

Another verse they taught me was the following: —

" He that doth a rope belay
Coils it up and walks away.
Excepting 'tis the Mr. Boiler (cook).
Who belays a rope and calls another coiler."

They had another bit of advice for the benefit of
raw boys. " Never throw anything over the weather
side of the ship except hot water or aslies — the one
will blow back and scald you, and the other will
blind you."

One man in particular stands out clearly in my
recollections of the collier brigs. He was cook with

CHAPTER VI

MEDITERRAXEAN VOYAGES

WHEN I had served my three years in the brig
Premium, the owner, who was a pilot,
thought he would be doing me a good turn by
taking me in his cobble, and bringing me out as a
pilot, so I accepted his offer, as I understood the
work perfectly. He had a brother who was also a
pilot and they usually went out seeking together,
the direction and strength of the wind being an
unfailing guide to them to go out.

We would sail or pull out, according to circum-
stances, and when we got into position a lit'' -i;uth
of the Bar, we would heave to, or drop the h.^uk, or
just let her drift right in the track of vessels coming
from the southward. When both my bosses were on
board vessels, I sailed home, if possible, but if not, I
towed in with the laist one to board, and when in
harbour I had full charge of the cobble, to keep her
clean and the gear in order.

This went on for some time, until all the
youngsters became very uneasy at the news that the
Tyne Commissioners were going to have a large
dredger built which, rumour said, would be so
powerful she would walk away with the Bar in one
season.

74

MEDITERRANEAN VOYAGES 75

We lived in the hope that nothing would come of
it, but in a very short time the contract was given
out, and a number of young fellows then left Shields
for pastures new. I have since fallen in with only
one of them ; he became one of the best pilots of
Calcutta, and was well liked by all who had the good
fortune to obtain his services.

At the general exodus I shipped as A.B. in a
Welsh schooner bound on a voyage to Malaga, then
to Pomeron, and back to Liverpool. We had seven
of a crew, all told, of which the captain, mate,
second mate, and one A.B. were Welsh; then there
were myself, an ordinary seaman who was a fisher-
man, about thirty-five years of age, and the cook —
a little Dundee boy on his first voyage.

When I was having my first chat with the captain
he said, with quite a fatherly air, " You know we all
mess together in the cabin, and you get the same
food as myself."

I thought I had got *' a home from home " this
time, but I was soon to be disappointed. The
captain, being a part owner and very " near," had
taken care to buy cheap food, but as all the Welsh-
men belonged to the same village and the captain
was a pillar of their church, there never was the
slightest murmur from them. The pork did not
contain the slightest particle of lean, and it was
packed in dry salt in two boxes — one box for the
outward passage and one for the homeward. It was
the very same article that was sent in some ships for
greasing masts until the cook had collected some
slush.

CHAPTER VI

MEDITERRANEAN VOYAGES

WHEN I had served my three years in the brig
Premium, the owner, who was a pilot,
thought he would be doing me a good turn by
taking me in his cobble, and bringing me out as a
pilot, so I accepted his offer, as I understood the
work perfectly. He had a brother who was also a
pilot and they usually went out seeking together,
the direction and strength of the wind being an
unfailing guide to them to go out.

We would sail or pull out, according to circum-
stances, and when we got into position a lit!', -cuth
of the Bar, we would heave to, or drop the li.^ok, or
just let her drift right in the track of vessels coming
from the southward. When both my bosses were on
board vessels, I sailed home, if possible, but if not, I
towed in with the last one to board, and when in
harbour I had full charge of the cobble, to keep her
clean and the gear in order.

This went on for some time, until all the
youngsters became very uneasy at the news that the
Tyne Commissioners were going to have a large
dredger built which, rumour said, would be so
powerful she would walk away with the Bar in one
season.

74

MEDITERRANEAN VOYAGES 75

We lived in the hope that nothing would come of
it, but in a very short time the contract was given
out, and a number of young fellows then left Shields
for pastures new. I have since fallen in with only
one of them ; he became one of the best pilots of
Calcutta, and was well liked by all who had the good
fortune to obtain his services.

At the general exodus I shipped as A.B. in a
Welsh schooner bound on a voyage to Malaga, then
to Pomeron, and back to Liverpool. We had seven
of a crew, all told, of which the captain, mate,
second mate, and one A.B. were Welsh; then there
were myself, an ordinary seaman who was a fisher-
man, about thirty-five years of age, and the cook —
a little Dundee boy on his first voyage.

When I was having my first chat with the captain
he said, with quite a fatherly air, " You know we all
mess together in the cabin, and you get the same
food as myself."

I thought I had got " a home from home " this
time, but I was soon to be disappointed. The
captain, being a part owner and very " near," had
taken care to buy cheap food, but as all the Welsh-
men belonged to the same village and the captain
was a pillar of their church, there never was the
slightest murmur from them. The pork did not
contain the slightest particle of lean, and it was
packed in dry salt in two boxes — one box for the
outward passage and one for the homeward. It was
the very same article that was sent in some ships for
greasing masts until the cook had collected sonx;
slush.

76 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

We each had a hearty appetite and we did not let
the fat pork annoy us much, but we did object to a
little incident which occurred daily at dinner. The
captain would take a mustard pot out of a little
cupboard beside him, help himself and pass it to the
mate, and if the latter at any time omitted to return
the mustard pot to the captain to be put back in
the cupboard, he would reach over for it. The
fisherman and I did not like that, so we agreed that
the next time the mustard pot was left on the table,
whoever was nearest to it should help himself and
pass it on to the next.

We put our little plan into action next day. The
fisherman took the mustard pot, then passed it on
to me, and I helped myself and passed it to the
Welsh A.B., but there it stopped, for he was afraid
to touch it. The captain reached over and snatched
it away, saying sharply as he did so, " Remember
this is a privilege pot ! " " Privilege pot " was the
name I gave to a mustard pot for years afterwards.

There was one good point in the catering on that
schooner : we each had a basin of tea and a biscuit
at midnight, and I think this was only right. We
had then been existing for seven hours on — at best —
a biscuit and pork tea, with another seven hours
still to run, and when work is the same, night and
day, food should be the same also.

Old Captain Welshman was a fine helmsman, and
if the ship was steering badly, or going along with
the wind well aft, he never left the wheel, but ate
his food there, and never asked to be relieved until
he altered the course or the wind shifted. In port

MEDITERRANEAN VOYAGES 77

he used to work with us, discharging cargo, and if
he had to go on shore to the agents he would hurry
back, change into his working garments, and take
his place at the winch, thus allowing another man
to go down the hold.

The Welshmen never spoke in Welsh to one
another if the fisherman or I was about, which I
thought was very good of them, for they did not
feel at home with English, and sometimes would
make amusing blunders. Of course we knew very
well that none of the three of us would have been
there if Welshmen had been obtainable.

After discharging at Malaga and taking in forty
tons of ballast, we sailed for Pomeron, an ore port
up the river Guadiana, which at that time was only
visited by schooners and small brigs. We loaded
at a shoot about three or four miles below Pomeron,
which we had to ourselves ; but the loading was a
very slow process, for the cargo was brought in
small baskets on donkeys' backs, a donkey's load
being about four good shovelfuls. The river was,
at that time, very narrow and very shallow, and
there were no tugs, so we had plenty of work on
the way up. Square sail was out of the question,
the high land causing cahns and variable winds, and
we had to make our way up with stay-sails, and
with the boat under the bow with a small kedge
ready. If the wind drew ahead, or a dead calm
fell, we could run the kedge away with only a two-
and-a-half-inch ro})e bent on, which is heavy
enough when it has to be sculled away. A small
vessel cannot spare two men in the boat, and I

78 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

was appointed to the boat, for I was always a
powerful sculler.

At that time, when steamers were unknown there,
the banks of the river at low water were covered
with tortoise, and every time I went under the bow
to get the kedge I passed up the little reptiles till
the decks were nearly full.

One Saturday night, after the work was done and
we had had our tea, one of the Welshmen and my-
self were told off to get the boat ready to take the
captain to Pomeron. We had the flood-tide with
us, so we soon reached our destination, where we
found several Welsh vessels. In fact, they were all
Welsh except one schooner hailing from Dublin,
who had broken her back trying to carry a cargo
of manganese ore : she was only three parts loaded
when she began to buckle up.

We boarded one of the schooners, hailing from
the same port as ourselves, and on our arrival the
other captains, three or four in number, all met in
the cabin, while we betook ourselves to the fore-
castle. The night wore on, and I tried to get to
sleep across the chest lids, but the sound of twelve
or fourteen men, all speaking Welsh around me,
did not prove a soothing lullaby. When I could
stand it no longer I made an excuse of going on
deck to pass the boat aft, though I knew it was
lying alongside all right.

I was the only one on deck, so I had a peep down
the cabin skylight, and what a sight I saw ! All
the captains drunk, and very drunk too ! All speak-
ing and singing, and none listening.

MEDITERRANEAN VOYAGES 79

I saw we were in for a night of it, so I returned
to the forecastle and looked for a soft plank to lay
me down to sleep, but I was awakened by a voice
calling, — '* Come up here, Harry," followed by a
stream of Welsh.

I drew my wits together and ran up — to be
greeted by my captain, mad drunk, with a long
knife in his hand !

It was clear that it was I on whom he wanted to
operate, and in an instant I had him by the throat.
I stuck my thumbs hard in on each side of his
throat, and had the upper hand of him in so short
a time that he was quite unable to use the knife,
but I would not let go till my mate arrived on the
scene and took the knife away. As soon as the
knife was overboard I let go, and he dropped at my
feet like a dead man, though I am sure I had hold
of him only thirty seconds.

I might mention in passing that I have found
this the best way to subdue a man in similar
emergencies.

The captain and I had always been the best of
friends, but I have heard it said that men suffering
from delirium tremens always attack their friends.
I, for one, could do without the friendship : when
they come armed, at any rate.

In an hour's time we were able to lift him into
the boat and return to the ship, which we reached
before anyone was out of bed, so my boat-mate
helped the captain to his bed and the matter was
never spoken of afterwards. He treated me just as
usual up to the time I left.

80 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

We made a fair passage to Liverpool, where we
stopped by the ship for two days at the captain's
request — I think to allow him to go home for
money to pay off the three of us.

As we left the ship we passed a grocer's shop, and
I said to the fisherman, " Let us go in here and
send them down two pounds of butter for auld
acquaintance sake." This we did, and saw the
grocer's boy oflF with it. No one in the ship had
tasted butter during the whole voyage, and the
pork fat was finished a week before we arrived. I
knew, therefore, that the butter would be welcome,
and it would repay the captain for our solitary raid
on the " privilege pot.""

I went straight to Glasgow from Liverpool by
the steamer Blenheim ; it was calm all the way and
she took twenty-four hours to reach Greenock. I
arrived in Glasgow with a few pounds, but no
friends, for I had not been there since my youthful
escapade, recounted in the first chapter.

I asked a pointing porter, who offered to take my
baggage, if there was a Sailors' Home at hand.

" Yes," he answered, " but take my advice and
don't go there — it's only niggers that go there.
Vou come with me, and I'll take you to a house
that will be like home itself."

I acted on his suggestion, and that was my first
experience of sailors' boarding houses. It was close
to James Watt Street and the Shipping Ofiice, and
the old lady who owned it had many good qualities,
and perhaps a few doubtful ones, but, as sailors'

MEDITERRANEAN VOYAGES 81

boarding houses go, it was not the worst by a long
way.

I had been in Glasgow two weeks when I joined
a Glasgow-owned, but American-built, brig, then
loading in Ardrossan for a voyage to Havre, where
she was to get a cargo of machinery for Port Said,
consisting of the first dredger and engine stores for
the Suez Canal.

The captain, whom I will call Pannikin, was a
native of Glasgow and well known on the Clydeside,
and the mate, Mr. Abel, was English, but also well
known on the Clyde. There were ten of a crew,
and they lived in a house on deck. The cabin was
also in a deck-house, fitted with bath, pantry and
store-room, none of which I had ever been shipmates
with before, so I thought I was in clover this time.

We made a fine run to Havre, and were soon on
the berth for loading, but the charterers discovered
that our main hatch was too small to take in the
boiler, and our owners would not allow the hatch to
be cut.

The case went to court, and on the day of the
trial Captain Pannikin, as he was going on shore,
told me to accompany him on board one of the old
"Black Ball" packets, which was lying close at
hand, taking in passengers for New York. He had
his tape-line with him, which I held while he
measured her main-hatch, and it was lucky for our
owners that he did so, for that measurement gained
the day.

When the case was hanging in the balance the
captain said that he had that morning measured

8S FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

the main-hatch of the largest ship in the harbour,
and had found it to be two feet smaller than ours.
It was, therefore, decided that we had only to take
what would go down the hatchway without cutting
it.

Whisky was only a penny a glass at Havre, and
it caused much trouble; the mate had to be dis-
charged, and there was some difficulty in getting
another, but at last Captain Pannikin agreed to
take the mate of a Shields brig that was discharging
beside us. He had no sextant, nor would he have
known what to do with it if he had had one, but he
had plenty of good clothes (of the sleeved waistcoat
type), and was clean and tidy at all times. He was
a very fine fellow and a thorough sailor, so we left
with him, trusting to Captain Pannikin being at all
times able to do the navigation.

The cook and steward left at Havre with the same
complaint as the mate, and we shipped in his place
a "coloured gentleman'" — as he was always careful
to call himself. He was undoubtedly one of the best
cooks that ever went to sea, and he never did any
work without singing some appropriate song — such
as " Ham fat ! ham fat ! smoking in the pan "" — but
he had such big ideas of his own importance and
dignity that he would not listen to a reprimand
from anyone, and he left before the voyage was over.

It was the month of July, and we made a fine
passage up the Mediterranean, hugging the African
coast, where we got a sea-breeze or a land-breeze,
and she could lay her course with either, so we
reached Port Said in thirty days. It was well for i: j

MEDITERRANEAN VOYAGES 83

that the weather was fine, for, as it afterwards turned
out, the fine little brig was the heaviest roller that
ever sailed the seas, but we did not know it just then.

We had no chart for Port Said, for there was none
published then, so we anchored off Damietta, and the
captain went on shore to make inquiries ; but the
health officer would not allow him to land, and there
was no one about who could speak a word of
English, so he had to return unsatisfied.

We remained at anchor all night, hove up at four
A.M., and kept the lead going till we found our port.
We could see a great number of tents on shore and
a flag-staff with the French flag flyiiig, and we
approached with caution so that we might get as
close as possible. We anchored in five fathom, and
it turned out that Captain Pannikin had done well,
for we were never asked to shift our anchorage.

The brig had a nice, smart boat, very light and
handy, to which I and another young fellow were
appointed, and we had plenty of boating when we
took the captain on shore. There was a little outlet
from the Lakes with about two feet of water, but
there was a bar to cross with only a few inches of
water. When we were taking the captain on shore
and drawing close to the bar, we woukl give way to
try and make the boat jump the bar, but we usually
stuck, so the two of us would get out and lift her
over into deeper water again.

Soon after our arrival the natives were set to
remove the bar, for our cargo had to be landed by
barges, which were only square boxes with no hold.
They placed two to four tons weight on them and

84 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

hauled them ashore with a small line which they had
run from the shore to the ship for that purpose.

Port Said at that time was a very miserable place
with no housing accommodation but tents, and the
flies were unbearable.

In walking about that part which was allotted to
the native labouring class, it was quite a common
thing to see little boys laid on the sand with their
hands tied to their sides and their right eye greased
to attract the flies, with the result that they would
lose the sight of that eye and so evade conscription.

The highway from Damietta into Syria was along
the sea-coast, and the caravans used to cross the
outlet close to where the main street is now. We
always contrived to be about when the caravans
arrived, for they had plenty of pomegranates,
oranges, vegetables and such like articles which they
willingly sold to us.

There was a butcher's shop in a small, round tent,
and I shall never forget our first visit to it. We
had been dii'ected to it, and on looking in we could
smell butcher-meat, but there was none to be seen,
for the whole place liad the appearance of being
draped with black. When the proprietor observed
us he stai'ted swinging an empty bag round about
his head, and the flies came pouring out in such a
dense cloud that the captain and I had to beat a
retreat for a little. When we returned, the meat
had become visible, but after that sight the captain
struck a bargain to be supplied at six o'clock every
morning.

Mons. De Lesseps lived in a tent a little removed

MEDITERRANEAN VOYAGES 85

from the others, and he was of great service to
Captain Pannikin, for he was the only man there
who could speak English.

We had run out of oil ; in fact, I think none had
been sent in the stores and we had only had enough
to burn the side-lights as far as Gibraltar, so we had
burnt slush in the forecastle and candles in the
cabin. There was no oil to be had at Port Said, but
as there was a great number of porpoises playing
about the mouth of the outlet, the captain
suggested that we (the boat's crew) should try to
harpoon one, so we took the harpoon with us one
day, and after we had landed the captain we pulled
out to a position just outside the breakers, where we
dropped our anchor, bent the harpoon on to a line
of twelve-thread manilla, saw all clear for running,
and then looked for the fish. There were none in
sight, so we lit our pipes and sat down for a chat,
but very soon we saw a few of the fish curling round
under the boat, and, without waiting to see if all
was clear, I stuck the harpoon into a fine, big
porpoise.

The result was unexpected ; the line had got round
my leg, and next moment I was dragged overboard.
Away went the fish and away went the boat in tow,
leaving me in the water, but my chum, not wishing
to make a voyage by himself, took out his sheath
knife, cut the rope, and then sculled back to me.

All the porpoises in the sea appeared to have
arrived on the scene, and in one minute after I had
driven the harpoon home they were all passing our
ship, and the mate, who saw them coming, shouted

86 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

to the others to look. They could see that the
leading fish had a harpoon in him with the line
streaming behind, and the mate declared he saw me
fast to the line, being towed feet first with my
yellow hair showing. The fact was, it was a manilla
rope that we had on the harpoon, and when my
chum cut it, it would naturally fray out, so, my hair
being the colour of jute, it deceived the mate.

The harpoon was lost, and we had to burn slush
for the remainder of the voyage.

Our next trouble was the want of fresh water, and
there was none for sale in Port Said, but we were
told of a spring about seven miles up the canal
track, so we borrowed a square, flat punt, that would
draw only six inches with a cask of water in her, and
started early one morning. We found it to be a
long seven miles. We poled her along in turns and
so kept on the move, but we took three and a half
hours on the passage, and then out punt could not
reach the spring, and we had to carry the water in
buckets. We noticed it had a strange taste and
a milky appearance, but for want of anything better
we took it and returned to the ship.

I will make a short digression here.

During the twenty years I regularly traded
through the canal, I met with only one man who
knew of the existence of that well. This was Mons.
Stamata, pilot from Fort Said to Isniailia, who,
before the canal was opened, was master of a
dredger. For years I had noticed that steamers
became unruly as they passed the well, and when I
became master I amused myself by trying the

MEDITERRANEAN VOYAGES 87

density of the water just a little to the north of the
first station from Port Said, until I was able to fix
the spot. Now that the canal has been deepened
the little tantrums in the steering when crossing
that spot will not be noticeable. In the earlier
days, when a steamer had coaled down to the last
inch the Canal Company would allow, and was
creeping along very close to the bottom, if she
crossed over a spring, or, in other words, passed
through about four to five hundred feet of
comparatively fresh water, her draught would be
increased about four to six inches, and she would be
apt to cut some capers, the blame of which would be
laid on the man at the wheel.

CHAPTER VII

ADVENTURES IN THE HOLY LAND

WE were glad to get away from Port Said after
a stay of several weeks, but before we
sailed a barque and a schooner had arrived. The
former fetched in all right, but the schooner's
master, not seeing Port Said where he had expected
to find it, went to another port, further along the
coast, called Said, and could not work back again as
he had to stand well out to sea to avoid the easterly
set of the current; so it was six weeks from the
time he had sighted land about Port Said before he
arrived back again.

Captain Pannikin could do better than that, but,
I am sorry to say, at this part of the voyage he was
always a full pannikin, and he was in that state
when we left Port Said. When he did not appear
next day all hands went aft to see him, in the last
dog watch, and though he tried to get out of seeing
us, we would not go away till he came out. Then
we read the Riot Act to him, and he promised not
to touch any more liquor.

I think it was the following morning at daybreak

that we found we were close in shore, though we

had not expected land so soon, but the captain

settled matters by taking in sail and coming to

88

ADVENTURES IN THE HOLY LAND 89

anchor as if he knew the place. He ordered the
boat to be manned, and said he would go on shore
and see if he could get fresh water, for the Port
Said water was not fit to drink. We rowed him
ashore, and as he left the boat, he said, " Wait till
I come back, I won't be long."

After waiting for an hour I thought I had better
go and look for him. I walked into the town —
which was a small place several miles south of
Joppa — and inquired for him at the first grog shop
or cafe that I came to, but all I could get out of
the man in charge was, " Gone — gone ! "

I would have gone too, after that answer, but, as
I turned to leave, I caught sight of the ship's box,
which contains all the ship's official papers, and I
turned on the man and charged him with telling a
Ue.

Fortunately an Arab who could speak English
came in then, and, after hearing the story on both
sides, he explained that the captain had been there
for grog and a young native had coaxed him away,
but before going he had left the box in charge of
the cafe-keeper till his return,

1 asked the English-speaking Arab to go with me
to trace out the captain, and promised to pay him
for his services. He consented to accompany me,
and we soon learned that the object of our search
had taken a donkey and gone to Jerusalem. I ran
down to the boat with the box and the news, and
told my chum to go off and tell the mate that I
would take the best donkey I could find and give
chase even unto the gates of Jerusalem.

7

90 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

After some persuasion the Arab agreed to finance
me, on the promise that he would be well paid if he
would assist me in getting the captain back. About
noon we set out with the usual donkey-boy in
attendance, who sang snatches of songs by the way
to break the monotony.

If I remember rightly we had to make a journey
of twenty-six to twenty-eight miles, in the course of
which we learned from several travellers that they
had passed a man answering to the description I
gave, which was as follows : — white trousers and
shirt, white shoes, Turkish fez, and no vest or
jacket.

At last we arrived within the walls of Jerusalem,
where the first thing I saw was a cafe. I made
straight for it and looked in, and there descried the
captain, again a full Pannikin.

I suggested lashing him to a donkey and returning
there and then, but no one would agree to start
before the next morning, for it was then nearly
dark, and I had to submit ; but I was determined
not to leave the captain for a niinute. I could not
take him to an hotel for the night in his condition,
and on searching his pockets I found he had only
five or six shillings. I discovered that my inter-
preter had a friend close at hand who had a donkey-
house empty, so I had the captain put on my back
and carried him there, where I deposited him on
some straw with myself beside him. They had pro-
mised that all would be ready to start at five a.m.,
and I slept well, for I was thoroughly tired after
jogging all day on a donkey's back.

ADVENTURES IN THE HOLY LAND 91

It was six o'clock when we got away, and just
before leaving the town I bought a newly-baked
loaf of Arab bread, which was light in weight but
very dark in colour. I offered a bit to the captain,
but he could not touch it, so I polished it off my-
self.

Towards the end of our journey I saw that the
interpreter was getting a bit anxious about his
money, and when we reached the beach I asked him
to come on board for payment ; but he was afraid
to do so, and suggested that I should go and he
would look after the captain till I came back with
the cash. But after so much trouble in getting him
there half sober, I was not going to be induced to
leave him till he was safe on board. It was finally
arranged that we should employ a boat with four of
a crew, all natives, and the Arab agreed to come
with such a strong bodyguard. He asked for £5,
but there were only £4) on board the ship, and he
accepted that with thanks.

We got under way (but without the water) next
morning at daybreak, with the captain in a fair
condition and not a drop of spirits on board.

I had become the captain's right hand man and
he sent for me very often, for his nerves had been
much shaken and he was quite childish. Every time
I visited him he would say, "If I could only get a
half glass of spirits I would be all right. If you can
get me that from anyone forward TU promise not to
taste a drop this voyage again."

We had learnt from experience to put no faith in
his promises, so he would not have got it if there

92 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

had been any on board, but every time I called on
him I had to make up a mixture from three bottles
in the medicine chest as a substitute. I do not
remember the quantities, but the ingredients were
sal volatile, peppermint and laudanum. In a few
days we reached our port — Beyrout — where we had
to await orders from our owners. It is a very fine
bay to anchor in, for it is possible to anchor quite
close to the beach, and the water is marvellously
clear. We anchored in about seven fathoms with
forty-five fathoms of chain, and we could see our
anchor from the knight-heads, even at that distance
and depth.

We found there were some fine sights to be seen
within two miles of the ship, including caves of
enormous size. We could sail our boat into one
very large one with the mast up, and once in, there
was room for a ship of any size.

The water was very deep, and so clear that,
after our eyes had become used to the dim light,
we could see the bottom, and the fish swimming
about.

When we arrived at Beyrout there were two
British corvettes and one frigate, also one French
frigate and one corvette, lying on the opposite side
of the bay, which gave us a little amusement twice a
day, at least. At eight o'clock every morning the
five warships sent up their top-gallant-masts, and
crossed the top-gallant and royal yards. In the
evening they sent them down again, and unlucky
the ship, whether French or British, that was last.
I might say, in parenthesis and without prejudice,

ADVENTURES IN THE HOLY LAND 93

that the British crews did the work far more smartly
than the French.

Shortly after our arrival we set out in search of
fresh water in the long-boat with two water-casks
and all available tubs and buckets. Acting on the
advice of the inhabitants, we proceeded along the
Northern coast to what was called the Dog River.
It was very narrow at the entrance, but it widened
out considerably, and the water was beautifully
clear. When we had got the boat into a position
where she would float when loaded, two of us jumped
into the river, but we jumped out again in double-
quick time for the water was bitterly cold.

It came from Mount Lebanon where, travellers
tell us, snow lies all the year round, but I saw none
when I went up in November, though I saw it put
its white cap on two months after our visit. We
made two trips to the river for water, and the mate
and carpenter came the second time so that all
hands might see the place.

Our elegant cook and steward left us at Beyrout,
and I was asked to take the appointment till other
arrangements could be made. I consented, for
I had always had a turn for cooking, but it was
rather difficult to fill the post efficiently after it
had been occupied by such a smart " coloured
gentleman."

We had been in Beyrout three or four weeks when
we received orders to pr<)cee<l to Mersiiia for a cargo
of cotton for Smyrna to be transhipped there to a
steamer for Liverpool. The American War had
stopped the supply of cotton to Lancasiiire, and the

94 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

working people there were in great straits, so we had
to do our part with all dispatch.

We left Beyrout with a strong southerly wind,
and should have reached our port next day, but
Captain Pannikin was worse than ever. On the
evening of the next day we found land right ahead
and well out on each bow, but the captain was use-
less, and the mate had no idea what land it was.

We started to take in sail, brought her down to
two close-reefed topsails, and put her head off for
the night. In the morning the land was still in
sight, and we were nearly land-locked. The men
came aft in a body to see the captain, and I went in
to tell him he was wanted, but I could not find him.
I told the men and they started to search for him.
When I saw them trying to open the door of a cer-
tain room, I explained that the door was locked
because there were stores stowed there which were
sent by our ship-chandler at Beyrout to his brother,
a ship-chandler at Mersina.

The men asked me if there were any spirits
amongst the stores, but I could not tell them, so I
opened the door and we beheld the captain —
speechless ! He had got in by the window, though
it was a very small one. We removed him to his
own room and placed a watch over him.

A shift of wind came that day which saved us
from going on the beach, but it was three days
before the captain was able to take a sight and work
up the ship's position.

All that time we were under close reefs, so, when
Captain Pannikin came on deck on the third day

ADVENTURES IN THE HOLY LAND 95

and found her in that rig, he shouted out, " Make
all sail ! " and to the man at the wheel he said,
" Keep her off; steer N. W." Then he turned to
the mate and said in a loud voice, " It's a strange
thing the captain can't get drunk without the whole
ship getting drunk too ! "

He helped us to hoist topsails and so on, and we
were all glad to see that, for we knew it would do
him a lot of good. He soon found our position by
the sun and shaped a course which brought us to
Mersina, where we arrived on a very fine evening.

We could see the beach covered with hand-tied
bales of cotton, and hundreds of camels arriving with
more, till it seemed to me there must be enough to
load the Great Kastern^ and we threw half our
ballast overboard to make as much room as possible.
The captain made a good show to begin with, for
he spent the greater part of his time in the hold,
superintending the stowage so that the bales might
be jammed in as tightly as possible, and all went
well.

I knew that our biscuits were in a verv bad state,
being full of maggots, and I found out from the
butcher one day that he had a large oven close to
the beach whore we could bake them, and so get rid
of the maggots. He said we could have the use of
the oven free, but we must do all the work ourselves.
The captain, on hearing of the butcher's offer, gave
his consent, and told off two men and the carpenter
to do the baking, which took place on our last day
in })ort, and was a great success so far as the biscuits
were concerned, but it had other and more un-

96 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

fortunate results, for the men came back mad drunk.
The spirits sold in that port were what sailors call
" chain lightning," and the after effects were always
very bad.

When the captain returned, after having been on
shore all day, he was in the same state as the men,
but I took care that there was no drink in the
cabin, and that he brought none with him, except
internally. After I had got him to bed I was about
to turn in when the anchor watch called me out, as
ten passengers had arrived alongside, and they had
brought with them their firearms (flint-locks), four
goats, two dozen fowls, and several baskets of filthy
rags which they called their wardrobes. They pro-
duced a paper from the agent to the mate, stating
that they were passengers bound to Smyrna by our
ship, so we took them on board with all their traps.
After everything was passed out of the boats the
mate gave me the flint-locks to lock up in a spare
room, and then I turned in.

I cannot say how long I had been asleep when I
was awakened by the rolling of the ship, with the
goats crying like children, casks rolling about the
deck, dishes breaking, etc. I got along the deck
safely and into the cabin, but just as I stepped
inside I landed my heel on a broken tumbler which
was sliding about on the floor, and, before I could
stop myself, I had taken a step with the tumbler on
my bare heel, which was very badly cut. The
tumbler was as firmly fixed as if it had been nailed
on, but the mate managed to pull it off. The

ADVENTURES IN THE HOLY LAND 97

commotion caused by the rolling did the captain and
the three men a lot of good, and before long we had
everything on deck secured.

It was then time to heave the anchor up, and the
mate, finding the passengers, with their goats and
fowls, very much in the way, gave them permission to
go into the long boat, live stock and all. The ship
was rolling very keavily and we were glad to get
under way, for the beam swell was increasing, but as
soon as we got sail on her she improved, and we were
able to walk about. My foot was very sore, and
everyone told me I should rest for a day or two, but
I did not see my way to do so.

When the rolling had ceased and breakfast was
over I went on with scrubbing out two rooms, which
was all I was able to face, for I had the dinner to
look after. When I started with the first room I
had to pass out the flint-locks into the saloon, where
the captain was walking fore and aft with a very sore
head, no doubt, and 1 had further depressed him by
telling him the laudanum was finished, though I had
a little stowed away. When he saw the flint-locks
he asked whose they were, and I told him they
belonged to the passengers.

*' What ! " he cried, " have I got passengers on
board ? What will happen now ! Tell the mate I
want him I''

However, the mate was all right, for he held an
order signed by Captain Pannikin : — " Please receive
on board ten passengers with their traps'' — so we
had to do the best we could.

98 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

I found one of them who was willing to help me
in the galley, and another to peel the potatoes,
which I thought would relieve my heel.

When I arrived in the galley next morning I
found my Arab assistant had the fire going and the
copper boiling, and I was very pleased, for I thought,
when I first got out of my bunk, that I should not
be able to stand on my foot at all, but I think that
was caused by congealed blood, because I found I
could get along after I had had my foot in water for
a little.

We made a fair passage to Smyrna, and the
captain had a visit from the British Consul, who
appeared to have an interest in the cotton, for, when
we were discharging the cargo he paid the ship
several visits to ask us to work longer hours, and
when the last bale went out he gave the mate some-
thing and £^ to the crew to drink his health.

When we signed articles in Glasgow they stated
that the voyage was not to exceed six months, and
that time had now expired, but I believe the crew
would have said nothing about the matter, only,
having spent the i?2 in drink of the "chain
lightning" type, it was not long before they
marched aft and demanded their discharge or ten
shillings per month more wages, and, as the captain
would have nothing to say to them, they got into a
shore boat to go before tlie Consul.

I might mention here that I have been a total
abstainer all my life, and so never joined in these
freaks.

The captain gave chase and reached the Consulate

ADVENTURES IN THE HOLY LAND 99

first, the men having stopped for a "reviver'" on
the way, and the Consul was ready for them, with
five policemen in a side room. When the men
arrived to state their complaint they were in a worse
condition than when they left the ship, and, as they
fell out with each other about which of them was
to have the honour of addressing Her Britannic
Majesty's Consul, he called in the police and had
them marched off to goal, so the mate and I had a
very quiet ship for two days, which benefited my
foot considerably.

I have already mentioned that the mate was a
Shields man who knew nothing of navigation, but
he was a good seaman and an honest, hard-working
man whom we all liked very much. He never read
books or papers. If he picked up a piece of paper
and found there was printing on it he would lay it
down again as if it were poison, but he could sign
his name if he were not hurried over it. During
one of our quiet chats, while the men were locked
up, he said to me in his broad Shields dialect : " On
your first voyage up the Mediterranean didn't you
expect to find the Straits of Gibraltar so narrow
you could barely work a brig through ? "

" No," I replied, '• when I was in the Navy I
heard many yarns about it."

" Do you know," he went on, " I've often iieard
the Straits were so narrow yoti had to stand in close
to the shore, so that sometimes you couldn't swing
the jnainyard for monkeys' tails getting in the
brace- block 8."

I looked solemn, for he was my senior, and said :

100 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

" Yes, I have often heard it said, but generally by
men who had never been off the coasting trade at
home, and they, I suppose, heard it from someone
who was told by another who knew a man whose
son had been ship-mates with a man who had seen
it." If sailors were not allowed to spin yarns they
would die of melancholia.

When our men returned from durance vile they
were in a better frame of mind. Our ship was now
fixed to load to Glasgow, which was a bit of luck
for us all, and also, which was of more importance
to me, a cook and steward had been engaged. The
first part of our cargo was two hundred tons of
emery stone, and the remainder was a light general
cargo.

About four or five days before we had finished
loading, a large fire broke out in the town, and,
when the captain and mate were called out and saw
the blaze, the former asked for four volunteers to
take him on shore. I was first in the boat, although
still lame, and the captain, as usual, was half-seas-
over. When we reached the fire he spied a ladder
standing against a burning house, and he made
straight for it, followed by a Kanaka (a South Sea
Islander) and myself. When the captain reached
the top of the house he jumped down through a
skylight, and apparently disappeared for ever, but
in a few minutes he returned and called Louie, the
Kanaka, who was one of our A.B.'s, so we both went
to the skylight, and he passed us up an old woman,
saying as he did so : " Come back, I have another."
I helped Louie to get the woman on his back at the

ADVENTURES IN THE HOLY LAND 101

top of the ladder and then returned to the skylight
where the captain passed me up a little child, and
called to me to come back quickly for he could not
stand the heat and smoke much longer. We were
both back in an instant and pulled him out more
dead than alive.

I was glad to get down, for the soles of my feet
were sorely burnt, but the Kanaka fared better
because the skin of his feet was as thick as the sole
of a sea-boot. Well, those were two lives saved
by us, and while we were at it there were four or
five hundred Turkish soldiers and about the same
number of Turkish sailors standing around, supposed
to be keeping order. The British Consul's house
was very close to the fire and we proceeded there to
help carry out the furniture for fear the fire should
spread, and to watch that no one appropriated any
of it. Two days after the fire we were called to the
Consulate to receive thanks. Captain Pannikin had
been offered a money gift for his services, but he
refused it and said that neither would his men take
money — although he had not consulted us on the
point. On the day we sailed, the Consul sent each
of us — the captain, Louie and myself — a framed
card of thanks for saving life and property. My
card found a home on a spare nail on the walls of
the boarding house which was close to the Shipping
Office in Glasgow, and it may be hanging there yet
for aught I know to the contrary.

We sailed from Smyrna one bright, cold morning
in January, but that night it came on to blow a
heavy gale from the north, and although we would

102 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

have liked to carry on sail and get clear of Ehios
Island, which was on our lee, the wind was too
strong and she was reduced to two close-reefed
topsails. With her heavy rolling, we made little
or no headway, and we could see the black -looking
island to leeward with the sea breaking on it. We
could see the westernmost point, and we thought if
we could only reach that we should be safe, but at
times there seemed to be little hope. All hands
remained on deck throughout the night, and about
four in the morning there was a very slight lull, so
we at once hoisted up the main-staysail and hauled
out the foot of the main-trysail. By five o'clock
she started to show a little improvement in her
speed, and by six we were able to keep her off a
little and shake a reef out of the main-topsail, then
we were sent to coffee and a rest for two hours.

When we were called at eight o'clock to make sail
it was still blowing hard, but we were then running
befoi'c the wind. We therefore set the whole top-
sails, foresail, and main-top-gallant-sail, and off we
set — homeward bound in earnest. She could do ten
knots easily, but she did not forget to take a heavy
roll at times. I never had such a run of fair wind
as on this passage, and as there was not a drop of
grog on board all went well. Our royal yards weie
still across, and we could not get a chance to send
them down, though we expected to do that in the
Straits of Gibraltar, but we could not manage it
even there, for she rolled as much as ever and it still
blew hard.

It eased at Trafalgar, but we had a nice breeze to

ADVENTURES IN THE HOLY LAND lOS

St. Vincent, where it fell a dead calm for three or
four hours, and the royal yards were got down, wet
clothes and sails dried, and our beds carried out for
an airing. Altogether it was a great change from
what we had had for the last twelve days.

After our short spell of calm a breeze sprang up
from the south-east, so off we started again with
smooth water, and before long passed a steamer — a
rare sight in those days—going the same way as
ourselves. To our great joy we out-distanced her so
that we were soon out of sight. This fair wind
followed us across the Bay of Biscay, through St.
George's Channel and up to Greenock, making the
passage from Smyrna to Glasgow in twenty-two
days.

Just as we were finishing loading at Smyrna fifty
bales of rags were sent off to us, and we stowed them
around the main hatch.

When the "lumpers" took off the hatches the
morning after our arrival in Glasgow, it was dis-
covered that the bales of rags had been burning,
unknown to us, for the (lames came rushing out of
the hatchway and forced the men to retreat until
the fire brigade arrived and extinguished the flames.

That was the concluding incident of an eight
months'" Mediteiranean voyage.

CHAPTER VIII

WRECKED OK LUNDY ISLAND, AND ANOTHER VOYAGE
TO THE MEDITERRANEAN

I TOOK up my abode in the same boarding house
as last voyage, for I had seen nothing much
wrong with it, though I knew it was not conducted
on teetotal principles ; at the same time I saw very
little drink about. There never was as much as a
glass of beer on the dinner table, but, if a
homeward - bounder wanted to get into Mrs.
Boardinghouse's good graces, he had only to go to
the kitchen and call for whisky. The homeward-
bounders were men just off a voyage who had plenty
of money and were usually very lavish with it,
consequently they received much better treatment
than those who had had time to spend all theirs,
and who were allowed to stay on in the hope that
they vvould pay the debt with their month''s advance
when they got a ship. I noticed that Mrs. Boarding-
house had never to send out for the whisky, for she
had a cupboard in her bedroom from which she
could supply anything that was asked for, and that
was very convenient for some of the boarders who
had not been in Scotland before, and who found the
public-houses closed all day on Sunday.

That reminds me of a tar's first trip to Scotland.
He had been the worse for drink on Saturday, and
104

WRECKED ON LUNDY ISLAND 105

on Sunday forenoon -sallied forth to wet his whistle,
but, to his great astonishment, found every public-
house closed. He asked a passer-by for an explana-
tion of the phenomenon, and was told of the Forbes
M'Kenzie Act which was in force in Scotland. He
then continued his walk along the street, casting his
eyes all round, till he came to a pillar-box which he
walked round and round, and, after his "great
circle "" round the letter-box for the third time, he
came to a stand, and, addressing the people whose
attention had been attracted by his circumnavigation
— " Damme if Forbes M'Kenzie hasn't unshipped
the handles of the pumps !" he exclaimed wrathfully.
Though Mrs. Boardinghouse had no objection to
selling drink on Sunday, she would not allow anyone
to whistle on that day, and I once heard her order a
man out of the house for persisting in the offence,
although he owed her two weeks' board. She was
well up in years, of great size, and, as might be
expected, was not very lively on her feet. She sat
all day on a big chair at the kitchen table where she
could do all the talking and other sitting jobs, such
a.s cutting and buttering brgad for the table. I was
a close observer of her methods on this point, for it
was very seldom I could see any trace of butter on
the bread, and I managed to solve this problem : —
How can you butter two (juartern loaves with half a
pound of butter, and, when you have finished, have
three-quarters of a pound jf butter left on the
|)late ? This is the explanation of the seemingly
impossible feat : — Mrs Boardinghouse spread the
butter on a slice of bread, and then scraped it to

106 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

remove superfluous butter, but she did it so
thoroughly that she scraped crumbs off as well. The
scrapings were deposited on the butter plate to do
duty for the next slice, when the process was again
gone through, and at each repetition more was
scraped off a slice than had been applied in the first
place. Thus when the two loaves had been operated
on, the butter plate was in a very flourishing
condition.

At this time (during the American Civil War)
everybody was talking of running the blockade, for
thev were paying good wages out to Bermuda or
Nassau, and after that the pay was better still, and
if one only had the luck not to be taken prisoner,
there was a good deal of money to be made in a
very short time. As there were a number of men
going from the Clyde, I set about finding a ship,
which I did very soon. She was being built at
Renfrew, and I journeyed there to see the mate,
but, finding one had not been engaged, I saw the
captain, who said he wanted all smart young men,
and if I returned in two days, when his mate would
have arrived, he would put in a word for me. I
went back as arranged, but it was unnecessary to
speak to the mate on m}' behalf, for he turned out
to be Captain Pannikin.

The captain had just been telling his new mate
that he wanted four leadsmen whom he could trust
to give him coiTect soundings when he was running
the blockade, so when I arrived Mr. Pannikin took
me to the captain and said, " Here is the first leads-
man." The captain thought I was too young for

WRECKED ON LUNDY ISLAND 107

the position, but, after a few minutes' conversation,
he saw I understood the work thoroughly, and that
was settled.

A few days afterwards we signed on, and the
following day went down to join her on the stocks,
and had the pleasure of a slide down the ways — the
first, and last, time that I have seen a steamer pro-
ceed on her way to adjust compasses straight from
the launching. By the time we got to Greenock
the steam was up. We went to the Gareloch to
adjust compasses, and while that was going on
Mr. Pannikin managed to fall down the main hold.
We returned to the Tail of the Bank and sent a
boat to Greenock with the mate, who had been un-
conscious since he fell. I went on shore with him,
left him in the hospital, and returned to the ship ;
but on my way back I noticed a great stir and a
crowd of people, and asked a man the cause of it.
He told me there had been an explosion, the boiler
of a steam scow had blown up, and two men were
missing. When I arrived on board I learned that
the scow had had coals for our steamer. It appeared
that she had a look round the Tail of the Bank,
and, not being able to find us, was making for the
harbour when the catastrophe happened.

We had a little coal on board, which had been
supplied by the builder for the trial trip, but we
dispensed with the trial trip and proceeded to
Cardiff at easy steaming. We filled up at Cardiff
with coal, but, before it went in, we shipped a large
number of big cases — in fact, a whole train-load,
pulled alongside by two locomotives. I never knew

108 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

for certain what they contained, but I do not think
I should be far out if I called it rifles and ammuni-
tion. The work of loading was carried out with
great dispatch, and, although news of a very un-
satisfactory nature to blockade runners appeared in
the papers the day before we sailed, it did not cause
them to relax their exertions to get the steamer
away.

We had a Yankee on board, said to be the owner
of the steamer, and just as we were leaving the
dock, four gentlemen joined us with their baggage,
on which their names appeared as Major Redjacket,
Captain Leatherneck, etc., with the letters R.A.,
which had been painted over, but were still visible.
As soon as we left the dock I took the wheel, for
the man who should have taken it was incapable,
and it fell to me though it was not my trick. It
was a dark night, but not very foggy, so we could
sight everything well off, and were going our full
speed of eighteen knots.

I thought it was time I was relieved after I had
been at the wheel for considerably more than the
usual two hours, and I spoke to the pilot, for he
was the only one who came near me all that time.
He had paid me a number of visits : indeed, I
thought it strange he should hang about me so
much, for we steered aft by hand-gear, and I was
therefore a long way from the bridge. I afterwards
perceived there had been a reason for it. He told
me he would have me relieved in half an hour, which
he did, and I at once made tracks for the forecastle,
for the steward had told me tobacco had been

WRECKED ON LUNDY ISLAND 109

served out and he had left a pound in my bunk.
I had just reached my bunk and lifted the tobacco
when the ship went grinding on to Lundy Island,
tearing her bow-plates and frames as if they had
been made of paper. I was close to the fore-peak
hatch, and, lifting it off, I beheld a brilliant phos-
phorescence as the water rushed in with such force
that this part of the vessel was quickly filled up,
and the orders were soon passed along to lower the
four boats.

I should mention here that I had a chum in the
last brig I was in — a young Glasgow sailor, called
Bob — who had joined the steamer with me, and
after the boats wei'e lowered I returned to the fore-
castle for Bob, as he had been on the sick-list for
two days with boils on his legs and was unable to
walk. I took him on my back to carry him to the
boat, and when I reached it with my load I dis-
covered that the second officer, Mr. Buntline, was in
charge of her, and I was glad of that, for he was a
good old sailor, well known in Glasgow. When I
had got Bob deposited in the boat, Mr. Buntline
told me to go to the boat-beams on the port side
and fetch a quarter of beef which was hanging
there. I did so, but I no sooner had it on my back
than I heard, in a Yankee drawl : " I say, you drop
that beef!" I paid no attention, so the voice
called again : " If you don't, I shoot ! " and at the
same instant I felt a bullet strike the beef, but I
continued my journey to the boat. I thought then,
and I think now, that if it had been daylight I
would not have allowed such a gross insult to pass

110 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

unpunished. The Yankee was, we were told, the
owner of the steamer, and would command when in
American waters, but, at the time of firing, he was
no more to me than any other passenger.

We left our ship when she had settled down on
the rocks aft, with the water about four feet deep on
the deck, and the second mate struck out a course
for himself, as we did not want to keep company
with the captain's boat, which carried the owners
and the passengers. After about an hour in the
boat we fell in with a pilot cutter and went on board
and started shouting, ringing a bell, and making
various other noises, which attracted the other
boats, and they were soon all around us. When I
saw such a crowd coming on board the small vessel
I went down the little forecastle at once, and took a
good cut off the beef, which I had placed there,
before the others helped themselves, so Bob and I
were provided for for two or three days.

About eight o'clock next morning we hailed a tug
that was passing close to us, though we could not
see her as there was still a little fog about. We all
transhipped to the tug and returned to the wreck
when the weather cleared. We went on board, for
we found that we could get into some of the deck-
rooms, though it was evident that only the masts
and funnel would be visible at high water. We
saw that someone had been there before us, for
some curtains had gone from room doors, a small
cask of rum and other things were missing, and
the wheel and binnacle had also disappeared, but
the wreckers had evidently been disturbed, pro-

WRECKED ON LUNDY ISLAND 111

bably by the tug's whistle as we slowly approached
the wreck.

The captain told the second officer to man a boat
and go after the thieves, who, he thought, would
likely be at anchor to the southward. Mr. Buntline
prepared for the fray by tying a red door curtain
round his waist, and sticking therein a cutlass and a
brace of revolvers, while a sou'wester gave the
finishing touch to this effective rig-out ; his com-
plexion was decidedly dusky, and on this occasion he
looked more like a pirate chief than an honest
British tar. When I saw this bold buccaneer
picking his boat crew it occurred to me that there
might be bloodshed on the expedition, and as I did
not want to be involved in anything of that sort, I
suddenly discovered that I had business of immediate
importance to attend to in the forecastle, but Mr.
Buntline's eye was upon me, and he called to me to
go into the boat, which I, of course, did at once.
Off we went, and before we had gone far we sighted
four or five fishermen at anchor, and steered for the
nearest, which proved to be the best for our purpose.
As we drew close I said to our second mate :
"That's my sou'wester the captain is wearing, I
know it by the horse's head (trade mark). I bought
it in Gravesend and they are not to be got here."

Mr. Buntline boarded the fishing smack, followed
by the rest of us, and accosted the man with my
sou'wester. " Are you the master of this craft .'' "
he demanded, and received an answer in the affirma-
tive. He had laid his hand on the sword which he
drew out, and gave the man a blow on the side of

112 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

the head with the flat of the cutlass. " Take it off,
you thief ! " he said, " and give it to that man," and
in an instant my property was on my own head.
The second mate then returned the cutlass, and
drew a revolver, which he held at the master's head.
When the crew saw that, they all came aft and
begged Mr. Buntline to put away the revolver,
promising, if he did so, to return all the stolen
articles, which they did in double-quick time. We
intended to search the other smacks, but when we
looked round we saw they had made off with a nice
breeze. As night was setting in, we abandoned the
chase and returned to the tug. When I got on
board I managed to hide myself in a quiet corner in
the forecastle, and when they wanted boat-keepers,
I, for one, was not to be found : I did not believe in
towing behind a paddle steamer when the clothes I
had on were all I possessed, and further, there would
be no pay for the work.

We reached Cardiff the following morning, and
there was a large crowd to receive us at the dock-
gates. The tug lay off a little way and we went
ashore in our boats, the captain, owner and ijas-
sengers being in the first. When I saw that the
owner was going to be ashore before me I said to
him, as he went into the boat : " I say, you're the
man who fired a revolver at me ; I want to see you
on shore when I get there."

"Me!" he exclaimed," what do you want with
me ? " I noticed him, as he spoke, feeling for
something in his belt, but one of the military
men caught his arm and pulled him down on the

WRECKED ON LUNDY ISLAND 113

seat, and the boat pushed oft'. I have never seen
him since.

It was low water when we landed at the steps
outside the dock-gates, and the newspaper reporters
came buzzing around us like bees. One attached
himself to me and offered me a drink, which I
declined, but I said I would take a pipeful of
tobacco instead, and after I had lit up I began my
yarn. I was just comfortably settled when a man,
who had the appearance of a rigger, approached and
asked me for a match.

"It's no use asking a ship-wrecked mariner for a
match," I said.

He then opened the blade of his knife, saying :
"Well, ril take a Liverpool light if you don't
mind."" He then stuck his knife into the bowl of
my pipe, lifted the whole of my dottle out and put
it into his own empty pipe, said "Thank you," and
walked away. That was the first, and last, Liverpool
light anyone took from me.

We were taken to the Sailor's Home, one of the
best and most comfortable I was ever in, and I wrote
at once to Mrs. Boardinghouse for £5, for I had left
my clothes and bank book with her. No one would
think of taking many clothes on a blockade runner,
" not so much as would make a bolster for a crutch,"
as Jack would say, so I had left the l)est part of my
wardrobe in Glasgow. The crew, with the exception
of Bob and myself, were sent on at once to Glasgow
by the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society, who refused
to do the same for us because we were known to have
sent home for money, and also because both of us

lU FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

had recently thought right to discontinue our annual
subscription to the Society.

In about a week's time Bob and I shipped in a
Whitehaven brig with eight of a crew all told,
bound to Barcelona with coal. We went to have a
look at her before signing on. When we went on
board the captain and mate were at breakfast, so
Bob and I took a look round. I could see she was
old but in grand condition ; she was the shortest
vessel I had ever been in, and she steered with a
wheel which had a beautiful cover with the lion and
unicorn very nicely painted thereon. It was evident
from her model and general arrangements that she
was very ancient, but everything was kept in such
fine condition that she was like a vessel newly off* the
stocks. We noticed she had swinging booms, and
knew by that that she had square lower stunsails.
The captain soon came on deck, and he asked us
what we thought of her, and if she would suit us.
We told him we would be very pleased to go in her,
and I remarked that she looked quite new. Captain
Blowhard, as I will call him, replied : " She is fifty-
three years old and I have been in her fifty years."

" I have been looking to see if the pump-bolts
were much worn," I said, " but there are none there,
and I see the pumps and delivery hole are full of
spiders' webs, so they are not used much."

" I will show you the pump-bolts," he said, and
then disappeared down the companion, returning in
a few moments with a small parcel wrapped in thin
paper which he proceeded to unfold. " Here are the
pump-bolts, shining like silver," he said proudly.

VOYAGE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN 115

" they have been in my drawer for fifty years." We
afterwards learned that it was a weakness of Captain
Blowhard to show the pump-bolts to every stranger
who came on board. The mate was a nice, quiet old
chap, who seldom spoke except on business, but we
all liked him, and he was one of those men who
would rather do a piece of work themselves than
trouble other people about it.

We joined the next morning, bent sails, took in
stores, and sailed the following day. The captain
was at the wheel when we left the dock gates, but
as soon as the ropes were in I relieved him, and as I
took the wheel he said to me, " Follow the tug."
I tried to carry out orders, but I soon found it was
more easily said than done ; the tug would be four
points on the starboard bow one minute, and four
points on the port ])ow the next minute, and I was
powerless to prevent it. The captain seemed to
look on it as a matter of course, so I supposed he
was used to it, but when we let go the tug she
steered rather better. We had a very fair passage
across the Bay, and when we reached Cape Finis-
terre we had fresh north-east breezes — genuine
Portuguese trade winds. We therefore set the top-
mast and lower stunsails, and then she started her
tantrums. It was hard a-port, hard a-starboard, all
the time, for she seemed determined to yaw a cer-
tain distance, and yaw she would, in spite of her
rudder, while the best helmsman amongst us could
not stop her from lifting her stunsails, first on the
port and then on the starboard side. The best
speed we could get was seven knots, though slie

116 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

made as much foam as if she were doing seventeen.
Captain Blowhard used to smoke a churchwarden
pipe in fair weather when everything was going
well, and I can remember him on one occasion
leaning over the stern with his pipe in his hand as
he listened to the roaring of the sea under her
counters and watched the very irregular wake she
was leaving behind her. Presently he turned to the
man at the wheel and said : " I don''t mind your
making Z's, but, oh Lord ! don't make round O's."

Captain Billy Blowhard was a very good sailor,
but too old for sea service ; he was practically blind
at night, and he said, on the second day out from
Cardiff, that he wanted me in his watch so that I
might look out for him in the night watches, and by
this arrangement I was excused from taking my turn
at the wheel. He was a staunch teetotaller, but the
foulest-tongued man I ever sailed with. After dark
there was not a word from him, but in daylight he
would uncoil it in great, long strands, usually at
the boys, and I frequently heard them called such
foul names that it was as much as I could do to hold
my tongue, but my chance came before the passage
was ended. I might state here that I have always
had a rooted objection to such language. I have
never called a man an improper name, nor would I
allow any man to address me in that manner. One
day when we were off Cape de Gata, the wind was
easterly and we were working her on four hour
tacks — hard-a-lee every eight bells. As I have
already said, she was very short and stumpy, and very
much resembled a serving mallet (flat at both ends),

YOYAGE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN 117

which was a source of trouble in steering and also in
tacking, for the yard-arms would lock and the
braces foul, when the order was given " mainsail
haul." Again at " fore-bowline — let go and haul,*'
the fore brace would foul the main yard-arm. We
usually cleared them by pulling and letting go
sharply two or three times till the brace jumped off
the yard-arm, but on this occasion, off Cape de
Gata, one of the braces had fouled and did not clear
as quickly as usual. The captain was at the wheel
and he called out in his usual bosun"'s voice : " Lay

hold of the wheel, one of you young , till this

old goes up and clears that brace."

However, it cleared without his help, and as soon
as she was round and the ropes coiled down, I said
to the others, " Come on aft with me — Fll speak to
him."

They evidently understood me, for, without an-
other word, they all followed me, and when wc were
assembled I said, " Captain Blowhard, we want to
speak to you for a minute, please."

" Well, what do you want .'* " he growled.

" Well, sir," I went on, " we have come to com-
plain at the name you have just called us. I might
say we don't complain at you applying it to your-
self— you can call yourself what you like — but we
object to you calling us by anything but our proper
names, and what is more, we won't stand it." I
noticed he was getting funky so I grew bolder.
" And if ever you call either a man or a boy in this
ship such a feul name again, you had better get your
account of wages made out ! "

118 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

Never, from that hour till the day I left the brig,
did I hear him say one coarse word, and the work
went on as well, and even better, than with any crew
he had ever had. He very often told me so on
quiet nights, when I was on watch, and he would
stand in the companion-way with his head just
above the companion, yarning away the whole
watch. His favourite topic was the days when
both he and the brig were young, and they were
running to Quebec in the summer time. According
to his account she was a favourite passenger ship,
and he was always careful to say, in his stories
about different voyages, " we were full up with
passengers." I found out from his yarns that " full
up " meant ten !

Perhaps it was his former position as captain of a
passenger ship that had made him pompous, for he
certainly was very much so in fine weather and in
daylight, but he became very tame after dark.

The mate told me an amusing story about the
captain. He had been on a voyage to Rio de
Janeiro, commonly called Rio, and on the homeward
voyage the brig was nearly becalmed between Tuscar
and the Smalls, when a schooner steered close past
her and the master hailed the brig, shouting,
" Where are you from .'' " Captain Blowhard
responded with bombastic emphasis, " Rio de
Janeiro^'' adding, according to sea custom, "Where
are you from .'' " Back came the answer in a good
imitation of old Billy's style, "CorA'io de la Corkio !''''

We had a fair passage to Barcelona, where we
stayed four weeks, and all went well as far as the

VOYAGE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN 119

captain was concerned, but there was one rather
unusual occurrence. One day I was on the quarter-
deck putting some new canvas into a sail. I had to
ask the captain for canvas when I wanted any, for he
kept all stores locked up, and when he brought the
bolt of canvas up this day, he sat down on my bench
to wait till I had measured the quantity I wanted,
and by way of conversation, asked me how I liked
Barcelona.

" Oh, very well," I said, " but there is one thing I
don't like, and that is the beef we get to eat."

" Why, whafs wrong with it .? " asked the captain ;
" ours is all right."

" If you don't mind," I said, " I will go and bring
you the meat that was given to us to-day for dinner."
I did so, and explained that we had had that same
cut every day.

"Well," said Captain Blowhard, "that is not
what I expected you to get. I pay the same for
the forecastle as I do for the cabin." But I
knew all about that little trick. When a butcher
is trying for the contract to supply a ship he may
undertake to provide meat at sixpence a pound all
round, but good meat is from eightpence to ten-
pence, while the coarse fag-ends of flank sell at
threepence or fourpence a pound. The butcher
therefore sends a good joint to the cabin every day
and reckons to make his profit by sending cheap
cuts to the forecastle.

The above conversation took place on a Saturday,
and next morning I told the boy who acted as cook
to call me when the butcher came. He did so, but

120 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

before I got on deck, he had hauled the basket up
from the boat alongside, and as I rushed along, the
boy handed me the usual piece of meat. I called
the butcher's attention to it, and the master
butcher, who was in the boat, said something to the
effect that it was good enough for us. I immediately
lifted the meat and struck him on the head with it.
He shook his fist at me and swore volubly, but in
Spanish, so it " missed fire." I expected to hear
more of the affair, but day followed day and never a
word was said, though we certainly got very much
better meat.

The following Friday was Good Friday and in the
morning we set about topping our yards to please
the Spaniards. This was done by topping the fore-
yard by the starboard lift and the mainyard by the
port lift, hoisting the topsailyards, then unlashing
the starboard foretopsail lift and port maintopsail
lift, taking the lifts down into the tops, and topping
the topsailyards to the same angle as the lower
yards, which formed two crosses. It pleased the
people and assisted in getting us into the good
graces of the captain of the port.

After dinner we all went on shore to see the many
sights of the day. Bob and I kept together, but we
had not penetrated far into the crowd when I caught
sight of the butcher, and from the look on his face
and the appearance of two cut-throat looking
villains he was speaking to, I realised that I was on
dangerous ground. Bob was of the same opinion,
and I had just said to him, " What do you think we
should do.?" when an Englishman in the crowd

VOYAGE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN 121

whispered to me, " Run for your life ! " I suppose
he understood Spanish, and had overheard the
conversation between the butcher and the two
desperadoes, but he did not say another word and I
acted on his advice instantly, for the men were
within twenty feet of me. I had to proceed
cautiously at first, not to offend anyone by pushing
too much, but when once I got clear of the crowd
my course to the harbour was down hill, which just
suited me, and I do not think my pursuers gained an
inch. When I arrived at the boats I found that all
the boatmen were, as might be expected, up in town
and I at once took to the water, preferring that to
steel.

Unfortunately, I jumped into a bed of seaweed,
but none of it fouled my legs, so when I got clear
of the weed I turned on my back and was glad to
see the two ruffians standing at the edge of the
water, apparently with no intention of leaving
terra firma. That was my last time ashore at
Barcelona.

After discharging, and taking in eighty tons of
ballast, we sailed for Huelva, making a very good
passage till we were abreast of Malaga, when the
wind set in from the westward and blew hard. VVe
shortened sail to two close-reefed topsails, and were
under that sail for seven days, when we were driven
back abeam of Cape de Gata. We then had a
shift of wind, and in twenty-four hours were within
eight miles of Gibraltar, when we were caught
again ; but this time close in shore where the water
was smooth, so we were able to work her down with

9

122 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

whole topsails and courses. We tacked every two
hours, and the next day got a leading wind and
sailed through the Straits, arriving at Huelva
twenty-one days after leaving Barcelona. There
were a number of Danish brigs and schooners laid
up in the river, as Denmark was then at war with
Germany, but ours was the only vessel on the berth
to load, so the ore came along as quickly as it could
be taken in.

We were at Huelva for a week, and then sailed
for Glasgow, getting fair winds all the way across
the Bay and up St. George's Channel, but when we
passed Ailsa Craig the wind was strong, and the rain
falling in torrents. We had two whole topsails and
fore topmast staysail set (they were our summer
sails, and not very good ones either), and as we were
drawing close to Holy Island the mate sent us to
unbend the jib and rig in the jib-boom. I went
out to unbend the jib, and had just reached the
boom end when a squall came from the north-west
and split the main topsail, blew the staysail to
ribbons, and the fore topsail split right round by
the tabling, leaving about three inches, though Jack
would say " it blew clean out of the bolt-ropes."
The canvas blew on to the jib-stay and came down
on my devoted head, knocking me senseless for a
little, and when I managed to draw myself together,
I found my retreat was cut off. I could see nothing
but canvas, and blood gushing from a wound in my
head, but in a minute I heard Bob's voice at the
other side of the canvas calling, "Are you there,
Harry .''" I answered, " Yes, Bob, Fm here, but get

VOYAGE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN 123

me inboard as soon as you can. I am losing a lot of
blood." As my brain cleared I saw a way of escape,
so took out my knife and soon cut my way through
the canvas. I was anxious to get on deck as soon
as possible, because, as I sat astride the boom, the
canvas formed a bag between my knees, and into
that the blood from my head was running rapidly,
and I saw that it was time I was in safer quarters.
I never knew what caused the wound, for there was
only canvas flying about.

We always treated such wounds as follows : — If,
by sitting still for a few minutes, it did not stop
bleeding, we put a little pad of lint or canvas on the
wound, tying it on with a handkerchief, and then
went on with our work. The blood hardened on the
wound, which, according to our ideas, made fine
cement, and then we had to be very careful in
combing our hair for a week or two afterwards.

A tug came out from Lamlash, which we engaged,
and while they were getting out the tow-rope, I
went below and shifted my clothes, for I was covered
with blood from head to foot. We anchored for the
night at Greenock, where we chalked for watches,
and as I was taking an active part in this matter,
the others said they could keep the watches without
me, but I would not agree to this, though I thought
it very good of them to suggest it.

For the benefit of the uninitiated, I will describe
the ceremony of chalking for watches. When a ship
came to anchor in a roadstead the usual sea watches
ceased, and the men would be told to set an anchor
watch, which usually started at 8 p.m., so, if the

124 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

orders were to call all hands at five o'clock, that
would be nine hours, and if there were ten men in
the forecastle they would arrange to keep one hour
watches, leaving out one man whom they called the
"farmer" because he had the privilege of sleeping
all night. They started by sending a boy out of
the forecastle, while, with a piece of chalk, they drew
a circle on the deck, dividing it into as many
sections as there were men ; then each of the men
put a mark in one of the spaces, and when all were
done the boy was called in to rub out the marks.
He put his finger on any mark he chose, and the
maker of it had to take the first watch ; then he
picked out another and the maker of that mark was
condemned to the second watch, and so on till nine
had been rubbed out. The remaining mark repre-
sented the lucky " farmer."

We got under way next morning and arrived in
Glasgow, where we were berthed at the buoys in the
stream.

CHAPTER IX

CROSSING THE LINE

AP*1^ER my usual three weeks' stay with Mrs.
Boardinghouse I shipped in a small passenger
steamer, bound to Sydney, New South Wales. She
was built by Inglis for the Australian Steam
Navigation Company, to run between Sydney and
the Hunter River, and was commanded by one of
London's crack Australian packet captains, the
mate being my old shipmate, Captain Pannikin,
while the second mate, Tom, was a Norwegian.
The captain's wife and family were going out as
passengers, with the wife's brother as steward, for
they were all going to Australia for good.

The vessel was brig-rigged, and she was loaded
down to the sponsons with coals and stores, but she
was a pretty little vessel, and the saloon, which was
built on the upper deck, was the prettiest I had ever
seen. The large glass windows at the sides were
boarded up for the passage out, but there was
plenty of light from the skylight, which was not
boarded, though we were supplied with boards to
protect it during bad weather. My chum, Bob,
would not trust his valuable life in such a small
vessel, so we parted company.

We left Glasgow on the first of September, so we
had little to fear from the weather, and called at

125

126 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

St. Vincent for coal. We steamed across the equator,
but before falling in with the strong south-east
trades, we unshipped half of the floats, then turned
the wheel half a turn and made all secure in the
paddle-box, for we had a long way to go and some
big seas to encounter before we would ship them
again. We had five days'* coal left when we stopped
steaming.

The captain was very anxious that we should get
up a "burra tomasha" on crossing the line for the
benefit of his wife and family, and the mate let us
know in time that we were to have a holiday on the
occasion. Now, although I had knocked about a
good bit, I had never been across the equator, but
evidently no one on board suspected that I had not
yet crossed that " menagerie lion running round the
earth," as the schoolboy called it, for I was pressed
to represent Neptune, which I finally agreed to do.
I at once set about learning my speech, with the
assistance of the mate, and the crew also oifered me
many suggestions as to what I should say, but they
were not of much service to me as they were mostly
hints for whisky. The men wanted me to fine each
member of the captain's family a bottle of grog to
let them off the shaving, but the mate suggested
that if each of them would come down off" the
bridge and kiss Father Neptune, I could treat it as
a sign of obeisance and it would not be necessary to
shave them. That jusb suited me, for the family
were all girls ! I got ready a very tidy rig-out and
the mate helped me as much as he could. My
throne was built on the gun carriage, and a boy we

CROSSING THE LINE 127

had as O.S. was selected for Amphitrite ; a new top-
gallant sail was to be hung up by the four corners
and filled with water which was to be supplied by
the donkey engine, and all was ready the day before
we crossed.

In the last dog-watch of that day the captain
sent for me and said ho expected his girls would re-
fuse to go to bed till they had seen some sign of
Father Neptune, so he asked me if I could manage
to hail the steamer at eight o'clock without spoiling
the next day's ceremony. I said I would go and see
what I could do, and would let him know in a few
minutes.

I went to the mate and asked him for a blue light
and a little vermillion ; I then got my wig ready
and hung a three-inch rope from the bowsprit end
to the water, with a figure-of-eight knot on the end
close to the water. That done, I returned to the
captain and told him I was ready, if he would bring
his family on to the forecastle when eight bells
struck. " Please answer all questions I put to you,"
I said to him, "and when I ask you for a match
throw me this piece of wood as if you were throwing
me a box of matches. Then when you hear me sing
'good-night' please take the ladies away aft at once
for I will be hanging by a rope at the surface of the
water."

At eight bells I was at my station, and by the
time the sound had died away I heard feminine
voices on the forecastle, so I tuiiied my back
towards them and hailed the steamer in a low, gruff
voice. I heard the girls exclaiming, "That's him.

128 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

father ! I heard him then !" so I turned my face to-
wards them and hailed in a good bosun"'s-mate's
voice, " Steamer ahoy ! "

" Hallo !"" answered the captain.

" What steamer is that?" I inquired.

"The Tumhulgum^'' was the reply.

"What is the captain's name.'""'

" Dick Spanker."

" Ah, good evening, Captain Spanker," said Nep-
tune, " we have met many a time, but I understand
that a number of your passengers and crew have not
had the honour of paying their respects to me, so I
give you notice that I will be on board of the good
steamer Tumhnlffuin at one o'clock to-morrow.
Good night. Captain Spanker."

" Good night," he replied.

"Oh, Captain Spanker," I continued, "could I
trouble you for a match .'' Mine have got wet."

" Here you are," he said, throwing me the piece
of wood.

"Thank you," I said, and then lit the blue light,
but some of the wax fell on my bare feet, causing
me to throw it overboard rather too soon. I next
slid slowly down the rope, singing as I went this
little ditty :—

" Good night to you all, and sweet be your sleep,
May angels around you their vigils keep,
Good night ! Good night ! Good night ! "

As I rested at the figure-of-eight knot before
starting up again, I heard the captain sending the
girls aft, and when I got on deck again I found all

" 'I'liank you," I said, and tlicii lit tlic hliic lij^lit.

I '•'.;':

CROSSING THE LINE 129

my shipmates were as much amused as the girls had
been. The captain sent for me to tell me that it
had been a very good show and his daughters were
highly delighted. "The mate tells me you are a
teetotaller," he added, " so I suppose you won't have
a glass of grog, will you ? "

" No, sir, thank you," I replied, and that con-
cluded the first part of the proceedings, which were
continued at noon next day when I started dressing.
I had a nice manilla wig and moustache, my face,
neck, arms and legs were painted the colour of a red
herring, and the grains (a four-pronged harpoon
which served as my trident) were new and shining.
Promptly at two bells I took my seat on the
travelling throne, and by the captain's orders the
engines were stopped for an instant, going on again
at once, but the momentary stoppage had made
everybody run on deck to see what was the matter,
and they found the procession on its way aft. I was
pulled along on the gun carriage with Amphitrite
sitting at my feet, and when we got to the break of
the promenade deck we found the captain with his
wife and four daughters, the chief engineer and chief
officer, seated there on campstools. I held forth
in this style : — " I, the great and mighty King
Neptune, have heard from my ambassador in Britain
that the good ship Tumbul^im, bound through my
domains, has on board a number of passengers and
crew who have not yet had the opportunity of pay-
ing their respects to me, so, like true children of the
sea, they must now come forth and be presented to
me. Then my staff will initiate them into our ways,

ISO FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

and after having passed through that ordeal, they
will be free to travel through these realms as long
as they live." My Prime Minister then handed me
a roll of paper containing the names of all the
people who had to undergo treatment, and the first
name I read out was Mrs. Spanker. She answered
by handing my Premier a bottle of whisky, and I
then called upon the eldest girl, who came down and
kissed me, and her sisters followed in their turn.

In the meantime the men who were to pay
homage to King Neptune had been kept forward
till they were sent for, and the first one called was a
big, strong Highlander. He was blindfolded and
led along to be examined by my doctor, who ordered
him to be shaved with a No. 1 razor (a piece of
hoop iron) and to take six pills. Then my two
policemen led the victim up a ladder to a platform
of which he knew nothing, for it had just been
rigged up, and there he was directed to sit down
while the barber smeared his face with lather (not
made of Brown Windsor) and scraped his visage
with an iron hoop. Then the pills were administered.
I will not particularise, but will just say that both
the pills and the lather were rather a foul mixture.
When the man had swallowed his dose the police-
men pulled the seat away from under him, and head
over heels he went into the sail full of water beneath
the platform. There were two men standing in the
water ready to receive him and duck him a few
times, after which he was allowed to go. Another
name was called and the same performance gone
through until the men were tired of it, which, as a

CROSSING THE LINE 131

rule, on these occasions is not very long for there
are usually a few bottles of whisky waiting to be
demolished. Next day the ship was back to her
usual trim ; she was a very comfortable vessel, with
little or no growling, either amongst ourselves or
with the officers, so the time passed very pleasantly.

Early in the passage the captain asked me if I
would wash for his family as he had heard from the
mate that I was a good ha.id at it, and he supposed
I had learnt it in the Navy. " No, sir," I said, " my
mother taught me all the branches of washing, and
if I can't dress your white shirts it is my fault and
not hers." He asked me if I had a smoothing iron,
and I told him that I always carried one with me.
He said he would pay me three shillings per dozen
pieces, but I said, " No, sir, I will do the washing
but I won't take payment, if you will just supply
the soap." So one of the rooms on the sponsons was
given to me as a laundry, and I will close this sub-
ject by saying that they took no soiled linen with
them when they went ashore in Sydney.

Captain Spanker thought right to take a very
southerly track, and at one part of our passage, in
latitude 52° south, we fell in with a great number
of icebergs. We felt the cold very much in our
little vessel for it was built with very thin iron, arid
we had no fire in our quarters, which made the time
in those latitudes very miserable for us, but we never
doubted the captain's policy in choosing that track.

We were very well fed in this ship, not that we
had a greater variety of articles than those contained
in the usual provision list, but we had as much as we

132 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

wanted, for nothing was weighed out to us, and we
had coffee served out every watch during the night.

One forenoon when I had been at the wheel from
ten till twelve, I noticed a beautiful albatross
hovering about, and I also noticed a line and hook
lying on the skylight, with which the captain had
caught some Cape pigeons that morning to amuse
his daughters. I did not say anything about the
albatross, but as soon as I was relieved at eight
bells I baited the hook and threw it over the stern ;
we were just moving through the water at the time
and the water was quite smooth. The hook was
over fifty yards astern when the noble bird swooped
down beside it and I threw out plenty of line so
that it should not be towed away from him. In an
instant he took the bait and I had him on board
before anyone knew there was such a bird in the
vicinity, for it is a very easy matter to haul these
large birds on board.

According to the habit of his kind, he became
sick as soon as I landed him on the deck, but when
he had recovered I carried him to the saloon where
the captain and his family were at lunch. I carried
him right in, stood him down on the carpet, and
walked out, for I had no business there, but I
looked back when I reached the door and I thought
it was a lovely sight. The panels all round the
room were hung with beautiful oil paintings in gold
frames, the carpet had a red ground, and the
magnificent white bird, standing there as if it were
stuffed, gave the finishing touch to the picture.
After I had had my dinner I went aft to see if they

CROSSING THE LINE 133

wanted the albatross, but found the captain had
just caught another, so I took mine forward to be
converted into a sea-pie, for which the steward pro-
mised me a couple of onions and a few potatoes,
though our stock of the latter was low at that part
of the voyage. Maybe some old " salts '"" who may
read this will say that albatrosses are not worth
wasting potatoes on, and that they are tough and
taste fishy, but I will guarantee an excellent dish if
they are treated in the following manner. Kill,
clean and cut the bird up into small pieces in the
usual way ; let it stand all night in fresh water with
two handfuls of salt added, and in the morning put
the pieces into a large pot. Cover them with cold
water without salt, bring it to the boil and let it
simmer for half an hour. Then pour the water off
and make the sea-pie in the usual way, with the
addition of four ounces of dripping, and I am sure
the result will give satisfaction.

We had no very heavy weather while we were so
far south, but when we got into what we call the
" roaring forties " we had very strong winds and high
seas, and then we found what a nuisance the paddle-
box was when running before the wind. When the
big rollers came running up alongside and into the
paddle-box they made such a noise that it was
impossible to get any sleep, but nothing was broken
and we got along all right.

One day when we were about six hundred miles
from Sydney and the weather was very fine, all
hands set about getting up the floats that had been
stowed in the hold, and we afterwards lowered them

134 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

down to the engineers who were at work inside the
paddle-box. We all rendered what assistance we
could to the engineers, for it was hard work, and
there were only three of them. It would have been
rather awkward if the weather had changed for the
worse while we had this on hand, but fortunately we
managed to finish the job before any really bad
weather arrived, though she rolled at times and
dipped a few of us right under. There was no way
on the ship so we were able to hold on, and no one
was washed away, but we were all glad when the last
nut was screwed on and smoke coming from the
funnel.

When we reached Sydney we went alongside the
company's wharf, and as soon as the last rope was
fast we were told to go. We thought this rather
sharp because we had expected to be engaged in her
again on the Hunter River Station, but we were
soon told that none of us would be required in this
or any other steamer in the company; they appeared
to have a mortal dread of " new chums," so off we
set to look for something else, and the second mate,
steward, and myself took up our abode at Barry's
coffee shop in George Street.

Two days afterwards Mr. Pannikin called to tell
me that he had been appointed the company's rigger,
and he asked me to join his gang, which I did. The
company had a steamer nearly ready for launching,
and our first job was to cut and fit her rigging,
which did not take long, for she was a very small
steamer with two masts and no square sails.

There were only the gang of rigging, and the

CROSSING THE LINE 135

spans for the cargo gear to splice and serve, which
lasted about a week, but the other man and myself
had to do it all, for our boss had gone on the spree
after cutting the rigging ready for splicing. The
two of us were at the launch of the steamer, which
was named the Kennedy and was the first to be built
in Australia, but Mr. Pannikin did not put in an
appearance though I had done my best to hunt him
up, without success. About a week after the launch
we had everything set up and finished, and the
steamer was on the loading berth. Then a friend
told me he had heard from the manager that I was
to be discharged the next day (Saturday), so I took
the hint, and when the manager paid us his usual
afternoon visit I approached him and said, " Sir,
now that this job is finished I would like to leave
to-morrow if that will suit you."

" Yes .'' " he returned ; " where are you going to
now.?"

" Well," I said, " I want to go where there is
plenty of work, for I don't like dodging about, filling
in time."

Since my arrival in Sydney I had discovered why
they would not employ new chums. They had found
that, as a rule, long voyage sailors could not stand
the hard work in the Australian coasting trade
where the crew had to load and discharge their own
cargoes, and very few of them could carry a sack of
flour up a plank about eighteen inches broad, so
they soon gave in. All the ship's crew were out of
employment except the cook, who had been engaged
as cook in Cowan's Family Hotel, Sydney, where the

136 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

Post Office now stands, and he asked me if I would
join him as cook's mate, which I was glad to do, for
the pay was good.

I liked the work very much, and I commenced to
wonder if I should ever give it up, for the cook
made things very pleasant for me by helping me
along and showing me all he knew, which was very
fortunate for me, because, at the end of my second
week, he threw up this job for a better one, and I
was asked to take his place. I knew, within myself,
that I could do the work, but I was surprised at the
proprietor asking me, though perhaps he thought
cooking was my line of business. I was to get three
guineas a week and the dripping, but I made no
money out of the latter as all the servants in the
hotel belonged to Sydney, and I gave them the
dripping to take home. They offered to pay for it,
but I let them have it gratis, and so, though I made
no money out of the transaction, I made a number
of friends. The proprietor was so pleased with the
result of my labours that he paid me £S 10s. and
told me that he would soon raise my pay again.
After his kind words I decided to stick to my new
occupation, but my resolution weakened and I threw
away the bone for the shadow.

The second mate and steward of the steamer I
had come out in called on me every day to try to
coax me into going to the gold diggings with them,
and they brought me the daily newspapers with
accounts of the great finds people were having at
the diggings. Eventually their counsels prevailed,
and at the end of three weeks as chief cook, I

CROSSING THE LINE 137

resigned that lucrative appointment. It was a
foolish proceeding, for, every Saturday night, after a
week of congenial work, I had only to go upstairs to
have three and a half golden sovereigns put in my
hand, and yet I gave up the gold that was certain,
to go and dig for that which was very much less so.

I left the hotel on the best of terms with every-
body except the proprietor, who was rather annoyed
at my desertion and would not believe in the glow-
ing accounts of the results of the digging, as they
appeared in the papers. " Oh, yes," he said, " you
read of a man, or perhaps two men, who have made
a good find, but the papers never tell you of the
hundreds that return empty-handed after spending
every penny they had. But there you are ! If you
zvill go, I can't help it, but when you return to
Sydney, rich or poor, look us up."

I promised to do so, and he gave me permission to
leave my clothes in the hotel, for a very small ward-
robe is sufficient in the Bush. I stayed at Barry's
coffee shop for a few days while we fitted out the
expedition with a handy little axe, a frying-pan,
a two-quart billy (which was merely a block-tin
pitcher) and other useful articles. We also bought
a tent, seven feet six inches long by six feet broad —
made of duck, because we had to study weight, and
it was hard to say how many miles we would have to
carry it before we found gold enough to buy a horse.
All being ready, we made a start one fine afternoon,
but the adventures which befell us must be carried
over to a fresh chapter.

CHAPTER X

OFF TO THE DIGGINGS

WE intended to take train to Penrith, a small
township about thirty miles from Sydney,
which was as far as the railway extended in those
days, but when we reached the station we found
there would be no train to Penrith till morning.
However, there was one just going to Liverpool, a
village about half-way to Penrith, and we decided
to go by that, as we did not want to go back
again after having set out, and camping out a
night on the way would serve as a trial trip for
both ourselves and our gear.

My chums were both named Tom, so it was
arranged that the second mate should be called
Tom, and the steward Thomas. Tom was a
Norwegian by birth, but as he had attended
Glasgow schools and had sailed out of Glasgow
for many years, he could speak Scotch very well
when he liked. He was a very nice fellow for a
companion, though rather timid for bush-work, but
he was what we called a level-headed man, and as
I was rather impulsive, I thought he would keep me
in check. Thomas was our late captain's brother-
in-law, and had been a clerk in a London office
which he had been asked to leave in a hurry, but
138

OFF TO THE DIGGINGS 139

that has nothing to do with my story. We made
him our cashier, and got him to keep a log-book :
it was only a penny note-book, but I thought it
might be of service to us some day.

When we were making up our swags to leave
Sydney it turned out that Tom had a red blanket
and Thomas a blue one, while mine was grey, but
it was arranged that Tom should always carry my
blanket in his swag, for I had to carry the tefit,
which was also made up like a swag. Thus it fell
out, quite by chance, that we travelled with red,
white, and blue over our shoulders, and from that
fact we could be traced all over the country, as I
shall show later on.

On arrival at Liverpool, we left our swags at the
station while we had a look round the village for a
suitable place to camp, which we found close to the
station ; it was well wooded, but there were no
very large trees. We started just before dark to
rig the tent, light a fire, fill the billy and put it on
to boil, with the result that our tea, which we much
enjoyed, was ready three-quarters of an hour after
we arrived on the spot.

Our small stores consisted of half a pound of tea,
one pound of sugar, two pounds of ham, and four
pounds of flour ; we could get fresh supplies at
many places on the way, so we took only small
quantities in order to keep down our weight, for we
did not intend to make " dampers " while we could
get bread to buy.

After tea we lay down on our new beds — the
grass — but, as might have been expected, did not

140 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

find it very conducive to slumber. In the small
hours of the morning distant thunder could be
heard, every peal telling us that it was coming our
way. The lightning was very vivid, and when the
rain came on, which it did in a very short time, it
seemed as if the heavens had opened, for the water
came through the tent as if it had been a herring
net. If we had been favoured with a slight shower
first, the duck would have closed its meshes, and I
think we should have been all right, but as it was
we hauled the blankets over our faces and did our
best to weather the storm. The tent was well
spread and it became as tight as a drum, and the
big raindrops falling on it made a terrific noise, in
the midst of which I thought I felt a breeze coming
in at the door-flap. I pushed the blanket off my
face to see what was causing it, and with the next
flash of lightning saw a most unearthly sight — a
bullock standing with its head right in the tent. I
soon recovered from the shock when I realised the
true nature of the apparition, and said to my
companions, " Look at the door and wait till a
flash of lightning comes."' When the flash came
Tom grasped my arm like a vice, but I laughed
heartily and he loosened his grip, though poor
Thomas fainted. I never mentioned the matter
afterwards, but this little incident showed me that
I should have to do the fighting if we should
happen to get into a tight corner at any part of
our travels.

The next morning was a lovely summer morning
with a cloudless sky and a hot sun. We spread out

OFF TO THE DIGGINGS 141

our blankets and tent before lighting a fire and
making breakfast, and by the time our meal was
over, everything was nearly dry. We packed up
and caught the train to Penrith, where we arrived
early in the forenoon, and started our travels at
once. The road we took had been made by
convicts in bye-gone days, and was a very good
one, well made and well metalled ; I do not re-
member how far it ran into the bush, but I think
we walked for three days before we came to the
end of it.

One hour after leaving Penrith we were right in
the bush, and we did not hear a human voice but
our own until evening.

We could not see far ahead, for the country was
so densely wooded, but we heard a voice, uttering
the foulest language, accompanied by the crack of
a stock-whip. We heard the string of oaths
poured out continuously for some little time before
we came in sight of the owner of the voice, and
when we did so, discovered that he was a coal-black
driver of a team of bullocks. I had heard it said
that it was impossible to drive a team of bullocks
without swearing fluently, and this was my first
example of the orthodox style. The man's master
was riding on horseback a little bit ahead, and
when we overtook him we found that he was a man
who had lived at Barry's and dined at our table, so
we struck up an acquaintance at once. We had
noticed that, though got up in style when in
Sydney, his hands and face showed that he was
used to hard work ; we had also noticed one day

142 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

that he had a very big roll of bank-notes with him,
and now we learned all about him.

We camped for the night on the same ground,
and had a long chat with our friend before turning
in. He told us he had been down to Sydney from
Yass with two drays of wool (the other dray being
on ahead), which he had sold, and was now returning
with stores for himself and a great many people all
along the road, so that there would be very little
left in either of the drays by the time he reached
home. I looked round the load to see what it
consisted of, and found a heterogeneous collection,
including Huntley & Palmer's biscuits, Thompson's
whisky, Tate's sugar, blocks of salt, shovels, picks,
a box from Duncan & Flockhart, and many other
articles.

I had my first lesson on cracking a stock-whip
that evening, practising for an hour, and when I
got up next morning I went straight for the whip,
for I was determined to master it, thinking it miglit
prove a useful accomplishment some day — as it did.

After breakfast we set off by ourselves, for
bullocks can only go fourteen or fifteen miles a day,
whereas we intended to do twenty-five, although old
stagers would say twenty was enough. We had not
been very decided as to our destination hitherto,
but on the morning that we left our friend with the
bullocks we made up our minds to steer for the
Araluen diggings. We did not find the road very
dull for the first few days, for we never walked more
than ten miles without encountering something to
break the monotony — a house, a small village, a

OFF TO THE DIGGINGS 143

well, a mail-coach, or a traveller. We never passed
a house without calling, and we were always made
welcome and supplied with anything we wanted,
free of charge.

One day when passing through a small village
about one o''clock, we thought we would try to buy
a dinner from some one, for it would be a nice
change from the ubiquitous tea, bread, and ham of
the bush, so we approached the open door of a little
cottage from which issued a most appetising smell
of some kind of stew. A woman stood close to the
door and I remarked, " What a fine smell ! Perhaps
you would be good enough to sell us some of that
stew — that is, if you have any to spare."

" Come in," she said kindly. " Take off your
swags and sit down."

Just then her husband came in for his dinner,
and, after the usual salutations, I explained how we
had been attracted to his house, that we were from
Sydney and bound to the Araluen diggings.

" Just so," said he. " Well, friends, you will get
a share of all that is going, so make yourselves at
home. But as you are new chums I will say this to
you — never talk about paying. We have all had
to travel through the bush or we wouldn't be here,
and I can tell you we have sometimes been sorely
pressed, but my wife and I were never charged for
anything we got on the road, and no traveller that
comes to our door shall go away empty. It may
not be much we have, but what we have you will
share with us, and you will find it the same all
through New South Wales."

144 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

I found that this was quite correct. If we wanted
our billy filled with milk as a change from tea, we
had only to ask for it at some wayside house, and,
if they had it, they gave it at once. If we asked for
a meal, too, we were sure to get it, but nowadays, I
understand, nothing is given to travellers ; I suppose
it was overdone and the good people had finally to
refuse all assistance.

After we had travelled about a week we were
anxious to reach a township, the name of which —
along with others with jaw-breaking native names
— I cannot remember, but we heard it was of some
considerable size, and it being then Christmas eve,
we wanted to be as sociable as possible and camp
there on Christmas Day.

We reached our destination as daylight faded,
and found that the town of considerable size con-
sisted of four houses on one side of the road and five
on the other, but there were a few more scattered
about within sight. Close to the houses, on a
walled-in piece of ground, stood a half-built church
which, to all appearance, had been abandoned long
before, and, as there were no trees at hand on which
to stretch the ridge of our tent, we went inside the
four walls of the church and rigged our tent there,
but we lit our camp fire without the walls. After
supper we lay down, for we were very tired, but we
were hardly down before we were up again and had
struck a light to see what waa biting us — we had
lain down on an ant's nest ! They were big, healthy
ants, with appetites in proportion to their size, so
we had to shift outside and sleep without a tent.

OFF TO THE DIGGINGS 145

We were up early next morning to see what sort
of a place we were in, but though the people were
all about, no one called on us, as was usual, and
when I walked round, passing every door, no one
spoke to me.

The inn was open and a few men were sitting in
the veranda drinking their morning " nobbier,""
for, travel where we would in Australia, whenever
we came to a collection of half a dozen houses, we
were sure to find that one of them was a tavern or
drinking-shop of some kind, and hitherto we had
sent Thomas into each for a bottle of lemonade
(price sixpence) so that he might pick up any news
that would be of service to us.

We had reached a hot-bed of bushranging and
were on the look-out for a gang known as Ben
HalPs gang, which at that time was composed of
five men, all splendid shots and smart horsemen.
They reserved their attentions for the mails and
people with plenty of cash, and did not molest
poor travellers like ourselves, but of course they
were down on the police.

When I returned to the camp for breakfast Tom
told me he had spoken to two men who were both
very old, with a rich Irish brogue, but they were
not at all sociable in spite of its being Christmas
Day. After breakfast we again walked round, and
from glimpses I got through the open house doors,
I came to the conclusion that it was the dirtiest
place I had ever come across.

During the day I spoke to a man about seventy
years of age who had lived in one of these dirty

146 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

little houses for thirty years, and he told me he
belonged to London, had been in Australia for fifty
years, but did not know the name of the ship he
had come out in. I came to the conclusion that he
had had a free passage out.

We were glad when daylight broke next morning,
and we marched out of that township without
shedding a tear. We were passing through a
densely wooded part, about eight miles further on,
when, in the stillness, we heard a horse coming
along at a gallop. It was soon up to us, and the
rider, a gentlemanly-looking man, checked his speed
slightly and said as he passed us, "Ben HalPs just
behind me ! "

Poor Tom began to tremble and Thomas went
off the road into the bush to put the money into his
boots, though I said, " What are you afraid of ? I
believe he would rather give us a £5 note than take
away our £5,'''' which was all we had left.

Shortly afterwards Ben Hall came in sight and
we advanced like Scotland road militia men —
" altogether one after the other." I was leading,
and just as he came abeam I said " Good-morning,"
and he responded with a *' Good-morning " also.
When he was out of hearing my two friends came
up alongside and remarked that we evidently had
nothing to fear from that gang, while Thomas
added, " I don't care now if even Moigan comes
along." It was easy to be bold when we knew that
we were two hundred miles from the district infested
by Morgan, the bloodthirsty bushranger ! About an
hour afterwards we passed the four men belonging

OFF TO THE DIGGINGS 147

to HalPs gang and they also said " Good morning "
in passing.

The next township at which we camped was
bigger and cleaner than the last, and was called
Bungunda. We camped on its outskirts, and on
passing through next morning found all the inhabi-
tants busily decorating their houses, not with flags,
but with any piece of gaily coloured cloth that they
could lay hands on. We enjoyed the fun and lent
them a hand, for we learned there was to be a
marriage among them and the prospective bride was
a general favourite. She came out and thanked us
for helping to beautify the place.

As it drew close to the hour when the parson
should arrive to tie the knot we started again on
our journey, but when we were passing the inn — the
last house in the village — we saw a number of men
looking along the road from the veranda, and they
stopped us for a chat. They told us that the parson
was coming from Goulburn by the mail, which was
overdue, so they, Hving as they did in the heart of
the bushranging country, were afraid something was
wrong. They were getting out their rifles when we
left. One man among them, whom they called Mac
(I learned from the papers afterwards that his name
was M'Lean), possessed a revolving rifle which was
the only one in the country. It was newly out from
home, and Mac was very anxious that the landlord
should saddle a horse for him so that he might go
along the road by himself to see what had happened,
but we left before it was settled.

About four miles further on we saw ahead of us

148 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

a mail coach, two drays, and a lot of extra horses,
and at first sight we thought there had been a
collision or accident of some sort, but when we
reached the scene of action, we were ordered to sit
down on the grass. It seemed that Ben Hall, with
his gang, had stopped the down mail, politely
telling the passengers not to be afraid, for no
one would injure them if they got out and sat down
on the grass. They had started to ransack the
mails when two drays had come along, and they
were also stopped and some of their good things —
such as biscuits, cheese, and lemonade — distributed
among the passengers, themselves, and us when we
arrived. The gang were all dismounted except one
man called Dunn who acted as look-out, taking a
short canter along the road from time to time to
see if the road was clear.

The up mail arrived in a short time, and the
passengers were ordered out to eat, drink, and be
merry, while I watched my chance to tell the parson
what I knew and what I had heard Mac saying at
the inn. When the men had taken all they wanted
out of the mails they invited the ladies (of whom
there were four) to have a dance, as they found one
of the passengers had a concertina, but they had
just started when we heard the report of a rifle, and
a bullet grazed Dunn's ear. In an instant the four
bushrangers were on their horses, with their hands
grasping their revolvers, and were galloping along
the road in pursuit of Mac who, we could see, was
retreating. We knew that they would not return,
so everyone set about packing up, the dray drivers

OFF TO THE DIGGINGS 149

taking back what had not been opened, and the
mails started at once.

We were the richer by two tins of biscuits and
half a small cheese, with some other little things, so
we fared very well, though we had been delayed
about half a day.

On the following day we passed through the
largest township we had seen since we left Penrith ;
it was Braidwood, one hundred and ninety miles
south-west of Sydney, and it boasted two inns, a
police-station and court-house, and an auction mart
for horses. We bought a little in the way of sugar
and tea, sugar being ninepence and tea four shillings
per pound, and we camped about two miles beyond
the town. All the people we met were as kind as
ever, but they appeared to be very poor, which I
thought to be very strange, for we were drawing
close to gold diggings, and I had expected to find
everyone in the vicinity rolling in wealth. They
told us we were only one day's journey from the
first diggings, called Major's Creek, but it had been
worked out by Britishers and given over to China-
men to work, for if our people gave up a creek
which they thought was not rich enough, it might
still be good enough for a Chinaman. We were
advised to camp early, about two miles this side of
Major's Creek, if we found we could not get through
it before dark, as the Chinamen there were getting
a bad name. We saw we were going to be late, so
we camped at four o'clock, and Thomas and I
walked on for a look at the diggings while Tom
rigged the tent. When we lay down that night 1

150 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

put the axe at my head, for it was all we had in the
way of firearms, but all passed quietly.

Early next morning Thomas and I went towards
the Creek again to make sure of our way through
it, while Tom made the breakfast, and we returned
in about an hour's time. As we approached our
tent we saw two horses made fast, and when we
drew closer found two fine-looking troopers — a
sergeant and a private. When we were near
enough I shouted, " Good morning," but I received
no answer, and for fear there was any mistake, I
said in a loud voice, " Have you come to breakfast
with us.?"

" No ! " answered the sergeant, sharply, " but I'll
wait till you get your breakfast."

Tom's face was a picture of misery, so I turned to
him and asked, " What's the matter with you,
Tom.?"

" This is what's the matter," put in the sergeant.
" You are charged with sticking up (bushranging)
a man and robbing him of his money on the evening

of Christmas Day. Were you at township on

Christmas Day .? "

" Yes," I replied, for this was the dirty, miserable
village where we had spent that day.

" Now, before we go any farther," said the ser-
geant, " make up your swags as you make them
every day."

We did so, and stood befoi'e him with our usual
red, white, and blue burdens on our backs.

"Now, then," said the sergeant, "listen while I
read the wire I have received from Braidwood," and

OFF TO THE DIGGINGS If.l

after reading it he continued, " Is that you three
or is it not ? "

There was no getting away from the fact that
the description applied to us — three young men,
very fair, thought to be foreigners (a Norwegian,
a Scotsman, and a pure-bred Cockney !), passed
Braidwood yesterday on their way to the diggings ;
one carried the tent, and the others red and blue
swags. We could not fathom the meaning of it at
all, but the sergeant gave us a crumb of comfort by
saying that he thought there was a mistake some-
where. It was hard lines, we thought, to have to
retrace our steps and to be seen in charge of the
police by all the people we had spoken to on the
road. By way of a feeler, I asked the sergeant
what he would do if we refused to go back unless
he supplied horses. " Oh, I would soon get the
horses,"" he replied, " but I would put you on the
horse in a way that would be very unpleasant for
you. Now, don't get any evil thoughts into your
head : come along quietly and Til put your swags
on my horse, but you must take them off at once
if we see anybody coming, and when we draw close
to Braidwood, for it is against the rules for me to
do it."

He wanted to be friendly with us, but I thought
it was not very easy for innocent men to respond to
the advances made by a man who was marching
them back as prisoners. Poor Tom's eyes werr not
dry all that day, and the sergeant, noticing this,
spoke to me about it, so I tried to cheer him up.

" We have been made prisoners for sticking up a

152 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

man," I said. " Now, did you, Tom, or did any of

us stick up a man ? "

" No," he replied.

" Well, then, what are you afraid of.'' There is
no law, either in England or Australia, that can
punish us when we are innocent, so dry your eyes."
That was before the Beck and Edalji cases were
heard of,

"That's right, Tom, my boy, cheer up," the
sergeant chimed in, " it will all come out right in
the end."

When we arrived at the police station at Braid-
wood we were marched into the charge room, and
the inspector sent for. When he came he compared
us with the description, then wired for the man to
be sent at once to identify us, and in the meantime
I asked if he would allow us to camp outside.

" I am sorry," he said, " but I have no power to
do so."

" Will you really have the heart to put three
respectable people in a cell ? " I asked.

" That is all I can do for you to-night," replied
the inspector. " The man can't get here till about
ten o'clock, and after that we will see what can be
done." Then he departed and left us in charge of
the policeman, who lived on the premises with his
wife, and a real, fine fellow he was, both he and his
wife being natives of County Down. He took us to
a cell, saying, " The place is all clean and so are the
blankets. I must lock you up, for those are my
orders, but I don't think you are guilty of robbery,
so my wife and I will try and make you as comfort-

OFF TO THE DIGGINGS 153

able as we can. She is making your tea now and
will bring it along to you in a few minutes."

The wife, a nice little woman, soon appeared,
bringing us tea, scones, jam and cheese, and I got
Thomas to thank her when she came back for the
dishes, for he was better versed in the art of polite
conversation than either Tom or myself, but I
joined in and told her all we wanted was a smoke,
for we had some tobacco with us.

" Well, you may smoke," she said readily.

" It's very kind of you to say so," I returned,
*' but I must get permission from the master first,
for I like to do things shipshape — even in chokey."

" Patrick ! " she called aloud, " sure, these lads
can have a smoke .'* "

" To be sure, they can smoke," we heard the lock-
up keeper answer, and we gladly availed ourselves of
the permission.

I fell asleep, but Tom woke me about ten o'clock
by crying out in a great state of excitement, " He's
come ! he's come ! "

" Well, let him come ! " said I, sleepily, and
turned over on my other side, but Tom did not take
his ear away from the little opening in the door (a
hole used for passing in prisoners' meals) for about
a quarter of an hour, when he collapsed and dropped
down beside me crying, " Oh, it's us ! it's us ! "

" What's us, you fool ? " I growled, " I ask you
again — did you stick a man up ? No ? Then what
are you making a fool of yourself for ? "

Just then the officials came to the cell with
candles to have another look at us, and, for the sake
1 1

154 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

of saying something, I asked the inspector if we
could go now.

" No,'" he answered, " not even if it was clear to
me that you are innocent. When you have been
put in a cell you can't be discharged till you go
before a magistrate, so you are here for the night,
and we will see how you get on at ten o'clock
to-morrow forenoon."

After the inspector left, the lock-up keeper told
us they were all sure that the old man had been on
the spree on Christmas Day and had lost both his
own and his master's money in drinking and
gambling, and that he had then concocted the story
about having been held up and robbed by three
men. He thought the matter would rest at that,
but we were the only three who had passed for
several days and we had been remarked on account
of our red, white and blue swags, so his master, with
the help of some of the squatters who had noticed
us, made out a description and wired to the police
to stop us.

We were up early next morning, and had a walk
and a smoke in the policeman's garden before being
supplied with a good breakfast of Irish stew, tea
and home-made scones. This was not the usual way
to treat prisoners, and we had to thank the kindly
Irishwoman for these concessions.

At ten o'clock we were marched into the court-
yard without our swags, where we stood at attention
till we were joined by six policemen, the sergeant
who brought us being one of the six, all dressed in
the usual bush rig like ourselves. They toed a line

OFF TO THE DIGGINGS 155

with us, and then a dirty, drunken old fool of a
man was brought in to pick out the three men who
had robbed him.

" Don't hurry yourself," said the inspector, " but
take a good look and make sure you get the right
men."

He crept along the line, looking up into each
face, till he had passed the whole nine without
saying anything, then he turned back again and
when he came to the sergeant he said, "That is
one of them." The inspector immediately ordered
us to fall out and we waited about the yard till the
magistrate arrived at eleven o'clock. In the mean-
time the inspector and the rest of the police spoke
to us freely on the matter and pitied us for the
inconvenience we had been put to. At eleven
o'clock we marched into court, and I must say I felt
rather cut at the difference of treatment meted out
to us there (I was forgetting that we were still
prisoners), for the police, and even the old sinner
who was the cause of all the trouble, had chairs to
sit on, while we, with our swags again on our
shoulders, had to stand in a narrow strip of a
prisoner's box. The magistrate with his clerk soon
came in, and the police and the public stood up to
receive him with due honour — the public consisting
of one man, a local newspaper reporter. I never
saw such a face as the magistrate's outside the gates
of the Zoological Gardens, and I am sure supporters
of the Darwinian theory would have considered it
strong corroboration of their views. The inspector
commenced the proceedings by relating all he knew

156 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

of the case; then the sergeant told how he had
found us by the description and arrested us; then
the inspector went into the witness-box again and
told of the man's mistake in picking out the
sergeant ; he then gave his own opinion of the case
and said the prosecutor was one of the most dis-
reputable men in the district. This concluded, the
clerk read all the evidence over to the magistrate,
who then turned to us and said, " Prisoners, you are
discharged."

" Thank you, sir," I answered, " but what will
you allow us for the harm you have done to
innocent men .? "

" Ah ! we don't do that in Australia," he replied.

" Well, you haven't got a man in the force "

I began, but the Irish policeman pulled me down
the two steps out of the box, and to drown the
remainder of my speech he called out, " Order in
Court ! " When we got outside they told me a
story of a man who had been brought back from
Adelaide (a matter of about 700 miles), and when
they found he was not the man they wanted, they
turned him out on the road, though he was
penniless, to retrace his steps the best way he could.

Our friend, the lock-up keeper's wife, made us a
fine dinner of boiled pork, greens and duff', at which
the sergeant joined us, and in the course of the
meal I said we were puzzled to know what to do
now for we would not think of going back by the
road we had marched along as prisoners. They all
advised us to go to some diggings that were only
eighteen miles from Braid wood as there were only

OFF TO THE DIGGINGS 157

six hundred people on it, nearly all of whom were
sailors, and they gave us all the little tips they could
think of, so we set out after dinner.

The road was only a narrow track, but it was
straight, and we walked our best pace, arriving on
the outskirts at seven o'clock. We intended not to
let our arrival be known till the morning, which was
Sunday, when we would have plenty of time to look
round for a good place for our tent. In the mean-
time I got the tent up, while Tom lit a fire and
made tea, and Thomas went to the store to buy
three shovels, a pick, and a prospecting dish, and to
take out our licence, or "digger's rights," after
which we had supper and went to bed, no one
having called.

Next morning I was up early, lit the fire, and
called Tom to make the breakfast while I had a
look round, and when I came back Tom told me he
had had visitors of the right sort who had all offered
to give us anything we were short of, or to show us
round, and after breakfast we went on a tour of
inspection. We found plenty of friends, and on
their advice we pegged out our claim, and later in
the day shifted our camp to a nice place only a
hundred yards from our claim and away from the
other huts and tents, for we had noticed in our walk
round that card-playing and whisky-drinking were
the principal Sunday recreations. We leained from
our new friends that they were not getting very big
finds, but they were making a living and nearly all
were satisfied.

They usually sold their weekly finds of gold on

158 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

Saturdays, and a number of them told us how much
they had sold the previous day; they averaged about
two ounces each. We received many invitations to
dinner that Sunday, but we preferred to go to our
own camp so that we could chat over all we had
heard. When Thomas was at the store for our tools
he asked for four pounds of steak, but the storeman
laughed at him and cut off seven or eight pounds,
saying, " There you are, my boy ! I suppose you
don't mind if it's a little more. I won't charge you
for beef till you find gold." Beef was very cheap,
but there was no baker's bread to be had, and
thenceforward we had to make a damper every
evening.

CHAPTER XI

DIGGING FOE GOLD

WE took our breakfast at five o'clock on
Monday morning and at six we started
work on our claim. Tom and I each commenced
to sink a hole six feet by three feet ; I saw at once
that he was a good shovelman and that I should
have to wire in if I wanted to keep up with him.
Perhaps he thought the same of me, for he never
straightened his back but kept right on. I was
first to reach the bottom, and when I had cleared
all the loose earth out of the hole, I went to ask
one of the old diggers to come and explain the
work to us, which he willingly did.

The diggings we were on were called shallow or
poor men's diggings, because no machinery was
required to work them, not even a hand-winch to
heave the earth up. The depth of holes ran from
four to six feet, the bottom being rock, and it was
in the earth that lay immediately on top of the
rock that gold was found. The gold-bearing earth,
or pay dirt, was easily distinguished, for it was
quite different in colour and substance from the
earth above it. The diggers called it mullock.

In some parts of the diggings the gold-bearing
earth was only two or three inches deep, but where

lo!>

leo FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPEi.

we struck bottom it was one foot three inches.
Acting on the friendly digger's advice, we started
with the pick to dig out enough to fill our dish,
taking a sample from both ends and both sides, and
took it to a small running stream close at hand.
There were a number of diggers at work at the
stream and they readily showed us how to wash our
earth. They placed the dish in the water so that
the water nearly covered the dish and the earth ;
then thev washed the earth bv rubbincr it between
their hands, squeezing the lumps, and throwing
away the stones ; that thoroughly done, they lifted
the dish just off the bottom with both hands and
gave it a sharp swirl as if trying to throw out the
contents, but only the earth went, for all the gold
had settled to the bottom and was quite safe unless
they were very careless or turned the dish upside
down. Having got rid of the dirt, they lifted out
the little specks of gold and put them on a sheet of
paper, while they repeated the process with another
dishful of earth.

We soon got into the way of it, and when we had
washed all our samples and found which yielded
most gold, we returned to our holes to start crevicing
the best end — that is, making a small tunnel to get
out as much of the pay-dirt as possible without the
roof of the tunnel collapsing. The height and span
of the arch depended on the size of the man who
was working it, but they were usually about two
feet six inches. Having made the arch, we had to
work lying face downwards or on one side, scraping
the pickings as they increased into the big hole out

DIGGING FOR GOLD l6l

of the way, until there was a nice little heap, when
we threw it up.

While Tom and I were at work in the holes,
Thomas was not idle on the surface. All the first
earth we had thrown up had to be thrown back a
bit to leave a clear space for the pay-dirt, and he
had to watch that they did not get mixed. Then
he had to make frequent journeys to the creek to
wash a dishful so that we might know if we were
working in the right direction, or whether it was
becoming bari'en. All the little specks of gold that
we found were carefully picked out of the dish and
deposited in a little wash-leather bag for that
purpose, though the longer -established diggers
threw away the result of a washing when it was
very poor, but we could not afford to do that, for
stores were dear and our money was all gone.

We worked from daylight till dark, day after
day, collecting all our wash-dirt till Saturday, when
we intended to wash it all and see how much per
week we were making. When that day arrived I
left my mates to wash while I went to have a look
at other people's claims and to learn all I could
from them. We met again for dinner, but were not
very happy, for the result of our washing was very
poor, though we could not say how much it was
worth till we took it to the storekeeper that evening,
for he bought all the gold, the place not being big
enough to support a branch bank.

After dinner I asked Tom to climb up a very tall
tree with me and have a look at the diggings from a
height. When we reached the top we had a line

iSz FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

birdVeye view of the whole of theni, and they
appeared to cover a space about one hundred feet
wide and about half a mile long, winding in and
out so as to keep in the deepest part of the gully.
I drew Tom's attention to the fact that our hole
was a little further out than any of the others, so
we descended, drew our pegs, and tried for a new
claim nearer the centre of the diggings, but as we
could not find the usual eighty feet unoccupied, we
started without the pegs, and touched bottom that
evening before knock-off time, which was five o'clock
on Saturdays. Then we went to the stores to sell
our gold, and found that the storekeeper was very
pleasant and appeared to know all about us, though
Tom and I had never been there before. We
handed him our little bag, and he began by
emptying the contents on to a sheet of white paper
which he held over the flame of a candle till the
gold was thoroughly dried and warm ; then all the
fine sand which had adhered to it and another
foreign body which we always found in the dish
after washing (I think it was platinum) separated
from the gold, and being lighter, he was able to
blow it away, but, to my anxious eyes, it seemed
that nothing would be left to tell the tale of our
labours. After he was satisfied that all foreign
matter had gone, he put the gold on the scales and
pronounced the grand amount of the emolument for
our hard week's work to be eight shillings and
fourpence — two shillings and ninepence each, or
one penny per hour.

Well, if we were long in making that handsome

DIGGING FOR GOLD l63

sum we were not long in spending it. Sugar was
ninepence a pound, flour fourpence, potatoes four-
pence, ham half-a-crown, beef and mutton two-
pence. As I made our bread, or damper, as it
was called, every second evening, I might describe
the process, I have ^ilready mentioned that a
billy and a frying-pan formed our entire outfit of
cooking utensils. I first filled the billy with water,
and then put one pound of flour (about sixteen level
tablespoonfuls) in the frying-pan. We seldom had
salt, but I always tried to have a tin match-box full
of bi-carbonate of soda, which I measured by turning
the spoon end for end and taking as much soda as I
could lift on one inch of the fiddle end of the spoon.
After stirring the soda into the flour I poured in a
little water and mixed it carefully, for space was
very limited in the pan, till it was all worked up to
a stiff dough. I kneaded it into the size and shape
of the frying-pan, turned it out on to the grass
while I cleaned the pan of the dough that adliered
to it, returned the damper to the pan and then pro-
ceeded to cook it. I spread out the fire, removing
all half-burnt wood and leaving only nice, clean
wood-ash, upon which I placed the frying-pan and
covered over the damper with ashes, keeping the
hottest for a top dressing. In about twenty minutes
I turned it out, gave it a slap on each side to
remove the ash, and the result was a nice, clean
piece of bread about ten inches in diameter and
three inches thick.

To return to the store : in making our purchases
for the week we had to consider the state of our

lt)4 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

exchequer and ca' canny, and the storekeeper, per-
ceiving our difficulty, said, " I suppose you know it
is against the rule to give tick here, but I'll be
happy to give it to you three fellows, because I
think you are square-going chaps and wouldn't
blufF me, so take away what you want and pay me
when you are able."

I replied that it was very good of him to make us
such an offer, but I had never worked on the credit
system and did not intend to commence then, and
my chums supported my views. The store was quite
a Whiteley's on a small scale ; it was a wooden
structure — clinker built — and was guarded at night
by four fierce-looking dogs, for it frequently con-
tained a large quantity of gold. It also contained
all the gin, rum, brandy and whisky in the district,
for there was a heavy-drinking population to be
supplied, and no other shop for eighteen miles.
The drinking was carried on outside the store with
empty boxes for seats and empty barrels for tables,
and, of course, nothing less than a bottle was sold.

On Sunday we had sea-pie for dinner and slept as
much as possible in preparation for a hard week's
work, instead of calling at any of the huts or tents,
for we did not approve of the drinking and card-
playing that was going on in all of them. That
reminds me that we had a minister at the diggings,
though I do not know how he came to be there, but
it shows that one may meet all sorts and conditions
of men in Australia. The " boots " in the hotel at
Sydney had been a captain in the army.

On Monday we started to work even harder than

DIGGING FOR GOLD l65

we did the previous week, and kept it up at a rate
which caused a small sensation in the diggings. At
the end of a week's heavy labour we found we had
realised barely one pound each, and I thought of
my late master's advice, and declared that if we did
not make two pounds each the next week I would
leave the place. This spread through the diggings
on Sunday, and we had a few calls from men who
advised us to try our luck a little longer ; one man
offered me three pounds a week to work with him,
but I stuck to my guns. Thomas agreed with me,
but Tom did not, for which I was sorry, because I
liked him and I did not care for Thomas, about
whom there seemed to be some mystery.

Again we worked with all our might for a week,
to find, when Saturday came, that we had made
about twelve shillings each ; so on Sunday morning
Thomas and I left the diggings, taking with us
our blankets, my ditty bag, about two days' food,
and seven shillings each in cash, leaving Tom in
possession of our tools, cooking utensils, and the
tent. We reached Goulburn on the third day and
were kindly received by the people, who told us we
would find plenty of work at good wages, but I had
made up my mind to go and consult with the
squatter with whom we had travelled from Penrith,
for I thought his advice would be worth having, and
had no doubt he would provide us with work. I
found that his station was about five miles from
Yass, and we set out in that direction, but my plan
did not suit my companion's book at all. lie
seemed to grow lazier every hour ; if we sat down on

166 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

the grass for a few minutes' rest he grumbled when
I said it was time to start ; in the morning I had to
start without him and he would overtake me about
two hours later. He talked continually about bush-
ranging, and it soon became evident that he wanted
me to take up that line of business, but whether on
our own account or attached to some existent gang,
I cannot say, for as soon as I perceived what he
was aiming at I forbade him to again mention the
subject to me, and when we reached Yass we parted
company. Soon afterwards Thomas joined Ben
Hall's gang, but before many months had passed he
was captured, and suffered capital punishment for
having caused the death of a policeman.

I found I could not reach the squatter's house
with daylight, so camped about a mile off with the
sky for a roof over my head. Early next morning
I reached the house, where my friend made me very
welcome, and he sat for hours listening to my
account of my travels since I had seen him. Then
he showed me all over his place, taking pains to
explain everything, and I found much to interest
me. After dinner I remarked that it was rather
strange that he should go to the expense of building
such a fine house and then let it stand with only the
priming coat of paint, though I had noticed in one
of the out-buildings a large amount of paint which
appeared to have stood there for some years.

" Well," he answered, " Fll tell you how that is.
The two men who built this house had, according
to their contract, to give the woodwork a coat of
lead-colour, which they did. Then the following

DIGGING FOR GOLD l67

year I arranged that a man in Yass should give all
the woodwork a coat. Well, he brought his paints
on a Saturday and I told him to leave them where
you saw them till Monday. On the Sunday he
cl<*ared out to the diggings and I haven't seen him
since, though that was nearly four years ago.""

" If you don't think me too forward,*" I remarked,
" I would like to tell you of another thing I noticed
when you were showing me round. You have a
number of tarpaulins, or covers you may call them,
lying about in a useless condition. Now, if you
have seven and you cut up one to repair the others,
you will then have six good cloths to depend on to
cover a dray or a stack of grain, or for any other
purpose."

"That's quite true," he rejoined. "Would you
doit.?"

" Well, I conld do it if you thought right to
employ me," I replied, " but I don't wish to push
myself into your service. I don't know much about
handling stock, but if you like to try me you will
find me very willing to learn."

" Well, I will engage you," said he, " and you
can mend the covers, do the painting, and make
yourself generally useful."

I assured the friendly squatter that he would not
regret having employed me, and then asked him
where I was to live.

" Oh, in the house," he replied. " My aunt will
make up a bed for you, and you will live with us."

"I hope you are not doing too much for me," I
said. " Won't your other men be jenlotis .?"

168 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

"None of them come about the house,'' he
replied ; " they all live out in the bush beside their
work, and I'm often away myself, and my old aunt
will be very glad of your presence."

As he concluded by saying he would give me
three pounds per week, I was very pleased with the
arrangement, and started work at once by turning
out the paints. I had carte blanche as to the
colours, so I painted the house a light stone colour,
the windows white and green, and the front door
three shades of green. The painting occupied me
a whole week, from daylight to dark every day, but
I was well rewarded when I saw the boss so well
pleased with the result of my work. When he
returned from his daily round of inspection he
would bring his horse to a stand about a hundred
yards from the house, and sit there for some time,
admiring his freshly-painted home.

I still stuck to my faithful friend, my ditty bag,
which again proved its worth, for after the second
week every cloth about the place was in good
repair. On Sundays I use to saddle a horse and
have a look round ; I did not like to venture far
into the bush by myself, but I saw a few of the
employees and some of the stock, while at the same
time I was getting practice in horsemanship. I saw
that harvesting had started close to the house, and
I asked one of the men to give me a lesson on
handling the hook, which he willingly did, and I
kept at it till I thought I was fairly proficient, when
I asked the boss to let me help at the harvesting
as I heard he was short-handed, and he gave his

DIGGING FOR GOLD 169

consent. The harvesting ground was four miles
from the station, but I was allowed to go and come
on horseback, and I got on very well with my new
work. It is not such hard work as in England,
where one must cut very low in order to make as
much straw as possible, for in Australia they did
not want the straw.

On the evening of the third day my attention was
drawn from my work by one of the men -shouting
that my horse had broken his hobbles, and through
looking up when I was just in the act of cutting, I
managed to cut a slice off the little finger of my
left hand. It bled profusely, and I might have
escaped a lot of trouble if I had gone to the station
at once and had it dressed, but either through
washing it in dirty water, or through tying it up
with a dirty rag, it became a badly poisoned finger.

I continued to work at the station for a few days,
but my finger got rapidly worse, and I threw up my
job and left, very much down-hearted at my bad
luck.

In passing through Yass I stopped to pass the
time of day with a blacksmith who, after seeing my
finger, very kindly washed it and dressed it with
Friar"'s Balsam. In the course of conversation I
told him I wanted work to do as soon as my hand
got better, and he told me of a SccAch squatter,
living forty miles from Yass, who wanted a man to
drive his wool down to the coast. His name was
Graham, and I was to travel forty miles to the
south-west and then follow a bullock track on my
right which would bring me to the house. My
la

170 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

hand was already getting easier, so I bought three
days' food and started in good spirits with a small
supply of Friar's Balsam and my hand in a sling,
both kindly given to me by the blacksmith.

During the journey I met only one man, who was
coming from the opposite direction, and we sat
down together to compare notes. I found he had
been to Graham's station looking for work, which
he was refused, and he added, " You needn't go
there, for Graham is a crusty old beggar."

However, I held on my way, walking leisurely on
account of my hand, which I washed and dressed
each day, carrying it in the sling till I reached the
bullock track, when I removed it so that I might
not be refused employment because of only one
sound hand. After walking for an hour along the
track, I came in sight of the house, and immediately
two big curs of dogs made for me and helped them-
selves to my right leg, with the result that I reached
the veranda minus a large quantity of blood and
one leg of my trousers. To add to this encouraging
reception, Graham, a big, uncouth Scotsman, ap-
peared and said, " What were you doing here ? The
dogs would never touch anybody but trespassers."

That was adding insult to injury and roused my
indignation, for I knew I had passed neither gate,
fence, hedge, nor notice-boards.

"Look here, Mr. Graham," I said sharply, "did
the Lord make Australia for the Grahams, that a
poor soul can't walk through it ? "

His manner changed as soon as he heard my
Scotch accent, and he asked if I could speak Gaelic.

DIGGING FOR GOLD 171

" No,*' I replied. " I belong to Edinburgh."

"But there are plenty of peoples in Edinburgh
can speak the Gaelic," he said.

" Yes — the policemen ! "

I was then taken into the house, where I was
supplied with all that was necessary for dressing my
wounds, and also with a pair of peg-top trousers
made of good, strong cloth, " heather and oakum "
shade. When I was fully rigged out, I returned to
the presence of the mighty Graham and asked him if
he had a spare job to fit me. He inquired if I could
drive a team of bullocks, and on my replying in the
affirmative, he asked me whose team I had driven,
and I gave him the name of my boss at Yass, whom
he happened to know. In answer to another query,
I said my wages at Yass were three pounds a week,
which brought forth the quick response, " Ah, you'll
no get sae muckle here !"

After thinking it over, he informed me that he
would give me two pounds and my food, and I
closed with that offer. He then explained that my
first duty would be to take a load of wool to the
beach, a distance of thirty miles.

There was no harbour at the place, but there was
sufficient shelter for a small steamer, bound to
Sydney, to call for wool collected from various
stations within easy reach, and it was much more
convenient than sending it by road. Graham told
n)e the worst part of my journey would be where
the road zigzagged over a high, steep hill, but I
would find a good stretch of flat country just before
reaching the hill, and that I should take the heavy

172 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

incline when my team was fresh in the morning. I
made a mental note of all such scraps of information,
for both road and work were new to me. Fortun-
ately for me, the load was not ready for five days,
for by that time my dog-bites were better, and my
finger doing well.

My own countryman was not so good to me as
my last boss, who treated every man as a gentleman
till he found he was a rogue, but this one reversed
that motto and showed it by his face. On the
evening before I started I saw my load all ready,
the axles greased, and my stores, blanket, bucket of
water, etc., hung under the dpay by the axles, while
the ten bullocks I had to take were left in the
paddock so that we could get them yoked and make
a start with the first sign of daylight. Two men,
who slept in the small bark hut with me, helped me
to yoke my team, and I made a good start, keeping
at an easy pace for the first day.

I reached my camping ground about five o^clock,
and after I had made my tea I walked round to see
if the bullocks were all right and to look for water,
but they had found it before me and stirred up the
mud, so I could not fill my bucket till morning.
Though I had only travelled twelve miles I was
quite tired out that night with my great responsi-
bility, and the cares and worries attached to it
prevented me from sleeping.

At daylight I managed to get my bullocks yoked
with very little trouble while the billy was boiling,
and started them off before I sat down to my tea,
and then commenced the serious business of getting

DIGGING FOR GOLD 173

up the hill. For the first hour the ascent was easy
and I felt reassured, but it soon became steeper, and
the climax was reached when the road became a
mere shelf on the face of a precipice, the rock rising
high on my right and a deep gully yawning on my
left. With close attention and a free use of the
stockwhip I got over the difficulty, but I think the
bullocks deserved more credit for their performance
than I did. I soon found that it was necessary to
apply the whip without stint when anything extra
was required of them, for it was the only way to
keep them under control. I was glad when we
began to descend, and I camped on the first level
piece of ground, where, to my delight, I found
another team also camped for the night. The other
driver and I spun yarns most of the night, for it is
a great thing in the bush to meet a human being
after having had nobody but bullocks to talk to for
several days.

At that time the principal subject of conversation
was bushrangers. We considered the bushrangers
of New South Wales a very decent lot compared
with Morgan, " the bloodthirsty," as he was called,
for he was guilty of shooting men, women and chil-
dren in cold blood — in fact he seemed to pay more
attention to the shooting branch of the business
than the money-lifting. On the other hand, lien
HalPs gang, although they were splendid shots,
filways tried to get out of a tight corner by strategy
rather than bloodshed. I will describe one of their
escapes, as it occurred when I was in the district.

One fine morning the gang arrived at a station a

174 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

few miles from Goulburn, where they passed the
time of day with the boss, dismounted, hobbled
their horses, and turned into an outhouse for a nap.
Someone passed the word to the police at Goulburn,
and in a very short time seven troopers and a
sergeant arrived at a gallop. When they halted,
the sergeant dismounted and placed his men round
the outhouse, all being done by signs to avoid
waking the sleepers. Ben Hall had three men with
him, which made eight policemen awake to four
bushrangers asleep. The troopers sat with their
rifles at the " ready " while the sergeant walked up
to the open door of the outhouse and called on Hall
to surrender, but the only answer he got was a
revolver bullet about the knee. Then out rushed
the gang, broke through the police line, secured and
unhobbled their horses, mounted, and rode off with-
out a scar. Such cases as this were of frequent
occurrence, so much so that there was a great deal
of grumbling in Sydney and other large towns,
where it was said that the police were either afraid
or in league with them. The fault in this case was
that the police used heavy, lumbering rifles, to aim
at swiftly-moving objects at close quarters, instead
of revolvers, with which they would have had six
shots.

While on this subject I will tell a short story of
Morgan. For some time the papers had been full
of the cold-blooded murders this man had com-
mitted, when an article appeared in the Melbourne
papers, charging the New South Wales police with
cowardice, and saying they had had many chances of

DIGGING FOR GOLD 175

ridding the country of the pest, but had failed.
Next day, one of the Victoria police — a Sergeant
Perry, if I remember rightly — volunteered to bring
in Morgan, dead or alive, and his services were
accepted. It was arranged that he should draw
stores at any store in the country and that he should
go single-handed, with neither horse nor dog, but
the police helped him along with traps and saddle-
horses till he drew near to Morgan's district, when
he became an ordinary traveller with swag and
billy. In the meantime the papers were full of long
and flourishing accounts of the brave man's career
with all particulars of his life and his father*'s before
him. No one seemed to realise the fact that the
bushranger had the papers as regularly as any man
in town ; Morgan therefore knew just what to look
for in his new enemy.

Perry travelled one day in New South Wales, and
when dark set in he selected a camping ground, lit
a fire and made his supper. He had just finished
his tea when Morgan, who had been watching all
day, approached within a few yards of him and
called him by name. As soon as he heard the voice
Perry leaned over for his rifle, but Morgan fired,
and that moment the police force lost a man. I
could tell many similar stories of bushrangers, for
wherever I travelled in the bush I was always within
the territory of one of the gangs. I n>et IJen IlalPs
gang a number of times, but I never saw Morgan —
except in the waxworks at Melbourne.

To return to my story — I completed my first
journey to the entire satisfaction of my employer,

176 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

although, being a Scotchman, he did not say so. I
had been only two days at the station when I was
sent off again with a similar load, and this time I
took an old horse with me, more to keep me com-
pany than to carry me. My old team of bullocks,
of course, were not fit for another journey so
quickly, for their hoofs got worn down, and I set
out with ten of the most wilful wretches that were
ever made fast to a dray. They wanted to go their
own way at their own speed, and I wanted them to
know I was master, but it was hard work using a
stock-whip for twelve hours at a stretch. In fear
and trembling I yoked the second morning, after
much trouble with my team, for they would not go
a yard unless they heard me shouting and cracking
the whip. My left hand leader was a jet black
animal called Captain; the right hand one was
Spider, and he caused much trouble by continually
pushing Captain over to the left. Consequently I
had to walk at Captain's port quarter and apply
the shaft of my whip pretty forcibly to get him on
to his course again.

We soon reached the precipitous part of the road,
and I found that I was walking in a very dangerous
place for there was a sheer fall of a hundred feet to
where some trees grew on a projection, and I did
not know how far below that the bottom of the
gully was. I decided it would be healthier and less
exciting to walk on the other side of the bullocks,
so I stood still until the dray was past, when I
crossed immediately behind it and started to walk

The ground gave way,

Pa.^^ .77.

DIGGING FOR GOLD 177

sharply up to the leaders' heads, but in that short
space of time Spider had been at his old tricks, with
the result that the dray wheel got too close to the
edge of the clifF. The ground gave way and over
went the dray, dragging the whole ten bullocks
with it. I shall never forget the sound as those
bullocks rolled down the face of the precipice,
bounding against trees and projecting rocks, till at
last I heard them splash into water at the bottom
of the gully, far out of my sight. Then I turned
round, and found my old horse standing looking at
me with a face that plainly said, " Well, this is a
pretty kettle offish!"

I sat down on the road to consider my position,
and it did not take me long to decide that I would
not return to the station, for the dray was smashed
to atoms, the wool irrecoverable, and the bullocks
all dead. On the other hand, Graham owed me five
or six pounds which would pay him for the loss of
the bullocks, and the old horse was worth practi-
cally nothing. I therefore determined to increase
the distance between us.

My swag, containing three days' food, was round
the horse's neck instead of being in its usual place
on the axle of the dray, so I had a little to be
thankful for after all. Nevertheless I did not feel
very happy when I thought of the bad luck that
had befallen me, through no fault of mine, and left
me stranded penniless in the bush. I decided to
walk back on the same track till I came to a
good road, running off in a westerly direction,

178 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

which I knew would take me to Albany, a town
in New South Wales, on the border of Victoria.
I immediately set out, and by eight o'clock next
morning I was on the n-ew road, having first allowed
the old horse to stray away from me.

CHAPTER XII

ROAD-MAKING

TOWARDS the end of my first day's journey
on the Albany road I heard a great shouting
and cracking of whips behind me, and at first
thought it was someone coming for me, but my
mind was soon set at rest when two horse teams,
eight horses in each, came in sight. The drays were
piled up with cargo, and the drivers were doing
their utmost to induce the horses to cover the
ground quickly. There was a foreign-looking man
riding alongside on horseback, who spurred his
horse up to me and asked if I were going to the
gold rush about thirty miles further on. I said I
was out of work and perhaps the best thing I could
do was to go and see if it was worth anything;
he then invited me to fall in with them. They
expected to get to the crest of the hill we were
on before dark ; hence the cracking of whips and
shouting, but they had to give up the idea and
camp for the night.

We were up before daylight and I had a good
breakfast, for the boss gave me a tin of sardines
to myself. He was an Italian, though he spoke
English well, and the owner of the two loads, which
consisted of all the necessaries for opening a store at

179

180 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

a new diggings, such as picks, shovels, prospecting
dishes, plates and pannikins, blankets, whisky, and
eatables.

The diggings proved to be nearer than the boss
expected, for when we reached the top of the hill
we could see the smoke from camp-fires down in the
valley, but still a long way off. We reached our
destination about two o'clock, but just before we
got to the camp the boss asked me if I would work
for him for a week, or till his brother arrived, and
offered me four pounds and my food. I accepted
at once, for I had no money with which to buy a
pick and shovel until I earned some, and by that
time I would know if they were getting paying gold,
for my boss would buy nearly all the gold that was
found. My decision proved a wise one, for no one
found enough gold to pay his way.

My first duty was to rig up a large tent which
was to serve as a store and living quarters, and was
guarded at night by two very fierce dogs. I was so
busy getting things into the tent after it was up
that I had no time to ask any of the diggers what
the prospects were, but I soon learned that they
were finding only very fine specks. By the end of
the week my boss had bought gold to the value
of about thirty pounds, and that represented the
findings of eight hundred to a thousand men.
Some of them had been there two weeks, and the
numbers were still increasing, but if the diggers
suffered my boss did not. He had sold nearly every-
thing he brought before his brotlicr arrived with
another two loads, and a report of more to follow,

ROAD-MAKING 181

but after resting a night the brother was sent back
to stop all supplies. The whisky was sold out a
few hours after arrival, and drinking, card-playing,
thieving, and drunken fights were the order of the
day.

In a few days all the respectable men had gone,
and those who were left had no money, so my boss
shut up his store and left. The teams that the
brother had brought had been kept for emergencies
and we put a little in each dray and started for
Goulburn.

The boss paid me eight pounds, and said if I liked
to go back with them I could have my food, but, of
course, no pay, which suited me very well. On the
way I told him about the accident to my team, and
he said he would let Graham know, as he intended
going his way in two days' time, but to put him off
the scent he would tell him that he met me at the
new rush, which eased my mind considerably.

We arrived at Goulburn on the fourth day, and I
found that I could get plenty of work, for in two
days' time the Governor of New South Wales was
to turn the first turf of the new railway from Goul-
burn to Sydney. I put my name on the books at
once and had a place appointed to me where I had
to be at a certain time with my own pick and
shovel, as they only supplied huts for us to sleep
in — twenty men to a hut — and the pay was eight
shillings a day of ton hours.

I started with about two hundred others, includ-
ing a large number of sailors; this I found out the
first night after we had finished tea. Each hut

182 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

had its own camp-fire, and as we all sat round
them smoking our pipes, it chanced that someone
started singing. There were more sailors' chanties
sung than any other kind of song, and it was
very effective when a number of men at all the
fires joined in the chorus. I still remember what a
grand chorus was given to that beautiful chanty,
" In Amsterdam there lived a maid,'' while " Poor
Paddy works on the railway" was also sung with
fine effect. " Nancy Lee " was a great favourite,
but, indeed, we had a try at them all, including
" Homeward Bound," in spite of the incongruity of
the words.

There was a good store close to our camp, and
the prices were reasonable for Australia — beef four-
pence, mutton threepence, potatoes fourpence, flour
fourpence, sugar sixpence, tea four shillings, and
coffee half-a-crown. Articles of clothing were also
to be obtained, but no books nor printed matter of
any kind. The work was very hard, and the fore-
men, of whom there were a goodly number, kept
their eyes on us at all times and also called the
names over four times a day, which did not mean
that we had to stop working, for we simply answered
" here ! " without straightening our backs. These
precautions were necessary to prevent skulking, for
a man had only to go a few yards from his work to
be out of sight in the bush.

On the afternoon of my third Sunday at this
place some men arrived from Sydney in answer to
an advertisement for pick and shovel men, and three
of them were appointed to my hut as three of our

ROAD-MAKING 183

men had left. We made them welcome and gave
them tea, for we were all anxious to hear the latest
news from Sydney. When one of them produced a
parcel of food wrapped up in newspaper I seized the
paper and settled down to study it. I found that
the great Blackwall steamer Londoyi had arrived at
Melbourne on her maiden voyage, that she had lost
a man overboard between the Cape and Australia,
that they had lowered a boat to pick him up, that
they had lost sight of the boat, and supposing her
to have been swamped, had steamed away, arriving
at Melbourne in due course. When the captain had
made his report, people blamed him for deserting his
boat in such an unfrequented part of the ocean, and
when, seven days later, a sailing ship arrived with
the missing boat's crew, public opinion rose high
against the captain. According to human nature,
some people sided with him, and in this newspaper
I found a letter in his favour, written by one of the
passengers, and signed J. Y. Moffat. That was my
brother's name, and I decided that he must be the
writer, though I could not understand what he was
doing in Australia.

I determined to set out for Melbourne at once, so
I went and explained matters to the foreman, who
said I had given him every satisfaction, and he went
to the trouble of hunting up the clerk to make up
my time and give me a cheque for the amount due
to me, to be paid in Sydney. I sold my pick and
shovel, and next morning at daybreak I started on
my tramp of ninety miles to Penrith from whence I
could get a train to Sydney.

184 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

I was in high spirits, and covered twenty-five
miles the first day, but ray boots gave out and I
had to carry them over my back.

I walked about twenty-eight miles the second
day, and camped close to a township where the
people told me I was forty miles from Penrith, and
that the last train for Sydney left there at six
o'clock in the evening. When I lay down to sleep
that night I said to myself, " I must be in Sydney
to-morrow night ! " and at four o'clock I started,
taking with me nothing but a small piece of damper
and ham. I knew I had a fine, convict-made road
before me and I covered the ground at a rapid pace.
At first I asked people on the road how far it was
to Penrith, but as I found that, according to them,
the distance increased instead of decreased, I gave
up asking. Then I was annoyed at people stopping
me to ask me why I was walking barefooted, and
telling me that I would be lame next day, but I
knew my capabilities in that direction.

I arrived at Penrith at five-thirty, but not a man
about the station would believe that I had walked
forty miles that day. About eight o'clock that
evening I arrived in Sydney, a poorer man than
when I left it, and I slipped very quietly along
George Street and in at the backdoor of my old
lodgings, where they seemed very pleased to see me.
I washed and brushed up a little before proceeding
to the hotel for a suit of clothes, and I was made
very welcome in the servants' quarters.

I had just had a good meal at my lodgings, but
they insisted on my taking supper with them, so,

ROAD-MAKING 185

what with eating and recounting my adventures,
" the minutes winged their way with pleasure." I
finally bade them good-night and left the hotel
with a suit of Sydney tweeds and a white shirt over
my arm, but when I reached my lodgings I found
everything shut up. I then discovered that it was
half- past eleven, and remembered having heard the
crusty old proprietor declare he would not open his
door after eleven o'clock for his own father. I
crossed to the other side of George Street, where
there was a roof over the pavement, and laid my
clothes down on a shop window-sill while I walked
up and down, considering what I should do. Just
then along came a policeman who grabbed my
clothes, asking if they were mine and what I was
doing there with them, and then requested me to
accompany him to the police station. When he
heard my explanation he said, "I have just had a
chat with the girls in Cowan's Hotel, and they told
me about vou. If you come along and see the
inspector on duty it will be all right."

I got on well with the police, for I entertained
them with stories of my experiences of bushrangers,
gold-digging and so forth, after which they made
me very comfortable with plenty of big overcoats,
and I slept well.

I found I would have to remain some days in
Sydney till the next steamer sailed for Melbourne,
and I called on the Marine Superintendent, for he
had promised when we were discharged to give any
of the crew of the Tumhidffum a free passage to any
other port if they wanted it. I found him ready to
13

186 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

keep his word, and he took me on board the Wang-a
Watig-a and told the mate that I was to go to
Melbourne by his steamer.

That settled, I looked out for a publisher or
bookseller of whom I could enquire if the writer of
the letter was really my brother, for he was so weli
known in the book trade that I was sure they would
all know if he was in Australia. I soon discovered
a firm of publishers with a Scotch name — Sheriff &
Downie — and I walked in and asked for either of
the partners. They both happened to be there,
and I asked, " Was the letter I saw in the paper*
a few days ago, signed J. Y. Moffat, written by
John Moffat of Stockbridge, and of John Meuzies',
Edinburgh ? "

"Yes, he was the writer," replied one of the
gentlemen, " and who are you, pray ? "

" I am his brother," I replied.

" Oh, then you will be Henny Moffat ! " he
exclaimed.

" Yes, and you are Mr. Downie of Dean Street
Church," I returned, for I had recognised him when
he spoke.

I went home to dinner that evening with Messrs.
Sheriff & Downie, and they told me that my
brotiier's health had broken down, and that he
had Ijeen ordered by the doctor to take a trip to
Australia. They were able to tell me that he was
coming to Sydney, but not for several weeks, so I
kept to my plan of ^r^ing to Melbourne, They
also showed me a copy of the Illustrated London

ROAD-MAKING 187

News containing a picture and account of the
S. S, London.

The morning after that dinner my attention was
attracted by an advertisement m the paper for six
smart young men, good shots with revolver and
rifle, and good horsemen, with a knowledge of the
bush, to run in bushrangers. I thought that would
be a good thitig, and I made oft' at once to the
address given and was interviewed by a gentleman
who explained his ideas in the following manner : —
" I suppose you know," he said, " that Government
has oftered three hundred pounds a head for the
Ben Hall gang, dead or alive, and you will agree
that that is a ridiculously small amount for the risk
you would run and the expense you would be put
to, buying rifles, revolvers, horses, etc. Now, if I
can make up a gang of six, myself being the
seventh, I will make an offer to Government to run
in the gang if they will pay us a thousand pounds a
head."

I quite agreed with his views, so he asked me to
call that afternoon to see if he had been able to
make up the number he rec^uired. When I called I
learned from his wife that he had chosen his men
out of about fifty applicants, and had gone to make
his oft'er in the right quarter, but she expected him
back every minute and she was able to tell me that
I was one of those chosen. He soon returned, not
very well pleased, for the officials thought his price
too much, but they told him to call the following
day for their decision. He did so, and passed all

188 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

the afternoon discussing the matter with them, but
the most they would agree to was a thousand pounds
for Ben Hall and three hundred pounds for each of
the other members of his gang ; the whole affair
therefore fell through. As events proved, the bush-
rangers were becoming so bold that Government
would gladly have paid the amount we asked to
be rid of them, but we were all scattered in a
few days.

The day after that affair was settled I joined
the Wang-a Wanga and sailed in the evening for
Melbourne, Just as we were on the point of sailing
the steward was carried down dead drunk, and the
old manager called out from the quay as we
backed astern, " Make that young man from the
Tumhulgitm steward ; don't trust any of the under-
strappers, for I think they are all drunk."

I affected not to hear this, for I was dressed in my
best suit of Sydney tweeds and I intended to be a
gentleman of leisure for three days, but before we
reached Sydney Heads I was dressed in working
garb and flying about like a full-powered flunkey.
Our cabin passengers were a rough lot, mostly
diggers, who went to dinner and to bed in the same
clothes ; everyone played cai-ds, and money changed
hands fast and furiously, but we had no disturb-
ances. My hardest work was dealing out brandies
and sodas, shandy-gaff, and so on. I was relieved by
a new steward as soon as we arrived at Sandridge,
and the captain thanked me for my services and
gave me two pounds. I had made three pounds
among the passengers, and had left Sydney with

ROAD-MAKING 189

another three, so I arrived at Melbourne with eight
pounds in my pocket.

I left my chest and bag at a store on the quay,
and walked up Elizabeth Street till I noticed the
Argiis office, where I went in and asked if they
could give me Mr. Moffafs address. They said he
was living at St. Kilda, but they referred me to the
bank across the street for the full address. Having
obtained it, I went to the railway station, but as I
had no idea how far distant my destination might
be, I hesitated to buy a ticket until I saw a man,
who had asked for a return ticket to St. Kilda,
getting change out of a shilling. I then obtained a
ticket and was soon at St. Kilda. Having found
the house I had l;een directed to, I was informed
that Mr. Moffat had gone for a walk along the
beach. I foHowed him up and soon sighted him
coming towards me, reading a book in which he was
so absorbed that he did not see me till I walked
right into him, as if by mistake. It was a great
astonishment to him, for, as I had not written home
for a long time, he had no idea in what part of the
globe I was to be found.

We passed the day together and he advised me
not to remain in Australia, but I thought that,
being in Victoria, I would like to have a look
through it, as I had done in New South Wales.

John was very anxious that I should go home in
the S. S. London, and he gave me a letter to the
chief officer to introduce me. Next day I went to
have a look at the steamer, but as soon as I saw her
I said I would never risk my life in a vessel of that

190 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

build. One of the things to which I took exception
was the very large engine-room skylight, all glass on
top, which was only two feet high, while the bul-
wark was about five feet high ; sailors will know
what that means. I offended my brother very much
by my criticisms, especially when I said, " She will
go down into the cellar with the first breeze she
gets into," and my prediction was fulfilled not long
afterwards, for she foundered in the liay of Biscay
and many lives were lost, including that of Booth,
the tragedian.

About this time the Confederate cruiser Shenan-
doah arrived in Melbourne and reported that she
had something wrong with her screw, and the
Government gave her permission to dry-dock under
certain restrictions, such as, no increase to be made
in her speed, no munition of war to be supplied, no
British subjects to join her, to coal and be out of
port in eight days. A Royal Proclamation was
stuck up in the town warning all British subjects of
the consequences of joining, but for all that the
cruiser was offering eight pounds a month for
A.B.\s, and eight pounds bounty, so I, with about
fifty others, went down to Williamstown and joined
her. To avoid trouble they shut us up in rooms on
the orlop deck and supplied us with everything ex-
cept a walk on the upper deck.

In a day or two a rumour went round Melbourne
that the Shenandoah had sunk ten mercliant vessels
on her passage out, and when it was confirmed, the
people who had been feasting and entertaining the
captain and officers, refused to acknowledge them in

ROAD-MAKING 191

the street. A cordon of police was placed round
the ship in dry dock, and when the captain asked
to be allowed to remain another day, his request
was refused. The time appointed for floating was
four o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, but we had
just finished dinner when down the after-ladder
came the tread of heavy footsteps, and when we
looked out we saw what appeared to be the entire
police force of Melbourne. There was no way of
escape for us, so we marched up single file, and when
we reached the upper deck we found a detachment
of soldiers standing there with fixed bayonets. We
had to pass on shore and stand at attention there
while the ship was searched, and then we were
allowed to go, after giving our names and addresses,
but a man and a boy, who had been found stowed
away, were marched off in custody.

The case was tried in the High Court on a very
busy day, and i t was late in the evening when the
sentence — six months' imprisonment — was delivered.
The two prisoners were removed into captivity, but
the police were apparently not very anxious to find
the rest of us. I had every reason to believe that
we were all in court, but I did not know the others,
nor did I want to, and I slid out very quietly.

I had noticed in the papers an advertisement for
pick and shovel men to make a road at a place
thirty miles from Melbourne. Next morning, before
daylight, I was on the outskirts of the city, steering
a new course.

At noon on the second day I arrived at the
appointed place, saw the foreman, and started work

192 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

at once. The working regulations were much the
same as in New South Wales, the pay was good, and
they took the value of it out of us. If a man
wanted to straighten his back for a minute, or to
light his pipe, he had first to make sure that the
foreman was not in sight.

I thought that the part of the road I was at work
on was by far the prettiest place I had seen in
Australia; at the time I joined the squad they were
making a road along the side of a high, well-wooded
hill, and about thirty feet above a beautiful, clear,
running stream. A little above us were men build-
ing a bridge across the creek, which we would reach
in about a week, when our gang would cross over
and start a zigzag road over the hill on the other
side of the creek. The road was a Government one
leading to a town called Woodspoint, and I believe
thib hill, or mountain, was one of the Hume Range.

I had fallen in with plenty of snakes on my
travels, but that creek beat all other places for
numbers, while the scorpions outnumbered the
snakes ; most of our spare time was devoted to
killing all we could find. On one occasion one of
the men in my hut was bitten by a snake on the
calf of the leg, and immediately all hands went to
the rescue, but as I was a " new chum " in that
respect I stood aside and watched the old colonials'
method, which was as follows : — They turned the
victim over on his face, and one man lit several
candles, holding them all close together in one hand
while with the other he held the handle of the
frying-pan in the flame. When he thought it was

ROAD-MAKING 193

hot enough one man sat down on the injured man
to keep him quiet, while another held the leg, then a
third man with a sharp jack-knife cut a notch in
the leg and scarified the wound with the handle of
the frying-pan. I never was afraid of snakes till
after that, and even then I think it was not the
snake that frightened me so much as the frying-pan
handle. About two months afterwards I met the
injured man in Melbourne, walking with the aid of
crutches, and he told me he had suffered greatly
with his leg,

I had been working there only one week when our
foreman said to me one afternoon, " Moffat, come to
my hut to-night, I want to speak to you," When I
made my appearance he explained to me that, the
number of men increasing daily, he found it was
impossible for him to call over all the names and to
watch the skulkers, and he wanted me to assist him,
I had held my new appointment for three days when
one of the surveyors called to tell our foreman that
their cook had gone on the spree and they wanted
another one at once. He asked the foreman if he
knew of a steady man who could do bush cooking
and make himself generally useful for three pounds
a week ; then, turning to me he asked if I knew
anyone.

I answered jokingly, "Oh, I only know myself"

" Well, can you cook .''''*' he asked.

'* Yes, I can cook," I replied, " but I don't happen
to \)c out of a job just now."

Just then someone took away his attention for a
minute, and the foreman whispered to me that this

194. FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

surveyor was the boss of the whole concern and that
I should not have said I could cook. Then the
surveyor turned to me again and said, " Well now,
you will have to come with me ; the pay is good and
the work not hard. Go and get your swag ready
and meet me at the store. I want you to lay in a
stock of stores for two weeks ; here is a list of all
the stores we could find this morning after the cook
cleared out."

I took the opportunity while at the store of
obtaining some nice little things such as the
average bushman never thought of. I had a horse
to carry the stores up to the camp, and as I passed
all the men I had lately been working with, I heard
many remarks on my change of work. Most of
them said " Well done, Scottie ! " but one voice
said, " A Scottie, is he ? That accounts for it !
He'll be a surveyor in a month, mark my words."
It was impossible for me to pick out the owner of
the sneering voice so I ignored the remark.

When I arrived at the camp I found a young lad
making the tea; his work was to look after the
horses, but he had had to take the cook's place for
that day. There was a small tent for the two of us
and the stores, and I could see there was everything
I would require for my work, which was to cook for
five people, the boy and myself making seven. We
had to shift our camp every three or four davs,
and it was my work also to unrig and rig the tents
while tlie boy got the horses along to a new grazing
ground, which was not always easily found with the
works on a very steep hill. There was a horse for

ROAD-MAKING 195

each of the bosses, two for the tents and stores, and
one for the cook to go to the store when necessary.
I got on famously, for my bosses were well pleased
with my efforts, and they used to say I never gave
them the same dish twice in one week, but I did,
though it appeared in disguise under another name.
My chef (Toeuvre was Scotch scones a la bush ; I
made them in the usual way, but, having no girdle,
I put them on an iron plate and covered them with
hot ashes.

One Saturday afternoon, when I had been acting
as cook for about four weeks, I went down to the
store for a fresh supply of food and there found
that the proprietor's family, consisting of his wife
and three daughters, had arrived from Melbourne.
The wife and eldest daughter assisted in the store,
but the two young girls and I went off for a romp
in the paddock, where I was so absorbed in turning
skipping ropes and rigging up a swing, that I paid
no heed to the time till, all at once, I noticed it
was getting dark, and I knew I had a bad road
before me, I ran into the store and asked for my
goods to be sent up next day ; then made a rush for
my horse, unhobbled him, and rode off as fast as
possible.

The new road was soft and heavy for the horse,
but he was fresh and went through it well till we
got beyond it, and then I had to reduce speed for
we were right in the bush and it was quite dark.
My horse had confidence, so I let him go and was
thinking we were getting on very well when all of a
sudden he came to a dead stand, and over his head

196 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

I went. He had been brought up by a large tree
lying across the track, which had been cut down
after we had passed in the afternoon. I sprained
both my wrists in my fall, and the pain was so great
that I had to walk the rest of the way to the camp,
where I had my wrists bandaged and kept dipping
them into cold water all night. All Sunday I
walked about, watching the boy doing my work,
but when evening came I went to the head surveyor
and told him I must start for Melbourne at day-
light. They all said they were very sorry I had to
leave them, but they could not ask me to stay when
I was suffering such pain, though they hoped I
would return to them as soon as I could. The
surveyor gave me a cheque for twelve pounds for
wages due, for I had drawn nothing, as they kindly
gave me all I required, including tobacco, and he
also gave me a sovereign to keep me on my way to
town, though I was not penniless, for I had four or
five pounds sewn into the waist-band of my good
old pegtops.

I took four days to reach Melbourne, where I
called on a doctor, who cheered me up by telling me
there were no bones broken and he thought I would
be fit for work in ten or twelve days. For two
weeks I spent my days exploring Melbourne, with
occasionally a run to Sandridge to see the shipping
and watch the passengers land.

The London had sailed and another noted ship
was in her berth, the Royal Standard, auxiliary
screw, a very large ship with a very small captain.
There had been a long drought in Victoria, so work

ROAD-MAKING 197

in many of the diggings was at a standstill for want
of water, and a great many sailor-diggers went
down to Melbourne to try and get a ship for home.
I heard that there were many bush fires and, think-
ing I would like to see the bush on fire, I made
inquiries as to where I should go. I was advised
to take a trip to Ballarat, and as the state of my
exchequer allowed it, I set off. We were soon in
sight of the fires, and as we drew nearer it became
very hot in the train, till at last we came to a
stand, for on both sides and in front of the train
everything was blazing. The guard and engine-
driver had a consultation, with the result that we
backed a little and then went full speed ahead till
we were safely past the fire.

When we arrived at Ballarat I had a look round
the diggings and found plenty like those I had
worked at, but the majority were much deeper, and
they were heaving up with a single winch. I fell
in with some very nice fellows, who wanted me
to start digging, but my wrists were not strong
enough for shovelling, though they were getting
better very quickly. I stayed two days and it did
not cost me a penny; indeed, I think they would
have kept me a month if I would have stayed. The
line was reported clear of fires, and I returned to
Melbourne, seeing on the way the black line the
destroying fire had left on the greenness of the
bush.

CHAPTER XIII

AFLOAT AGAIN

A WEEK after my trip to Ballarat I shipped as
A.B. on one of the first ships belonging to
the White Star Line, then in ballast, bound to
Moulmein, her registered tonnage being 1,067. She
had brought out three hundred single women, and
was at anchor off Williamstown when I joined her.
Four of the outward crew remained, and three of
them belonged to the genuine " packet rat " class,
while the fourth was an old naval pensioner. The
new hands were a strange lot to look at when they
arrived, dressed in the clothes they had been
digging in and all well coated with dried mud. A
number of them brought their swags over their
shoulders, and I was the only one who had a chest
and bag — I have the same chest yet. We left the
next morning, all sober, and some of the men
looked quite respectable after they had washed
their faces. In picking watches I got into the
mate's watch, and he appointed me to join the
apprentices, who worked the mizzen-mast ; there
were six of them and all fine young fellows. The
mate put me through a string of questions first, for
in those days my youthful appearance told very
much against me and made people doubt my know-
198

AFLOAT AGAIN 199

ledge of seamanship. Among other things he asked
me if I knew how to make all the knots, such as
man-rope, Matthew Walker and Turk's-head.

"Yes, sir," I replied, "and a lot more, such as
rose-knot, ground swell "

" Oh, that will do ! " he broke in, seeing that I
knew my business. " They are all nice young
fellows, and I will expect you to conduct yourself in
a proper manner." These young lads were strictly
forbidden to enter the forecastle and I was the only
one allowed into their quarters. The first job I
had to do in my new position was to send down the
mizzen royal yard while the watch was sending
down the fore and main royals, and we had ours
down on top of the ballast and all the gear with it
before the next one had reached the deck.

When I was aloft for the first time and looking
down on my new ship I thought she was a strange
model, for she looked as square as a tea chest. She
was of North American build with a high, full
poop, and the top gallant forecastle was also very
high which gave the crew nice, airy quarters. The
look-out man could walk close to the knight-heads,
for she was nearly as broad there as at the break of
the forecastle, and her stern showed as much surface
to a fair wind as a square lower stu'n-sail.

The captain never interfered with the conduct
of the work, and the chief officer was the actual
director of affairs. He was a real gentleman and
never used bad language to the men, though he
insisted on strict discipline, and he managed to gain
his ends in a very quiet way. This was my first

200 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

voyage in a ship with double topsail yards, and we
used to bless the inventor with every breeze of wind
we had, but when we got into calm, hot weather,
we left him alone and started on the man who
introduced three quarts of water per day for
seamen.

The mate gave me very few orders about the
work at the raizzen so I was anxious to have every-
thing up to the mark. We were in a heavy gale
off Cape Leeuwin, but had fine weather after we
got round, and arrived off Amherst, at the mouth
of Moulmein River, in the month of May, 1865.

The rainy season had just started and all hands
were at once employed to unbend sails, unreeve all
running gear and to send down from aloft every-
thing that could be sent down ; even the signal
halyards were stowed away in the fore cabin. Then
we started to house the ship in with bamboos, of
which a good supply had been sent on board. We
put whole bamboos from the ridge spar to the pin-
rail, and split a large number into four pieces each,
which we placed fore and aft about one foot apart,
while on top of that we tied the usual Hooghly
dunnage mats.

We had not long been thus secured when the
rain increased to an extent I had never before — nor
since — seen equalled. There were five ships in port
with us, and I think the demand was too great for
the timber-yards to keep up a steady supply, as we
had been in port two weeks before our first raft of
teak-wood arrived.

The coolies stowed the cargo and the crew had

AFLOAT AGAIN 201

only to assist in mooring each raft as it came along-
side and to work the winches, of which there were
two, placed one on each side of the forecastle deck,
while a rope with a running eye was passed over the
bow for tipping up the end of the logs to the bow
port. There was also a rope rove through a block
at the end of the jib-boom down to the raft on
each side, and when a log was wanted a coolie on
the raft would put the running eye round the log,
the crew would haul away till it was far enough for-
ward to let the after-end clear the stem, and then
they would slip on the tipping rope. Our officers
took care that we got a good percentage of large
logs, for they refused any under twenty inches
square, and the bulk of our cargo was made up of
logs two feet square.

This work, and the weather combined, soon told
upon the health of the crew, and there was nothing
whatever to break the monotony except the arrival
of the mail steamer every fourteen days. The first
serious case of illness occurred in the midshipmen's
quarters, and the subject of it, although the
youngest member of the ship's company, was one of
the strongest, but an attack of jungle fever carried
him off, after twelve hours' illness. The next to go
was the steward, and then a boy who was suffering
from poisoned mosquito bites and had been sent on
shore to the hospital for treatment, but caught
jungle fever and died there. I got permission to go
on shore to see him the day he caught the fever, and
when I saw the hospital I thought there would be
little wonder if he contracted any vile disease under
14

202 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

the sun. It was a primitive structure, built of
bamboos and mats, and the floor was mother earth
with numerous hollows suitable for the accumula-
tion of pools of water. The patients could lie in
bed and watch the frogs disporting themselves in
the pools. That visit satisfied me that it would be
preferable to die in the forecastle than in that dark,
dirty hole.

The next to die from fever was an A.B., and that
was the only fatal case in the forecastle, though we
had a number in a very bad state who only just
managed to pull through. A doctor called every
morning at eigiit o'clock, and those who were ill
went aft to see him, but that was of very little
service in a number of cases for, with the rainy
weather and the type of fever, there was time
enough between the doctor''s visits to catch the
fever and die, and even to be buried. My health
remained good, so I was frequently appointed to
night watches, and I can remember that the dose
prescribed by the doctor was a brown mixture to be
given every two hours. Before long the crew fell
out with the doctor, and as the trouble had been
brewing for some time, it was much worse when it
finally broke out. It started with one of the
"packet rats'" going to consult him about some
trouble — I forget what — but the doctor, without
waiting to hear him out, said, " Oh, there is
nothing the matter with you. Next, please !" But
never a " next " came, and no one from the fore end
would go to him or speak to him. He eventually
left the ship and, strange to say, so did the jungle

AFLOAT AGAIN * 203

fever. I have spoken to people who have been to
Moultnein of late years and they tell me it is now
one of the best and healthiest ports in India.

Early in September we started to throw our
roofing overboard, for the weather had become
drier, but we were all very pleased when the last
raft came alongside and we sailed, after a stay of
three months. After two days at sea we picked up
a log of teak-wood, thirty feet by one foot eight
inches, and we got the long saw to work and cut it
up to the carpenter's requirements. Then he and
one of the crew, who was also a carpenter, fitted a
new rail round the poop, after which they made a
very handsome ladder to replace one of very old,
soft wood.

Now that she was well down in the water our
ship proved to be a very dry vessel, and the daily
work went on smoothly, but the food was very far
from satisfactory. After our long stay in the rains
our biscuits were full of maggots, and the flour was
as bad, so we tried all ways of dishing up the
biscuits to make them more appetising. Just
before meal times one of us would dip a dozen
biscuits into water for a few seconds and after-
wards put them in a hot oven, by which means the
intruders were rendered invisible to our eyes. In
the last dog-watch we would break up a bucketful
of biscuits, rejecting all maggots we came across,
but to make sure of killing the remainder we would
pour some boiling water over the biscuits and pour
it off after they were well soaked. 'J'hen we would
stir in what we considered a sufficiency of chopped

204 FTtOM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

salt beef or pork, and an onion, if obtainable, and
bake it in the oven for half an hour. This
concoction was a very common breakfast dish for
sailors in those days and it was known as cracker
hash. Another dish which was only made on pea-
soup days (three times a week) bore the extra-
ordinary name of " Dog's Body," and was prepared
in the following manner. A few biscuits were placed
in a piece of canvas and beaten to a fine powder
which was then stirred into the pea-soup which
had been left over from dinner, along with some
chopped pork, and baked for half an hour. Our
most recherche dish figured under the euphonious
appellation of " Dandy Funk," and it was considered
the height of extravagance to make it on any day
but Sunday. It was made of powdered biscuits and
dripping, moistened with water, and flavoured with
half a day's allowance of lime-juice and sugar to
taste. Saturday's dinner was a poor one, being only
rice, and Jack showed his opinion of it by calling it
" Strike-me-blind." Rice cooked in the shore style
with milk, sugar and spice, and served as a finish to
an already substantial meal is all very well, but it is
another story when it is boiled in water with a little
salt, as we had it, and forms the entire meal. Once
a week we had for dinner what we called " Sky
Blue." It is made by putting a small quantity of
barley into a large quantity of water with a little
salt, and boiling it for two hours — a very good
mixture for hospitals and sick-rooms, but poor stuff"
on which to box-haul yards.

If the biscuits contained maggots there was no

AFLOAT AGAIN 205

fear of any getting into the salt beef, for forty-eight
hours after it had been boiled it became a good
substitute for mahogany. There was a Swede
among the crew who was very handy with his knife,
and he made some very pretty ornaments out of the
meat. The one I admired most was a frame for the
companion clock, the design being a waterlaid rope
round the clock, finished with a true lover's knot,
and all cut out of our beef.

When the salt beef was brought into the fore-
castle for our dinner it was placed on the centre of
the floor and a little ceremony enacted in lieu of
grace. One of the sailors would approach the
brown, hard nugget, plunge his sheath knife into it
as far as it would go (which was not very far), turn
up his eyes like a dying duck in a thunderstorm,
and repeat as follows : —

" Salt horse, salt horse, what brought you here .''
You've carted stone for many a year
From Belfast quay to Ballyhack,
Where you fell down and broke your back.
Then they did you sore abuse,
They cut you up for sailors' use.
The sailors now do you despise.
They cut you up and d your eyes."

I cannot say that they lived very much better aft
than we did forward, for they had their share of
the maggots, but they acted very meanly on one
occasion. We had two very large pigs on board,
one of which was killed off the Cape, l)ut not an
ounce of it came forward and there was a lot of

206 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

grumbling about it. I happened to hear one of the
" packet rats "" saying, " I'll be upsides with them
for that — they won't dirty their mouths with the
other one," but I paid no attention to him at the
time. In the dog-watch, however, I saw him under
the bowsprit hard at work, as I thought, breaking
holy-stones, but when I looked again I saw it was a
glass lime-juice bottle he was pounding up into
powder, which he collected and saved till next day.
It was pea-soup day and a lot of our soup was
always given to the pig, but on this particular day
I noticed that the "rat" emptied his powder into
the soup before taking it to the pig. The latter
gentleman soon put it out of sight and lay down for
his afternoon nap, but he was soon up again, cough-
ing and sneezing and with blood running from his
nose and mouth. The captain and the steward were
brought on the scene and they decided that the pig
was suffering from rapid consumption so the former
ordered it to be killed and thrown overboard.
Then the wily "rat" stepped out and said, "We'll
take it and eat it" — which we did, and enjoyed it
too.

The same man frequently secured a fowl for our
dinner, and this was the method he used. When the
watch went aft early in the morning to wash decks
the first thing to be done was to pull out the
bottom boards of the hen-coops, wash and return
them. This would cause the hens to put out their
heads and our friend would adroitly catch one of
them by the beak and run a pin or a needle through

AFLOAT AGAIN 207

its head with the result that in a very short time it
turned up its toes. When the steward came along
to look after his stock and throw the dead ones
overboard, there would be someone at hand to say,
" Give it to me, steward."

We all did our best with the bad food, for in
many ways she was a good, homely ship, but by the
time we reached St. Helena scurvy broke out in the
forecastle; then it attacked the apprentices, and
before we reached the Western Islands the second
officer had it badly. We were bound to Cork for
orders, and before we arrived at that port nearly all
hands were down with the disease. There being a
strong westerly breeze on our arrival, the captain
sent the pilot cutter on shore for our ox'ders and
kept the ship outside for four hours till they
returned with orders to proceed to Liverpool.
When the news spread even the sick came out to
square away for Liverpool and I noticed one of the
" packet rats " drop a tear when he heard of our
destination. The poor fellow lived only three days
longer. We had a good run to Liverpool, and as
soon as we got into dock two doctors came on
board to inquire into all the cases. I was heaving
on the capstan when the mate told me to go down
to the doctors, so I went down and was examined in
my turn. They pronounced me to be the only man
on board with no traces of scurvy, and said they
would like to see me next day. I told them I would
be at the Sailor's Home, and ne.xt day I received a
vi^it from three medical men who asked me to

208 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

attend at a certain hospital at a certain time, but I
drew the line at that and said I intended leaving
Liverpool as soon as I received my money.

On our first evening in port two of us joined in a
little frolic. Although the night was cold and wet
we went for a stroll along Paradise Street, where we
noticed a slop-shop displaying the usual intimation,
" Sailors' advance notes cashed here," and in the
doorway was a pile of "donkeys'' breakfasts,*" which
were labelled " Good sailors' beds, ninepence."
We took that as an insult and immediately started
to drag the beds through the muddy street, and
when Mr. Abraham came out to rescue his goods
we treated him in the same manner. When the
police appeared on the scene my chum and I made
off to our rooms at the Home, where we quickly
changed into our best clothes and marched off
through the crowd to the theatre. Being home-
ward-bounders with a good pay-day close at hand,
we made our way to the dress circle, but we were
very much annoyed by everyone directing opera
glasses at us throughout the evening.

When we returned to the Home, the night
watchman said, " You were lucky to have gone
to the theatre to-night, away clear of the row that
has been going on in Paradise Street. They say
some of our boys dragged the contents of old
Abraham's shop through the mud, and jumped on
them. Someone told the police that the men who
had done it were in Dan Lowrie's, and the police
went there and tried to take up people who hadn't

AFLOAT AGAIN 209

been in Paradise Street to-night at all, so the row
broke out afresh,"

Of course we said we were indeed lucky to have
been safely out of the way, and then, like two
innocents, we went off to bed ; but next day we got
another idea. We bought two big sheets of card-
board, a bottle of ink, and a pennyworth of paste,
with which articles we manufactured two pairs of
(lummy opera glasses about two feet long and coated
them with the ink. In the evening we went again
to the same theatre, and as soon as the opera glasses
were levelled at us we returned the compliment h^
pointing our long tubes at the offenders. In Hve
minutes every glass was put away.

We were paid off on the fourth day, and before
closing with this fine old ship, I might say that it
was not the fault of the captain and officers that
scurvy spread to such an extent. The so-called
lime-juice was served out, and double allowance if
we wanted it, but the veriest novice knew it was
not lime-juice at all. It was more like stale
vinegar, and that was the only ship I was ever in
where I refused to take ray allowance of lime-juice.
Being very fond of sweet things, I laid in a stock
of sugar at every port, and at Moulmein I also
expended two ru{)ees on yams and shalots, to which
fact I attribute my immunity from the disease that
' '^ I eked the rest of my shipu)ates.

CHAPTER XIV

ROUND THE HORN

I SHAPED my course from Liverpool to Mrs.
Boarding-house in Glasgow, and remained
there for five weeks, when I shipped as A.B. in the
barque Starlight, Captain Diable, bound to Callao
with a cargo of coal, and from there to proceed to
the Chincha Islands to load for some home port.
Before signing the articles I went down the quay to
have a look at the barque, accompanied by my old
chum, Bob, who had also agreed to join, and we
were both pleased with her appearance. She was a
new ship, having made only one voyage, and had
been built at St. John's, N.B.

I have given the captain a French name which
describes his character, but he was a Welshman,
and so were the mate, second mate, and carpenter,
all hailing from the same town in Wales. The
rigging and transporting were being carried out by
an old friend of mine, who congratulated me on
getting so fine a ship with such a nice, fatherly-
looking old man as captain. The riggers left us at
Greenock, and we proceeded in tow to Ailsa Craig,
having previously set all sail, with the wind north-
east. Just as we finished hauling in the tow-line,
at four o'clock in the morning, we heaid the
210

ROUND THE HORN 211

captain's voice at the break of the forecastle:
" Come this way, all hands, get the royal gear
up/' The mate had just said, "That will do, the
watch," and naturally we were making for our
bunks, but Diable was after us, saying, "There
will be no sleep in this ship till the royals and
stu'nsails are set." When we had all the gear on
deck ready for going aloft, the cook called out,
" Coffee," but Diable was again at our heels ; " You
will get your coffee when all sail is set." Daylight
was in by this time, and we were able to have a look
at the man who was disturbing our peace, and he
was certainly not a " thing of beauty." He was wear-
ing a very dirty discoloured suit of clothes, full of
creases, and his face, which was naturally very dark,
was covered with a good coating of coal dust, for
the coal still lay about the hatchways as she had
finished loading, while to add to these embellish-
ments it was easily seen that he carried a full cargo
of whisky. It was eleven o'clock before we were
allowed to go to our breakfast; we were then off
the Calf of Man, and our last meal had been a
pannikin of tea and a biscuit between Dumbarton
and Greenock.

The crew consisted of two Kanakas (South Sea
Islanders), and one Italian, who could speak no
English, two East Coast fishermen, an old High-
lander, an old man ftom Ayrshire, Bob and myself,
also a boy from the Isle of Man and one from
Manchester. The Italian and Rory, the High-
lander, were good sailors, and the latter's language
was at least as intelligible as the Welshmen's. Old

212 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

Jack, the man from Ayrshire, was considerably over
seventy years of age, and we never let him go aloft
if we could help it ; he was in my watch, and we
made the arrangement that if there was any
climbing to be done when I was at the wheel he
was to come and relieve me. He was a good old
sailor, and well-read, though he had given way to
drink, but when he was at sea out of the way of
temptation he was a clear-headed man. Very early
in the passage the mate appointed me sail-maker,
but I seized an opportunity of finding him alone to
suggest that old Jack would be the best man for
the sails and that I was more fit for the harder work
about the deck. He replied in a whisper that he
was only carrying out the captain's orders, and he
added, " Take my advice and don't try to alter any
of his arrangements or it will send him mad. He
is an awful man, I can tell you."

These few words from the mate let the cat out of
the bag, and assured us that we had made a great
mistake in joining the Starlight.

Before we were out of the Channel we were put
on our allowance of food and water, and we could
have managed well enough on that if it had been
honestly done, but we were cheated in every weight
and measure. For instance, the three-quart measure
for the water was stamped, according to the law,
about half an inch under the rim, the type being
about half an inch in height, and Captain Diable in-
sisted that the water should just touch the mark;
we were therefore cheated out of an inch in each
day's allowance. Four and a quarter biscuits went to

ROUND THE HORN 213

the pound, but we had four served out to us daily
for one year (the length of the voyage), which
meant that each of us were swindled out of twenty-
two pounds, and for the whole crew the shortage
would amount to two and a half hundred-weight.
That may not seem very serious to the uninitiated,
but those who have lived on the bare scale
sanctioned by the Board of Trade will know that
it is small enough without any roguery.

One could not expect much of the quality of pro-
visions served under such a master, and as a matter
of fact the only good article on board was the
biscuits, or Liverpool Pantiles, as we called them.
The beef and pork were so antiquated that it would
have been fruitless to have tried to find a man alive
who had been present at the killing or packing, but
none of it went to waste, for Diable gave us to
understand that the bone had been weighed out to
him and that he would weigh it out to us, with the
result that some days our allowance was practically
all bone. An important article of food with us was
split peas, but never in my life, on board or on shore,
in stores or in fowl-houses, have I seen such dirty
rubbish masquerading under the name of split peas.
Instead of being composed of the usual peas split in
two, it was a heterogeneous collection of small
particles, of which a large percentage was dirt.
Charitably disposed persons might suggest that it
was the sweepings of a bin, but there was far too
much foreign matter in it for that explanation to
hold good.

I will leave the food question for the present and

214 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

introduce another shipmate whom I have hitherto
omitted to mention. His name was Jack, his colour
white, and his breed bull- terrier ; which sums up
the most ferocious dog I have ever fallen in with,
and a fit companion for his master. He usually
slept at the captain's door, which was beside the
man at the wheel, and when Diable came out the
dog would stand at attention — he had neither ears
to prick nor tail to wag for they had been cut off
short. At the door stood a tin dish containing
water with a piece of sulphur in it for the dog's
refreshment, but we took good care that the dog
should not be pampered with such luxuries; we
looked on that dish of water as a perquisite for the
man at the wheel. When we had a big piece of
work on hand, such as " about ship," the captain
would go on top of the after-house to give his
orders while Jack went to the main-braces, and if we
did not run in the slack sharply he was on to us.
When we made fast and ran to the fore-braces the
dog would follow up and get hold of the last man
with dire results to the unfortunate. I do not
suggest that the dog acted thus from his own
knowledge of seamanship ; he was directed by signs
from his master. The poor Kana4ias had by far the
largest share of bites. As soon as we got to sea we
found we were not allowed oil to burn in the fore-
castle, even for the first few nights, while the cook
was collecting slush (dripping). After a few days
we had enough fat to start with, and we had a light
for three nights only, when the captain gave the
cook (wders not to let us have any more slush as he

ROUND THE HORN 215

would require it all to coat the ship's side on the
homeward passage.

Here was a nice state of affairs ; bound on one of
the longest voyages a ship can make and to be daily
cheated over our food and water, and even to be
robbed of the boilings of our own beef which had
already been dishonestly weighed, being lifted
straight out of the pickle on to the scale, covered
with rock salt. As a matter of feet we got only
fourteen ounces to the pound. The first night we
had a slush lamp we spent the evening discussing
what steps we could take to improve matters, for
they seemed to us to be unbearable, and old Jack
took the chair, but we did not come to any decision
that night. Afterwards, when we had to spend the
long evenings in our bunks without a light, old
Jack, whose bunk was next to mine, used to enter-
tain me with stories of the City Line of ships that
sailed from Glasgow to Bombay and Calcutta, He
used to say to me, " If you are spared to get home
you must try them. The ships are well managed
and they feed you well, nothing weighed out, but
just full and by" — that is sufficient without waste.
" They never keep you up in your afternoon watch,
and they are able to about ship with the watch."
Other good things included a bottle of oil per week
for each watch and a bucket of water for each watch
to wash in weekly. Altogether he gave me such
glowing accounts of the City Line that I there and
then resolved to try them when I got back to Glas-
gow again.

We thought it was the last straw when, after one

216 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

week at sea, the order went forth that we were to
have no afternoon watch below. A special meeting
was held that night (in the dark) to discuss this
latest injustice, but, angry as old Jack was, he
counselled us to lie low for we were weaker than the
after-guard. " The poor South Sea men are no use,"
he said, " for they can hardly walk along the deck ;
the Italian doesn't know a word of English, Rory
and I are too old for any rough and tumble work,
and the boys are too young, so you see the
strongest party is aft."

During the day I was sailmaking on top of the
after-house with no one near me, but the captain
called at times to see how I was getting on, and I
soon found that he knew exactly my rate of pro-
gress. One day the second mate had called me to
help them to set the topmast and lower stu'nsails,
and when Diable came up after his afternoon nap
he turned over my sail to examine it. He evidently
saw there was not sufficient work done, for he turned
his black, scowling face to me, and demanded :
" What have you been doing this afternoon ? " I
explained how I had been called away, and the poor
second mate had to bear the brunt of it, and I had
an evil look for my share. I tried to say no more
than " Yes, sir," or " No, sir," to the captain when-
ever possible, for I noticed that he did not like to be
spoken to by such inferior animals as we sailors. He
also objected to us speaking to each other during
working hours on deck, and if anyone ventured to
start a song in the forecastle in the evening it would
bring down fresh wrath on our devoted heads. One

ROUND THE HORN 217

night I had a quiet, confidential chat with one of
the officers, in the course of which I asked, " Have
you any more liice him in Wales ? "

" Yes,"" he replied, " the captain's brother was as
cruel to his sailors as our man is. On one voyage
his crew mutinied, secured him by a rope made well
fast to him, threw him overboard and towed him
astern till he asked for forgiveness and promised to
do better in future. He finally had his certificate
cancelled.'"

This furnished me with food for thought during
the long evenings in my bunk without a light.

We were about three days clear of the south-east
trade winds, when one evening, just as it was getting
dark, the order was given to set the main-top-
gallant stu'nsail. The man who had gone aloft to
shake out the sail called out from the main-top to
let go the down-haul, and Bob, who was standing
beside it, let it go. The captain on top of the
house repeated the request, thinking no one had
heard it, and Bob, thinking it was the man in the
top speaking again, answered sharply, " It's all
gone!" The captain flew into a great passion,
jumped down and into his room, and in a minute
was out again with a cutlass in his hand, shouting,
" Bob, come here ! " By this time we (the watch
below) were all at the forecastle door to see what
was happening, for the roars of the captain might
have been heard a mile away. Bob had come
forward, but I said to him, "Go on aft. Bob, he
won't use the cutlass," so he went.

As soon as he was near enough Diable raised the
15

218 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

cutlass and brought it down with all his might on
the back of Bob's head, making a great gash about
four inches long, from ear to ear. Of course Bob
dropped on the deck, and by the time I reached him
he was lying in a pool of blood. I stooped to
examine the wound, but seeing that bright steel
blade still in the hands of a madman, I stood up
and said, " Put that sword away, please ! "

He dropped it at once, and with the same hand
quickly snapped up an iron belaying pin from the
main fife-rail and gave me a terrific blow on the left
side of my head. When I recovered my senses I
found that the captain had left the scene of
slaughter, and old Jack and the mate were trying to
patch up my head. The captain soon returned and
ordered the watch to carry me to his room, which
they did, thinking I was to be taken there for treat-
ment. So I was, but it was bad treatment. As
soon as they had all gone out the captain lifted the
lazaret hatch which was in the middle of his cabin
floor, and ordered me to go down, but it was
impossible for me to execute that order. I found
when I tried to speak that my mouth would not
open, and I was in such pain that I did not care
what happened to me next. Diable then called in
the mate and ordered him to put me down, which
he had to do, though most unwillingly, and he did
his best to avoid hurting me, but by the time I
reached the bottom I had collapsed again.

By and by the captain came down, and, making
me stand up on a flour-barrel, he handcuffed me
with my hands behind me, and with a gasket,

ROUND THE HORN 219

traced my hands up to the beams. My feelings
throughout the night can be better imagined than
described, and it did not even ease them to hear
that the captain was suffering as much as I was,
though in a different way. He had delirium tremens
so badly, that it was a wonder he did not jump
overboard to get away from his imaginary tormen-
tors. It would be hard to say what would have
happened to me if the ship had given a roll that
night, but I should probably have lost both arms.

Next forenoon Diable released me, telling me to
go forward, and not to forget that he was captain
of this ship. When I reached the forecastle,
I found old Jack had my coffee ready, but to eat
was out of the question, for my scalp seemed to be
full of broken bones, and the most I could do was
to suck a biscuit after it had been well soaked.
Jack held up a little looking-glass for me to see my
face, and then I understood why the old man was
crying as he attended to me. When I looked in
the glass, I saw the ugliest face I had ever seen :
it was all the colours of the rainbow, with a few
odd tints thrown in, and the left side of my head
was swollen so much that my nose appeared to have
shifted over to the right side. My arms were of no
use to me for several hours, through having been
bound up all night. My head gradually healed up,
and I was never off duty, but it was a long time
before I could eat a biscuit in its hard state. Bob
recovered before long, for, in his case, the damage
had been a clean cut.

'I'he captain disappeared from our sight for a few

220 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

days, after he had thus distinguished himself, and
when he did come on deck again, he was very tame,
but that soon wore off. About the middle of June
we were close in to the land at Staten Island — not
a very desirable position for us in the dead of winter
in a ship without a bogey or a lamp. We went a
long way south, and saw a great number of icebergs,
which are very beautiful things in the daylight, but
very dangerous at night. It was dark from 4 p.m.
to 8 A.M., but although it was very trying to be so
far south in mid-winter, we had no very bad weather
in those latitudes. We had two slush lamps rigged
in the fore-cabin, where we had to side-stitch our
fine weather sails, for we had still to work in our
afternoon watches, and by the light of our own fat.
I wonder how many sailors have been set to side-
stitch the summer sails in their watch below in
winter off Cape Horn, by the dim glimmer of a
slush lamp. My share of look-out duty was given
to the two Kanakas, who could not handle the palm
and needle, so that I might have more time for the
sails. In due course we bora away to the north-
ward, with the prospect of warmer weather before
us, but first we had to encounter the " roaring
forties." Just as we were drawing near them, we
got into a very heavy gale, and the cold seemed
greater than ever. We were furling the foresail
one forenoon when the gale was increasing rapidly,
and the cold was so intense that we found it a very
difficult matter. Everybody was on the yard except
the captain, and old Jack at the wheel, and we had
made several attempts but had failed. The stu''nsail

ROUND THE HORN 221

booms were traced up, and I was in at the bunt
with the mate and second mate, getting ready to
try again, when I looked out at the port yard-arm
and saw the two Kanaicas looking as if they did not
care whether we picked up the sail or not, so by the
help of the stu'nsail booms, I walked out to liven
them up a bit. When I reached the first man,
I asked him what was the matter, and he looked up
at me with a most pitiful face, letting go his hold
of the jackstay and showing me his hand. All the
flesh of it was sticking to the jackstav, and the
other Kanaka was in the same plight. Those were
two severe cases of frost-bite, causing us to lose the
services of two members of our already too small
crew. Before we reached the deck, we noticed a
very big, broken sea, close to the weather bow,
and at that moment the ship took an unusually
heavy, weather roll, with the result that the sea
broke on board, and filled her fore and aft. What
a sight to look down upon ? I could see nothing
but the heads of the towing bits on the forecastle,
and the galley funnel. My first thought was for
the man at the wheel, but I saw his head just over
the house, and knew he was safe. The captain was
nowhere to be seen, and I was just about to say
" Thank the Lord ! " when I discovered him up the
nii/zen rigging.

Here we were on a ship completely engulfed in a
full-sized Cape Horn sea, not knowing what damage
she had received, nor if the main-hatcli could stand
the pressure, and not caring, for she was such a
floating hell to one and all of us. When the deck

222 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

■D

was clear of water, we came down to see the extent
of damage the ship had sustained, but we found she
had behaved well, and only a few odds and ends
had gone overboard, the captain's dog being one of
them. After we had put things shipshape and
hauled in the ropes, for all the running gear had
been washed overboard, I asked the mate if he had
told the captain about the two cases of frost-bite,
to which he replied in the affirmative, but Diable
did not come near the forecastle for two days. We
lifted the Kanakas into their bunks with their
clothes and oilskins on, just as they came down
from aloft, but we were unable to comfort them
with any warm food, as our dinner had been washed
out of the galley, and it was well on in the after-
noon before we could get them a pannikin of tea.
Our day's allowance of pork and the pea-soup had
all disappeared, and of course xve had to suffer the
loss — not the captain : he could not be expected to
provide a second dinner !

We missed our pork for more reasons than one,
for we each used to cut off a piece of fat about one
inch square, reeve a small piece of rag through it,
stand it on our chest lid and light the rag, and so
got a faint glimmer of light while we took our tea.
As soon as tea was over we would blow out the
light, unreeve the rag, and put the fat into our
mouths by way of a delicate finishing-touch to the
meal !

When at last the violence of the gale had de-
creased, I was sent up to loosen the foresail, and I

ROUND THE HORN 223

saw the flesh of the Kanakas still adhering to the
jackstay.

After the foresail was set, the captain came for-
ward for the first time to see the sick men, bringing
a candle with him, for it was a very low, dark fore-
castle. I held the candle for him while he examined
the men, and he opined that if they would get up
and wash their hands they would soon be better,
but he did not offer them the water to wash in. I
called his attention to the state of their legs and
ankles, and when he asked what caused it I replied
that they were dog-bites. The venemous scowl he
bestowed on me lives in my memory yet. Nothing
resulted from that visit : neither water to wash,
ointment to dress, nor bandage to bind the afflicted
men''s h;inds was ever sent forward.

We soon encountered another gale, and all hands
were called to take in the foresail, the second mate
going on to the forecastle to let go the fore-tack,
but he found that it was made fast on the capstan
and had fouled. He called us up with capstan bars
to heave and lift the pawls, walk back the capstan,
and clear the tack, but when the pawls were lifted
the capstan took charge, and everybody was knocked
head-over-heels, for C'ape Horn gales in the dead of
winter are not conducive to alertness. However,
we all escaped injury except the second mate, who
received a blow on the side of his head from a bar.
For some time it appeared to be very serious, and
he was unfit for duty till the day before we arrived
at Callao ; thus we had an officer and two men on

224 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

the sick-list in a half-manned ship, and we were not
yet half-way through the roaring forties. The fore-
cabin had been filled with water during the first
gale, so that put an end to the side-stitching.

We eventually got through the stormy latitudes,
but when we reached mild weather we had another
trouble to contend with — the foul smell arising
from the frost-bites. Those who have had no ex-
perience can scarcely imagine what it is like, and it
cannot be described. We had finally to leave the
forecastle and sleep on the deck, but even there and
at the wheel the obnoxious smell reached us, and as
the weather grew warmer it became worse. There
the poor fellows lay without any attention from aft,
and all that we could do was trifling, but they never
seemed to complain, though they might have waxed
eloquent had they been able to speak our language.

I acted for the second mate while he was laid up,
and I noticed that the captain grew more gracious
every day — no doubt because the whisky was done
— but nevertheless we had resolved to report him to
the British Consul at Callao.

CHAPTER XV

FIGHTING AT CALLAO

IN due course we arrived at Callao, and on the
morning after our arrival we all went aft and
asked for permission to go on shore to see the
Consul. Captain Diable recommended us to go
back to our work, but we insisted that if he did not
allow us to go we would hoist a blue shirt on the
fore-lift. There were two British frigates in the
port and he knew they would answer that signal
promptly, so he thought better of it, but, though
he granted permission for four of us to go, he
added that we might be away from ten till twelve
and if we exceeded our time he would have us
arrested. Then, seeing we were on the war-path,
he hurriedly got into a boat and reached the shore
before us, but we did not realise then the little
game he was playing. He went straight to the
Consulate, and though we did not know what took
place there, it was a well-known fact that, in those
days, the gift of a ham or a cheese just out from
home was sufficient to turn the scales of justice in
the captain's favour.

When we made our appearance before Her Brit-
tanic Majesty's representative he inquired what ship
we came from.

225

226 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

" The Starlight, sir," we replied.

" Well, what do you want ? " he demanded.

Old Jack led off with his log-book in his hand,
but he had barely started when the Consul jumped
to his feet, and pointing to the door, said, " Go on
board your ship, or Fll send you to jail for six
months ! "

That closed the loop-hole for escape in that
direction, but we had another shot in the locker.
As we returned to our ship we determined to go to
one of the frigates for assistance, and when we drew
alongside of the Leander, I was pleasantly surprised
to see my old master " Paddy " on the bridge. The
master-at-arms came down to the boat to ask our
business, and we gave him an idea of it. He went
up to report, and returned to tell us we were too
late for that day, but we should come back next
forenoon at seven bells. We knew that would be
impossible, for Captain Diable would not allow us
to leave the ship again, but our time was up, and
we returned to the Starlight.

That was one of the greatest mistakes of my life,
for if I had insisted on seeing " Paddy," Captain
Diable would probably have received his deserts and
we would have escaped from the indescribably cruel
and fiendish treatment we had endured for over
four months. It may be said that I should have
been justified in running away under such circum-
stances, but it was contrary to my nature to throw
up anything I had undertaken because it did not
come up to my expectations, and, moreover, I was
Scotch and had twelve pounds of wages owing to

FIGHTING AT CALLAO 227

me ! When we returned to our ship we found that
the two Kanakas had been taken to the hospital
while we were on shore.

Callao at this time was in a great state of unrest ;
the Spanish fleet was expected every day, for Spain
and Peru were at loggerheads, and it was known
that a number of Spanish ships of war had rounded
the Horn. There was a great demand for labourers
to fill bags of sand to protect the men working the
guns which had been placed all round the bay, but
principally along the low beach at the head of it.
There were then in the bay four English sailing
ships, as well as the two frigates, also two American
ships and one American corvette or frigate. We
had been in port only a few days when it was
reported that the Spanish fleet was close at hand,
and up went the price of men to man the guns on
the beach, the best price — one hundred pounds for
the engagement, or bombardment — being offered to
men who could pass the examination in gunnery.
When I heard of this I asked Captain Dial)le to let
me go in for it, saying that he could not work cargo
while the town was being bombarded, and I would
come back when it was all over, but he would not
hear of it, though he was not drinking then and was
in the best of humours because he had scored a
victory over us at the Consulate.

One afternoon a small Spanish vessel came into
the bay under a Hag of truce, and asked all the
ships to shift their anchorage dear of the town.
We at once hove up the anchor and let her drop
out of the bay, clear of all guns, to patiently await

228 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

the morrow. After tea, we were all sitting on the
forecastle, chatting and looking for the fleet, but
Bob and I had something up our sleeves. If we
could only reach the beach, we could walk back to
the town and offer our services, and we thought that
when we returned, the captain would be glad to see
us, for Callao was what Jack calls " a Shanghai
port." At this particular time the boarding-masters
were so concerned about the probable bombardment
of their town, that they had never come near our
ship, or we would, doubtless, have had a smaller
crew.

As soon as the captain and officers retired to their
rooms. Bob and I set to work, assisted by old Jack.
We first got up the long hold-ladder and lashed on
two cross-bars near each end, like a painter's stage,
and then we got four deck planks out of the 'tween-
decks. We next got the ladder overboard, and
I went down on to it with some lashings, though it
was, naturally, a very unsteady platform for me to
work on. The planks were lowered down to me,
one at a time, and I placed them with their ends
resting on the cross-bars, two on each side of the
ladder, and lashed them there. When I had finished
I called to Bob to come down, and half an hour
after we had started our raft building, we were
paddling for the shore, our paddles being two
bottom boards out of our bunks. We reached the
shore safely, but not dry-shod, and hauling our raft
up on the beach, we covered it over with sand and
shingle, and made off' for the town as quickly as we
could, so as to arrive there before everyone had gone

FIGHTING AT CALLAO 220

to bed. But when we reached our destination, we
found there was no thought of sleep in the town
that night; carts were driving ammunition to the
guns, numbers of people were removing themselves
and their valuables out of the zone of danger ; shop-
keepers were barricading their doors and windows ;
everything was bustle and excitement, and we saw
no idlers about.

We were directed to the office of the Captain of
the Port, but when we found that gentleman, we
discovered that he could not speak a word of English.
An interpreter was called in, and we were at once
passed over to a man-of-warsman to be examined in
gun-drill. He had no ribbon on his cap, but I con-
cluded he belonged to one of the British frigates,
because he was too clean and tidy for an American.
I was well up in my gun-drill, and he was satisfied
in two minutes, so I spoke up on Bob's behalf.

" My friend here," I said, " is not well up in his
drill, for he was only in the R.N.R. one year, but if
you can manage to place him at a gun with me,
I will knock something out of him.'"

"That's all right," he answered, without asking
Bob any questions, "but he will only get fifty
pounds." After making his report, he brought us
out a copy of the contract, and another naval man
was then sent with us to show us our gun. It
proved to be an ancient tliirty-two-pounder, pro-
bably belonging to one of the Peruvian ships which
were too old to bring into action. We undertook
to be at our gun at davbreak, and made sure of that
by lying down beside it, under the lee of the sand-

230 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

bags. We emptied two of them to sleep in, and
though very wet when we lay down, we got up quite
dry after our sleep.

Soon after daybreak great squads of men came
marching along under charge of two English petty
officers, who told off eight men to each gun. They
were a miscellaneous collection of sailors, soldiers,
cow-boys, street-sweepers, and various specimens of
the genus " wastrel." I considered myself lucky in
getting one dressed as a man-of-warsman, but I soon
discovered that his rating was " Jack in the Dust,''
and all the gunnery he knew was harmless. I might
explain that this name is given to a man, usually an
ordinary seaman, who is appointed to assist the
purser's steward to serve out bread, flour, and other
stores, so that he is usually very dusty.

As soon as I got my complement of men, I started
to drill them a little, but it was a difficult matter,
for I knew no Spanish, and they knew no English,
but with the use of signs, and an occasional applica-
tion of my spare trigger line, we proved as good as
our neighbours. I soon noticed that I was the only
man in charge of a gun who was not in uniform,
and I was surprised that I had been taken on at the
top figure. At noon the first Spanish ship hove in
sight, rounding San Lorenzo, and before long there
were five in the bay, but our order to fire was not
given until the Spaniards had opened fire on the
town. Our guns, of which there were about eighty
or a hundred, were all ready trained, and our first
round wrought considerable destruction among the
fleet. We continued firing as fast as we could load,

FIGHTING AT CALLAO 231

occasionally receiving orders on which ship to lay
our guns, but we had to use our own discretion very
much as to that, for there was only one man who
could speak English to us. I would have liked to
watch the progress of the engagement as sails were
rent, and yards and masts came crashing down, but
I was too busy watching the loading, for my
"greenies" were quite capable of putting in the
shot without the powder if I took my eyes off them.
Plenty of shot passed over our heads without striking
our sand-bags, and very little damage was done in
the town, as the buildings were of mud. The
largest ship came close up to our guns at my part
of the beach, but her marksmanship did not im-
prove, the elevation being too great, which was a
blessing to us. By three o'clock we noticed the
outside ship to be broadside on, with her jib-
sheets to windward, which told the seafaring por-
tion of us that she was going to show us a clean
pair of heels.

At four o'clock the *' cease firing" was sounded,
though we had still to stand to our guns, but I was
very anxious to hear what damage our side had
sustained, so I told Bob to go along towards the
town, and to come back as soon as possible with his
report. It was long after dark before he returned,
but when he did make his appearance, he had much
to tell me.

When the enemy sent the first broadside into the
town, the people were panic-stricken, and thousands
rushed to the railway station, where they took
tickets for anywhere, the clerks passing them out as

232 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

quickly as possible, taking the money but giving no
change. The people, however, soon discovered that
the Commandant had stopped all trains, and they
started to walk to Lima, a distance of eight miles.
The road between Callao and Lima had never been
so busy as it was that afternoon, and there were
hundreds toiling along, footsore and weary, who
owned horses and carriages, but in their excitement
had completely forgotten the fact. Others, again,
with fewer worldly possessions but more savoir faire^
seeing the horses and carriages standing idle, coolly
borrowed them for the day and drove in comfort
past the rightful owners as they made slow and
painful progress on " Shank's pony.'' The shop-
keepers who had not taken the precaution to
barricade their premises the previous night were
seized with panic at the sound of the first shot, and
hurriedly fled, leaving their shops open and un-
protected, no matter how valuable the stock.

Now Callao contained a very large number of the
lowest dregs of humanity, including beach-combers
and sailors' boarding-house keepers, who were fully
alive to the advantage (to them) of such a state of
affairs, and they " grasped the skirts of happy
chance." I think I might safely say there were
hundreds of such men absolutely penniless before
the bombardment began who, three hours after-
wards, were wealthy men ready to book as first-class
passengers by tJie next mail steamer as soon as the
Pacific Steam Navigation Company's office opened
its doors again.

Bob was very fond of a " wee drappie," and after

FIGHTING AT CALLAO 233

he had finished his yarn I remarked, " The pubs are
open, anyway ; I can tell that by my nose."

" Of course," he said, " the pubs are like the
other shops ; they have been opened by the public
for the good of the public, and I had a drink, like
other people. I think the best thing we can do is
to clear out of this and take a share of the good
things that are going."

"Shut up, and go to sleep !" was my last order,
and I proceeded to set thein a good example by
jumping into a hole I had dug for that purpose
before dark. I awoke at daybreak to find that
someone had covered me with a soldier's coat, which
no doubt accounted for my sound sleep, and I
crawled out of my hole to rouse my companions,
but to my astonishment they had all vanished. I
walked along to several of the other guns but found
them all deserted, and I hardly knew how to act
under these new circumstances, which were not very
agreeable to me. At last I resolved to take back
my gun stores, cutlass, etc. to the office of the
captain of the Port, where I had obtained them,
and then to return to my ship. Breakfast was out
of the question, for the cooks, in common with
others in much higher appointments, were all look-
ing out for plunder, but the scene had changed by
the time I arrived in town, for people were crowding
back from Lima to find their premises empty or
Ixiing emptied, so a free fight was soon in progress,
and sticks, knives and revolvers were all pressed into
active service.

I made my way to the office, where I found only a
i6

234 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

lad in charge, and as his entire knowledge of the
English language was comprised in the one word
" yes," I was not much wiser after the following con-
versation : —

" Have you dismissed all the men from the South
Fort ? "

" Yes."

" What have I to do now ? "

" Yes."

"There's the lock, sight, priming wire and this
box of tubes ; will you take them from me .? "

" Yes."

" I would like something to eat. Do you know
where I could get it ? "

" Yes."

"Well, where.?"

" Yes."

"Oh, go to Jericho!" I exclaimed, and banged
out of the office in a rage.

To reach my raft I had to traverse about a mile
of streets in a rather shady locality, and found " the
battle raging loud and long," as I picked my way
along like a cat at a dog show. I saw numbers of
men spread out on the streets, some suffering from
wounds, others from wine, and later on I discovered
Bob suffering from both causes, but he was too
drunk for me to take him along with me.

At last I got safely on to the beach at the other
end of the town and found my raft just as I had
left it. There was a light air of fair wind to take
me off, and I was well received by the mate and
second mate ; Captain Diable, fortunately, being on

FIGHTING AT CALLAO 235

shore. The mate told me in confidence that he
thought the captain would say nothing about my
escapade if Bob turned up all right, but if he were
Shanghai-ed Diable might blame me for it.

" I know where Bob is," I said. " Til go for him
as soon as I have had a biscuit and a drink of tea."

" No, no," said the mate, " I can't let you go. We
must trust to his following you."

The captain arrived about two hours later and I
was glad to see Bob in the boat with no bones
broken, though his figure-head was cut and carved
like a Maori chief. The captain's first orders were
to heave the anchor up to go back to our berth in
the bay. There was a very light air of wind off the
land and we set all jibs, staysails and spanker, but it
hardly moved her, so we ran a small kedge out and
by midnight we were anchored in our old position in
the bay.

We had just turned-to next morning when news
came from the hospital that both the Kanakas had
died during the night and would be buried that
afternoon. On hearing this four of us went aft to
ask the captain for permission to attend the funeral.
Old Jack, acting as spokesman, pointed out that
although our late shipmates were of a dusky hue
they, like ourselves, were strangers in a strange land,
and all we could do for them now was to show this
little bit of respect to their memory.

Captain Diable, with a grin on his evil face,
refused point blank to let any of us attend the
funeral, but he evidently got a flight for he did not
venture out of the ship till evening, when the

236 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

funeral would be over, and he watched us all day
like a cat watching a mouse. No doubt he had a
guilty conscience, and I hope the spirits of those
dead men haunted him for the remainder of his
life!

If Jack and I had been allowed to go we would
have interviewed the doctor as to the cause of death,
for we were convinced that the primary cause was
dog-bites. The men's ankles and hands had been
bitten over and over again and they were covered
with open sores that cold morning off the Horn
when we were kept so long on the fore-yard, and it
was not to be wondered at that the frost nipped
them.

Work went on as usual for a few days, till one
morning, when we were all sitting at breakfast, I
heard some one making a rattling noise on our
cable, but I paid no attention to it, though others
in the forecastle did, for it was a pre-arranged
signal from a boarding-master that a boat was under
the bow to take the crew on shore. The result was
that only the two East Coast fishermen, old Jack
and Rory, and myself were left, for Bob went with
the others, after vainly trying to persuade me to
accompany him, and that was the last I saw of him
for a number of years. I met him only once more,
so I will describe our encounter and then let him
drop out of my story.

On a cold, winter evening about five o'clock I was
returning to my lodgings in Paisley Road, Glasgow,
from the Navigation School, and during a heavy

FIGHTING AT CALLAO 237

squall of hail I ran into somebody coming up with a
fair wind, who said, " Hello, Harry, is that you ? "

" Why, Bob ! "" I exclaimed, " where did you
spring from?"" Then, noticing that he wore
uniform, I added, " Have I the pleasure of address-
ing Captain ? "

" Yes," he said, "you have. Vm the captain of
the six P.M. down express to Ayr ! "

He explained that he had left sea, and had
received very good promotion in the service of the
Glasgow 8i South-Western Railway. I have never
seen Bob since.

To return to Callao — when the five of us
responded to the mate's call of "turn to" after
breakfast he asked where the others were. " Gone
ashore, sir," we replied. He reported to the captain
who, along with the second mate, accompanied him
forward and they went into the forecastle, taking
old Jack with them to point out the bunks and
belongings of the men who had left, but they were
too late. Our mates had not left much behind
them, but what they did leave was shared out
between us before they had been gone ten minutes.
All I claimed was Bob's surplus biscuits and a cold
weather bed-rug which I had made for him as a
present a number of years before, and which he had
left behind him because it was too bulky for him to
carry away.

After three or four weeks at Callao we sailed for
the Chincha Islands for a cargo of guano, and
arrived there about week later. We shipped three

238 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

Peruvians for the run to the Islands and back, but
none could speak a word of English and their know-
ledge of seamanship was absolutely nil. Two of the
original crew had died, and four had deserted,
leaving eight of us forward — just about half the
requisite number.

CHAPTER XVI

OUT OF THE WORLD FOR THREE MONTHS

THE Chincha Islands lie about ninety miles
south of Callao, and are three in number,
being named North, Middle, and South Islands,
according to their position. The guano on North
Island was nearly finished when I was there, on
Middle Island it was half worked off, and about
two-thirds still remained on South Island. The
channel, or anchorage, between South and Middle
Islands is about one-third of a mile in width, and
between North and Middle it is half a mile. Most
of the ships anchored there, but the Starlight took
up her berth in the narrower channel.

When a ship arrived she would anchor about a
mile off' and furl sails, and by the time that was
done all the ships that were in port would have
sent a boat to assist in towing the newcomer to her
berth. The mate would then pass a tow-rope over
the bow, a number of boats would get hold of it and
pull away on their oars, and if the boats were very
nunjerous they would pass out another rope. The
work was done well and quickly, for the weather
was always fine about the Islands, and there were no
shoals.

939

240 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

When a ship had finished loading the crew would
burn a tar-barrel, or some other kind of bonfire,
after dark, and make as much noise as possible by
means of ringing bells, cheering, etc., till their
throats were dry, when the captain would give
orders for the main -brace to be spliced. All this
commotion gave notice to the other ships to send
their boats at daybreak to tow the first ship out
from her anchorage.

There were only three small ships near the Star-
light, and a large American, named the Harry Bluffy
but she lay at some distance seaward and was really
out of the channel. We were very close to the
loading shoots, the nearest being only five hundred
yards from the ship, and they were all in sight,
except one called the " Cape Horn," which was
round a point on the weather side. The sea was
never very rough, except at the full and change of
the moon, but still it was always a ticklish job to
load a boat at " Cape Horn," On our passage down
from Callao our carpenter had raised the gunwale
of the long-boat six inches to give her more carry-
ing power, for until Captain Diable could hire or
buy something in the boat or barge way, our long-
boat was all that we had to start work with.

We had not enough men to man the winch
handles, so a horse and a quantity of hay were
brought us by boat from the mainland, which was
twelve or fourteen miles distant. A great number
of the ships had a horse, and they were all, like ours,
called Charlie. The men who brought our Charlie
told me he had never done any other work in his

THE CHINCHA ISLANDS 241

life, and he certainly understood all about it, but he
was a mere bag of bones and the date of his birth
was lost in the mists of antiquity, for his teeth had
long since departed. The guano was hove up in
tubs with a single rope, the hauling part being rove
through a block and made fast to the middle of a
yoke that hung across Charlie's stern. When the
tub was hooked on, the mate at the gangway would
call to Charlie, who would then proceed along the
deck at a funeral pace which all the rope-ends in
the ship could not alter. He always came to a
stand when the bottom of the tub cleared the rail
by a quarter of an inch, and nothing would induce
him to go a step further.

We received only one boat-load the first week —
about ten tons — and we badly wanted a barge to
carry about fifty tons. About this time Captain
Diable heard that a Yankee ship, which had just
finished loading, had a barge for sale, so we manned
a boat and took him to the ship, and while he was
in the cabin, striking a bargain, we had a chat with
some of the crew. We found that she had been
what Jack calls a very hot ship, with plenty of
fighting, for their captain had been a great bully,
but death had removed him three weeks previously,
and they had buried him on North Island.

" Tell me his name," I said, " and I will have a
look when I go there. I suppose you put up a
wooden cross with his name on it ?"

"Oh, no, my boy," said one of them, "there is
nothing of that sort here. You just take the
corpses u() on top of the hill, over towards the

242 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

north-east end, and lay them down. There isn't
enough earth on the island to cover a mouse."

Then they told me the true story about how they
had treated their captain. The carpenter built a
big, strong coffin with inch and a half pine (the
captain weighed twenty stones and measured six
feet two inches), and all the crew went to the
funeral except the mate — now captain — and the
cook. When they arrived at the proper burial-
place they unscrewed the lid and threw the body
over the clifF into the sea — a fall of from eighty to
a hundred feet — as the last little bit of spite they
could show.

" Did you bring the coffin back ? " I asked.

" No fear ! " they replied, and one of them added,
" See here, sonny, if you want a good serviceable
box for your old man I can recommend that one.
It's well made with inch and a half pine and secured
with four inch brass screws."

This was said by way of a joke, but I had an eye
to business, so I asked, " If I managed to swim to
North Island to-night do you think I would find
the coffin all right.?"

They explained that a nigger who had charge of
that island had taken possession of the coffin, but
they were sure he would let me have it for one or
two dollars. Just then Captain Diable reappeared
on deck and we jumped into the boat. On our way
back to our ship he said, " After you put me on
board you will return to that ship and tow their
barge to the Starlig-ht.''''

When we got alongside our ship I said to my

THE CHINCHA ISLANDS 243

boat-mate for the captain's edification, 'Tm going
for a drink ; Til be back in a minute/'

I hurried to the forecastle for three dollars,
ruaining back again at once, and away we went, but
before going to the Yankee we paid a visit to North
Island to see about the coffin. Within five minutes
I was in possession of the whole sixty-four shares of
my first venture in ship-owning. It was dark when
we reached the Yankee so they did not see what we
had in tow, and when we returned to our own ship
we hoisted up the boat, leaving the coffin to be
hauled up and stowed down the fore-hatch after the
officers had gone aft. We secured the barge to the
swinging boom with a rope, alongside the long-boat,
rove a topsail sheet (chain) through the rings of
both, passed both ends on board and locked them.
Desertions were so frequent at the Chincha Islands
that aH the captains agreed to lock their boats and
barges every night, but the sailors were always on
the look-out for any little departure from the agree-
ment, and were ready to seize the opportunity when
one presented itself.

Boats from all the ships were sent to the shoots
at six o'clock every morning, and lay there waiting
till their ship's name was called out by the man in
charge of the island, which might happen at any
hour of the day. A ship of nine hundred to a
thousand tons would have from ninety to a hundred
lay days, and the man in charge took care that she
did not get her cargo in full before the lay days
expired, but he was always ready to make arrange-
ments with a captain who wanted to get away

244 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

sooner, provided the latter was willing to pay dis-
patch money, which was at that time a good round
sum. In each boat there were two sailors and an
officer, and as we had to wait about the shoots for
hours we had plenty of time for spinning yarns. It
was there that we heard all the gossip of the fleet,
and there that plans were frequently made for a
grand decampment.

A well-planned flight took place shortly after our
arrival. A large Yankee ship from San Francisco
had a fine boat which had been built on her deck on
the passage down, a boat after the style of a whale-
boat, sharp at both ends, and carrying forty tons.
One night two of the Yankee crew, after breaking
the lock, made off" with this boat at midnight;
pulled to another ship for a steward who had
promised to have some eatables hanging over the
bow ; then to the next ship where the men had two
stu'nsail booms over the bow ; then to another
where two top-gallant stu'nsails were ready for
them, and, of course, a few men from each ship
slipped into the barge at the same time.

When the news went round in the morning that
a barge had been stolen and twenty-five men were
missing, a meeting of captains was held on board
the Yankee, the mate of which had gone aloft with
the telescope and discovered something like the
missing boat about ten miles to the southward with
two lugsails set, but as it was impossible for them to
recover their property, the meeting soon broke up.

Our barge crew was composed of the second mate,
one of the East coast men and myself. Our meals

THE CHINCHA ISLANDS 245

were sent to us at the shoots, but sometimes we
pulled alongside for our food, which would be passed
down to us, and we would return to our station and
eat it there.

We made many kind friends among the men in
the other boats when they saw our miserable fare —
biscuits and coffee for breakfast, biscuits and salt
horse, or pork and pea-soup for dinner, and not
much of any of them. We always asked other
people for a drink, as ours was the only ship at the
Islands that served out a bare three quarts of water,
and the majority of them were not put on their
allowance at all. Of course all ship's crews had to
be careful, for there was no water at the Islands, but
only a few served it out, and they allowed a gallon
and an extra bucket every Sunday morning for
washing. We never had a pint given to us on any
day of the week with which to wash our faces, and
we certainly could not afford water for ablutions
out of an allowance of three quarts per diem, for we
were in the tropics and employed on very dry, dusty
work. Our friends in the other boats, and
particularly the crew of the American ship Harry
Bluffs gave us many savoury tit-bits, and we always
saved some of the good things for old Jack and
Rory.

On the next Sunday after I had acquired the
coffin, the captain seemed to be in a very good
humour, so Jack and I approached him to ask for a
loan of the boat that we might call on some friends
in the other ships. He was quite pleasant — for him
— and said that he did not think either of us would

246 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

run away, so he would have been pleased to let us
have the boat, but there was an agreement between
all the captains in the port that they should not
lower boats except for their own use. He added
that, though he must abide by the agreement, he
would allow us to go to see our friends if we could
get a boat to take us, and I seized the opportunity.

" Well, sir," I said, " if I can build a box big
enough to float me, you won't have any objections ? "

" Certainly not,'' he replied graciously.

We returned to our own quarters and I soon had
the cofiin hauled up out of the fore-hatch and
launched under the name of Harry Bluff. I had
previously nailed the lid to the bottom to give
buoyancy, and I had also made a double ended
paddle out of the bottom of a discarded bread
barge, but, my wood being scarce, the hold-waters
were not exactly oval, as they should have been.
When they went in to dinner aft at one o'clock the
launch took place, and I paddled off at once that I
might be in time to dine on board the big Harry
Bluff. All hands, including the cook, were on deck
watching my arrival and they threw me a rope which
I made fast. I then jumped out, and they hauled
my boat off to the swinging boom. The second
officer met me at the gangway, for the discipline in
the ship was perfect.

" Wlkat is your business ?" he inquired.

"I have just called to see some of the crew," I
replied.

" What ship are you from 't " he asked.

" The Starlight.''

THE CHINCHA ISLANDS 247

He made his report to the chief officer, who
approved of it, and then told me to come aboard.
I had been standing on the top step of the
accommodation-ladder, but now I stepped on board
and, saluting the quarter-deck by lifting my cap, I
walked forward, where I received a hearty welcome
from one and all. After a splendid dinner we all
adjourned to the top-gallant forecastle to enjoy our
pipes and a chat, and I soon discovered that they
knew a good deal about the Starlig-ht and Captain
Diable's cruelty to his crew. Two of the men told
me they had been at Bombay on the previous
voyage, and they heard there that Diable had
managed to get a number of his crew put in prison
for trying to take charge of the ship on the passage
out, but the Bombay people had afterwards dis-
covered that it was the captain, and not the men,
they should have imprisoned. Diable, however, was
cunning, and was always on his best behaviour while
in port.

In the course of the yarn-spinning the carpenter
invited me to his room, which was in a large deck-
house, between the main-hatch and the foremast.
The house also contained the galley, bos'n's room,
and a workshop, and like every other part of the
ship, it was all perfectly clean and tidy. The
carpenter had served his apprenticeship on the
Clyde with Tod and M'Gregor, hut had gone to
America as a young man, and at this time he could
" i£uess and calculate as well as the next one."

" I noticed as you were coming alongside in that
dugout of yours that she wasn't just up to the

248 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

mark," he said. " It won't be very safe for you to
go far in her."

" True ! " I returned, " but I don't intend to go
so far that I couldn't swim ashore if she happened
to empty me out."

" Well," he said, " I was thinking that if you
would leave her with me for two or three days I
could fix her off for you."

I agreed to leave her till the next Sunday and
swim back to my ship, so I asked a few of the men
in the forecastle to help me to get her on board,
which they willingly did. I jumped down and
hooked her on to the fore-yard guano whip (a rope
for hoisting the guano), while the others hooked on
Charlie, but he evidently had conscientious objec-
tions to Sunday labour, for he refused to budge an
inch and no amount of whipping would alter his
mind. However, we got the coffin up, and placed it
at the carpenter's door. Then I called on the cook
and had a look at the galley, where everything was
spotlessly clean and shining. I was particularly
taken with the large quantity of loaves of bread
which were arranged on shelves as in a baker's shop,
and I asked if they used no biscuits.

" No, sonny, no biscuits here," replied the cook,
who was a nigger.

" I wonder if the day will come when they will
feed us on soft tack," I remarked.

" It should," he said, " for it's as cheap as biscuits,
but the trouble would be to find cooks. You know,
sonny, the owners don't want you to spoil all the
flour and thiow it overboard, and then fall back on

THE CHINCHA ISLANDS 249

biscuits, because then they would have both to pay
for. Your English cooks are no use ; the best of
them can only make pea-soup, and duff like a bullet,
and you get " Strike-me-blind" every Saturday,
sometimes as hard as gravel and sometimes burnt.
All they have to do for breakfast is to boil the
coffee-pot, and for tea to boil the water. If you
fellows want cracker hash or dandy-funk you have
to make it and cook it yourselves, because the cooks
think those little dishes are extras, and they are too
lazy to help you. Bub it's not like that on board
this packet, sonny ; I can do all the cooking here
and no man would try to come inside that door, but
mind you, if our boys want anything they just
come and tell me, and I fix it up for them."

He held forth in this strain for nearly an hour,
and afterwards, in the forecastle, they assured me he
was one of the best cooks they had ever sailed with.
They wanted me to stop for tea, and they also
wanted me to take something to old Sinbad, as
they called old Jack. They had taken a liking to
him when he came to the shoots with our food,
and whenever they gave us a share of their meals
they would say, " Don't forget old Sinbad." Un-
fortunately I had to refuse everything on this
occasion, even a big loaf of bread which the cook
offered to tie on my head, for I knew I was too
deep-draughted at my best to allow four pounds
dead weight to be added.

I hurried away at last that I might be back in
time to signal my safe arrival before it was too dark,
which I managed to do. Tea was just ready when
17

250 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

I arrived, and I was glad of the hot drink after my
swim. I had plenty to tell my shipmates that night
after tea, and to think over after we were in bed.
To say the least of it, it was not soothing to think
how many men there were, well-fed and comfortable,
in ships that were like " homes from home," while
we were dragging out a miserable half-starved exist-
ence in a den of torture, without a drop of water to
wash our faces, not to speak of our clothes. We
were all carrying cargo at the same rate of freight,
but some shipowners were so mean and grasping
that they would half-man their ships, fit out with
food not fit for pigs, and supply ship furnishings,
ropes and sails to correspond.

I have never been able to find out where they
bought such rubbish as I have seen put on board
for a long voyage, but I am pleased to think those
days are past, though the change is due to the
increased liberality of the shipowners as much as to
the improved regulations of the Board of Trade,
whose grandmotherly protection has done more
harm than good to the genuine sailor.

It must be clear to every reader of the daily
papers that in nearly all " sailor versus captain "
cases which appear before the magistrates, the
verdict is given in favour of the seaman or fireman,
as the case may be. It must not be supposed that I
am down upon Jack, but I certainly bear no good-
will to the drunken, good-for-nothing men who
form a large percentage of the crews on board our
ships and steamers of the present day. Instead of a
knowledge of seamanship they take with them an

THE CHINCHA ISLANDS 251

endless stock of assurance and impudence, as an
illustration of which I will describe one case which
occurred shortly before I retired from sea.

One fine morning we were bowling along between
Malta and Port Said with all sail set, and the sails
that were not drawing were drying. When I came
up from breakfast I left the promenade deck for a
walk round the ship to see if all was right, and when
I was clear of the fore-trysail boom, I looked up
and noticed that the gaskets on the port yard-arm
were hanging down abaft the yard. I saw there
was a man in at the bunt, so I shouted, " Fore-yard
there ! "

" Hallo ! what do you want ^ " was the answer.

" Make up the gaskets on the port yard-arm
before you come down," I called.

"What are you shouting at.? I can't do two
jobs at once," grumbled the man in a low voice, but
still loud enough for me to hear, so I called him
down and sent for the chief officer. Then I put the
man through a few questions.

" Do you consider yourself a seaman .? " I asked.

" Ves," was the answer.

" How long have you been at sea .'*"

" Three years."

" Then let me tell you you are no seaman, for all
seamen know how to address their officers in the
usual course of their duties. Now, sir," I added,
" I will test your abilities. Take hold of the wheel
from the quarter-master."

••' I can't steer," said the man.

" Well, do you know what this is .?" I asked.

252 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

" Yes, it's a heaving-line."

" And what are all those marks on it ? "

" Oh, it's a lead-line ? "

" What mark is that ? "

" I don't know the marks."

" Now, there is a strand of three-inch rope and a
block," I said. " Make a grommet strop for that
block. Sit down there and take as long as you like
about it."

He set to work, and a beautiful mess he made of
it. At eight bells the strand had become a bunch
of rope yarns and he had lost all the turns of the
strand. He was forced to admit that he knew
nothing about it, so I asked —

" Can you strop it with a short splice if I give
you a piece of rope ? "

" No, I can't splice," he replied.

" As far as I can see, there is only one thing you
can do," I said, " and that is to address your master
in a disrespectful manner. You shipped in this
steamer as A.B. — a rating you are totally unfit for,
so you are now disrated from A.B. at three pounds
five shillings to O.S. at two pounds, and that amount
is a great deal too much for such a useless fellow.
Pipe down ! "

That was the last punishment I meted out to a
so-called sailor before I left the sea, and it is a fair
specimen of many such cases.

After this long digression I must continue my
account of our adventures at the Chincha Islands.

CHAPTER XVII

TO CALLAO AND HOME AGAIN

TWO ships at the Islands had a plan of their
own for securing an extra load of guano, and
of course the Starlight was one of the two. The
idea was to send their barge to the shoots at three
o'clock in the morning in order to obtain the first
load, for which the men in charge did not call a
ship's name, as they were pleased when their Chinese
slaves could make an early start — say about five-
thirty A.M. Many a time we were alongside our
ship with thirty tons before six o'clock, and we had
to make this early start every morning under very
unpleasant meteorological conditions. There is no
rain in that part of the world, but the clerk of the
weather sends a dew as a substitute. Everyone has
heard of slight dews, heavy dews, and even "moun-
tain dew," but not one of them is as wet as a
Chinchu Island dew, and the most disagreeable job
we had was going in the barge at that early hour.

Every day I received a loaf of bread from the
black cook and some good square meals from the
men in the Harry Bluffs barge. They also treated
me to plenty of chaff about my boat, and I
could see they were up to some little game, by such
jokes as " Will you have a figure-head or a straight

2o3

254 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

stem ?" and " Mind you bring a bottle of lime-juice
to the launch." On the following Sunday a boat
called at our ship with some grass for Charlie and
a bag of sweet potatoes — an unwonted piece of
extravagance for Captain Diable — and I asked them
to take me to the Harry Bluff, which they did.

The second officer was at the gangway as usual,
but this time his face wore a smile as he said,
" Good morning, Harry."

" Good morning, sir," I replied, and went forward
to be introduced to my boat in her new guise. I
found her lying where I had left her a week ago, but
there was a vast change in her appearance. The
carpenter had made two triangular, water-tight
boxes, one of which he screwed on each end of my
boat, making her three feet longer than before, so
she was now ten feet over all. The men had painted
ports on her, and her name — Harry Bluff — appeared
at one end ; they had also eased up all the screws
and white-leaded the seams. The carpenter found
that the lid, which I had nailed to the bottom, was
a fine piece of wood which he wanted, so he took it
off and replaced it with a piece of wood the whole
length, which he cut so that it projected three
inches on each side in place of rolling chocks.

I felt as proud as Lucifer and wanted to leave at
once, but I had to wait for my dinner and a smoke,
and then all hands came out to see the launch.
For the first and only time I was glad to get away
from the Harry Bbff', and I made off at once on a
visit to one of the Aberdeen clippers between North
and Middle Islands, on board which I had often

TO CALLAO AND HOME AGAIN 255

been asked to dine on Sundays. I caused a great
sensation when I arrived within sight of i^e ships,
for all the sailors in the port had heard about the
coffin, and they had mustered on the forecastles to
see me paddling along. Many and various were the
comments they made.

" Well done, Scottie ! "

'' Go at it, Harry ! "

"Ship ahoy ! Where are you from ? Where are
you bound to ? "

" Do you stop out all night ? "

" I say, Harry, how many guns has she got ? "

" Hey, Scottie, there's a rat hi your main chains!"

" Hoist your ensign, Scottie ! "

When I boarded the Aberdeen ship I was much
impressed by the comfort of the crew's quarters.
The bunks and ship-side were painted stone colour,
the roof white ; an oil lamp hanging on each side
indicated that there was no stint of light; and
charts, sextants, and books in beckets overhead
showed that there were navigators at both ends of
the ship. Lying outside the forecastle door was a
thrummed ponch mat, inside was a thrummed can-
vas mat, and everything was as clean as a new pin.
I passed a very pleasant two hours with them, and
everyone spoke to me, from the captain to the cook,
but I could see there was no lack of discipline. The
captain told the steward to give me two tins of pre-
served beef, remarking, as he gave the order, "I
understand you are not very well fed on board the

He did not get that information from me, but I

256 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

suppose he had heard about me, so I thanked him
very much for his kindness. The steward brought
me two four-pound tins, and I really felt ashamed
to be always walking away with eatables, but we
certainly needed food, and they seemed to know
that in the few ships I visited. I stayed to tea with
my Aberdeen friends, and was regaled with a por-
tion of a seal sea-pie. They had caught a seal the
previous day, which they had made into a sea-pie,
and as they had expected me to tea on Sunday they
had kept some and warmed it up for me. I spent
every Sunday in this way, having dinner on the
Aberdeen ship and tea on the Yankee, or vice versa,
but though I called at several other ships I never
stayed to a meal on board them.

I sometimes lent my boat to men I could trust,
but she did not seem to like that, for she invariably
tipped them out. The secret was, in going into
her, to be very careful to step right in the middle,
or over she would go. On one occasion I went to
North Island to see the cemetery, and as it happened
to be surf day — full moon — I had to be particularly
careful to sit low and keep the sea end-on, I
reached the island safely, and found a strange sight
in the cemetery.

As I have mentioned before, there was no earth
to cover the dead, so the bodies, which were princi-
pally Chinese, were simply laid down in rows —
eio-ht or ten in a row — and I was astonished to find
them all in a first-class state of preservation owing
to the action of the guano. They were all quite
natural, except that the eyes had gone ; but for that,

TO CALLAO AND HOME AGAIN 257

they looked like a lot of men resting, for some of
them were sitting up. I went towards the first one
I saw in that position, thinking it was a visitor come
to look at a friend, but I found it was a corpse
drawn up by the sun.

While passing Middle Island on my way back I
was obliged to put my boat broadside on for a
short distance, with the result that she emptied me
out. I was close in shore, so a few strokes put me
on the beach, and the boat soon followed me. That
was the only time in three months that she turned
me out, and as it happened just after dark, no one
saw my misadventure, and I kept the fact to myself.

Week after week passed, with the same daily
routine and my little bit of amusement in my boat
on Sunday, till at length our last boat-load arrived
alongside. The Aberdeen clipper had left a fort-
night before, and the Harry Bluff followed a few
days after us.

On the Sunday before we sailed I was taking my
last cruise in my boat when someone hailed me from
the Fearnotight, and on going alongside I found
that the mate wanted to see me about my boat.
They had been in the port only a few days, but
long enough for us to hear at the shoots that this
famous Western Ocean Packet had changed her
manners «is well as her trade, and from being the
wildest ship trading across the pond, she had become
one of the quietest and best ships afloat at that
time. The result of that visit was that I sold my
boat to the mate for five dollars, and I was only
sorry afterwards that I had not asked for ten, as I

258 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

could easily have got it. Our barge was soM to
another ship, and we understood that Captain
Diable obtained fifty doUars more than he paid
for it.

There was neither cheering nor bonfire on board
the Starlight when the hatches were put on, and
only eight boats put in an appearance next morning.
It was customary for the crews of the boats to come
on board when the ship was far enough off the
Islands to hoist the top-sails, and when that was
done a glass of grog was served out to every man.
They then returned to their boats and gave three
cheers as they pulled away, but our send-ofF was a
very half-and-half affair. Most of the visitors
refused the grog because none was served out to
the ship''s crew, and the cheering was very mild ;
indeed, had it not been for the presence of an officer
in each boat, I think the cheers would have been
replaced by groans.

On the following day we arrived at Callao, for we
had to report there before sailing for home. All
ships bound for the Chincha Islands for guano had
first to call at Callao, where they would receive a
visit from two or three officials who, after examining
the ship and asking numerous questions, would nail
a small strip of zinc on the ship''s side to show what
depth she might be loaded to. I think the positi.on
of the zinc was not decided by the questions put
and the measurements taken, so much as by the
liberality of the captain, but as our captain had
none of that commodity in stock, the zinc was
tacked on as they thought fit.

TO CALLAO AND HOME AGAIN 259

During our first night at sea the captain and the
mate went over the side on a stage and shifted the
zinc up four inches, which meant about two hundred
pounds extra into the owner's pocket without the
expenditure of any " liberality." They thought we
were asleep during this manceuvre but " we're no
aye sleeping when oor een are stickit." On leaving
the Chincha Islands all ships had to return to
Callao to be re-examined by the officials, who first
ascertained if the ship was loaded to the zinc mark
(our captain had obliterated all traces of the
transfer by means of paint) and then sealed up the
pumps for twenty-four hours, at the end of which
time they returned to see how much water she had
made, and if all was right she was allowed to proceed
on her journey homeward.

On our arrival at Callao it was arranged that
we should each have five dollars of our wages in
advance, and a day's holiday the next day : a plan
which suited me exactly for I wanted to go ashore
to settle up with the Captain of the Port, though I
did not expect to come off very well, for I had
heard some time before that there had been an
entire change of Government. Five of us landed
together, and the others waited outside the office
of the Captain of the Port while I went in and
explained my business to liim. To my great
astonishment he allowed my claim, and smilingly
handed me a checjue for over four hundred dollars.

I thanked him, and we all went off' to a cafe
where we had a good feed. I asked the proprietor
how much my cheque was worth, but after looking

260 FROM SHIP'S-DOY TO SKIPPER

at it he looked at me to see if I were trying to take
a rise out of him, and then said in broken English
that it was worth nothing : an answer for which I
was partly prepared. Then, as he could speak a
little English and could understand it very well, he
sat down beside us, and explained the state of the
country and its financial position.

The President who had signed the cheque had
been hanged by the crowd, and it was daily expected
that his successor would share the same fate. I
offered to strike a bargain with the proprietor of
the cafe, and though he fought shy of the little piece
of paper at first, he afterwards said he would give
me ten dollars for it as a curio. But he suggested
that, as we had expressed our intention of going to
Lima, I should take the cheque with me and try to
find a purchaser in that city ; if I did not succeed
he would give me the ten dollars that afternoon
when we returned.

So we set off for Lima by train — a most primitive
concern, which took nearly an hour to cover the
distance of eight miles. The railway ran through
some of the streets in Lima, and there the train
could only creep along, for in spite of whistling and
ringing of bells, the drivers of vehicles would persist
in crossing our bows. The engineer or fireman had
to get out and walk ahead, and frequently they had
to do a little fighting with the drivers. However,
we got there eventually, and after a walk through
the citv we visited the cathedral, which, we had
heard, was worth looking at, and indeed we found
it was a very grand building.

T© CALLAO AND HOME AGAIN 26l

There was a large marble font close to the en-
trance, and I noticed that everyone who came in
went straight to it, dipped their fingers in and
crossed themselves. I drew Jack's attention to it,
and just then Rory came up and remarked that he
was very dry. In a joking way Jack said, " Take a
drink out of that basin," and Rory made straight for
it. There being no drin king-cup, he had to drink
like a horse, and as his beard was long and shaggy,
it also was being refreshed, when in came a very
grand dame who walked up to the font, but when
she discovered Rory's head in the basin she gave a
scream and dropped on the door-mat. In an instant
the whole of the cathedral staff were making for the
entrance, so I exclaimed, " Run for it. Jack ! " and
made off down the street as fast as my legs could
carry me. When I got tired of running I amused
myself by looking at shop windows till it was time
for our return train. I found Rory waiting at the
station, and he told me he had given a man who
had overtaken him a dollar to let him go, and say
no more about it. Jack was there too, but he had
managed to get into a grog-shop in my absence, and
I found him about " three sheets in the wind."

When we arrived at ('allao I went straight to the
cafe to settle with the proprietor, and found him
willing to fulfil his promise, but as it whs then time
for us to return to the ship I would not have the
opportunity of spending any of the money, which
would be of no use to me at sea. I explained that
to the man, wlio said I might go into the shop next
door, which wa>, hi.s property, and select goods to

262 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

the value of ten dollars. I went in and found ft to
be a very large store dealing in all manner of things,
from a needle to an anchor.

The first thing I put my hand on was a Panama
hat, and the proprietor said he would let me have it
to settle the bargain, though its price was twelve
dollars. But I also wanted a basket of oranges, one
of onions, and ten pounds of sugar, so we were at a
deadlock for a while. Eventually I got ali these
articles and arrived on board only one hour late,
with Jack half-seas over, and Rory vowing venge-
ance on all Roman Catholics because his drink of
water had cost him one dollar.

The following morning our new hands — three
men and a boy — arrived in charge of a boarding
master — all of them so drunk that they had to be
hoisted on board. We hove up the anchor at once,
and I have no doubt we made a very poor show of
seamanship in leaving the bay, for, even if we had
had the help of the three drunk men, we were only
half-manned. We were quite unable to hoist the
topsails by hand, and had to take everything to the
capstan.

By the time everything was set, and I had time
to look around, we were nearly out of sight of the
land, but in that part of the world there is no bad
weather worth mentioning, so we were safe so far.
Next morning at eight o'clock we were all called aft
to be picked for watches, and then saw our new
hands for the first time : three fine, strapping fel-
lows, but the boy was very small.

While we were all standing aft the mate suddenly

TO CALLAO AND HOME AGAIN 263

said, " Who is that forward there ? " and on looking
round we saw, to our surprise, a sailor in man-of-
war clothes, which were covered with guano. He
was called aft to explain his presence on board,
which he did by saying he had deserted from H.M.S.
Topaz, and had stowed himself away down our hold.
I do not know how the captain received the news,
but the rest of us were very pleased to see the
stranger, who was a big, strong lad with two years'
service in the navy, so he was likely to be of some
use. I was pleased when he was put in the mate's
watch, along with myself and one of the newcomers,
who was an Italian and a splendid seaman, but he
could not speak a word of English, and had had no
experience of England or of English ships. We
became good friends and he showed me the contents
of his chest, which included one of the finest-looking
daggers I ever saw, and a revolver with three
chambers loaded and two empty. If only he could
have spoken pjiglish he might have told me what
had become of the two cartridges, but, anyway, I saw
that Captain Diable would be well advised to keep
his cutlass out of sight that passage. The other
men, a Russian and a Swede, were also good sailors
though unable to speak our language, but the
Swede, although healthy in appearance, proved to
be fit for light work only, owing to the condition of
his lungs, and he could not go aloft.

Captain Diable, having no further use for our
slush, kindly allowed us to utilise it for the purpose
of illuminating the fore-castle, and we were so
plea'^ed that I am afraid we fre(juently burned our

264 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

lamps after the sun was on duty. I passed a lot of
my time experimenting with lamps to see which
gave the best light, and found that the best results
were obtained in the following manner : — I cut a
clear glass bottle in halves by means of friction and
used the neck end. I whittled a piece of wood
about twelve inches long till it was about half the
thickness of a pencil or less ; pulled the threads out
of a piece of canvas till I thought I had sufficient ;
wound them round my four fingers till I had a
wick as thick as a finger ; marled that bunch of
threads on to one end of the stick ; put a cork into
the bottle ; made a hole in it with a roping needle ;
made a fine point to the splint of wood, and pushed
it down through the hole in the cork till the wick
was level with the top of the cut bottle. That
done, I hung the bottle up to a beam, poured in
the fat in a liquid state, and it was ready for
lighting.

However, that lamp being of glass, it was suitable
for fine weather only, so I had to contrive another
for bad weather. I cut a preserved meat tin in
halves, and obtained a piece of zinc about the same
size as the tin, to make a false bottom. Then I
drove a nail as long as the depth of the half tin
through the zinc and put it in the tin. To make
the wick, I wound a narrow strip of canvas twice
round one finger, tied it with a slack turn of twine,
slipped it off my finger, and placed it on the nail,
when it was ready for the fat to be poured in.
The worst of this lamp is that it smokes very badly,
on account of the nail in the middle of the wick,

TO CALLAO AND HOME AGAIN 265

while in the other the wooden splint burns as the
fat burns down, and so causes very little smoke.

We approached the "roaring forties" this time
with less dread than on the outward passage, for we
had longer daylight, which was as good as another
two men in the watch, and our forecastle could be
kept a little warmer with two lamps burning. One
evening when we were in latitude 45° we were
staggering along with the whole topsail set, ex-
pecting every minute to be called out to tie the
first reefs. If the force of the wind had kept steady
she might have been able to stand the whole topsail,
but we were having some very strong squalls of
wind and hail that made everything crack again.
We were not called out, and she had just to stand
it, but after midnight the squalls lessened, so the
main-top-gallant sail was set when daylight came
in, and we soon set all sail with hopes of better
weather. I went aloft to loosen the main-royal,
but when I reached the cross-trees I found they
were slued round a long way from athwart. I
called to the mate to look up, and after thinking it
over for a minute, he let go the top-gallant halyards.
In the meantime I had a look round to see where
the mast was sprung, and in a few minutes the
captain and the mate came aloft, but none of us
could find the damage, so it was evidently under the
spider band — an iron hoop three inches broad, and
about two feet below the cross-trees — which meant
that the fracture was a serious one, putting "fishing"
out of the question. All hands were called : my
watch to send the yards down, and the other watch
18

266 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

to assist the carpenter to cast loose the spare spar
to make a topmast. Neither sending down yards
nor handling a spare spar was comfortable work,
for she was rolling very much and shipping a
quantity of water. I did not leave the mast-head
till we had her dismantled, and from my post of
vantage I could see the poor carpenter cutting the
new mast when the ship was steady, and holding on
for all he was worth when the ship took a big roH,
which made me think that we aloft had the best of
a bad bargain.

It was dinner-time before we were allowed down,
and all the afternoon I worked with the carpenter,
old Jack taking my wheel, until daylight failed us,
when I, as well as the carpenter, was allowed to go
below till daybreak. At noon the next day the
mast was ready for going aloft, and I went back to
my station at the mast-head. The Italian was a
great help to me although he did not know a word
of English, but sending a mast aloft is the same all
the world over, and he knew it all thoroughly.
Soon after dark we had the upper topsail set again,
and the top-gallant mast up, but the weather had
become so bad that we were allowed to go below
till daybreak. Next day we set the top-gallant
sail, but the royal was not sent aloft till we had
rounded the Horn.

Sailoi's in well-found, well-fed, and well-disciplined
ships would say the loss of a topmast was nothing
to talk about, but it meant a good deal to us, for
there had been no alteration in our stores, except
that the beef and pork were about a year older, and

TO CALLAO AND HOME AGAIN 267

the biscuits were showing signs of life. We were
still being robbed of our measure of water and
everything else, but fortunately there was no sign
of grog throughout the passage home. I have
omitted to mention that we were bound to Cowes
for orders.

When we got into fine weather again the usual
cleaning, painting, and scraping was the order of
the day, and a very tall order it was, for all the
yards, masts, and blocks were bright, so everything
from the truck to the deck had to be scraped. My
part was to make a mizzen staysail, and Jack
worked with me when he was not at the wheel.

One day when we were crossing the N. E. Trades
there were three men and a boy aloft scraping yards,
the boy being at the lee main-top-gallant yardarm.
Suddenly he fell from aloft and struck the main-
yard, falling from that to the rail, which he struck
very heavily, and then fell overboard. We knew
he must be killed, but we put out a boat which
proceeded to what we thought was the right place,
but they could see no sign of the unfortunate boy,
so they returned to the ship.

All went on as usual till we were close to the
Western Islands, when we were told that the coffee
was done and the tea so short that we could not
have an extra allowance to take the place of the
coffee. Two days later we were told that the
tobacco was done, but that did not trouble me
much, for I always had a pound in reserve for such
an emergency. It was a more serious matter to be
bound in-channel in the month of February with

268 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

no coffee and only lively biscuits for breakfast.
Fortunately, I had saved up about thirty pounds
of my allowance of biscuits, so I proceeded to make
a substitute for coffee. I baked the biscuits in the
oven till they were a dark brown colour, then put
them in a canvas bag and pounded them with a
mallet till they were crushed into a fine powder,
which took the place of coffee for the rest of the
voyage. It was not exactly Mocha, but we thought
it was better than nothing. When I was in the
little brig with old Captain Blowhard he told us on
one occasion that the coffee would soon run out,
and I suggested that he should add some biscuits,
which he did. It turned out to be quite an im-
provement on the pure article, and if only they had
given us notice in time in the Starlight we could
have made her coflPee spin out in the same manner.

CHAPTER XVIII

I LEAVE THE STARLIGHT AND JOIN THE CITY LINE

WE had a very fair passage in-channel, and ran
in through the Needles just as the wind
began to strengthen. We anchored off Cowes about
seven p.m., and we all rejoiced at the knowledge
that within a few days we should gain our in-
dependence. We chalked for watches, and I had
the good fortune to get the first watch, which was
from eight to nine-thirty, so I promised myself a
fine long sleep, but " the best-laid schemes of mice
and men gang aft," as the Baboo said. When I
was relieved by llory I made straight for the fore-
castle, and was in the act of undressing when the
cable gave a sudden jerk and the bight fell on the
forecastle deck — a sure sign that the cable had
snapped. The captain and mates came running
forward to see what had happened, and then called
us out to let go the second anchor, which was soon
done, but to everyone's great astonishment it had
taken only part of the chain that had Ijcen ranged
when we discovered that the second anchor had
gone the same way as the first. We lashed the
two kedge-anchors together, and lowered them over
the bow with a hawser fast to them. The next
order was for all hands to go down the hold and
dig for the spare anchor which we knew to be about

«69

270 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

six or seven feet deep in the guano. That would
have been no hard task if only we had had a place
to throw the guano as we dug it up, but, as it was,
we did not get the anchor over the bow till breakfast
time, when we found that we were very close to our
original berth.

The captain went on shore to report his arrival
and the loss of two anchors, with sixty fathom of
chain, and returned in the evening with the news
that we were bound to Rotterdam, but we would
have to wait some time for the anchors, as the forge
men were out on strike. The next day he again
went on shore and returned in the evening with
Mrs. Diable, which was a happy event for us, for
from that hour we received better treatment. The
fresh-water pump was free to us, beef and biscuits
were supplied ad lib., and there was not a word of
complaint heard among us, although we were still
kept without coffee. Some ill-feeling sprang up
again a few days later. For three days I had been
at work on a stage over the stern, painting the
ship's name, port, and some scroll work round about
it, when one of the East Coast men came over on
the quiet to see how I was getting on. I was
sitting on the middle of the stage, putting on the
finishing touches, and I could neither see nor hear
what was taking place on deck, but, as my friend
was standing, his head just reached the mooring
pipe, and he heard Mrs. Diable say to her husband,
" What is that nice smell ? "

" Oh, that's the smell of the pea-soup blowing
along from the galley," he replied.

LEAVES THE STARLIGHT 271

" What, William ! " she exclaimed, " do you give
that to the sailors ? "

" Yes, my dear," answered Diable.

" 'Deed to goodness ! There's well off they are
when they get such a fine savoury dish to dinner."

When the story was told in the forecastle neither
the pea-soup nor the woman who had praised it
received a blessing. The peas were really done, and
our soup was made from the dust and maggots at
the bottom of the cask, so Mrs. Diable might with
advantage have taken a hint from the Geordies —
" A' ye that knaw nowt should say nowt."

On the second morning as we lay off Cowes, the
ship that had loaded close to us at the Chincha
Islands, and which we had left about two-thirds
loaded, arrived at Cowes, got her orders for Rotter-
dam, and left the same day.

On the tenth day we received the anchors and
chains and proceeded to our destination, which we
reached three days afterwards. It was dark before
we anchored, but nothing was said to us about
leaving, which disturbed our peace of mind very
much, for we noticed, for the first time, in looking
over our articles of agreement, that, if the captain
liked, he could take us to a loading port. Our
fears were set at rest at six o'clock the next morning,
when the mate came forward and, after asking if we
were all there, said : " We are done with you now ;
you can pack up and leave, ^'ou will be paid off
at the British Consulate to-morrow morning at ten
o'clock."

For a while we did nothing but cheer (though if

272 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

the Diables had shown face they might have been
saluted with groans), and I thought that was the
happiest day of my life, but soon spite held full
sway in the forecastle. The sick Swede set the ball
a-roUing by throwing six handspikes overboai'd, the
Italian followed suit with a large top-block, and
another man bent the bos''n's chair on to the end of
a four-inch rope and stuck it out of the bow mooring
pipe. When the chair caught the tide, away went
the rope overboard till we heard the end go plump
and then all was still.

Soon after daylight came in we all went on shore,
the Scottish contingent keeping together, and I
called at the Leith steamer, where I arranged about
passages for the four of us. My only trouble now
was to keep hold of old Jack till we reached
Glasgow, so I restricted him to three glasses a day
till we got on board the steamer, when I reduced
it to two, giving the other one to Rory.

We all mustered at the Consulate at the appointed
time. I was the third to be called in, and when I
arrived at the pay-table I found Captain Diable
standing behind the pay-clerk. He turned on me
one of the sour distortions of his face which did
duty for a smile, and said, " Well, Harry, how are
you going home ? "

Just then the pay-clerk passed over my dis-
charge with thirty-eight pounds lying on it, and
I observed that Diable had given me " Character
for ability V. G. ; Conduct G.," so I answered,
" That is none of your business ; I will pay my
way wherever I go."

LEAVES THE STARLIGHT 273

Under those circumstances I saw the last of the
most cruel-hearted tyrant a sailor ever sailed under,
but before I drop him out of my story I will tell
the last I heard of him. It was in Colombo thirteen
years after the above incident, and I was in com-
mand of the S.S. City of Cambridge. I had gone
ashore for two hours to be out of the way of the
coal dust, called at the agents'", and then went to
the dubash's office, where I could sit in the cool
veranda and see my steamer lying in the bay. I
had been alone for some time, when the dubash
came in, followed by a captain whom he introduced
to me as Captain Bills of the ship Nemo.

" How do you do 't " I said. " Sit down and have
a chat."

He sat down, and his first words were, " Well,
Harry, I see you don't remember me."

" I do not," I said, with some surprise.

" Well, well, there you are, you see ! \ow that
you are a steamboat you don't know us poor fellows
in sailing ships," he protested, humorously.

" Well, if you know me," I returned, " you will
allow I am never too proud to shake the Hipper of
an old whale. But tell me where we have met."

" I was mate of the Starlight,''^ he answered.

I jumped to my feet and seized both of his hands,
and an hour later he did not think I was too high-
minded to acknowledge an old ship-mate. W^e had
all liked the mate, for he was a nice fellow, but,
like myself, he had shipped in the wrong ship that
voyage. He said tiiat both he and the carf)enter
had tried to make Captain Diable believe that the

274 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

gear off the deck had been stolen by harbour thieves,
but I told him it was all done by the foreign sailors,
and that I would not have stopped them if they had
gone aft and collared the captain. I also told him
that, if it had not been for my intervention, the
Italian would have come down from aloft when we
were sending the new topmast up and given Diable
a few inches of cold steel.

Captain Bills told me how the next crew had
brought Diable up by the round turn, with the
result that he stopped on shore and bought a
public-house, which he managed till he died, not
long afterwards.

If this story should ever reach Captain Bills'
eye, I hope he will communicate with me for auld
acquaintance sake.

In due course we arrived in Glasgow from Rotter-
dam, and I parted with old Jack, never to see him
again. Readers may think that we should have
taken strong measures to keep our captain in order,
but I must remind them that this happened just
about the time that seven sailors were condemned
to death for the Flowery Land murders. The crew
of the ship Flowery Land had been so badly treated
that they mutinied, and eventually killed the cap-
tain and officers, with the result that five men were
hanged at the Old Bailey and two were transported
for life. There was only one alternative — to report
the matter to the Consul — and I have described
what happened to that attempt.

The old sailors used to say : " When a dungaree
jumper is seen coming into the court, Justice flies

LEAVES THE STARLIGHT 275

out at the window," and that was very true in those
days, although matters are very different now.

I had made up my mind during this voyage to
have no more to do with sailors' boarding-houses, so
I left my chest and bag at the railway station until
I found lodgings, which did not take me long.
The boarding-house or sailors' home is a necessity
for men who spend all their money, but I never
worked that way. After each voyage I made I
added a little to my account in the Savings Bank,
and when the voyages became longer ones I arranged
with myself that ten pounds should go that way
every voyage until further notice.

I was most happy and comfortable in my new
lodgings, and before I left Glasgow I coaxed two
other fellows to try my plan, which they did, with
the same result. I was honoured with a visit from
Mrs. Boardinghouse one evening. She had become
so frail that she had to come in a cab and be helped
upstairs by the driver. She tried to coax me back
to her house, first by scolding, then by crying, and
in one part of her lecture she said, " I have always
been very pleased to have you, and now I am getting
old and near the end you must come back, and I
will do something for you."

She meant that she would remember me in her
will, but I objected to sporting about on money
made out of homeward-bound sailors, and outward-
bound sailors' advances, and she had to leave nie
when she found she could not turn me out of the
tack that I was on. I had seen some very shady
work in the boarding-house from time to time.

276 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

although I must admit I was always well treated.
Up to that time I had never taken an advance note
from any ship I had been in, but I had seen men go
into the kitchen to report to Mrs. Boardinghouse
that they had shipped, and to hand over their
advance notes. Jack would be invited to sit down,
the whisky would be produced, and half an hour
later some of the other boarders would be called in
to carry Jack to his bed. He would see no more
of that month's advance, but perhaps when he
was going away Mrs. Boardinghouse would say,
" Where's your bed. Jack ? "

" I haven't got one," would be the answer.

" Oh, but you must have one. Mary, run down
to Mr. M'SnuflTs and buy Jack a bed — hurry up.
Come away into the kitchen. Jack — she'll be back
in a minute."

Then the benevolent lady would give him a small
bottle of whisky, containing a gill and called a
" bosom friend," and Jack would go off quite
happily, saying what a good friend to the sailors
was Mrs. Boardinghouse. Nevertheless, she had
only expended about five shillings on Jack in return
for a month's pay.

Although I was taking my ease at my new
lodgings I was also keeping my weather eye open
for a " City " ship, and after I had been there two
weeks I took my first walk down to the shipping
office to see an old friend who kept the sailor's
reading-room. In the course of conversation I told
him I had determined to ship in a " City " liner if I
had to wait a month for one, and he said the City

JOINS THE CITY LINE 277

of Shanghai had put back to the Tail of the Bank ,
for some unknown reason, so if I called next day he
might be able to tell me more about it. I called
the following morning and he told me the City Line
superintendent had been down to the ship, with the
result that the captain had been discharged and the
crew, sailor-like, had all left, though there was
nothing wrong as far as they were concerned. I
also learned that a new captain had been appointed
who would be at the shipping office at ten o'clock
next morning to sign on a new crew, and I knew
that there might be some trouble in getting men, as
the reason for her putting back had been kept very
quiet, so I went straight home, turned out my chest
to see what I required for another voyage, bought
the usual odds and ends, and packed my chest and
bag again — so sure was I of getting a berth.

Ten o'clock next morning found me at the
shipping office, and very soon afterwards the newly
appointed master of the City of Shanghai arrived —
Captain Richard Soden. The men hung back a
little at first, but before long we had enough, and I
had signed on in the City Line, not to leave it, as it
turned out, for thirty-eight yeax^.

Wit joined the ship next day at Greenock, and
left in tow at daybreak on the following morning,
with a large crew and all sober. The mate and
second mate were fine officers, and I was favourably
impressed with their civil manner of addressing us.
Before we were down channel as far as the Tuskar, I
was so pleased with my new (juarters that I could
hardly contain myself, for there was plenty to eat.

278 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

^nd it was all of a good quality. The after 'tween-
deeks seemed to me to be nearly loaded with
potatoes and onions, and I found I had said good-
bye to salt horse, for the City Line did not carry
that article. The beef was corned — not salt — and
the pork was also first-class ; in fact, I had never seen
the like of it since I went to sea, and all the other
stores were of the same excellence. I soon found
out that the quality was very closely watched by the
marine superintendents — Captain James and Cap-
tain Francis Brown — the two best friends to sea-
faring people I have ever fallen in with, and that
without flourishing of trumpets, but in a quiet,
unostentatious way.

The crew were not only large in numbers, but
they were also the heaviest men I had sailed with,
the majority of them being " big, braw Hielan'men."
They were not exactly experts in seamanship, but
they were all willing, hard-working fellows, and it
was a pleasant change to sail with so many of my
own countrymen.

The ship having worked down channel, and having
sailed back and down again, it had told on her sails
very much, and an assistant was wanted for the sail-
maker, who had more work than he could manage.
The mate asked me if I could turn my hand to sail-
making, and as I said I could, he set me to repair a
top-gallant sail that had been blown away during
the night. I brought my tools aft, arranged a plank
across two buckets for a bench and overhauled the
sail with the sailmaker, who gave me a bolt of canvas
and left me to cut for myself. The mate called him

JOINS THE CITY LINE 279

back to cut the canvas, but I heard him reply that
it was unnecessary to cut for me. Towards evening
the mate asked me if I was a sailmaker, and I
answered, " No, Tm a sailor."

"But you must have a liking for that branch?"
he said.

" No," I replied, " I never liked a sitting job, but
I try to do as I am told. If you want me to keep
at this, of course I will."

" I want you to sleep in at night," he said, " and
work all day till the sailmaker is able to do it him-
self."

The sailmaker was a fine young fellow, and we got
on well together. He gave me a few wrinkles, and
perhaps he learned a few from me, for he had had
only six years of that work, while I had been at it
for ten years, off and on.

Our captain was an Englishman, and a thorough
gentleman. He did not interfere with the general
work of the ship, although he was always about, and
when we got into fine weather he started a naviga-
tion class for the apprentices from ten to eleven-
thirty, every forenoon. He also invited anyone from
the forecastle who liked to attend — a chance which
I was very sorry to miss. It came to the mate's
ears, and after speaking to me about it, he kindly
made arrangements for me to attend the classes.
By way of return for his consideration I spent half
of my breakfast and dinner hours at the sails, and
so made up my time.

I had a quadrant and Norie's Epitome with ine,
for I had made up my mind that I would rise in my

280 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

profession if I could. I was fortunate in having a
splendid master to start with, and it happened that
none of the apprentices had had such an opportunity
before, so we all started on the same footing. None
of them had a quadrant, and I lent them mine every
Sunday to take the altitude of the sun at noon ; I
remember how pleased they used to be when their
reading agreed with the captain's.

On that voyage, and many succeeding ones, a
considerable portion of my time was spent in teach-
ing the apprentices seamanship, and some of them
were very quick in picking up knowledge about
knots, plaits and sennit, turning in shrouds, seizings,
etc. They also learned to heave the lead without
dropping it inboard about the fore-rigging, and in
the last dog-watch every evening I told them as
much as I knew. Captain Soden used to come along
and stand at the door to watch what was going on,
and the mate also took a great interest in our pro-
ceedings. If we wanted a skein of marline or house-
line, or some other article, I got one of the boys to
ask the mate for it, and he never refused. Of
course some of the articles we made in our own time
were given to him for the ship's use ; such as belts
for heaving the lead, and sword-mats for boat-
lashings.

I had fine young lads to deal with, and passed
many a pleasant hour with them, asking such ques-
tions as : — If you are looking in the sail-locker for a
foresail or mainsail, how can you tell the one from
the other ? The mainsail has three bowling cringles
and two bowling bridles, while the foresail has two

JOINS THE CITY LINE 281

bowling cringles and one bowling bridle ; but very
few, even experienced, sailors can answer that off-
hand.

Another veiy simple question, which has floored
many a one, from apprentices to ship-masters, is : —
How many points are there in the compass r The
answer invariably given is that there are thirty-two
points and sixty-four half-points, but as a matter of
fact there are thirty-two points, thirty-two half-
points, and sixty-four quarter-points.

My first passage in the ('ity Line was such a
grand change from the previous voyage I had made
that I thought nothing could tempt me away from
it, and I felt that I could not do enough to serve
them. There was only one drawback : our cook
was lazy, dirty, and stupid, and he did not know
whether to boil a potato for three minutes or three
hours. It was quite common in those days to take
a man if he said he was a baker, but that was not
a safe guide, and his efforts to make soft tack
frequently meant a mere waste of flour. The one
we had in the City of Shanghai had passed himself
off' to the captain as a baker, but what he did not
know about baking would fill a book.

On one occasion we were put to the painful
necessity of trying him bv court-martial for care-
lessly burning a sea-pie nearly to a cinder. As was
customary in the Cities, a pig was killed when we
were south, running down our longitude, one-half
being kept for the cabin use, the other half given
to us, so we made a famous sea-pie. We peeled
the potatoes, stowed the bones and onions in the
19

282 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

ground tier with meat and potatoes on top, laid a
deck of dough (which I had made), stowed more
potatoes and meat in the 'tween-decks, and finished
with an upper deck. Pepper and salt, of course,
were added, and water poured down the hole in the
deck till it was full up. A small pot was filled
with prepared gravy to feed the pie during the two
and a half hours'* boiling it required. The big pot,
containing the pie, and the small one, were taken to
the cook at eight o'clock, with full instructions for
him to add the gravy as time went on, and on no
account to let it boil dry. When the bell struck at
noon two men went to the galley for the pie, while
the rest of us smacked our lips in anticipation of a
grand dinner, but when the big pot was brought in
and the lid lifted off, a change came over the spirit
of bur dream. A vile smell first greeted us, and
examination showed that everything was burnt
black except the upper deck and that had a horrible
taste. We found on a visit to the galley that the
liquid which had been supplied to feed the pie was
still standing where we left it and had not even
been put on the fire to boil. That was a clear case
against the cook, and when the dinner was over and
the galley cleared up, the culprit was summoned to
the forecastle to stand his trial. He had no de-
fence to make, so he was strapped over the body
of the windlass and received twelve cuts with a
rope-end.

That is an example of many dinners which that
man spoiled for us during the passage. " God
gives us food but the devil sends the cooks," said

JOINS THE CITY LINE 283

the old sailors. But I liked my ship, and in spite of
a bad cook I lived better than I had done since I
went to sea. So time wore on till we arrived in
Calcutta, after ninety-two days, and were appointed
to the moorings abreast of where the Sailors' Home
now stands.

CHAPTER XIX

ADVENTURES IN CALCUTTA AND AFLOAT

THE ship City of Vienna was in Calcutta with
us, and in the evening, aftei* work was done,
some of us would visit her, and some of her people
would come to our ship, and we passed the time
with songs, and playing on such musical instruments
as we possessed. One evening we went on shore
with all the instruments we could muster, which
comprised a flute, concertina, tin-whistle, and bag-
pipes, the latter being played very creditably by
the cook of the City of Vienna. We formed up
just abreast of the Bank of Bengal, and marched
down the Strand Road to Eden Gardens, which
we reached just as the band played the National
Anthem. We waited till it was finished and tlien
the cook struck up a reel. The Scotch people
sitting in their carriages caught the infection of
the music at once, and leaving their seats, they
started dancing on the lawn. Our party contained
six or seven apprentices dressed in uniform, which
helped to give us a respectable appearance, and
when the police finally asked us to stop, it was done
politely, and with the plea that it was after music
hours.

We were so elated over our little bit of fun that,
instead of returning to the ship, we marched into
284

ADVENTURES IN CALCUTTA 285

the town, entering by Old Court-house Street, with
the Hute, whistle, and concertina doing duty till we
reached Tank Square, when the piper struck up
again, and we marched round and round the square.
The verandas were soon filled with our countrymen,
who could not continue to sit at dinner when their
inspiring national music was being played in the
streel:. On our second round turn we noticed that
an unusual number of native police had collected,
but we continued our frolic in happy ignorance of
the fact that we were breaking the law. As we
passed the Scotch Kirk for the third time, the police,
headed by a European inspector, stopped us and
took us in custody to the floating police station
close to our ship. A few of our number bolted in
the dark, but I did not intend to try, for I could
not see what harm we had done. The instruments
were taken froui us and we were lodged in the lock-
up, but in a short time we were called on deck to
muster before an official. A number of gentlemen
— Scotch, tio doubt — were in attendance to vouch
for our good behaviour, and in a few minutes we
were dismissed. Open-air meetings and processions
were forbidden in India from the time of the Mutiny
till the Salvation Army commenced to take a good
hol'l some years ago.

I did not learn who our deliverers were till nine
years afterwards, when I was chief oHicer of the City
of Carthage, homeward bound from C'alcutta. As
we had a fair number of passengers a concert was
held one evening, and a certain gentleman was put
down for a reading. When the time for hi.s con-

286 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

tribution arrived he related some of his Indian
experiences, among which he told the story of the
sailors walking round Tank Square, headed by the
bagpipes, and afterwards being locked up, where-
upon he and several friends left their dinner-tables
and went to the magistrate to get them released.
When he had finished speaking I went over to him
and heartily shook his hand, telling him I was one
of the party he had rescued from imprisonment.

The next piece of fun took place on our liberty
day, when we had received an advance of money.
Four of us — two apprentices and two from the fore-
castle— had arranged to go ashore together, and the
first thing we did when we got there was to strike a
bargain with a ghurry wallah (cab-driver) to drive
us about the town for six or eight hours. Of course,
the ghurry that is on the look-out for " Liberty
Jack " does not belong to the Al class, but to the
very lowest order, and is called by Jack a " rope-
yarn ghurry," as it is usually held together by string
or rope-yarns, the horse being on a par with the
carriage. The usual hire is three rupees — though
of course the man asks for four at first — and it must
be paid in advance, for he knows, from past experi-
ence of Jack, that a bird in the hand is worth two
in the bush.

Having made our bargain we drove off to the
ijazaar, feeling as happy and proud as if the whole
place belonged to us, when suddenly, and without
the slightest warning, the bottom of the ghurry fell
out. Fortunately we sustained no damage, as the
horse was jogging along very slowly, and the first

ADVENTURES IN CALCUTTA 287

thing we did after picking ourselves up was to ask
for the return of our money, but the ghurry wallah
declared he had given it to his master, and he did
not know where to find him. The man, of course,
wanted to return home, but we saw the matter in a
different light and wanted some value for our money,
so we arranged that one of us should sit up beside
the driver and one stand up like a footman on the
stern-sheets, while the other two should go inside
and walk. In this order we arrived at the Bazaar
Chundahchok to do our shopping, and quite a crowd
watched our progress.

As we made our purchases we placed the parcels
on the seats which were still in their original posi-
tion but were not strong enough to bear our weight.
From the Bazaar we went to Baboo House, and from
there to a native refreshment house for our dinner,
which, of course, consisted of curry and rice. After
dinner we went to the China Bazaar, where we had a
great crowd round us, wondering why we were walk-
ing inside our ghurry, and then we made tracks for
the ship. When we reached the ghat the ghurry
wallah started the usual bowing and scraping for
"backsheesh," but we did not give him a copper, for
we believed it was a planned affair.

A week later an illustrated paper told the story
of the jolly tars going shopping in a bottomless
ghurry, and gave a picture depicting our progress.
So far so good, but they spoiled the account by sav-
ing we were drunk, when, as a matter of fact, none
of us had drunk anything but lemonade all day.

In search of some of our mates we peeped into a

288 FROM SHIPS-BOY TO SKIPPER

few of such noted houses as " The Hole in the
Wall," " The Numbers," and " Smoky Jack's," but
that slight look — the only one I have ever had — was
quite enough, and it helped to account to me for a
good deal of illness among the crew after liberty
day. Cholera was rife in those days ; we were still
drinking river water, and it only required a little
carelessness in diet, or a dose of Flag-Street-made
brandy, to send a man to Circular Road (the ceme-
tery). We invariably left Calcutta minus one or
two of our original crew, and on one occasion we left
five behind. I blame the men far more than the
climate, for those who took care of themselves, and
did not touch native grog, very seldom had any sick-
ness, while for my own part, during my twenty-five
years in the Indian trade, I never had a sore head
nor missed a meal through illness.

But on one occasion, when I was chief officer of
the City of Edinburgh, I met with a severe accident
which necessitated treatment by a surgeon. We
were moored at No. 7 Jetty in Calcutta, discharging
cargo at full power one forenoon in the month of
May, when I noticed that a Rangoon package had
been discharged on to the jetty instead of going
overside into the boat. I immediately jumped up
on the bulwark and sprang towards the jetty, but,
unfortunately, my foot slipped on a brass coupling
on the rail, and I fell overboard between the ship
and the jetty. When I recovered my senses a few
minutes later I found myself sitting on one of the
cross-beams with my right hand lying on my knee,
palm upwards, and blood running down my sleeve.

ADVENTURES IN CALCUTTA 289

By this time a big crowd of natives and the crew
had come down to help me, and I at once asked
a native to give me his head-dress — a long, white
cloth — with which I had my arm bound to my side
with my hand across my chest, and then told them
to get a ghurry to take me to the hospital, where I
was treated by the best surgeon in India — Dr.
Partridge. The news had spread lapidly, and a
number of friends came to see me, even before the
doctor, who, on his arrival, could hardly get to the
bedside for my friends, several of whom — fortunately
for me — were also friends of the doctor. My injury
proved to be a compound comminuted fracture of
the upper arm, the lower third of the bone being
broken into about twenty-four pieces, and it appeared
to be a case for amputation. However, the doctor
ascertained from one of my friends, who was also his
friend, that I bore a good character for sobriety and
general good conduct, so he, with two assistants,
put me under chloroform and proceeded to put the
bone together. To the doctor's satisfaction my
recovery was so rapid that he allowed me to leave
the hospital after thirteen days, as my ship was then
sailing, and the captain engaged a fourth mate to
carry out my orders, for I had to keep my watch
sitting on a camp-stool.

So far as I know there was no place in Calcutta
in those days where sailors could pass an hour on
shore in the evenings, but .some years afterwards
some friends of the sailors started a reading-room
which was very convenient for those who wanted to
write letters home, as it was almost impossible to do

290 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

so on board on account of the mosquitoes. It had,
however, in my opinion, one great drawback — it was
situated at the corner of Flag Street and Dalhousie
Square, within a few yards of " The Numbers." I
am no great advocate of sailors' rests and reading-
rooms in foreign parts, for they tend to make Jack
dissatisfied with his home on board ship, where as a
rule the quarters are fairly comfortable if only the
men will look after them as they should do, but
when they have a reading-room to fall back on many
of them become too lazy to scrub out their quarters,
trim their lamp, and keep the place in order. For
my own part I always stayed by my ship at night in
all ports, and I was able to take stock of how others
fared who spent their evenings ashore.

There are a number of good. Christian people in
Calcutta who have done a great deal to make Jack's
stay in port pleasant, but there are also a number
who are very poor hands at it. I remember two
missionaries, one Church of England and one Dis-
senting, who used widely different methods. The
Dissenter always called at our ship at eight o'clock
in the morning, and first walked aft where he would
be invited to join the captain and officers at break-
fast. After breakfast he would steer for the fore-
castle, but the men, on noticing his approach, would
pass the word along that "Holy Joe" was coming,
and when he reached the forecastle he would find it
empty.

On the other hand, the Church of England padre
called soon after six o'clock when the men were
having tea, and went straight to the forecastle, where

ADVENTURES IN CALCUTTA 291

lie greeted the men in a cheery manner. Then he
would sit down amongst them and talk of the coun-
try and the natives, their customs and religion, till
the men had finished their tea, when he would say,
" Now we will read a chapter of Scripture," and pro-
ceed to do so, explaining and expounding as he went
on. I know for a fact that he stopped the men from
going ashore many a night, and of course they all
had invitations to Sunday service, or Wednesday
night meetings, at the Seamen's Floating Bethel, of
which he was in charge. On those occasions the
padre was always at the gangway to welcome the
men, and at the close of the service he doffed his
surplice and returned to his station at the gangway
to shake hands as they departed.

After a stay of three weeks in Calcutta we had an
uneventful passage home. In those days the City-
Line ships discharged their cargoes in the Shad well
Basin, London Dock, and I staved at the Sailor's
Home in Wells Street till we were paid off. I then
returned to my lodgings in Glasgow and stayed
there for two weeks, when I decided to join the
R.N.U.,and I put in a month's drill in H.M.S. Lioti
at Greenock, I found very comfortable and cheap
lodgings in Greenock, and as my pay was a guinea
per week, I got on very well. I put in the full
month at drill because I had my eye on a fine new
"City" ship — the City of lulinburgh — and I had to
wait two months for her.

I remember the day when I applied to Captain
Dick lor a berth as A.B. He looked me over and

292 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

said, " You are very young ; how long have you been
at sea?"

" Over ten years," I replied.

" Have you ?" he said, still doubtfully.

" Yes, sir," I said, " and those two men ratlining
down the fore-rigging were shipmates with me six
years ago." (The ship was still in the hands of the
riggers.)

" Well, you must be older than you look. Give
me your discharge " — which meant that he had
accepted me.

We sailed from Glasgow in February, 1868, and
had a good hammering down channel, and by the
time we reached the Tuskar our rigging stood much
in need of setting up, but we had to keep on three
days longer till a fine morning set in, when we
started reeving off tackle. The contents of the
boson's locker were turned out, and when the tackles
were aloft and all ready to start we began to take
off the seizings. Just then the captain came along
hanging a marline-spike round his neck, and saying,
as he jumped up to the forward lanyard of the main
rigging, '' Now we'll see who are sailors and who are
not.'' This had the effect of making nearly all
hands scurry away to the other side, where the mate
was master of ceremonies, but having started at the
second lanyard I was not going to show the white
feather, though, of course. I did my " speedy ut-
most," like Tani O' Shanter's horse.

During tiiat forenoon the captain gave a few of
the men a piece of his mind on the- matter, but he
did not once speak to me, either for good or evil.

We passed an American ship hove-to.

I'age 293.

ADVENTURES AFLOAT 293

I noticed from the first that the City of Edin-
burgh was not such a fast sailer as the City of
Shanghai, and my opinion was confirmed when we
fell in with some well-known clippers, but we found
that she could run well and was fairly dry. Our
three best days' work running our easting down were
305, 305, and 320 knots on consecutive days, and on
one of those days we passed an American ship hove
to under a close-reefed top-sail. We signalled her,
and found she was bound to Calcutta with ice. She
arrived in Calcutta on the day we sailed, and she
might have been much later if her agents had not
sent a tug three hiuidred miles down the Bay of
Bengal to look for her and tow her up, because the
stock of ice in Calcutta had run done.

We sailed in the height of the S. W. Monsoon and
were a long time getting clear, but she was such a
comfortable ship at sea that it did not matter much
to us. Blow high, blow low, watches went on
regularly, and, having plenty to eat, we were cjuite
happy. One evening when we were crossing the
N.E. Trades we saw a ship coming along in our
wake, overhauling us fast, and took her for a tea-
clipper, till she passed under our lee, when, to our
great astonishment, she proved to be the City of
Dublin. She had arrived in Calcutta two days
before we sailed, and when we reached London we
found that she had arrived four days before us.

On the day after our arrival in I^ndon I asked
the C'aptain for a reference, as I wanted to pass the
Board of Trade examination for second mate, and
he gave it to me at once, though he wa.s usually

294 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

very sparing with his references. I was offered a
run round in the City of Dublin^ which I was glad
to accept, for I would save my train fare and get
three pounds ten shillings into the bargain. The
City of Dublin proved her speed again by over-
hauling and passing several steamers on her way
down Channel.

I went back to my old lodgings in Glasgow, and
after a few days' holiday, attended a Navigation
School for three weeks before going to Greenock for
my examination. I got through all right, and then
went into the country to spend Christmas and the
New Year with my married sister. As soon as that
was over I returned to the ship to see if Captain
Dick had an opening for me, but I found he had
given up command to Captain John Scott, late of
the City of Dublin. However, I met Captain Dick
on board, and after asking me if I had passed, he
took me down to the cabin and said to the new
captain, " Look here, John. Here is a young man
I can recommend to you as bos''n."

" He looks young," was the inevitable answer.

" Never mind that, John. He's a sailor, and you
won't find a better man for the job."

During this colloquy I felt more uncomfortable
than I did under examination, and I was pleased
when Captain Scott said he would take me and I
was pleased to go. I did not like the way people
remarked on my youthful appearance as if it inter-
fered with my knowledge of seamanship.

Sailing day came, and I worked the oracle as well
as I could to get all the men on board sober, so

ADVENTURES AFLOAT 295

that when we reached Greenock the permanent
pilot for the City Line, Mr. M'Kelvie, congratulated
me on the men and on the way the work was done.
The wind was then beginning to blow hard, and l)y
the time we reached the Cumbraes it was blowing a
strong S.W. gale. The tug was quite unable to
tow us through the Heads, and, after remaining on
the same spot for two hours, she turned round and
towed us into Rothesay Bay, where we remained i'or
four days till the gale moderated, which was a good
opportunity for me to get everything into apple-pie
order. We had a very rough time in channel, but
we got through it without the slightest damage.

No unusual incidents occurred on the voyage
until we lost a man overboard in the Indian Ocean.
We were about the latitude of Mauritius, going
along with a fine, fair wind, and carrying just as
much as she could stand, when, with short notice,
we got into a very rough sea, and, as she was
plunging heavily, the topsail yards were lowered,
but still the sea increased. One of the men in the
mate's watch went on to the jib-boom for some
purpose when a big roller came along, the jib-boom
went right under, and the man was washed off.
We got out a boat, for there was no broken water
although the swell was high, but we saw nothing of
our ship-mate.

As soon as we got the boat up and started on our
course again we passed a ship hove to under her
lower main-topsails, and when she saw us coming
close to her she showed a black board with tlie
following words : " Have had heavy cyclon«> ; sails

296 FROM SHIFS-BOY TO SKIPPER

blown away." She was the Pride of Denmark — a
noted tea-clipper — and she arrived at Calcutta three
days after us. We had very little of the wind but
a good deal of sea from the cyclone, and, the re-
mainder of the passage being fine, we arrived at the
Sandheads, ninety-two days from Rothesay Bay.

We had a very hot time in Calcutta and there
were always about half the crew on the sick-list ; we
had two fatal cases of cholera. Sailing day came
round, and we sailed with two lady passengers and
their two children. When we got to the Sandheads
we encountered strong S. W. Monsoons, which seemed
to blow new life into us, and were soon employed
shortening sail. During the middle watch of the
first night at sea the second mate was reported to be
down with cholera, and within a few hours both
ladies were attacked by the same disease. The
second mate died after six hours'" illness and was
buried at once, but the ladies pulled through, though
they did not fully regain their strength till they
reached home.

When things looked so black in the cabin we re-
moved the children to the boys' house, and the new
second mate (promoted from third), and I, each
undertook the charge of a child. I wanted the two-
year-old girl, because I had a natural preference for
girls, and the other child was a boy four years of
age, but the second mate also wanted her, though
from another point of view — we would have to carry
them about with us a good deal, and the boy was
twice the weight of the girl. We tossed for it, and
the boy fell to my lot. The children would not stop

ADVENTURES AFLOAT 297

in their bunks when we went on deck, and we had to
tie them on to our backs with shawls and carry them
wherever we went. The second mate was better off
than I, for he could keep his watch on the quarter-
deck, but I had to cruise round the deck to see that
the gear was all right. When the weather improved
we were able to set our burdens down if we wanted
to do a piece of work, but it was weeks before we
were relieved of our charges.

Fifteen years later, when I was in command of the
City of Venice^ outward bound, I happened to tell
this story to a passenger who appeared to be very
interested in my yarn. When I had finished, he
asked me if I would know the boy again if I saw him,
and I replied that I would recognise him by a birth-
mark. The gentleman then took out his pocket-
book and showed me the photograph of a fine-
looking young man, saying as he did so, " That is
my son — the boy you carried on your back."

On our arrival at London we were ordered to dis-
charge at A Jetty, Victoria Dock, and so commenced
the occupation of A Jetty by the City Line, wlych
continued for over thirty years.

My next voyage — my last in a sailing ship — was
as second mate of the City of Benares^ Captain
John Smith, and it was the happiest voyage I had
made. Captain Smith had long been noted for
carrying on ; he knew he had a good crew, and
although the weather might look stormy, he would
keep all sail set as long as the ship would stand it,
and when the time came to drag the sails off her, the
captain would be up to his neck in water, manning
20

298 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

a buntline or clew-garnet. In fine weather he did
his best to prevent any wind from escaping past his
ship without being utilised, and carried numerous
extra sails.

There were the usual skysail, topmast, lower top-
gallant and royal stu'nsails, and the bull-driver or
head water sail, which was set from the whisker end
to the jib-boom end, the tack being hauled out to
the martingale end. In addition to these we carried
a water sail under the lower stu'nsail swinging-boom
— a well-behaved sail, for, as the wind increased, so
the square lower stu'nsail topped up the boom and
kept the water sail from dipping. We also carried
a ringtail with a water sail under it, and on the
deck we had sails called " save-alls " set under the
foot of the courses. Thus every hole by which wind
could escape was closed. Captain Smith evidently
considered it our principal duty, night or day, to
push the ship along, and we made the round voyage
in seven months and eight days, without " springing
a rope-yarn," as Jack would say.

On this voyage I saw something new to me :
every Sunday morning and evening the church-bell
rang out its invitation as regularly as on shore, and
we had prayers every evening during the week from
half-past seven to eight o'clock. The captain looked
well after the apprentices committed to his charge,
morally, physically, and professionally, and he was
nobly assisted by Mrs. Smith when she occasionally
accompanied him on a voyage. When the sailors
of bygone days found themselves in a tight corner,
or were called upon to perform some not very

ADVENTURES AFLOAT 299

pleasant task, they frequently exclaimed, " Who
wouldn't sell his farm and go to sea?" They
meant it sarcastically, but after my voyage in the
City of Benares I could say it with all sincerity.

During this voyage the Suez Canal had been
opened, and though the traffic at first was trifling,
everybody seemed to think it would become the
great ship-way to the East. On our arrival at
Glasgow we learned that the City Line had started
to build four large steamers, but I thought the
Canal would never be a success, and made up my
mind at once to stick by the sailing ships and the
Cape route.

When the sailing day for the City of Benares
drew near I called on Captain Smith, but found, to
my astonishment, that he had been appointed to
the command of S. S. City of Cambrklge (building),
and that if I liked to wait he would find me an
appointment. Some time after that he wrote asking
me to call and see him, and when I did so, told me
the owners wanted all the officers to have master's
certificates, and to have had previous experience
in steam. That closed the door against me, but
Captain Smitli kindly offered to take me as quarter-
master to gain steam experience. I asked him to
take me as bos'n, which he agreed to do, after I had
assured him that I knew how to use the bos'n's pipe.

We sailed in January, 1871, and all went well
till we reached the Suez Canal, when our troubles
began. It was all new work to us, and also to the
Canal pilot, and groundings were frecjuent. No
doubt we were partly to blame for urging the pilot

300 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

to go quicker, but after a little more experience of
Canal navigation we altered our opinion about
greater speed being best for steering straight.

The Canal was very narrow and the bottom and
banks very uneven, which made it impossible to
steer a ship well. Another great drawback at
that time was the large number of dredgers at work,
but we got through without damage, though on the
passage home we lost two and a half blades off our
propeller. With the help of the sails, and a blade
and a half, we reached Alexandria, where we dry-
docked, and shipped our spare propeller, which had
only two blades, for these were the days of solid
screws — no shipping and unshipping of blades.

I had made two voyages as bos'n when I was
promoted to third mate, and after another two
voyages I was made second mate. Three voyages
later I was appointed second mate of the new
steamer City of Carthage^ under Captain Smith,
Mr. Barnet being mate, but after making one
voyage Captain Smith retired from sea, the mate
was appointed captain, and myself mate — having
first obtained two days' leave to pass my examina-
tion for chief officer.

When I had made seven voyages in the City of
Carthage I asked permission to stay ashore for a
time, which was granted, and after I had been at
home for three months, and had obtained a master's
certificate, I reported myself to Captain James
Brown as ready for any appointment. He told
me to join the City of Edinburgh, which was then
building, but was to be launched a few days later.

ADVENTURES AFLOAT SOI

Captain Anderson was by her, and had been for
some time, and I went down to pay my respects to
my new captain.

I made another seven voyages as mate, and was
then appointed to the command of the City of
Cambridge.

On my first voyage in command I took a number
of passengers and a little cargo to Colombo for the
Rathbone Line. At that time there was no break-
water at Colombo, and we anchored off the town
where we got plenty of rolling. I sailed for the
Duke Line next voyage, calling at Madras, and
there, as at Colombo, there was no breakwater, so
we anchored off the coast.

My next voyage was for the Castle Line to the
Cape ports, finishing at Natal, where I received a
wire from the owners to proceed to Rangoon, and
from that port I returned to Liverpool and Glasgow
to load for Calcutta, I had made six voyages in the
City of Cambridge when I was appointed to the
City of Venice.

Some time after I joined the City of Venice I
attended the Free School "tomtisha" in Calcutta
with the gentleman who had been chiefly instru-
mental in saving us from the consequences of playing
bagpipes in Tank Square, and with whom I had
become very friendly. We drove to the fete in my
carriage, which was a sirjgle brougham, and when we
were leaving later on my friend encountered another
Scotch friend whom he invited to come with us, but
there was some difficulty in packing ourselves into
the brougham. My friend said he would drive and

302 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

the coachman could get up behind as syce, but I
said it was infra dig. for a gentleman in a white
" tile " and gold spectacles to drive, so he offered to
go inside and let me take the reins. I agreed, but
first asked if his life was insured, and he, seeing that
I did not know much about driving, pushed me
inside with his friend, jumped up on the box, and
drove off. As a bit of revenge, when the Bishop of
Calcutta and other personages were driving past, I
opened the door, stood on the step, and with my
watch and chain started to heave the lead. My
friend did not notice my game till I called in a loud
voice, "By the mark, five!" and then he looked
down. Tableau !

CHAPTER XX

WORK ASHORE

I REMAINED in command of the City of Venice
for nearly eleven years, and then decided to
leave the sea as my hearing was failing, for it is
absolutely necessary to have good hearing in foggy
weather when the ears have to do duty for the eyes.
I have gone from Dungeness to the Codling Light-
ship with the ear and lead alone, and a blind man
might do the same in a fog. I gave up command in
March, 1891, and my officers and engineers presented
me on that occasion with very handsome silver-
plate.

A short time after I came ashore I tried for the
appointment of harbour master at Ayr, but was un-
successful, a local man being chosen. Some time
after that my late owners offered me, and I accepted,
an appointment in London to superintend the work-
ing of their steamers while in that port.

This post was no sinecure, for the City Line had
taken over the discharging of their own steamers
from the Dock Company, the great dock strike had
lately finished, and the men were rather troublesome,
although they had gained the day over the Dock
Company by the Mansion House agreement. They
had agreed to return to work at sixpence per hour,

303

304 iPROM SttlP'S-fiOY TO SKIPPER

and a number of shipowners, including the City
Line, had advanced the pay to sevenpence, but in
spite of that there was a great deal of trouble for a
year or two. If there happened to be any coal-dust
about the men would ask for " dirty money," which
was an extra shilling per day, or if some of the
cargo was stowed in an awkward place, such as side
wings, under tanks, lazaret or fore peak, they would
deliberately stop work and come in a body to ask
for " awkward money." That was the state of
affairs when I went to London in November, 1891.

The City Line agents in London were Messrs.
Montgomerie & Workman, who now became my
masters on behalf of the owners, and I could not
have fallen into better hands. They had full con-
fidence in me and gave me a free hand, while if I re-
quired help or advice they did their utmost for me.
I am pleased to say, after working under them for
thirteen and a half years, that we never had a cross
word, and I should be very ungrateful if I neglected
to say that not only the principals, but also the office
staff were kindness itself to me, so that a visit to the
office was a pleasant change from the worries of the
dock, which was not a bed of roses.

The discipline, amongst the dockers, if there had
ever been any, was conspicuous by its absence, but I
fought against all their bad habits and encouraged
them in their good ones, till at last I was able to
say that I had two or three hundred men working
about the ship and quay, on whom I could depend
to do their work well, and with a civil tongue: the
latter qualification being a great improvement.

WORK ASHORE 305

When the Dock Company did the discharging
the working hours were from eight a.m. till four
P.M., but I altered that to seven a.m. till six p.m.
summer and winter, which hours have now become
very general.

Occasionally I had a sailing ship to put through ;
sometimes to discharge and ballast, sometimes to
discharge and load outward, and alas, sometimes to
hand over to new owners, for the City Line were
selling their sailing ships as fast as they could find
buyers.

As the dockers settled down to their work, so my
appointment became more pleasant, and nothing
worth chronicling took place until the Boer War
broke out.

The Citt/ of Cambridge was offered to the Govern-
ment as a troop-ship and was accepted, being fitted
out in Glasgow, and the Cit?/ of Vienna^ which had
just arrived from Calcutta, was also offered. We
went on discharging the cargo at the usual hours
till the second day, when the news arrived that
Government had accepted the ship, and then we
worked night and day to get her ready. On the
third day she was fully inspected by Captain Pitt,
R.N., who was accompanied by his draughtsman,
shipwright, and a number of others to take his
orders, and I had the orlop and 'tween decks swept
down and electric lights burning in all dark places
to facilitate the inspection. I also accompanied
Captain Pitt, and was much impressed with the
quickness of his eye and the ease with which he
grasped the arrangements of a strange ship. In less

S06 FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

than an hour he had completed his inspection and
had given orders relative to every horse-stall, mess-
table, storeroom, latrine and cook-house. He told
us we were to be ready to receive troops on board
that day week, and that our ship was to carry 350
men of the 12th Lancers and their horses, the S.S.
Mohawk taking the remainder of the regiment.

Now began the busiest time of my life. We had
to finish discharging the ship, dry-dock her, take
forty water-tanks on board and stow them in the
main-hold, take in 1200 tons of Thames shingle
ballast and trim it all round the water-tanks to
secure them. The supply of labour was much under
the demand and wages rose in consequence. There
were between four and five hundred tradesmen work-
ing on board ; every deck was full of them, with
lamps, candles and forge-fires everywhere, and many
city gentlemen came down to see the sight. The
ship was like a bee-hive, and the work done in her
from Saturday to Saturday was really marvellous.

Saturday, the 21st of October, 1899, was the
appointed sailing day, but one of London's choicest
fogs descended on Friday and wrapped us in its
embraces for five days. The troops arrived on Sun-
day, and men and horses were all shipped, but the
fog was so very dense that we could not even find
our way to the dock-gates. Monday still found us
focr-bound, but at ten a.m. we left the berth for the
dock-gates, and there we lay for an hour as the pilot
would not venture to take her out. There were
seven large steamers in the Basin waiting for us to
start, and the pilot would not go, but I persuaded

WORK ASHORE 807

him to change ships with our second-on-tum pilot
who told me he would go if the change were made,
and he did. As soon as they let go the ropes the
ship was out of sight and we could learn of her pro-
gress by the sound of her whistle only. She was
followed by the S. S. Mohawk ^ but no other ship
ventured out that day. When I could hear no more
of her whistle I set off by train for Tilbury, and
when I reached there, after much delay caused by
the fog, I found that she had passed all right, but
she took twenty-two hours to reach Dover — a dis-
tance she should have covered in five hours.

I soon left Tilbury and proceeded to my home,
where I had not been for nearly a week. Neither
had I been in bed all that time, and when I did
reach my moorings I slept soundly for ten hours,
which was a long watch-below for me.

We had the Citt/ of Vienna home again in April,
1901, but on this occasion she loaded oats and other
stores for Government. The City of Cambridge
also came to London with a large quantity of
Government property saved from the wreck of
H.M.S. Sybille on the Cape coast, and she had to
be thoroughly cleaned and painted to again carry
troops to South Africa.

In June, 1901, we were compelled by the Dock
Company to give up our berth at A Jetty, Victoria
Dock, so we had to shift our quarters to Tilbury
Dock. There seemed to me to be considerable diffi-
culty in the way of the change as far as I was
concerned. When I thought of all the trouble I
had had to get the men to do the work as it was

SOS FROM SHIP'S-BOY TO SKIPPER

then being done, and that I would have to leave
them behind me, go to Tilbury and start afresh, I
felt very much inclined to give it up, but my
employers persuaded me to try it. They gave me a
free hand to try to get my men to follow us, so I
called them all together, put the case before them
and asked for a show of hands from those who were
willing to go to Tilbury.

I got only twenty-five volunteers to start with, but
I took down their names and lent some of them a
few shillings to assist in removing their household
goods. By and by the others who had hung back at
first came and asked me to put their names down on
my list, and I soon found I had enough, but I had
to leave behind some of my best men who had sons
and daughters at work in the neighbourhood, and
could not break up their homes.

We found Tilbury Dock a very dull place, but we
helped to give it a push to the front, and it is now
one of the busiest docks in London. At first I
experienced considerable trouble in getting the work
done as efficiently as in Victoria Dock, but in the
course of a short time the disturbing elements found
their level, and we all settled down as happily as if
we had never known any other dock.

We had been at Tilbury nearly two years when I
was taken suddenly ill with an attack of angina
pectoris when going down by the early train one
cold winter's morning. I have been in a surgeon's
hands several times during my life, but I had then,
for the first time, to call in a physician. I had a
good record for health, but this attack made a great

WORK ASHORE 309

change, and although I was only laid up for a fort-
night on this occasion, I have never since regained
my former robustness.

After this illness I felt quite unable for the task
of being here, there, and everywhere at once, as had
formerly been my wont, nor could I stand night
work, and came to the conclusion that I was not
doing justice to my employers, so in March, 1905, I
resigned my appointment.

The firm whom I had served for thirty -eight
years gave me a very handsome testimonial, and I
also received presentations from the office-staff and
other business friends. To my great surprise and
gratification my men at Tilbury Dock presented me
with a handsome meerschaum pipe ; a memento of
which I am very proud.

And now I have picked up my moorings by the
side of the sea on which I first embarked over half a
century ago, and, in the words of the old chanty,
" ril go no more a-roving.'' My life has been full
of varied experiences in many climes, and I hope
that this account of them has — in spite of its short-
comings— interested, and at times amused, all those
who have followed my yarn.

THE END.

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