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TWO YEARS
BEFORE THE MAST

PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF

LIFE AT SEA

BY
RICHARD HENRY DANA, JR.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
SIR WILFRED GRENFELL

AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY

CHARLES PEARS

Crowded in the rank and narrow ship, —

Housed on the wild sea with wild usages, —
Whate'er in the inland dales the land conceals
Of fair and exquisite, O I nothing, nothing,
Do we behold of that in our rude voyage. ^

Colbridgb's Wallbnstbin.

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
191 1

All r^gkis rtstrvtd

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Set up and electrotyped. Published October, zqxz.

J. 8. Cushlng Co. — Berwick <k Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

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INTRODUCTION

It was my lot to go to sea among the deep sea fisher-
men on the German Ocean while all the fishing was still
carried on in sailing vessels, and to remain working with
them until every sailing fleet afloat had been replaced by
similar fleets of small iron steamers, or, as the fishermen
called them, " tin kettles."

These dirty, hustling little crafts " made more money *'
for the owners, and also gave the fishermen the opportu-
nity of more frequent visits to the ports to replenish the
coal bunkers, — the visits were of doubtful advantage.
But with the change the romance and picturesqueness of
the industry passed. Smoky funnels and blackened masts
replaced clean decks and attractive sails. Sundays be-
came no longer days of rest, on which the various craft
tidied up, preening their feathers, and resting like flocks
of dainty birds on the ocean while the skippers went
a-visiting. Drive — Drive — Drive — became the order of
the day. Captains who won't work Sundays must now
stay ashore, with a consequent loss of many of the attri-
butes of the simple religious faith which had been the
charm of so many of these modern Vikings. We realized
we were poorer when the tyranny of commercialism came
afloat.

There is probably no unmixed good in the world, and
the perusal of this classical account of .personal experiences
of life on merchant sailing vessels is evidence, as the author
frankly admits, that there were some things that called for
improvement to make it an ideal profession. But in spite
of that, there will be few who will not feel with me that
the world is poorer for the loss of a school of life that, in
these days of luxury, enervation, and nervous instability.

tf"-)r"? r- ,•*- ^^, -^^

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vi INTRODUCTION

we can ill ai|ford to dispense with. There are lessons
taught in the school of the Vikings that could contribute
desirable traits to character even to-day.

The " lure of the sea" has ever been a most potent factor
in the history of the Anglo-Saxon race. The " genius of
the sea " has been among the most precious of the heritages
given us by God. Hence the old adage,

" One Johnny Crapeau, two Portuguee,
One Jolly Englbhman can lick 'em all three."

The maintenance of sea power, his proud boast of ruling
the waves, has been achieved as surely by our merchant-
men as by our men of war. Even our literature, our
poetry, and our art, are debtors in no small degree to our
love of the adventures of the sea. Tales of Drake, of
Hawkins and Nelson," of Cabot and Cook and Raleigh, of
Franklin and Kane and Greely, are as stimulating factors
in character building as any ever told ; and, after all, the
world is recognizing that the development of character is
the greatest end of life.

A sense of a man's insignificance in the economy of
Nature was not disadvantageous^ impressed upon him
when he went to sea, realizing, as he must always do in
sailing vessels, his dependence to some extent on powers
beyond his control. A voyage had always the element of
adventure, the elimination of which is but poorly compen-
sated for by the velocity and monotony of a modem ocean
crossing. The resourcefulness, manliness, physical fitness,
and fearlessness bred of his environment have given the
able-bodied sailor the right to his title of a " handy man,"
quite as proud and serviceable as any "Duke of Bilge-
water."

His optimism, his capacity to grin and bear hardness,
puts to shame the peevishness of our ready-to-complain
age, while the discipline that the necessarily arbitrary
power of the skipper at sea made it possible to maintain,
even if it was occasionally abused, still added an asset to
character that is more valuable than fine gold.

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INTRODUCTION vii

The very fact that the construction of these sailing ships
necessitated the very best workmanship lis against the
cheapest product, and that they simply had to be solid
rather than showy, that the running gear had to be kept,
at any expense, ready for all emergencies, that unstinted
time was devoted to cleanliness and smart appearance —
all these c^uried practical everyday lessons of no small
worth. The world, at any rate, paid it the compliment of
inventing the word " ship-shape."

Again, the calling involved real work, wideawakeness,
little luxury, and their accompanying goodfellowship and
contempt for conventionalities. Who ever heard more
than Jack or Bill used as a name for a sailor ? In addition,
the men got an acquaintance with God's open air, a free-
dom from the presumption of life, and as a rule a ifreedom
also from the sordid greed of gold for its own sake, and a
generous, open-minded nature. The language had the
infinite advantages of brevity, forcefulness, and expres-
siveness, even if occasionally lurid and at the risk of a
landsman failing to understand it. Bowlines and bunts,
clewlines and tackles, tyes and catlocks, jiggers and cross-
backs, geswarps and knightheads, gaskets and guys,
sheepshanks and turksheads, studding and royal sails, —
all carry an air of mystery about them that, combined with
the real adventure of a life on the sea, will perhaps attract
more boys to read and absorb lessons which they would
only despise if they were flung at their heads out of a
copybook or catechism. The mental picture of the cheer-
ful, hardy, powerful fellow "hitching up his slack" and
perhaps pulling his forelock as he starts in with a sea yarn
is a further reason why such a book as this should find ever
a warmer welcome.

If we cannot prevent the passing of the sailing ship, let
us at least prevent the passing of the few accounts extant
which deal with the subject from the inside point of view.
Books of the sea, of this type and that, of Westward-Ho,
or the voyages of Cook or Anson, afford a mental pabulum
for the young Anglo-Saxon, with a caloric value for his
character equal to that of his mother's milk for his physique.

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viii INTRODUCTION

A debt of gratitude is certainly due for a new edition of
this delightful and stimulating classic. For my part, I
would far rather have my boy familiar with it than with
many of the ** hundred best books," a list of which was
published recently.

WILFRED T. GRENFELL.
S. S. Strathcona,

At Sea, August, 191 1.

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ILLUSTRATIONS

" We had actually begun our long, long journey " . Frontispiece

VACING PAGE

^ Under double-reefed topsails " 46

"< Man overboard!'" 46

" Approaching the island of Juan Fernandez " . . . .46

" We threw the oars as far from the boat as we could " . . 64

" Tossing Hides " 100

"The captain ordered him to be cut down" . . . .116

"He dived, throwing his tail high in the air" . . . .148

Curing the Hides 168

" One of the Kanakas, putting the letter into his hat, swam oflf

after the vessel " 188

" Keeping hold of the rope with one hand, I scrambled in " . 218

"With the greatest rapidity possible, everything was sheeted

home and hoisted up " 250

" He placed his hat directly upon her head " .... 270

Steeving . ir . . 298

"The sea washed the ship fore and aft" . . . . .314

" An immense irregular mass " 328

" The field ice covered the ocean for miles and miles " . . 328

" * Hold on another time, you young monkey ' " . . . . 370

" Empty tar barrels were set on fire and thrown overboard " . 382

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

CHAPTER I

I AM unwilling to present this narrative to the public with-
out a few words in explanation of my reasons for publish-
ing it. Since Mr. Cooper's Pilot and Red Rover, there
have been so many stories of sea-life written, that I should
really think it imjustifiable in me to add one to the number
vsrithout being able to give reasons in some measure war-
ranting me in so doing.

With the single exception, as I am quite confident, of Mr.
Ames's entertaining, but hasty and desultory work, called
"Mariner's Sketches," all the books professing to give life
at sea have been written by persons who have gained their
experience as naval officers, or passengers, and of these,
there are very few which are intended to be taken as nar-
ratives of facts.

Now, in the first place, the whole course of life, and daily
duties, the discipline, habits and customs of a man-of-war
are very different from those of the merchant service ; and
in the next place, however entertaining and well written
these books may be, and however accurately they may
give sea-life as it appears to their authors, it must still be
plain to every one that a naval officer, who goes to sea as a
gentleman, "with his gloves on," (as the phrase is,) and
who associates only with his fellow-officers, and hardly
speaks to a sailor except through a boatswain's mate, must
take a very different view of tiie whole matter from that
which would be taken by a common sailor.

Besides the interest which every one must feel in ex-
hibitions of life in those forms in which he himself has never

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2 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

experienced it ; there has been, of late years, a great deal of
attention directed toward common seamen, and a strong
sympathy awakened in their behalf. Yet I believe that,
with the single exception which I have mentioned, there
has not been a book written, professing to give their Ufe and
experiences, by one who has been of them, and can know
what their life really is. A voice from the forecastle has
hardly yet been heard.

/ In the^ following pages I design to give an accurate and
authentic narrative of a little more than two years spent as
a common sailor, before the mast, in the American merchant
service. It is written out from a journal which I kept at
the time, and from notes which I made of most of the events
as they happened ; and in it I have adhered closely to fact
in every particular, and endeavored to give each thing its
true character. In so doing, I have been obliged occasion-
ally to use strong and coarse expressions, and in some in-
stances to give scenes which may be painful to nice feelings ;
but I have very carefully avoided doing so, whenever I have
not felt them essential to giving the true character of a scene.
My design is, and it is this which has induced me to publish
the book, to present the life of a common sailor at sea as it
really is, — the light and the dark together.

There may be in some parts a good deal that is imintel-
ligible to the general reader; but I have found from my
own experience, and from what I have heard from others,
that plain matters of fact in relation to customs and habits
of life new to us, and descriptions of life under new aspects,
act upon the inexperienced through the imagination, so
that we are hardly aware of our want d^ technical knowledge.
Thousands read the escape of the American frigate through
the British channel, and the chase and wreck of the Bristol
trader in the Red Rover, and follow the minute nautical
manoeuvres with breathless interest, who do not know the
name of a rope in the ship ; and perhaps with none the less
admiration and enthusiasm for tJieir want of acquaintance
with the professional detail.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 3

In preparing this narrative I have carefully avoided in-
corporating into it any impressions but those made upon
me by the events as they occurred, leaving to my conclud-
ing chapter, to which I shall respectfully call the reader's
attention, those views which have been suggested to me by
subsequent reflection.

These reasons, and the advice of a few friends, have led
me to give this narrative to the press. If it shall interest
the general reader, and call more attention to the welfare
of seamen, or give any information as, to their real con-
dition, which may serve to raise them in the rank of beings,
and to promote in any measure their religious and moral
improvement, and diminish the hardships of their daily life,
the end of its publication will be answered.

R. H. D., Jr.

Boston, July, 1840. < ^

DEPARTURE

The fourteenth of August was the day fixed upon for the
sailing of the brig Pilgrim on her voyage from Boston round
Cape Horn to the western coast of North America. As she
was to get under weigh early in the afternoon, I made my
appearance on board at twelve o'clock, in full sea-rig, and
with my chest, containing an outfit for a two or three years'
voyage, which I had undertaken from a determination to
cure, if possible, by an entire change of life, and by a long
absence from books and study, a weakness of the eyes, which
had obliged me to give up my pursuits, and which no medical
aid seemed likely to ctlre.

The change from the tight dress coat, silk cap, and kid
gloves of an undergraduate at Cambridge, to the loose duck
trowsers, checked shirt and tarpaulin hat of a sailor, though
somewhat of a transformation, was soon made, and I sup-
posed that I should pass very well for a jack tar. But it is
impossible to deceive the practiced eye in these matters;
and while I supposed myself to be looking as salt as Nep-

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4 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

tune himself, I was, no doubt, known for a landsman by
every one on board as soon as I hove in sight. A sailor
has a peculiar cut to his clothes, and a way of wearing them
which a green hand can never get. The trowsers, tight
roimd the hips, and thence hanging long and loose round
the feet, a superabimdance of checked shirt, a low-crowned,
well varnished black hat, worn on the back of the head, with
half a fathom of black ribbon hanging over the left eye, and
a pectdiar tie to the black silk ne^erchief, with simdry
other minutiae, are agns, the want of which betray the begin-
ner, at once. Beside the points in my dress which were out
of the way, doubtless my complexion and hands were enough
to distinguish me from the regular salt, who, with a sim-
burnt cheek, wide step, and rolling gait, swings his bronzed
and toughened hands athwart-ships, half open, as though
just ready to grasp a rope.

** With all my imperfections on my head," I joined the
crew, and we hauled out into the stream, and came to anchor
for the night. The next day we were employed in prepa-
rations for sea, reeving studding-sail gear, crossing royal
yards, putting on chafing gear, and taking on board our
powder. On the following night, I stood my first watch.
I remained awake nearly all the first part of the night
from fear that I might not hear when I was called; and
when I went on deck, so great were my ideas of the in^)or-
tance of my trust, that I walked regularly fore and aft the
whole length of the vessel, looking out over the bows and
taffrail at each turn, and was not a little surprised at the
coohiess of the old salt whom I called to take my place,
in stowing himself snugly away imder the long boat, for
a nap. That was a sufficient lookout, he thought, for a
fine night, at anchor in a safe harbor.

The next morning was Saturday, and a breeze having
sprung up from the southward, we took a pilot on board,
hove up our anchor, and began beating down the bay.
I took leave of those of my friends who came to see me off,
and had barely opportimity to take a last look at the dty,

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST $

and well-known objects, as no time is allowed on board
ship for sentiment. As we drew down into the lower
harbor, we found the wind ahead in the bay, and were
obliged to come to anchor in the roads. We remained
there through the day and a part of the night. My watch
began at eleven o'clock at night, and I received orders to
call the captain if the wind came out from the westward.
About michiight the wind became fair, and having called
the captain, I was ordered to call all hands. How I ac-
complished this I do not know, but I am quite sure that
I did not give the true hoarse, boatswain call of "A-a-11
ha-a-a-nds ! up anchor, a-ho-oy ! " In a short time every
one was in motion, the sails loosed, the yards braced, and
we began to heave up the anchor, which was our last hold
upon Yankee land. I could take but little part in all these
preparations. My little knowledge of a vessel was all at
fault. Unintelligible orders were so rapidly given and so
immediately executed; there was such a hurrying about,
and such an intermingling of strange cries and stranger
actions, that I was completely bewildered. There is not
so helpless and pitiable an object in the world as a lands-
man beginning a sailor's life. At length those peculiar,
long-drawn soimds, which denote that the crew are heaving
at the windlass, began, and in a few moments we were
under weigh. The noise of the water thrown from the bows
began to be heard, the vessel leaned over from the damp
ni^t breeze, and rolled with the heavy groimd swell,
and we had actually begun our long, long journey. This
was literally bidding "good night " to my native land.

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CHAPTER n

The first day we passed at sea was the Sabbath. As we
were just from port, and there was a great deal to be done
on board, we were kept at work all day, and at night the
watches were set, and everything put into sea order. When
we were called aft to be divided into watches, I had a good
specimen of the manner of a sea captain. After the divi-
sion had been made, he gave a short characteristic speech,
walking the quarter deck with a cigar in his mouth, and
dropping the words out between the pufifs.

"Now, my men, we have begun a long voyage. If we
get along well together, we shall have a comfortable time ;
if we don't, we shall have hell afloat. — All you've got to
do is to obey your orders and do your duty like men, —
then you'll fare well enough ; — if you don't, you'll fare hard
enough, — I can tell you. If we pull together, you'll find
me a clever fellow; if we don't, you'll^ find me a bloody
rascal. — That's all I've got to say. — Go below whe
larboard watch ! "

I being in the starboard or second mate's watch, had the

opportunity of keeping the first watch at sea. S , a

young man, making, like myself, his first voyuge, was in
the same watch, and as he was the son of a professional
man, and had been in a counting-room in Boston, we found
that we had many friends and topics in common. We
talked these matters over, — Boston, what our friends were
probably 'doing, our voyage, etc., until he went to take his
turn at the look-out, and left me to mjrself. I had now
a fine time for reflection. I felt for the first time the per-
fect silence of the sea. The officer was walking the quarter
deck, where I had no right to go, one or two men were
talking on the forecastle, whom I had little inclination to

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 7

join, so that I was left open to the full impression of every-
thing about me. However much I was affected by the
beauty of the sea, the bright stars, and the clouds driven
swiftly over them, I could not but remember that I was
separating myself from all the social and intellectual enjoy-
ments of life. Yet, strange as it may seem, I did then
and afterwards take pleasure in these reflections, hoping
by them to prevent my becoming insensible to the value
of what I was leaving.

But all my dreams were soon put to flight by an order
from the officer to trim the yards, as the wind was getting
ahead ; and I could plainly see by the looks the sailors occa-
sionally cast to windward, and by the dark clouds that were
fast coming up, that we had bad weather to prepare for, and
had heard the captain say that he expected to be in the
Gulf Stream by twelve o'clock. In a few minutes eight
bells were struck, the watch called, and we went below.
I now began to feel the first discomforts of a sailor's life.
The steerage in which I lived was filled with coils of rigging,
spare sails, old junk and ship stores, which had not been
stowed away. Moreover, there had been no berths built
for us to sleep in, and we were not allowed to drive nails
to hang our clothes upon. The sea, too, had risen, the
vessel was rolling heavily, and everything was pitched about
in grand confusion. There was a complete ** hurrah's
nest," as the sailors say, "everything on top and nothing
at hand." A large hawser had been coiled away upon my
chest ; my hats, boots, mattress and blankets had 2A fetched
away and gone over to leeward, and were jamimed and
broken under the boxes and coils of rigging. To crown all,
we were allowed no light to find anything with, and I was just
beginning to feel strong symptoms of sea-sickness, and that
Kstiessness and inactivity which accompany it. Giving
up all attempts to collect my things together, I lay down
upon the sails, expecting every moment to hear the cry of
"all hands, ahoy," which the approaching storm would soon
make necessary. I shortly heard the rain-drops falling on

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8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

deck, thick and fast, and the watch evidently had their
hands full of work, for I could hear the loud and repeated
orders of the mate, the trampling of feet, the creaking of
blocks, and all the accompaniments of a coming storm. In.
a few minutes the slide of the hatch was thrown back, which
let down the noise and txmiult of the deck still louder, the
loud cry of ''All hands, ahoy ! timible up here and take in
sail," saluted our ears, and the hatch was quickly shut
again. When I got upon deck, a new scene and a new ex-
perience were before me. The little brig was close hauled
upon the wind, and lying over, as it then seemed to me,
nearly upon her beam ends. The heavy head sea was
beating against her bows with the noise and force almost
of a sledge hammer, and flying over the deck, drenching us
completely through. The topsail halyards had been let
go, and the great sails were filling out and backing against
the masts with a noise like thimder. The wind was whis-
tling through the rigging, loose ropes flying about ; loud and,
to me, imintelligible orders constantly given and rapidly
executed, and the sailors "singing out" at the ropes in their
hoarse and peculiar strains. In addition to all this, I had
not got my "sea legs on," was dreadfully sick, with hardly
strength enough to hold on to anything, and it was "pitch
dark." This was my state when I was ordered aloft, for
the first time, to reef topsails.

How I got along, I cannot now remember. I "laid out"
on the yards and held on with all my strength. I could
not have been of much service, for I remember having been
sick several times before I left the topsail yard. Soon all
was snug aloft, and we were again allowed to go below.
This I did not consider much of a favor, for the confusion
of everything below, and that inexpressible sickening
smell, caused by the shaking up of the bilge-water in the
hold, made the steerage but an indifferent refuge from the
cold, wet decks. I had often read of the nautical experi-
ences of others, but I felt as though there could be none
worse than mine ; for in addition to every other evil, I could

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 9

not but remember that this was only the first night of a
two years* voyage. When we were on deck we were not
much better oflf, for we were continually ordered about by
the officer, who said that it was good for us to be in motion.
Yet anything w«.s better than Uie horrible state of things
below. I remember very well going to the hatchway and
putting my head down, when I was oppressed by nausea
and always being relieved immediately. It was as good
as an emetic.

This state of things continued for two days.

Wednesdayy Aug. 20th, We had the watch on deck
from four till eight, this morning. When we came on
deck at four o'clock, we found things much changed for the
better. The sea and wind had gone down, and the stars
were out bright. I experienced a corresponding change
in my feelings ; yet continued extremely weak from my
sickness. I stood in the waist on the weather side, watch-
ing the gradual breaking of the day, and the first streaks
of the early light. Much has been said of the sim-rise at
sea; but it \nll not compare with the sim-rise on shore.
It wants the accompaniments of the songs of birds, the
awakening hum of men, and the glancing of the first beams
upon trees, hills, spires, and house-tops, to give it life and
spirit. But though the actual rise of the sun at sea is not so
beautiful, yet nothing will compare with the early breaking
of day upon the wide ocean.

There is something in the first grey streaks stretching:
along the eastern horizon and throwing an indistinct light
upon the face of the deep, which combines with the boimd-
lessness and unknown depth of the sea aroimd you, and.
gives one a feeling of loneliness, of dread, and of melancholy
foreboding, which nothing else in nature can give. Th^!
gradually passes away as the light grows brighter, and
when the sun comes up, the ordinary monotonous sea day
begins.

From such reflections as these, I was aroused by the order
from the officer, "Forward there! rig the head-pump I**

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lo TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

I found that no time was allowed for day-dreaming, but
that we must '*tum-to'' at the first light. Having called
up the "idlers," namely carpenter, cook, steward, etc.,
and rigged the pump, we commenced washing down the
decks. This operation, which is performed every morning
at sea, takes nearly two hours ; and I had hardly strength
enough to get through it. After we had finished, swabbed
down, and coiled up the rigging, I sat down on the spars,
waiting for seven bells, which was the sign for breakfast.
The officer, seeing my lazy posture, ordered me to slush
the main-mast,^ from the royal-mast-head, down. The
vessel was then rolling a little, and I had taken no sus-
tenance for three days, so that I felt tempted to tell him
that I had rather wait till after breakfast ; but I knew that
I must "take the bull by the horns," and that if I showed
any sign of want of spirit or of backwardness, that I should
be ruined at once. So I took my bucket of grease and
climbed up to the royal-mast-head. Here the rocking
of the vessel, which increases the higher you go from the
foot of the mast, which is the fulcrum of the lever, and the
smell of the grease, which ofiFended my fastidious senses, up-
set my stomach again, and I was not a little rejoiced when
I got upon the comparative terra firma of the deck. In a
few minutes seven bells were struck, the log hove, the
watch called, and we went to breakfast. Here I cannot
but remember the advice of the cook, a simple-h^rted
African. "Now," says he, "my lad, you are well cleaned
out; you haven't got a drop of your 'long-shore swash
aboard of you. You must begin on a new tack, — pitch
all your sweetmeats overboard, and turn-to upon good
hearty salt beef and sea bread, and I'll promise you, you'll
have your ribs well sheathed, and be as hearty as any of
'em, afore you are up to the Horn." This would be good
advice to give to passengers, when they speak of the Uttle
niceties which they have laid in, in case of sea-sickness.

I cannot describe the change which half a poimd of cold
salt beef and a biscuit or two produced in me. I was a new

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST ii

being. We had a watch below until noon, so that I had
some time to myself; and getting a huge piece of strong,
cold, salt beef from the cook, I kept gnawing upon it imtil
twelve o'clock. When we went on deck I felt somewhat
like a man, and could begin to learn my sea duty with con-
siderable spirit. At about two o'clock we heard the loud
cry of "sail ho!" from aloft, and soon saw two sails to
windward, going directly athwart our hawse. This was
the first time that I had seen a sail at sea. I thought then,
and have always since, that it exceeds every other sight in
interest and beauty. They passed to leeward of us, and
out of hailing distance; but the captain could read the
names on their stems with the glass. They were the ship
Eden Mar, of New York, and the brig Mermaid, of Boston.
They were both steering westward, and were bound in for
our "dear native land."

Thursday, Aug, 21st. This day the sun rose clear, we
had a fine wind, and everything was bright and cheerful.
I had now got my sea legs on, and was beginning to enter
upon the regular duties of a sea-life. About six bells, that
is, three o'clock, p.m., we saw a sail on our larboard bow.
I was very anxious, like every new sailor, to speak her.
She came down to us, backed her main-top-sail, and the
two vessels stood "head on," bowing and curvetting at
each other like a couple of war-horses reined in by their
riders. It was the first vessel that I had seen near, and I
was surprised to find how much she rolled and pitched in
so quiet a sea. She plunged her head into the sea, and
then, her stern settling gradually down, her huge bows
rose up, showing the bright copper, and her stern, and brest-
hooks dripping, like old Neptune's locks, with the brine.
Her decks were filled with passengers who had come up
at the cry of "sail ho," and who by their dress and features
appeared to be Swiss and French emigrants. She hailed
us at first in French, but receiving no answer, she tried us
in English. She was the ship La Carolina, from Havre, for
New York. We desired her to report the brig Pilgrim,

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12 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

from Boston, for the north-west coast of America, five days
out. She then filled away and left us to plough on through
our waste of waters. This day ended pleasantly ; we had
got mto regular and comfortable weather, and into that
routine of sea-life which is only broken by a storm, a sail,
or the sight of land.

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CHAPTER m

As we had now a long "spell" of fine weather, without
any incident to break the monotony of our lives, there can
be no better place to describe the duties, regulations, and
customs of an American merchantman, of which ours was
a fair specimen.

The captain, in the first place, is lord paramoimt. He*
stands no watch, comes and goes when he pleases, and is
accoimtable to no one, and must be obeyed in everything,
without a question, even from his chief officer. He ha^
the power to turn his officers oflE duty, and even to break
them and make them do duty as sailors in the forecastle.
Where there are no passengers and no supercargo, as in
our vessel, he has no companion but his own dignity, and
no pleasures, imless he differs from most of his kind, but
the consciousness of possessing supreme power, and, occa-
sionally, the exercise of it.

The prime minister, the official organ, and the active
and superintending officer, is the chief mate. He is first
lieutenant, boatswain, sailing-master, and quarter-master.
The captain tells him what he wishes to have done, and
leaves to him the care of overseeing, of allotting the work,
and also the responsibility of its being well done. The
mate (as he is alwa3rs called, par excellence) also keeps the
log-book, for which he is responsible to the owners and
insurers, and has the charge of the stowage, safe keeping,
and delivery of the cargo. He is also, ex-officio, the wit
of the crew ; for the captain does not condescend to joke
with the men, and the second mate no one cares for; so
that when "the mate" thinks fit to entertain "the people "
with a coarse joke or a little practical wit, every one feels
bound to laugh.

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14 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

The second mate's is proverbially a dog's berth. He is
neither officer nor man. The men do not respect him as an '
officer, and he is obliged to go aloft to reef and furl the
topsails, and to put his hands into the tar and slush, with
the rest. The crew call him the "sailor's waiter," as he
has to furnish them with spun-yam, marline, and all other
stuflfs that they need in their work, and has charge of the
boatswain's locker, which includes serving-boards, marline-
spikes, etc. He is expected by the captain to maintain his
dignity and to enforce obedience, and still is kept at a great
distance from the mate, and obliged to work with the crew.
He is one to whom little is given and of whom much is
required. His wages are usually double those of a common
sailor, and he eats and sleeps in the cabin ; but he is obliged
to be on deck nearly all his time, and eats at the second
table, that is, makes a meal out of what the captain and
chief mate leave.

The steward is the captain's servant, and has charge of
the pantry, from which every one, even the mate himself, is
excluded. These distinctions usually find him an enemy
in the mate, who does not like to have any one on board
who is not entirely imder his control ; the crew do not con-
sider him as one of their nmnber, so he is left to the mercy
of the captain.

The cook is the patron of the crew, and those who are
in his favor can get their wet mittens and stockings dried,
or light their pipes at the galley on the night watch. These
two worthies, together with the carpenter and sail-maker,
if there be one, stand no watch, but, being employed all
day, are allowed to ** sleep in" at night, unless all hands are
called.

The crew are divided into two divisions, as equally as
may be, called the watches. Of these the chief mate com-
mands the larboard, and the second mate the starboard.
They divide the time between them, being on and oflf duty,
or, as it is called, on deck and below, every other four hours..
If, for instance, the chief mate with the larboard watch

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 15

„<j^ 4;the first night-watch from eight to twelve ; at the end
of the four hours, the starboard watch is called, and the
second mate takes the deck, while the larboard watch and
the first mate go below until four in the morning, when they
come on deck again and remain until eight ; having what
is called the morning watch. As they will have been on
deck eight hours out of the twelve, while those who had
the middle watch — from twelve to four, will only have
been up four hours, they have what is called a '* forenoon
watch below," that is, from eight, a.m., till twelve, M. In
a man-of-war, and in some merchantmen, this alternation
of watches is kept up throughout the twenty-four hours;
but our ship, like most merchantmen, had "all hands"
from twelve o'clock till dark, except in bad weather, when
we had "watch and watch."

An explanation of the "dog watches" may, perhaps, be
of use to one who has never been at sea. They are to diift
the watches each night, so that the same watch need not be
on deck at the same hours. In order to efifect this, the
watch from four to eight, p.m., is divided into two half, or
dog watches, one from four to six, and the other from six to
eight. By this means they divide the twenty-four hours
into seven watches instead of six, and thus shift the hours
every night. As the dog watches come during twilight,
after the day's work is done, and before the night watch is
set, they are the watches in which everybody is on deck.
The captain is up, walking on the weather side of the
quarter-deck, the chief mate on the lee side, and the second
mate about the weather gangway. The steward has
finished his work in the cabin, and has come up to smoke
his pipe with the cook in the galley. The crew are sitting
on the windlass or l)ang on the forecastle, smoking, sing-
ing, or telling long yams. At eight o'clock, eight bells are
struck, the log is hove, the watch set, the wheel relieved,
the galley shut up, and the other watch goes below.

The morning commences with the watch on deck's
"tuming-to" at day-break and washing down, scrubbing,

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i6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST . /^

and swabbing the decks. This, together with fillinHe is
** scuttled butt" with fresh water, and coiling up the rig-
ging, usually occupies the time imtil seven bells (half
after seven), when all hands get breakfast. At eight, the
day's work begins, and lasts until sim-down, with the excep-
tion of an hour for dinner.

Before I end my explanations, it may be well to define a
day's work, and to correct a mistake prevalent among
landsmen about a sailor's life. Nothing is more common
than to hear people say — "Are not sailors very idle at
sea ? — what can they fiiid to do ?" This is a very natural
mistake, and being very frequently made, it is one which
every sailor feels interested in having corrected. In the first
place, then, the discipline of the ship requires every man
to be at work upon something when he is on deck, except
at night and on Sundays. Except at these times, you will
never see a man, on board a well-ordered vessel, standing,
idle on deck, sitting down, or leaning over the side. It is
the officers' duty to keep every one at work, even if there is
nothing to be done but to scrape the rust from the chain
cables. In no state prison are the convicts more regularly
set to work, and more closely watched. No conversation
is allowed among the crew at their duty, and though they
frequently do talk when aloft, or when near one another,
yet they always stop when an officer is nigh.

With regard to the work upon which Uie men are put,
it is a matter which probably would not be understood by
one who has not been at sea. When I first left port, and
found that we were kept regularly employed for a week or
two, I supposed that we were getting the vessel into sea
trim, and tiiat it would soon be over, and we should have
nothing to do but to sail the ship; but I found that it
continued so for two years, and at the end of the two years
there was as much to be done as ever. As has often been
said, a ship is like a lady's watch, always out of repair.
When first leaving port, studding-sail gear is to be rove, all
the running rigging to be examined, that which is unfit for

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 17

use to be got down, and new rigging rove in its place: then
the standing rigging is to be overhauled, replaced, and
repaired, in a thousand different ways ; and wherever any
of the numberless ropes or the yards are chafing or wearing
upon it, there "chafing gear," as it is called, must be put
on. This chafing gear consists of worming, parcellmg,
roundings, battens, and service of all kinds — both rope-
yams, spun-yam, marline and seizing-stuffs. Taking off,
putting on, and mending the chafing gear alone, upon a
vessel, woiild find constant employment for two or three
men, during working hours, for a whole voyage.

The next point to be considered is, that all the "small
stuffs*' which are used on board a ship — such as spim-yam,
marline, seizing-stuff, etc. — are made on board. The
owners of a vessel buy up incredible quantities of "old
jimk," which the sailors imlay, after drawing out the yams,
knot them together, and roll them up in balls. These
"rope-yams'* are constantly used for various purposes, but
the greater part is manufactured into spun-yam. For this
purpose every vessel is furnished with a " spxm-yam winch ;"
which is very simple, consisting of a wheel and spindle.
This may be heard constantly going on deck in pleasant
weather; and we had emplojmient, during a great part
of the time, for three hands in drawing and knotting yams,
and making spxm-yam.

Another method of employing the crew is, "setting up"
rigging. Whenever any of the standing rigging becomes
slack (which is continually happening), the seizings and
coverings must be taken off, tackles got up, and after the
rigging is bowsed well taught, the seizings and coverings
replaced ; which is a very nice piece of work. There is also
such a connection between different parts of a vessel, that
one rope can seldom be touched without altering another.
You cannot stay a mast aft by the back stays, without slack-
ing up the head stays, etc.. If we add to this all the tarring,
greasing, oiling, varnishing, painting, scraping, and scrub-
bing which is required in the course of a long voyage, and

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i8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

also remember this is all to be done in addition to watching
at night, steering, reefing, furling, bracing, making and
setting sail, and pulling, hauling and climbing in every
direction, one will hardly ask, **What can a sailor find to
do at sea ?''

If, after all this labor — after exposing their lives and
limbs in storms, wet and cold,

" Wherein the cub-drawn bear would couch ;
The lion and the belly-pinched wolf
Keep their fur dry ; — "

the merchants and captains think that they have not earned
their twelve dollars a month (out of which they clothe
themselves) and their salt beef and hard bread, they keep
them picking oakimi — ad infinitum. This is the usual
resource upon a rainy day, for then it will not do to work
upon rigging ; and when it is pouring down in floods, instead
of letting the sailors stand about in sheltered places, and
talk, and keep themselves comfortable, they are separated
to different parts of the ship, and kept at work picking
oakum. I have seen oakum stuff placed about in different
parts of the ship, so that the sailors might not be idle in the
snatches between the frequent squalls upon crossing the
equator. Some officers have been so driven to find work
for the crew in a ship ready for sea, that they have set them
to pounding the anchors (often done) and scraping the chain
cables. The "Philadelphia Catechism" is,

" Six days shalt thou labor and do all thou art able,
And on the seventh — holystone the decks and scrape the cable."

This kind of work, of course, is not kept up off Cape Horn,
Cape of Good Hope, and in extreme north and south lati-
tudes; but I have seen the decks washed down and
scrubbed, when the water would have frozen if it had been
fresh ; and all hands kept at work upon the rigging, when
we had on our pea-jackets, and our hands so nimib that we
could hardly hold our marline-spikes.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 19

I have here gone out of my narrative course in order that
any who read this may form as correct an idea of a sailor's
life and duty as possible. I have done it in this place be-
cause, for some time, our life was nothing but the xmvary-
ing repetition of these duties, which can be better described
together. Before leaving this description, however, I
would state, in order to show landsmen how little they
know of the nature of a ship, that a skip-carpenter is kept
in constant employ during good weather on board vessels
which are in, what is called, perfect sea order.

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CHAPTER IV

After speaking the Carolina^ on the 21st August, nothl 5
occurred to break the monotony of our life until

Friday y September s^h, when we saw a sail on our weatk r
(starboard) beam. She proved to be a brig imder Engli^ a
colors, and passing xmder our stem, reported herself is
forty-nine days from Buenos A3n:es, boimd to Liverpo . .
Before she had passed us, "sail ho !" was cried again, a : \
we made another sail, far on our weather bow, and steeri ig
athwart our hawse. She passed out of hail, but we mf - e
her out to be an hermaphrodite brig, with Brazilian colt s
in her main rigging. By her course, she must have btcu
boimd from Brazil to the south of Europe, probab y
Portugal.

Sunday, Sept, *jth. Fell in with the north-east trade
winds. This morning we caught our first dolphin," whici
I was very eager to see. I was disappointed in the colors
of this fish when dying. They were certainly very beauti-
ful, but not equal to what has been said of them. They
are too indistinct. To do the fish justice, there is nothing,
more beautiful than the dolphin when swimming a few feet
below the surface, on a bright day. It is the most elegantly
formed, and also the quickest fish, in salt water ; and th* :
rays of the sim striking upon it, in its rapid and changin^
motions, reflected from the water, make it look like a stra \
beam from a rainbow.

This day was spent like all pleasant Sabbaths at sei*
The decks are washed down, the rigging coiled up, an^.
everything put in order ; and throughout the day, only one
watch is kept on deck at a time. The men are all dressed
in their best white duck trowsers, and red or checked shirts
and have nothing to do but to make the necessary changes.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 21

in the sails. They employ themselves in reading, talking,
smoking, and mending tiieir clothes. If the weather is pleas-
ant, they bring their work and their books upon deck, and
sit down upon the forecastle and windlass. This is the
only day on which these privileges are allowed, them. When
Monday comes, they put on their tarry trowsers again,
and prepare for six days of labor.

To eiJiance the value of the Sabbath to the crew,they are
allowed on that day a pudding, or, as it is called, a "duff.''
This is nothing more than flour boiled with water, and eaten
with molasses. It is very heavy, dark, and clammv yet
it is looked upon as a luxury, and really forms an agretabk
variety with salt beef and pork. Many a rascally captaii
has made friends of his crew by allowing them duff twice
week on the passage home.

On board some vessels this is made a day of instructioi
and of religious exercises ; but we had a crew of swearers
from the captain to the smallest boy ; and a day of rest
and of something like quiet, social enjo)nnent, was all that
we could expect.

We continued running large before the north-east trade
winds for several days, xmtil Monday —

September 22d; when, upon coming on deck at seven
bells in the morning, we foxmd the other watch aloft throw-
ing water upon the sails; and looking astern, we saw a
smsM clipper-built brig with a black hull heading directly
after us. We went to work immediately, and put all the
canvas upon the brig which we could get upon her, rigging
out oars for studding-sail yards; and continued wetting
down the sails by buckets of water whipped up to the
mast-head, imtil about nine o'clock, when there came on a
drizzling rain. The vessel continued in pursuit, changing
her course as we changed ours, to keep before the wind.
The captain, who watched her with his glass, said that she
was armed, and full of men, and showed no colors. We
continued nmning dead before the wind, knowing that we
sailed better so, and that clippers are fastest on the wind.

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22 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

We had also another advantage. The wind was light, an<l

we spread more canvas than she did, having royals an«!

sky-sails fore and aft, and ten studding-sails; while she,

being an hermaphrodite brig, had only a gaff topsail, aft.

Early in the morning she was overhauling us a little, but

after the rain came on and the wind grew lighter, we began

to leave her astern. All hands remained on deck tJiroughou t

the da>, and we got our arms in order; but we were too

few to have done anything with her, if she had proved to

be w!^at we feared. Fortimately there was no moon, and

the T ight which followed was exceedingly dark, so that by

nur ng out all 'the lights on board and altering our cours<

ji;r points, we hoped to get out of her reach. We had n

9;bt in the binnacle, but steered by the stars, and kep

rfect silence through the night. At daybreak there wa

o sign of anything in the horizon, and we kept the vessel

>ff to her course.

Wednesday, October isL Crossed the equator in long.
J4° 24' W. I now, for the first time, felt at liberty, accord-
ing to the old usage, to call myself a son of Neptune, anr
was very glad to be able to claim the title without th*-
disagreeable initiation which so many have to go through
After once crossing the line you can nev^r be subjected t
the process, but are considered as a son of Neptune, wit'
full f>o^ers to play tricks upon others. This ancient cui
torn is now seldom allowed, unless there are passengers o:
board, in which case there is always a good deal of sport
It had been obvious to all hands for some time that the
second mate, whose name was F — , was an idle, careless
fellow, and not much of a sailor, and that the captain was
exceedingly dissatisfied with him. The power of the ci^
tain in these cases was well known, and we all anticipated
a difficulty. F — (called Mr, by virtue of his office) wa
but half a sailor, having always been short voyages an
remained at home a long time between them. His fathr
was a man of some property, and intended to have giver
his son a liberal education ; but he, being idle and worth

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 23

less, was sent ofif to sea, and succeeded no better there;
for, unlike many scamps, he had none of the qualities of a
sailor — he was '^not of the stuff that they make sailors
of." He was one of that class of officers who are disliked
by their captain and despised by the crew. He used to hold
long yams with the crew, and talk about the captain, and
play with the boys, and relax discipline in every way.
This kind of conduct always makes the captain suspicious,
and is never pleasant, in the end, to the men ; they pref er-
fing to have an officer active, vigilant, and distant as may
be, with kindness. Among other bad practices, he frequently
j?lept on his watch, and having been discovered asleep
yy the captain, he was told that he would be turned off duty
} he did it again. To prevent it in every way possible,
the hen-coops were ordered to be knocked up, for the cap-
tain never sat down on deck himself, and never permitted
an officer to do so.

The second night after crossing the equator, we had
the watch from eight till twelve, and it was "my helm"
for the last two hours. There had been light squalls

through the night, and the captain told Mr. F , who

^commanded our watch, to keep a bright look-out. Soon
ifter I came to the helm, I found that he was quite drowsy,
Vnd at last he stretched himself on the companion and
^^ent fast asleep. Soon afterwards, the captain came very
quietly on deck, and stood by me for some time looking at
jthe compass. The officer at length became aware of the
^captain's presence, but pretending not to know it, began
;humming and whistling to himself, to show that he was not
asleep, and went forward, without looking behind him, and
•ordered the main royal to be loosed. On turning round to
jCome aft, he pretended surprise at seeing the master on
: leek. This would not do. The captain was too "wide
J awake" for him, and beginning upon him at once, gave him
a grand blow-up, in true nautical style — "You're a lazy,
'good-for-nothing rascal; you're neither man, boy, soger,
nor sailor ! you're no more than a thing aboard a vessel !

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24 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

you don't earn your salt! you're worse than a Mahan
soger ! " and other still more choice extracts from the-
sailor's vocabulary. After the poor fellow had taken this
harangue, he was sent into his state-room^ and the captain
stood the rest of the watch himself.

At seven bells in the morning, all hands were called aft
and told that F — was no longer an officer on board, and
that we might choose one of our own number for second
mate. It is usual for the captain to make this offer, and
it is very good policy, for the crew think themselves the
choosers and are flattered by it, but have to obey, never-
theless. Our crew, as is usual, refused to take the respon-
sibility of choosing a man of whom we would never be able
to complain, and left it to the captain. He picked out an
active and intelligent young sailor, born near the Kennebec,
who had been several Canton voyages, and proclaimed him
in the following manner : "I choose Jim Hall — he's your
second mate. All you've got to do is, to obey him as you
would me ; and remember that he is Mr. Hall." F — went
forward into the forecastle as a common sailor, and lost
the handle to his namey while yoxmg fore-mast Jim became
Mr. Hall, and took up his quarters in the land of knives and
forks and tea-cups.

Sunday, October $th. It was our morning watch ; when,
soon after the day began to break, a man on the forecastle
called out, "Land ho !" I had never heard the cry before,
and did not know what it meant (and few would suspect
what the words were, when hearing the strange sound for
the first time), but I soon found, by the direction of all eyes^
'that there was land stretching along on our weather beam.
We immediately took in studding-sails and hauled our
wind, nmning in for the land. This was done to determine
our longitude; for by the captain's chronometer we were
in 25° W., but by his observations we were much farther,
and he had been for some time in doubt whether it was his
chronometer or his sextant which was out of order. This
land-fall settled the matter, and the former instrvuneut

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 25

was condemned, and becoming still worse, was never after-
wards used*

As we ran in towards the coast, we found that we were
directly oflf the port of Pemambuco, and could see with the
telescope the roofs of the houses, and one large church, and
the town of Olinda. We ran along by the mouth of the
harbor, and saw a full-rigged brig going in. At two, p.m.,
we again kept off before the wind, leaving the land on our
quarter, and at sun-down, it was out of sight. It was here
that I first saw one of those singular tlungs called cata-
marans. They are composed of logs lashed together upon
the water ; have one large sail, are quite fast, and, strange
as it may seem, are trusted as good sea boats. We saw
several, with from one to three men in each, boldly putting
out to sea, after it had become almost dark. The Indians
go out in them after fish, and as the weather is regular in
certain seasons, they have no fear. After taking a new
departure from Olinda, we kept off on our way to Cape
Horn.

We met with nothing remarkable until we were in the
latitude of the river La Plata. Here there are violent gales
from the south-west, called Pomperos, which are very de-
structive to the shijq)ing in the river, and are felt for many
leagues at sea. They are usually preceded by lightning.
The captain told, the mates to keep a bright look-out, and
if they saw lightning at the south-west, to take in sail at
once. We got the first touch of one during my watch on
deck. I was walking in the lee gangway, and thought that
I saw lightning on Qie lee bow. I told the second mate,
who came over and looked out for some time. It was very
black in the south-west, and in about ten minutes we saw a
distinct flash. The wind, which had been south-east, had
now left us, and it was dead cahn. We sprang aloft imme-
diately and furled the royals and top-gallant-sails, and took
in the flying jib, hauled up the mainsail and trysail, squared
the after yards, and awaited the attack. A huge mist
capped witii black clouds came driving towards us, extend-

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26 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

ing over that quarter of the horizon, and covering the stars,
which shone brightly in the other part of the heavens. It
came upon us at once with a blast, and a shower of hail and
rain, which almost took our breath from us. The hardiest
was obliged to turn his back. We let the halyards run,
and fortunately were not taken aback. The little vessel
'^paid off " from the wind, and ran on for some time directly
before it, tearing through the water with everything flying.
Having called all hands, we close-reefed the topsails and
trysail, furled the courses and jib, set the fore-top-mast
staysail, and brought her up nearly to her course, with the
weather braces hauled in a little, to ease her.

This was the first blow, that I had seen, which could
really be called a gale. We had reefed our topsails in the
Gulf Stream, and I thought it something serious, but an
older sailor would have thought nothing of it. As I had
now become used to the vessel and to my duty, I was of some
service on a yard, and could knot my reef-point as well as
anybody. I obeyed the order to lay^ aloft with the rest,
and found the reefing a very exciting scene ; for one watch
reefed the fore-topsail, and the other the main, and every
one did his utmost to get his topsail hoisted first. We had
a great advantage over the larboard watch, because the
chief mate never goes aloft, while our new second mate
used to jump into the rigging as soon as we began to haul
out the reef-tackle, and have the weather earing passed
before there was a man upon the yard. In this way we
were almost always able to raise the cry of "Haul out to
leeward'* before them, and having knotted our points,
would slide down the shrouds and back-stays, and sing out
at the topsail halyards to let it be known that we were
ahead of them. Reefing is the most exciting part of a

* This word " lay," which is in such general use on board ship, being
used in giving orders instead of " go " ; as " Lay forward ! " " Lay aft I "
^^ Lay aloft!" etc., I do not understand to be the neuter verb lie^ mis-
pronounced, but to be the active verb lay, with the objective case under-
stood ; as, " Lay yourselves forward I " " Lay yourselves aft I " etc.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 27

sailor's duty. All hands are engaged upon it, and after
the halyards are let go, there is no time to be lost — no
"sogering," or hanging back, then. If one is not quick
enough, another runs over him. The first on the yard goes
to the weather earing, the second to the lee, and the next
two to the *' dog's ears ;" while the others lay along into the
bimt, just giving each other elbow-room. In reefing, the
yard-arms (the extremes of the yards) are the posts of
honor ; but in furling, the strongest and most experienced
stand in the slings (or, middle of the yard), to make up the
bunt. If the second mate is a smart fellow, he will never
let any one take either of these posts from him ; but if he
is wanting either in seamanship, strength, or activity, some
better man will get the bunt and earings from him ; which
immediately brings him into disrepute.

We remained for the rest of the night, and throughout
the next day, under the same close sail, for it continued to
blow very fresh ; and though we had no more hail, yet
there was a soaking rain, and it was quite cold and uncom-
fortable; the more so, because we were not prepared for
cold weather, but had on our thin clothes. We were glad to
get a watch below, and put on our thick clothing, boots,
and south-westers. Towards sun-down the gale moderated
a little, and it began to clear off in the south-west. We
shook our reefs out, one by one, and before midnight had
top-gallant sails upon her.

We had now made up our minds for Cape Horn and
cold weather, and entered upon every necessary prepa-
ration.

Tuesday, Nov. 4th, At day-break, saw land upon our
larboard quarter. There were two islands, of different size
but of the same shape ; rather high, beginning low at the
water's edge, and running with a curved ascent to the mid-
dle. They were so far off as to be of a deep blue color, and
in a few hours we sank them in the north-east. These
were the Falkland Islands. We had run between them and
the main land of Patagonia. At sun-set the second mate,

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2S TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

who was at the masthead, said that he saw land on the
starboard bow. This mxist have been the island of Staten
Land ; and we were now in the region of Cape Horn, with
a fine breeze from the northward, top-mast and top-gallant
studding-sails set, and every prospect of a speedy and
pleasant passage roimd.

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CHAPTER V

Wednesday, Nov. sth. The weather was fine during
the previous night, and we had a clear view of the Magellan
Clouds, and of the Southern Cross. The Magellan Clouds
consist of three small nebulae in the southern part of the
heavens, — two bright, like the milky-way, and one dark.
These are first seen, just above the horizon, soon after
crossing the southern tropic. When ofif Cape Horn, they
are nearly overhead. The cross is composed of four stars
in that form, and is said to be the brightest constellation in
the heavens.

During the first part of this day (Wednesday) the wind
was light, but after noon it came on fresh, and we furled
the royals. We still kept the studding-sails out, and the
captain said he should go roimd with them, if he could.
Just before eight o'clo<i (then about sim-down, in that
latitude), the cry of "All hands ahoy !" was soimded down
the fore scuttle and the after hatchway, and hurrying upon
deck, we foimd a large black cloud rolling on toward us
from the south-west, and blackening the whole heavens.
"Here comes Cape Horn !" said the chief mate ; and we had
hardly time to haul down and clew up, before it was upon
us. In a few moments, a heavier sea was raised than I
had ever seen before, and as it was directly ahead, the little
brig, which was no better than a bathing machine, plunged
into it, and all the forward part of her was under water;
the sea pouring in through the bow-ports and hawse-hole
and over the knight-heads, threatening to wash everything
overboard. In the lee scuppers it was up to a man's
waist. We sprang aloft and double reefed the topsails,
and furled aU the other sails, and made all snug. But
this would not do; the brig was laboring and straining

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30 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

against the head sea, and the gale was growing worse and
worse. At the same time sleet and hail were driving with
all fury against us. We clewed down, and hauled out the
reef-tackles again, and close-reefed the fore-topsail, and
furled the main, and hove her to on the starboard tack.
Here was an end to our fine prospects. We made up our
minds to head winds and cold weaUier ; sent down the royal
yards, and imrove the gear, but all the rest of the top
hamper remaining aloft, even to the sky-sail masts and
studding-sail booms.

Throughout the night it stormed violently — rain, hail,
snowv and sleet beating upon the vessel — the wind con-
tinuing ahead, and the sea nmning high. At daybreak
(about three, a.m.) the deck was covered with snow. The
captain sent up the steward with a glass of grog to each of
the watch ; and all the time that we were off the Cape, grog
was given to the morning watch, and to all hands whenever
we reefed topsails. The clouds cleared away at sun-rise,
and the wind becoming more fair, we again made sail and
stood nearly up to our course.

Thursday, Nov. 6th, It continued more pleasant through
the first part of the day, but at night we had the same scene
over again. This time, we did not heave to, as on the night
before, but endeavored to beat to windward under close-
reefed top-sails, balance-reefed trysail, and fore top-mast
stay-sail. This night it was my turn to steer, or, as the
sailors say, my trick at the helm, for two hours. Inexperi-
enced as I was, I made out to steer to the satisfaction of the
officer, and neither S — nor myself gave up our tricks,
all the time that we were off the Cape. This was something
to boast of, for it requires a good deal of skill and watch-
fulness to steer a vessel close hauled, in a gale of wind,
against a heavy head sea. "Ease her when she pitches,'*
is the word ; and a little carelessness in letting her ship a
heavy sea, might sweep the decks, or knock the masts out
of her.

Friday, Nov. ph. Towards morning the wind went

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 31

down, and during the whole forenoon we lay tossing about
in a dead calm, and in the midst of a thick fog. The calms
here are unlike those in most parts of the world, for there
is always such a high sea running, and the periods of calm
are so short, that it has no time to go down ; and vessels,
being xmder no command of sails or rudder, lie like logs
upon the water. We were obliged to steady the booms
and yards by guys and braces, and to lash everything well
below. We now foimd our top hamper of some use, for
though it is liable'to be carried away or sprung by the sudden
''bringing up'' of a vessel when pitching in a chopping sea,
yet it is a great help in steadying a vessel when rolling in a
long swell; giving more slowness, ease, and regularity to
the motion.

The calm of the morning reminds me of a scene which I
forgot to describe at the time of its occurrence, but which I
remember from its being the first time that I had heard the
near breathing of whales. It was on the night that we
passed between the Falkland Islands and Staten Land.
We had the watch from twelve to four, and coming upon
deck, found the little brig lying perfectly still, surrounded
by a thick fog, and the sea as smooth as though oil had been
poured upon it ; yet now and then a long, low swell rolling
over its surface, slightly lifting the vessel, but without break-
ing the glassy smoothness of the water. We were sur- ^
rounded far and near by shoals of sluggish whales and '
grampuses ; which the fog prevented our seeing, rising
slowly to the surface, or perhaps lying out at length, heav-
ing out those peculiar lazy, deep, and long-drawn breathings
which give such an impression of supineness and strength.
Some of the watch were asleep, and the others were per-
fectly still, so that there was nothing to break the illusion,
and I stood leaning over the bulwarks, listening to the slow
breathings of the mighty creatures — now one breaking the
water just alongside, whose black body I almost fancied
that I could see through the fog ; and again another, which
I could just hear in the distance — imtil the low and regular

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32 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

swell seemed like the heaving of the ocean's mighty bosom
to the sound of its heavy and long-drawn respirations.

Towards the evening of this day (Friday 7th,) the fog
cleared oflE, and we had every appearance of a cold blow;
and soon after sun-down it came on. Again it was clew up
and haul down, reef and furl, until we had got her down to
close-reefed topsails, double-reefed trysail, and reefed fore
spenser. Snow, hail, and sleet were driving upon us most
of the night, and the sea breaking over the bows and cover-
ing the forward part of the little vessel ; but as she would
lay her course the captain refused to heave her to.

Saturday, Nov. 8th, This day conmienced with calm and
thick fog, and ended with hail, snow, a violent wind, and
close-reefed topsails.

Sunday, Nov. gth. To-day the sun rose clear and con-
tinued so until twelve o'clock, when the captain got an
observation. This was very well for Cape Horn, and we
thought it a little remarkable that, as we had not had one
unpleasant Sunday during the whole voyage, t^e only
tolerable day here should be a Sunday. We got time to
clear up the steerage and forecastle, and set things to rights,
and to overhaul our wet clothes a little. But this did not
last very long. Between five and six — the sun was then
nearly three hours high — the cry of **A11 starbowUnes
ahoy ! " simmioned our watch on deck ; and immediately
all hands were called. A true specimen of Cape Horn was
coming upon us. A great cloud of a dark slate-color was
driving on us from the south-west ; and we did our best to
take in sail, (for the light sails had been set during the
first part of the day,) before we were in the midst of it. We
had got the light sails furled, the courses hauled up, and the
topsail reef-tackles hauled out, and were just mounting the
fore-rigging, when the storm struck us. In an instant the
sea, which had been comparatively quiet, was nmning higher
and higher ; and it became almost as dark as night. The
hail and sleet were harder than I had yet felt them ; seem-
ag almost to pin us down to the rigging. We were longer

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 33

taking in sail than ever before ; for the sails were stiff and
wet, the ropes and rigging covered with snow and sleet, and
we ourselves cold and nearly blinded with the violence of
the storm. By the time we had got down upon deck again,
the little brig was plunging madly into a tremendous head
sea, which at every drive rushed in through the bow-ports
and over the bows, and buried all the forward part of the
vessel. At this instant the chief mate, who was standing
on the top of the windlass, at the foot of the spenser mast,
called out, "Lay out there and furl the jib ! " This was no
agreeable or safe duty, yet it must be done. An old Swede
(the best sailor on board), who belonged on the forecastle,
sprang out upon the bowsprit. Another one must go:
I was near the mate, and sprang forward, threw the down-
haul over the windlass, and jumped between the knight-
heads out upon the bowsprit. The crew stood abaft the
windlass and haided the jib down, while we got out upon the
weather side of the jib-boom, our feet on the foot ropes,
holding on by the spar, the great jib flying off to leeward
and slatting so as almost to throw us off of the boom. For
some time we could do nothing but hold on, and the vessel
diving into two huge seas, one after the other, plimged us
twice into the water up to our chins. We hardly knew
whether we were on or off ; when coming up, dripping from
the water, we were raised high into the air. John (that
was the sailor's name) thought the boom would go, every
moment, and called out to the mate to keep the vessel off,
and haul down the staysail ; but the fury of the wind and the
breaking of the seas against the bows defied every at-
tempt to make ourselves heard, and we were obliged to do
the best we could in our situation. Fortimately, no other
seas so heavy struck her, and we succeeded in furling the
jib "after a fashion"; and, coming in over the staysail
nettings, were not a little pleased to find that all was snug,
and the watch gone below; for we were soaked through,
and it was very cold. The weather continued nearly the
same^^through the night.

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34 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Monday, Nov, lotk. During a part of this day we were
hove to, but the rest of the time were driving on, under
close-reefed sails, with a heavy sea, a strong gale, and fre-
quent squalls of hail and snow.

Ttcesday, Nov, nth. The same.

Wednesday, The same.

Thursday, The same.

We had now got hardened to Cape weather, the vessel
was under reduced sail, and everything secured on deck and
below, so that we had little to do but to steer and to stand
our watch. Our clothes were all wet through, and the only
change was from wet to more wet. It was in vain to think
of reading or working below, for we were too tired, the
hatchways were closed down, and everything was wet and
uncomfortable, black and dirty, heaving and pitching.
We had only to come below when the watch was out, wring
out our wet clothes, hang them up, and turn in and sleep as
soundly as we could, until the watch was called again. A
sailor can sleep anywhere — no sound of wind, water, wood
or iron can keep him awake — and we were always fast
asleep when three blows on the hatchway, and the unwel-
come cry of *'A11 starbowlines ahoy ! eight bells there
below ! do you hear the news?'' (the usual formula of call-
ing the watch), roused us up from our berths upon the cold,
wet decks. The only time when we could be said to take
any pleasure was at night and morning, when we were
allowed a tin pot full of hot tea (or, as the sailors signifi-
cantly call it, ** water bewitched,") sweetened with molasses.
This, bad as it was, was still warm and comforting, and,
together with our sea biscuit and cold salt beef, made quite
a jneal. Yet even this meal was attended with some un-
certainty. We had to go ourselves to the galley and take
our kid of beef and tin pots of tea, and run the risk of losing
them before we could get below. Many a kid of beef have
I seen rolling in the scuppers, and the bearer lying at his
length on the decks. I remember an English lad who was
always the life of the crew, but whom we afterwards lost

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 35

overboard, standing for nearly ten minutes at the galley,
with his pot of tea in his hand, waiting for a chance to get
down into the forecastle ; and seeing what he thought was
a "smooth spell," started to go forward. He had just got
to the end of the windlass, when a great sea broke over the
bows, and for a moment I saw nothing of him but his head
and shoulders ; and at the next instant, being taken off of
his legs, he was carried aft with the sea, until her stem lift-
ing up and sending the water forward, he was left high and
diy at the side of the long-boat, still holding on to his tin
pot, which had now nothing in it but salt water. But
nothing could ever daunt him, or overcome, for a moment,
his habitual good humor. Regaining his legs, and shaking
his fist at the man at. the wheel, he rolled below, saying, as
he passed, "A man's no sailor, if he can't take a joke."
The ducking was not the worst of such an affair, for, as there
was an allowance of tea, you could get no more from the
galley ; and though the sailors would never suffer a man
to go without, but would always turn in a little from their
own pots to fill up his, yet this was at best but dividing the
loss among all hands.

Something of the same kind befell me a few days after.
The cook had just made for us a mess of hot ** scouse" — that
is, biscuit pounded fine, salt beef cut into small pieces, and a
few potatoes, boiled up together and seasoned with pepper.
This was a rare treat, and I, being the last at the galley, had
it put in my charge to carry down for the mess. I got along
very well as far as the hatchway, and was just getting down
the steps, when a heavy sea, lifting the stem out of water, and
passingforward, dropping it down again, threw the steps from
their place, and I came down into the steerage a little faster
than I meant to, with the kid on top of me, and the whole
precious mess scattered over the floor. Whatever your feel-
ings may be, you must make a joke of everything at sea ;
and if you were to fall from aloft and be caught in the belly of
a sail, and thus saved from instant death, it would not do
\^to look at all disturbed, or to make a serious matter of it.

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36 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Friday J Nov. 14/A. We were now well to the westward of
the Cape and were changing our course to the northward
as much as we dared, since the strong south-west winds,
which prevailed then, carried us in towards Patagonia. At
two, P.M., we saw a sail on our larboard beam, and at four
we made it out to be a large ship, steering our course, imder
single-reefed topsails. We at that time had shaken the
reefs out of our topsails, as the wind was lighter, and set the
main top-gallant sail. As soon as our captain saw what
sail she was under, he set the fore top-gallant sail and flying
jib ; and the old whaler — for such, his boats and short
sail showed him to be — felt a little ashamed, and shook
the reefs out of his topsails, but could do no more, for he
had sent down his top-gallant masts oflE the Cape. He ran
down for us, and answered our hail as the whale-ship. New
England, of Poughkeepsie, one himdred and twenty days
from New York. Our captain gave our name, and addcil,
ninety-two days from Boston. They then had a little
conversation about longitude, in which they found that
they could not agree. The ship fell astern, and continued
in sight during the night. Toward morning, the wind hav-
ing become light, we crossed our royal and skysail yards,
and at daylight we were seen under a cloud of sail, having
royals and skysails fore and aft. The "spouter," as the
sailors call a whaleman, had sent up his main top-gallant
mast and set the sail, and made signal for us to heave to.
About half-past seven their whale-boat came alongside, and
Captain Job Terry sprang on board, a man known in every
port and by every vessel in the Pacific ocean. "Don't you
know Job Terry ? I thought everybody knew Job Terry,"
said a green-hand, who came in the boat, to me, when I
asked him about his captain. He was indeed a singular
man. He was six feet high, wore thick, cowhide boots, and
brown coat and trowsers, and, except a sun-burnt complex-
ion, had not the slightest appearance of a sailor; yet he
had been forty years in the whale trade, and, as he said
himself, had owned ships, built ships, and sailed ships. His

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 37

boat's crew were a pretty raw set, just out of the bush, and
as the saUor's phrase is, "hadn't got the hayseed out of their
hair." Captain Terry convinced our captain that our
reckoning was a little out, and, having spent the day on
board, put oflE in his boat at sunset for his ship, which was
now six or eight miles astern. He began a "yam" when
he came aboard, which lasted, with but little intermission,
for four hours. It was all about himself, and the Peruvian
government, and the Dublin frigate, and Lord James
Townshend, and President Jackson, and the ship Ann
M'Kim of Baltimore. It would probably never have come
to an end, had not a good breeze sprung up, which sent him
off to his own vessel. One of the lads who came in his boat,
a thoroughly countrified-looking fellow, seemed to care very
little about the vessel, rigging, or anything else, but went
roimd looking at the live stock, and leaned over the pig-sty,
and said he wished he was back again tending his father's pigs.

At eight o'clock we altered our course to the northward,
boimd for Juan Fernandez.

This day we saw the last of the albatrosses, which had
been our companions a great part of the time off the Cape.
I had been interested in the bird from descriptions which I
had read of it, and was not at all disappointed. We caught
one or two with a baited hook which we floated astern upon
a shingle. Their long, flapping wings, long legs, and large,
staring eyes, give them a very peculiar appearance. They
look well on the wing ; but one of the &iest sights that I
have ever seen, was an albatross asleep upon the water,
during a calm, off Cape Horn, when a heavy sea was numing.
There being no breeze, the surface of the water was un-
broken, but a long, heavy swell was rolling, and we saw the
fellow, all white, directly ahead of us, asleep upon the waves,
with his head under his wing ; now rising on the top of a
huge billow, and then falling slowly imtil he was lost in the
hollow between. He was imdisturbed for some time, until
the noise of our bows, gradually approaching, roused him,
when, lifting his head, he stared upon us for a moment, and
then spread his wide wings and took his flight.

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CHAPTER VI

Monday, Nov. iqth. This was a black day in our
calendar. At seven o'clock in the morning, it being our
watch below, we were aroused from a sound sleep by the
cry of **A11 hands ahoy! a man overboard!'' This un-
wonted cry sent a thrill through the heart of every one, and
hurrying on deck we found the vessel hove flat aback, with
all her studding-sails set ; for the boy who was at the helm
left it to throw something overboard, and the carpenter,
who was an old sailor, knowing that the wind was light, put
the helm down and hove her aback. The watch on deck
were lowering away the quarter-boat, and I got on deck
just in time to^heave myself into her as she was leaving the
side ; but it was not until out upon the wide Pacific, in our
little boat, that I knew whom we had lost. It was George
Ballmer, a young English sailor, who was prized by the
officers as an active and willing seaman, and by the crew
as a lively, hearty fellow, and a good shipmate. He was
going aloft to fit a strap round the main top-mast-head, for
ringtail halyards, and had the strap and block, a coil of
halyards, and a marline-spike about his neck. He fell
from the starboard futtock shrouds, and not knowing how
to swim, and being heavily dressed, with all those things
round his neck, he probably sank immediately. We pulled
astern, in the direction in which he fell, and though we
knew that there was no hope of saving him, yet no one
wished to speak of returning, and we rowed about for nearly
an hour, without the hope of doing anything, but unwilling
to acknowledge to ourselves that we must give him up. At
length we turned the boat's head and made towards the
vessel.

Death is at all times solemn, but never so much so as at

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 39

sea. A man dies on shore ; his body remains with his ;
friends, and **the mourners go about the streets;" but ;
when a man falls overboard at sea and is lost, there is a i
suddenness in the event, and a di^culty in realizing it,
which give to it an air of awful mystery. A man dies on ;
shore — you follow his body to the grave, and a stone marks
the spot. You are often prepared for the event. There is
always something which helps you to realize it when it
happens, and to recall it when it has passed. A man is
shot down by your side in battle, and the mangled body
remains an object, and a real evidence; but at sea, the man
is near you — at your side — you hear his voice, and in
an instajit he is gone, and nothing but a vacancy shows his
loss. Then, too, at sea — to use a homely but expressive
phrase — you miss a man so much. A dozen men are shut
up together in a little bark, upon the wide, wide sea, and
for months and months see no forms and hear no voices
but their own, and one is taken suddenly from among them,
and they miss him at every turn. It is like losing a limb.
There are no new faces or new scenes to fill up the gap.
There is always an empty berth in the forecastle, and one
man wanting when the small night watch is mustered.
There is one less to take the wheel, and one less to lay out
with you upon the yard. You miss his form, and the sound
of his voice, for habit had made them almost necessary to
you, and each of your senses feels the loss.

All these things make such a death peculiarly solemn, and
the effect of it remains upon the crew for some time. There
is more kindness shown by the officers to the crew, and by
the crew to one another. There is more quietness and
seriousness. The oath and the loud laugh are gone. The
officers are more watchful, and the crew go more carefully
aloft. The lost man is seldom mentioned, or is dismissed
with a sailor's rude eulogy — '* Well, poor George is gone !
EBs cruise is up soon ! He knew his work, and did his duty,
and was a good shipmate." Then usually follows some
allusion to another world, for sailors are ahnost all believers ;

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40 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

but their notions and opinions are unfixed and at loose ends.
They say, — " God won't be hard upon the poor fellow," and
seldom get beyond the common phrase whidi seems to imply
that their sufferings apd hard treatment here will excuse
them hereafter, — " To work hard, live hard, die hard, and go
to hell after all, would be hard indeed 1 " Our cook, a simple-
hearted old African, who had been through a good deal in
his day, and was rather seriously inclined, alwasrs going to
church twice a day when on shore, and reading his Bible
on a Sunday in the galley, talked to the crew about spend-
ing their Sabbaths badly, and told them that they might
go as suddenly as Greorge had, and be as little prepared.

Yet a sailor's life is at best but a mixture of a little good
with much evil, and a little pleasure with much pain. The
beautiful is linked with the revolting, the sublime with the
commonplace, and the solemn with the ludicrous.

We had hardly returned on board with our sad report,
before an auction was held of the poor man's clothes. The
captain had first, however, called all hands aft and asked
them if they were satisfied that everything had been done
to save the man, and if they thought there was any use in
remaining there longer. The crew all said that it was in
vain, for the man did not know how to swim, and was very
heavily dressed. So we then filled away and kept her off
to her course.

The laws regulating navigation make the captain answer-
able for the effects of a sailor who dies during the voyage,
and it is either a law or a universal custom, established for
convenience, that the captain should immediately hold an
auction of his things, in which they are bid off by the sailors,
and the sums which they give are deducted from their wages
at the end of the voyage. Iix this way the trouble and risk
of keeping his things through the voyage are avoided, and
the clothes are usually sold for more than they would be
worth on shore. Accordingly, we had no sooner got the
ship before the wind, than his chest was brought up upon the
forecastle, and the sale began. The jackets and trowsers

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 41

in which we had seen him dressed but a few dajrs before,
were exposed and bid off while the life was hardly out of his
body, and his chest was taken aft and used as a store-chest,
so that there was nothing left which could be called kis.
Sailors have an unwillingness to wear a dead man's clothes
during the same voyage, and they seldom do so unless they
are in absolute want.

C As is usual after a death, many stories were told about
George. Some had heard him say that he repented never
having learned to swim, and that he knew that he should
meet his death by drowning. Another said that he never
knew any good to come of a voyage made against the will,
and the deceased man shipped and spent his advance
and was afterwards very unwilling to go, but not being
able to refund, was obliged to sail with us. . A boy, too, who
had become quite attached to him, said that Greorge talked
to him during most of the watch on the night before, about
his mother and family at home, and this was the first time
that he had mentioned the subject during the voyage.

The night after this event, when I went to the galley
to get a Ught, I found the cook inclined to be talkative, so
I sat down on the spars, and gave him an opportunity to
hold a yam. I was the more inclined to do so, as I found
that he was full of the superstitions once more common
among seamen, and which the recent death had waked up
in his mind. He talked about George's having spoken of
his friends, and said he believed few men died without
having a warning of it, which he supported by a great many
stories of dreams, and the unusual behavior of men before
death. From this he went on to other superstitions, the
Fl)dng Dutchman, etc., and talked rather mysteriously,
having something evidently on his mind. At length he put
his head out of the galley and looked carefully about to
see if any one was within hearing, and being satisfied on that
point, asked me in a low tone —

"I say ! you know what countryman 'e carpenter be?"

*'Yes," said I; ''he's a German.'^

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42 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

*'What kind of a German?*' said the cook.

"He belongs to Bremen," said I.

**Are you sure o' dat?" said he.

I satisfied him on that point by saying that he could
speak no language but the German and English.

*'I'm plaguy glad o' dat," said the cook. **I was mighty
'fraid he was a Fin. I tell you what, I been-plaguy civil
to that man all the voyage."

I asked him the reason of this, and foimd that he was
fully possessed with the notion that Fins are wizards, and
especially have power over winds and storms. I tried to
reason with him about it, but he had the best of all argu-
ments, that from experience, at hand, and was not to be
moved. He had been in a vessel at the Sandwich Islands,
in which the sail-maker was a Fin, and could do anything
he was of a mind to. This sail-maker kept a junk bottle
in his berth, which was always just half full of rum, though
he got drunk upon it nearly every day. He had seen him
sit for hours together, talking to tiis bottle, which he stood
up before him on the table. The same man cut his throat
in his berth, and everybody said he was possessed.

He had heard of ships, too, beating up the gulf of Finland
against a head wind, and having a ship heave in sight astern,
overhaul and pass them, with as fair a wind as could blow,
and all studding-sails out, and find she was from Finland.

'*0h ho !" said he ; *^IVe seen too much of them men to
want to see 'em 'board a ship. If they can't have their
own way, they'll play the d ^1 with you."

As I still doubted, he said he would leave it to John,
who was the oldest seaman aboard, and would know, if
anybody did. John, to be sure, was the oldest, and at the
same time the most ignorant, man in the ship ; but I con-
sented to have him called. The cook stated the matter
to him, and John, as I anticipated, sided with the cook, and
said that he himself had been in a ship where they had a
head wind for a fortnight, and the captain found out at last
that one of the men, whom he had had some hard words with

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 43

a short time before, was a Fin, and immediately told him if
he didn't stop the head wind he would shut him down in
the fore peak. The Fin would not give in, and the captain
shut him down in the fore peak, and would not give him
anything to eat. The Fin held out for a day and a half,
when he could not stand it any longer, and did something
or other which brought the wind roimd again, and they let
him up.
*' There," said the cook, ''what do you think o' dat?"
I told him I had no doubt it was true, and that it would
have been odd if the wind had not changed in fifteen days,
Fin or no Fin.

"Oh," says he, "go 'way ! You think, 'cause you been
to college, you know better than anybody. You know
better than them as 'as seen it with their own eyes. You
wait till you've been to sea as long as I have, and you'll
know."

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CHAPTER Vn

We continued sailing along with a fair wind and fine
weather until

Tuesday y Nov. 25/A, when at daylight we saw the island
of Juan Fernandez, directly ahead, rising like a deep blue
cloud out of the sea. We were then probably nearly seventy
miles from it ; and so high and so blue did it appear, that I
mistook it for a cloud, resting over the island, and looked
for the island under it, imtil it gradually turned to a deader
and greener color, and I could mark the inequalities upon
its surface. At length we could distinguish trees and rocks ;
and by the afternoon, this beautiful island lay fairly before
us, and we directed our course to the only harbor. Arriv-
ing at the entrance soon after sim-down, we foimd a Chilian
man-of-war brig, the only vessel, coming out. She hailed
us, and an officer on board, whom we supposed to be an
American, advised us to nm in before night, and said that
they were bound to Valparaiso. We ran immediately for
the anchorage, but, owing to the winds which drew about
the moimtains and came to us in flaws from every point of
the compass, we did not come to an anchor imtil nearly
midnight. We had a boat ahead all the time that we were
working in, and those aboard were continually bracing the
yards about for every puff that struck us, until about
12 o'clock, when we came-to in 40 fathoms water, and our
anchor struck bottom for the first time since we left Boston
— one himdred and three days. We were then divided
into three watches, and thus stood out the remainder of the
night.

I was called on deck to stand my watch at about three
in the morning, and I shall never forget the peculiar sensa-
tion which I experienced on finding myself once more sur-

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UNDER DOUBLE-REEFED TOPSAIl-S

MAN OVERBOARD

APPROACHING THE ISLAND OF JUAN
FERNANDEZ:

.-:^

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f- /

( i .

4 .

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 47

belongs to Chili, and had been used by the government as
a sort of Botany Bay for nearly two years ; and the gov-
ernor — an Englishman who had entered the Chilian navy
— with a priest, half a dozen task-masters, and a body of
soldiers, were stationed there to keep them in order. This
was no easy task ; and only a few months before our ar-
rival, a few of them had stolen a boat at night, boarded a
brig lying in the harbor, sent the captain and crew ashore
in their boat, and gone oflf to sea. We were informed of
this, and loaded our arms and kept strict watch on board
. through the night, and were careful not to let the convicts
get our knives from us when on shore. The worst part of
the convicts, I foimd, were locked up under sentry in caves
dug into the side of the mountain, nearly halfway up, with
mule-tracks leading to them, whence they were taken by
day and set to work imder task-masters upon building an
aqueduct, a wharf, and other public works ; while the rest
lived in the houses which they put up for themselves, had
their families with them, and seemed to me to be the laziest
people on the face of the earth. They did nothing but
take a paseo into the woods, a paseo among the houses,
a paseo at the landing-place, looking at us and our vessel,
and too lazy to speak fast ; while the others were driving —
or rather, driven — about, at a rapid trot, in single file,
with burdens on their shoulders, and followed up by their
task-masters, with long rods in their hands, and broad-
brimmed straw hats upon their heads. Upon what precise
groimds this great distinction was made, I do not know,
and I could not very well know, for the governor was the
only man who spoke English upon the island, and he was
out of my walk.

Having filled our casks, we returned on board, and soon
after, the governor, dressed in a uniform like that of an
American militia officer, iht Padre, in the dress of the grey
friars, with hood and all complete, and the Capitan, with
big whiskers and dirty regimentals, came on board to dine,
^^ile at dinner, a large ship appeared in the offing, and

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48 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

soon afterwards we saw a light whale-boat pulling into the
harbor. The ship lay off and on, and a boat came along-
side of us, and put on board the captain, a plain young
Quaker, dressed all in brown. The ship was the Corks,
whaleman, of New Bedford, and had put in to see if there
were any vessels from roimd the'^Hom, and to hear the
latest news from America. They remained aboard a short
time and had a little talk with the crew, when they lift us
and pulled off to their ship, which, having filled away,
was soon out of sight.

A small boat which caipe from the shore to take away the
governor and suite — as they styled themselves — brought,
as a present to the crew, a large pail of milk, a few shells, and
a block' of. sandal wood. The milk, which was the first we
had tasted since leaving Boston, we soon despatched; a
piece of the sandal wood I obtained, and learned that it
/ grew on the hills in the centre of the island. I have always
regretted that I did not bring away other specimens of the
products of the island, having afterwards lost all that I
had with me — the piece of sandal wood, and a small
flower which I plucked and brought on board in the crown
of my tarpaulin, and carefully pressed between the leaves
of a book.

About an hour before sim-down, having stowed our water-
casks, we commenced getting imder weigh, and were not a.
little while about it; for we were in thirty fathoms water,
and in one of the gusts which came from off shore had let
go our other bow anchor ; and as the southerly wind draws
roimd the mountains and comes off in uncertain flaws, we
were continually swinging round, and had thus got a very
foul hawse. We hove in upon our chain, and after stopper-
ing and imshackling it again and again, and hoisting and
hauling down sail, we at length tipped our anchor and stood
out to sea. It was bright starlight when we were clear of
the bay, and the lofty island lay behind us, in its still beauty,
and I gave a parting look, and bid farewell, to the most
romantic spot of earth that my eyes had ever seen. I did

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 49

then, and have ever since, felt an attachment for that island,
altogether peculiar. It was partly, no doubt, from its
having been the ftrst land that I had seen since leaving
home, and still more from the associations which every one
has connected with it in their childhood from reading Robin-
son Crusoe. To this I tnay add the height and romantic
outline of its mountains, the beauty and freshness of its
verdure, and the extreme fertility of its soil, and its solitary
position in the midst of the wide expanse of the South
Pacific, as all concurring to give it its pectdiar charm.

When thoughts of this place have occurred to me at
1 lifiFerent times, I have endeavored to recall more particulars
with regard to it. It is situated in about 33° 30' S., and is
distant a little more than three hundred miles from Val-
paraiso, on the coast of Chili, which is in the same latitude.
It is about fifteen miles in length and five in breadth.
The harbor in which we anchored (called by Lord Anson,
Cumberland bay) is the only one in the island ; two small
bights of land on each side of the main bay (sometimes
dignified by the name of bays) being little more than land-
ing-places for boats. The best anchorage is at the western
side of the bay, where we lay at about three cables' lengths
from the shore, in a little more than thirty fathoms water.
This harbor is open to the N.N.E., and in fact nearly from
N. to E., but the only dangerous winds being the south-west,
on which side are the highest mountains, it is considered
very safe. The most remarkable thing perhaps about it is
the fish with which it abounds. Two of our crew, who
remained on board, caught in a few minutes enough to last
us for several days, and one of the men, who was a Marble-
head man, said that he never saw or heard of such an
abundance. There were cod, breams, silver-fish, and other
kinds whose names they did not know, or which I have
iorgotten.

There is an abtmdance of the best of water upon the
island, small streams numing through every valley, and
leaping down from the sides of the hills. One stream of

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so TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

considerable size flows through the centre of the lawn up>on
^ which the houses are built, and furnishes an easy and abun-
dant supply to the inhabitants. This, by means of a short
wooden aqueduct, was brought quite down to our boats.
' 'The convicts had also built somethmg in the way of a breaJk-
water, and were to build a landing-place for boats and goods,
after which the Chilian government intended to lay port
" charges.

Of the wood I can only say, that it appeared to be abun-
dant ; the island in the month of November, when we were
there, being in all the freshness and beauty of spring, ap-
peared covered with trees. These were chiefly aromatic,
and the largest was the myrtle. The soil is very loose and
rich, and wherever it is broken up, there spring up immedi-
ately radishes, turnips, groimd apples, and other garden
fruits. Goats, we were told, were not abundant, and we
saw none, though it was said we might, if we had gone into
the interior. We saw a few bullocks winding about in the
narrow tracks upon the sides of the mountains, and the
settlement was completely overrun with dogs of every
nation, kindred, and degree. Hens and chickens were
also abundant, and seemed to be taken good care of by the
, women. The men appeared to be the laziest people upon
the face of the earth ( and indeed, as far as my observation
goes, there are no people to whom the newly-invented Yan-
kee word of '* loafer'' is more applicable than to the Spanish
Americans./ These men stood abojat doing nothing, with
their cloaks, little better in texture than an Indian's blanket,
but of rich colors, thrown over their shoulders with an air
which it is said that a Spanish beggar can always give to
his rags; and with great politeness and courtesy in their
address, though with holes in their shoes and without a
i sou in their pockets. The only interruption to the monot-
ony of their day seemed to be when a gust of wind drew
roimd between the moimtains and blew off the boughs
which they had placed^ for roofs to their houses, and gave
them a few minutes' occupation in running about after

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 51

them. One of these gusts occurred while we were ashore,
and afforded us no little amusement at seeing the men
look roimd, and if they found that their roofs had stood,
conclude that they might stand too, while those who saw
theirs blown ofif , after uttering a few Spanish oaths, gathered
their cloaks ©ver their shoxilders, and started off after them.
However, .they were not gone long, but soon returned to
their habitual occupation of doing nothing.

It is perhaps needless to say tiiat we saw nothing of the
interior; but all who have seen it, give very glqwing ac-
coimts of it. Our captain went with the governor and a
few servants upon mules over the mountains, and upon
their return, I heard the governor request him to stop at
the island on his passage home, and offer him a handsome
sum to bring a few deer with him from California, for he
said that there were none upon the island, and he was very
desirous of having it stocked.

A steady, though light south-westerly wind carried us
well off from the island, and when I came on deck for the
middle watch I could just distinguish it from its hiding a
few low stars in the southern horizon, though my imprac-
tised eyes would hardly have known it for land. At the
dose of the watch a few trade-wind clouds which had
arisen, though we were hardly yet in their latitude, shut it
out from our view, and the next day,

Thursday, Nov. 27/A, upon coming on deck in the morn-
ing, we were again upon the wide Pacific, and saw no more
land until we arrived upon the western coast of the great
continent of America.

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CHAPTER Vra

As we saw neither land nor sail from the time of leaving
Juan Fernandez until our arrival in California, nothing of
interest occurred except our own doings on board. We
caught the south-east trades, and run before them for nearly
three weeks, without so much as altering a sail or bracing
a yard. The captain took advantage of this fine weather
to get the vessel in order for coming upon the coast. The
carpenter was employed in fitting up a part of the steerage
into a trade-room ; for oxir cargo, we now learned, was not
to be landed, but to be sold by retail from on board ; and
this trade-room was built for the samples and the lighter
goods to be kept in, and as a place for the general business.
In the mean time we were employed in working upon the
rigging. Everything was set up taught, the lower rigging
rattled down, or rather rattled upy (according to the modem
fashion,) an abundance of spun-yam and seizing-stuff
made, and finally, the whole standing-rigging, fore and aft,
was tarred down. This was my first essay at this latter
business, and I had enough of it ; for nearly all of it came

upon my friend S and myself. The men were needed

at the other work, and M , the other yoimg man who

came out with us, was laid up with the rheumatism in his
feet, and the boy was rather too yoimg and small for the
business ; and as the winds were light and regular, he was
kept during most of the daytime at the helm ; so that nearly
all the tarring came upon us. We put on short duck frocks,
and taking a small bucket of tar and a bimch of oakum in
our hands, went aloft, one at the main ro3ral-mast-head
and the other at the fore, and began tarring down. This
is an important operation, and is usually done about once
in six months in vessels upon a long voyage. It was done

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 53

in our vessel several times afterwards, but by the whole
crew at once, and finished off in a day ; but at this time,
as most of it came upon two of us, and we were new at the
business, it took us several days. In this operation they
always begin at the mast-head and work down, tarring the
shrouds, back-stays, standing parts of the lifts, the ties,
nmners, etc., and go out to the yard-arms, and come in,
tarring, as they come, the lifts and foot-ropes. Tarring
the stays is more difficult, and is done by an operation
which the sailors call "riding down." A long piece of rope
— top-gallant-studding-sail halyards, or something of the
kind — is taken up to the mast-head from which the stay
leads, and rove through a block for a girt-line, or, as the
sailors usually call it, a gant-Une; with the end of this a
bowline is taken round the stay, into which the man gets
with his bucket of tar and a bunch of oakum, and the
other end being fast on deck, with some one to tend it, he
is lowered down gradually, and tars the stay carefully as
he goes. There he "swings aloft ^twixt heaven and earth,"
and if the rope slips, breaks, or is let go, or if the bowline
slips, he falls overboard or breaks his neck. This, however,
is a thing which never enters into a sailor's calculation.
He only thinks of leaving no holydaySy (places not tarred,)
for in case he should, he would have to go over the whole
again; or of dropping no tar upon deck, for then there
would be a soft word in his ear from the mate. In this man-
ner I tarred down all the head-stays, but found the rigging
about the jib-booms, martingale, and spritsail yard, upon
which I was afterwards put, the hardest. Here you have
to hang on with your eye-lids and tar with your hands.

This dirty work could not last forever, and on Saturday
night we finished it, scraped all the spots from the deck and
rails, and, what was of more importance to us, cleaned our-
selves thoroughly, rolled up our tarry frocks and trowsers
and laid them away for the next occasion, and put on our
clean duck clothes, and had a good comfortable sailor's
Saturday night. The next day was pleasant, and indeed

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54 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

we had but one unpleasant Sunday during the whole voyage,
and that was ofif Cape Horn, where we could expect nothmg
better. On Monday we commenced painting, and getting
the vessel ready for port. This work, too, is done by the
crew, and every sailor who has been long voyages is a little
of a painter, in addition to his other accomplislunents. We
painted her, both inside and out, from the truck to the
water's edge. The outside is painted by lowering stages
over the side by ropes, and on those we sat, with our brushes
and paint-pots by us, and our feet half the time in the water.
This must be done, of course, on a smooth day, when the
vessel does not roll much. I remember very well being over
the side painting in this way, one fine afternoon, our vessel
going quietly along at the rate of four or five knots, and a
pilot-fish, the sure precursor of a shark, swimming alongside
of us. The captain was leaning over the rail watching him,
and we went quietly on with our work. In the midst of
our painting, on

Friday, Dec, igth, we crossed the equator for the second
time. I had the feeling which all have when, for the first
time, they find themselves living under an entire change of
seasons ; as, crossing the line under a burning sun in the
midst of December, and, as I afterwards was, beating about
among ice and snow on the fourth of July.

Thursday y Dec, 2$th. This day was Christmas, but it
brought us no holiday. The only change was that we had
a **plum duff,'' for dinner, and the crew quarrelled with the
steward because he did not give us our usual allowance of
molasses to eat with it. He thought the plums would be a
substitute for the molasses, but we were not to be cheated
out of our rights in this way.

Such are the trifles which produce quarrels on shipboard.
In fact, we had been too long from port. We were getting
tired of one another, and were in an irritable state, both
forward and aft. Our fresh provisions were, of course,
gone, and the captain had stopped our rice, so that we had
nothing but salt beef and salt pork throughout the week,

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 55

with the exception of a very small duff on Sunday. This
added to the discontent ; and a thousand little things, daily
and almost hourly occurring, which no one who has not
himself been on a long and tedious voyage can conceive of
or properly appreciate, — little wars and rumors of wars, —
reports of things said in the cabin, — misunderstanding of
words and loofcs, — apparent abuses, — brought us into a
state in which everything seemed to go wrong. Every
encroachment upon the time allowed for rest, appeared
mmecessary. Every shifting of the studding-sails was
only to *'haze "^ the crew.

Li the midst of this state of things, my messmate S

and myself petitioned the captain for leave to shift our
berths from the steerage, where we had previously lived,
into the forecastle. This, to our delight, was granted, and
we turned in to bunk and mess with the crew forward.
We now began to feel like sailors, which we never fully did
when we were in the steerage. While there, however useful
and active you may be, you are but a mongrel, — and sort
of afterguard and "ship's cousin." You are immediately
imder the eye of the officers, cannot dance, sing, play, smoke,
make a noise, or growl (i.e. complain), or take any other
sailor's pleasure; and you live with the steward, who is
usually a go-between ; and the crew never feel as though
you were one of them. But if you live in the forecastle,
you are "as independent as a wood-sawyer's clerk" (nau-
tic6), and are a sailor. You hear sailors' talk, learn their
ways, their peculiarities of feeling as well as speaking and
acting ; and moreover pick up a great deal of curious and
useful information in seamanship, ship's customs, foreign
coimtries, etc., from their long yams and equally long dis-
putes. No man can be a sailor, or know what sailors are, '^
\mless he has lived in the forecastle with them — turned in ^

* Haze is a word of frequent use on board ship, and never, I believe, used
elsewhere. It is very expressive to a sailor, and means to punish by hard
work. Let an officer once say, " I'll haze you," and your fate is fixed. You
will be " worked up," if you are not a better man than he is.

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S6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

and out with them, eaten of their dish and drank of their
cup. After I had been a week there, nothing woxild have
tempted me to go back to my old berth, and never after-
wards, even in the worst of weather, when in a close and
leaking forecastle ofif Cape Horn, did I for a moment wish
myself in the steerage. Another thing which you learn
better in the forecastle than you can anywhere else, is,
to make and mend clothes, and this is indispensable to
sailors. A large part of their watches below they spend
lit this work, and here I learned that art which stood me in
so good stead afterwards.

But to return to the state of the crew. Upon our com-
ing into the forecastle, there was some difficulty about
the imiting of the allowances of bread, by which we thought
we were to lose a few pounds. This set us into a ferment.
The captain would not condescend to explain, and we went
aft in a body, with a Swede, the oldest and best sailor of the
crew, for spokesman. The recollection of the scene that
followed always brings up a smile, especially the quarter-
deck dignity and eloquence of the captain. He was walk-
ing the weather side of the quarter-deck, and seeing us
coming aft, stopped short in his walk, and with a voice
and look intended to annihilate us, called out, "Well, what
do you want now ? " Whereupon we stated our grievances
as respectfully as we could, but he broke in upon us, saying
that we were getting fat and lazy, didn't have enough to do,
and that made us find fault. This provoked us, and we
began to give word for word. This would never answer.
He clenched his fist, stamped and swore, and sent us all
forward, saying, with oaths enough interspersed to send the
words home, — "Away with you! go forward every one
of you ! I'll haze you ! I'll work you up ! You don't have

enough to do ! You've mistaken your man. I'm F

T , all the way from * down east.' I've been through the

mill, groimd, and bolted, and come out a regular-buiU
dawn-east johnny-cake^ good when it's hot, but when it's
cold, sour and indigestible ; — and you'll find me so ! '*

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 57

The latter part of this harangue I remember well, for it made
a strong impression, and the "down-east johnny-cake"
became a by-word for the rest of the voyage. So much for
our petition for the redress of grievances. The matter was
however set right, for the mate, after allowing the captain
due time to cool oflf, explained it to him, and at night we
were all called aft to hear another harangue, in which, of
course, the whole blame of the misimderstanding was thrown
upon us. We ventured to hint that he woxild not give us
time to explain ; but it wouldn't do. We were driven back
discomfited. Thus the afifair blew over, but the irritation
caused by it remained ; and we never had peace or a good
imderstanding again so long as the captain and crew re-
mained together.

We continued sailing along in the beautiful temperate
climate of the Pacific. The Pacific well deserves its name,
for except in the southern part, at Cape Horn, and in the
western parts, near the China and Indian oceans, it has fewx
storms, and is never either extremely hot or cold. Between
the tropics there is a slight haziness, like a thin gauze,
drawn over the sun, which, without obstructing or obscuring
the light, tempers the heat which comes down with perpen-
dicular fierceness in the Atlantic and Indian tropics. We
sailed well to the westward to have the full advantage
of the north-east trades, and when we had reached the
latitude of Point Conception, where it is usual to make
the land, we were several hundred miles to the westward
of it. We immediately changed our course due east, and
sailed in that direction for a number of days. At length
we began to heave-to after dark, for fear of making the
land at night on a coast where there are no light-houses
and but indifferent charts, and at daybreak on the
morning of

Tttesday, Jan. i^thy 1835, we made the land at Point
Conception, lat. 34° 32' N., long. 120"^ 06' W. The port of
Santa Barbara, to which we were bound, lying about sixty
miles to the southward of this point, we continued sailing

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SS TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

down the coast during the day and following night, and
on the next morning,

Jan. 14th, 1835, we came to anchor in the spacious bay
of Santa Barbara, after a voyage of one hundred and fifty
days from Boston.

. ^ r ; <

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CHAPTER DC

California extends along nearly the whole of the western
coast of Mexico, between the gulf of California in the south
and the bay of Sir Francis Drake on the north, or between
the 2 2d and 38th degrees of north latitude. It is sub-
divided into two provinces — Lower or Old California, lying
between the gulf and the 3 2d degree of latitude, or near it
(the division line nmning, I believe, between the bay of
Todos Santos and the port of San Diego); and New or
Upper California, the southernmost port of which is, San
Diego, in lat. 32° 39', and the northernmost, San Francisco,
situated in the large bay discovered by Sir Francis Drake,
in lat. 37® 58', and called after him by the English, though
the Mexicans call it Yerba Buena. Upper California has
the seat of its government at Monterey, where is also the
custom-house, tihe only one on the coast, and at which every
vessel intending to trade on the coast must enter its cargo
before it can commence its traffic. We were to trade upon
this coast exclusively, and therefore expected to go to
Monterey at first ; but the captain's orders from home were
to put in at Santa Barbara, which is the central port of the
coast, and wait there for the agent who lives there, and
transacts all the business for the firm to which our vessel
belonged.

The bay, or, as it was commonly called, the canal of
Santa Barbara, is very large, being formed by the main
land on one side (between Point Conception on the north
and Point St. Buena Ventura on the south), which here
bends in like a crescent, and three large islands opposite to
it, and at the distance of twenty miles. This is just sufficient
to give it the name of a bay, while at the same time it is so
large and so much exposed to the south-east and north-west

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6o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

winds, that it is little better than an open roadstead ; and
the whole swell of the Pacific ocean rolls in here before a
south-easter, and breaks with so heavy a surf in the shallow
waters, that it is highly dangerous to lie near in to the shore
during the south-easter season, that is, between the months
of November and April.

This wind (the south-easter) is the bane of the coast of
California. Between the months of November and April
(including a part of each), which is the rainy season in this
latitude, you are never safe from it, and accordingly, in the
ports which are open to it, vessels are obliged, during these
months, to Tie at anchor at a distance of three miles from
the shore, with slip-ropes on their cables, ready to slip and
go to sea at a moment's warning. The only ports which are
safe from this wind are San Francisco and Monterey in the
north, and San Diego in the south.

As it was January when we arrived, and the middle of
the south-easter season, we accordingly came to anchor at
the distance of three miles from the shore, in eleven fathoms
water, and bent a slip-rope and buoys to our cables, cast
off the yard-arm gaskets from the sails, and stopped them
all with rope-yams. After we had done this, the boat
went ashore with the captain, and returned with orders to
the mate to send a boat ashore for him at sxmdown. I did
not go in the first boat, and was glad to find that there was
another going before night; for after so long a voyage as
ours had been, a few hours is long to pass in sight and out of
reach of land. We spent the day on board in the usual
avocations; but as this was the first time we had been
without the captain, we felt a little more freedom, and
looked about us to see what sort of a country we had got
into, and were to spend a year or two of our lives in.

In the first place, it was a beautiful day, and so warm that
we had on straw hats, duck trowsers, and all the summer
gear; and as this was mid-winter, it spoke well for the
climate; and we afterwards found that the thermometer
never fell to the freezing point throughout the winter, and

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 6i

that there was very little difference between the seasons,
except that during a long period of rainy and south-easterly
weatiier, thick clothes were not uncomfortable.

The large bay lay about us, nearly smooth, as there was
hardly a breath of wind stirring, though the boat's crew who
went ashore told us that the long groxmd swell broke into a
heavy surf on the beach. There was only one vessel in the
port — a long, sharp brig of about 300 tons, with raking
masts and very square yards, and English colors at her
peak. We afterwards learned that she was built at Guaya-
quil, and named the Ayacticho, after the place where the
battle was fought that gave Peru her independence, and
was now owned by a Scotchman named Wilson, who com-
manded her, and was engaged in the trade between Callao,
the Sandwich Islands, and California. She was a fast
sailer, as we frequently afterwards perceived, and had a
crew of Sandwich Islanders on board. Beside this vessel
there was no object to break the surface of the bay. Two
points ran out as the horns of the crescent, one of which —
the one to the westward — was low and sandy, and is that
to which vessels are obliged to give a wide berth when run-
ning out for a south-easter; the other is high, bold, and
well wooded, and, we were told, has a mission upon it,
called St. Buenaventura, from which the point is named.
In the middle of this crescent, directly opposite the anchor-
ing groimd, lie the mission and town of Santa Barbara, on a
low, flat plain, but little above the level of the sea, covered
with grass, though entirely without trees, and surrounded on
three sides by an amphitheatre of moxmtains, which slant off
to the distance of fifteen or twenty miles. The mission stands
back a little of the town, and is a large building, or rather
collection of buildings, in the centre of which is a high tower,
with a belfry of five bells ; and the whole, being plastered,
makes quite a show at a distance, and is the mark by which
vessels come ta anchor. The town lies a little nearer to
the beach — about half a mile from it — and is composed
of one-story houses built of brown clay — some of them

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62 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

plastered — with red tiles on the roofs. I shoixld judge
that there were about an hundred of them; and in the
midst of them stands the Presidio, or fort, built of the same
materials, and apparently but little stronger. The town is
certainly finely situated, with a bay in front, and an amphi-
theatre of hills behind. The only thing which diminishes
its beauty is, that the hills have no large trees upon them,
they having been all burnt by a great fire which swept them
off about a dozen years before, and they had not yet grown
up again. The fire was described to me by an inhabitant,
as having been a very terrible and magnificent sight. The
air of the whole valley was so heated that the people were
obliged to leave the town and take up their quarters for
several days upon the beach.

Just before sun-down the mate ordered a boat's crew
ashore, and I went as one of the nimaber. We passed under
the stem of the English brig, and had a long pull ashore. I
shall never forget the impression which our first landing on
the beach of California made upon me. The sun had just
gone down; it was getting dusky; the damp night wind
was beginning to blow, and the heavy swell of the Pacific
was setting in, and breaking in loud and high "combers'*
upon the beach. We lay on our oars in the swell, just out-
side of the surf, waiting for a good chance to nm in, when a
boat, which had put off from the Ayacucho just after us,
came alongside of us, with a crew of dusky Sandwich Island-
ers, talking and hallooing in their outlandish tongue. They
knew that we were novices in this kind of boating, and
waited to see us go in. The second mate, however, who
steered our boat, determined to have the advantage of their
experience, and would not go in first. Finding, at length,
how matters stood, they gave a shout, and taking advantage
of a great comber which came swelling in, rearing its head,
and lifting up the stem of our boat nearly perpendicular,
and again dropping it in the trough, they gave three or four
long and strong pidls, and went in on top of the great wave,
throwing their oars overboard, and as far from the boat

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 63

as they could throw them, and jumping out the instant
that the boat touched the beach, and then seizing hold of
her and running her up high and dry upon the sand. We
saw, at once, how it was to be done, and also the necessity
of keeping the boat " stern on'' to the sea ; for the instant the
sea should strike upon her broad-side or quarter, she would
be driven up broad-side on,'and capsized. We pulled strongly
in, and as soon as we felt that the sea had got hold of us
and was carrying us in with the speed of a race-horse,
we threw the oars as far from the boat as we could, and took
hold of the gunwale, ready to spring out and seize her
when she struck, the officer using his utmost strength to
keep her stem on. We were shot up upon the beach like
an arrow from a bow, and seizing the boat, ran her up high
and dry, and soon picked up our oars, and stood by her,
ready for the captain to come down.

Finding that the captain did not come inunediately, we
put our oars in the boat, and leaving one to watch it, walked
about the beach to see what we could, of the place. The
beach is nearly a mile in length between the two points, and
of smooth sand. We had taken the only good landing-
place, which is in the middle ; it being more stony toward
the ends. It is about twenty yards in width from high-
water mark to a slight bank at which the soil begins, and so
hard that it is a favorite place for running horses. It was
growing dark, so that we could just distinguish the dim out-
lines of the two vessels in the oflSng ; and the great seas were'
rolling in, in regular lines, growing larger and larger as they
approached the shore, and hanging over the beach upon
which they were to break, when their tops would curl over
and turn white with foam, and, beginning at one extreme of
the line, break rapidly to the other, as a long card-house
falls when the children knock down the cards at one end.
The Sandwich Islanders, in the mean time, had turned their
boat roimd, and ran her down into the water, and were
loading her with hides and tallow. As this was the work
in which we were soon to be engaged, we looked on with

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64 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

some curiosity. They ran the boat into the water so far
that every large sea might float her, and two of them, with
their trowsers rolled up, stood by the bows, one on each
side, keeping her in her right position. This was hard work ;
for beside the force they had to use upon the boat, the large
seas nearly took them off their legs. The others were
running from the boat to the bank, upon which, out of the
reach of the water, was a pile of dry biiUocks' hides, doubled
lengthwise in the middle, and nearly as stiff as boards.
These they took upon their heads, one or two at a time, and
carried down to the boat, where one of their niunber stowed
them away. They were obliged to carry them on their
heads, to keep them out of 3ie water, and we observed
that they had on thick woollen caps. "Look here. Bill, and
see what you're coming to ! '' said one of our men to another

who stood by the boat. *'Well, D ," said the second

mate to me, ''this does not look much like Cambridge col-
lege, does it? This is what I call ^head work.^ " To tell
the truth, it did not look very encouraging.

After they had got through with the hides, they laid hold
of the bags of tallow (the bags are made of hide, and are
about the size of a common meal bag), and lifting each upon
the shoulders of two men, one at each end, walked off with
them to the boat, and prepared to go aboard. Here, too,
was something for us to learn. The man who steered,
shipped his oar und stood up in the stem, and those that
pulled the after oars sat upon their benches, with their oars
shipped, ready to strike out as soon as she was afloat.
The two men at the bows kept their places ; and when, at
length, a large sea came in and floated her, seized hold of
the gunwale, and ran out with her till they were up to their
armpits, and then tumbled over the gunwale into the bows,
dripping with water. The men at the oars struck out, but
it wouldn't do ; the sea swept back and left them nearly
high and dry. The two fellows jumped out again ; and the
next time they succeeded better, and, with the help of a
deal of outlandish hallooing and bawling, got her well off.

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WE THREW THE OARS AS FAR FROM THE
BOAT AS WE COULD

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TWO YEARS. BEFORE THE MAST 65

We watched them till they were out of the breakers, and
saw them steering for their vessel, which was now hidden in
the darkness.

The sand of the beach began to be cold to our bare feet ;
the frogs set up their croaking in the marshes, and one
solitary owl, from the end of the distant point, gave out his
melancholy note, mellowed by the distance, and we began
to think that it was high time for "the old man," as the
captain is generally called, to come down. In a few min-
utes we heard something coming towards us. It was a
man on horseback. He came up on the full gallop, reined
up near us, addressed a few words to us, and receiving no
answer, wheeled roimd and galloped off again. He was
nearly as dark as an Indian, with a large Spanish hat,
blanket cloak or surxeppa, and leather leggins, with a long
knife stuck in theST^Tniis is the seventh dty that ever
I was in, and no Christian one neither,'* said Bill Brown.
"Stand by!" said Tom, "you haven't seen the worst of
it yet." In the midst of this conversation the captain
appeared; and we winded the boat round, shoved her
down, and prepared to go off. The captain, who had
been on the coast before and "knew the ropes," took the
steering oar, and we went off in the same way as the other
boat. I, being the yoimgest, had the pleasure of standing
at the bow, and getting wet through. We went off well,
though the seas were high. Some of them lifted us up, and
sliding from under us, seemed to let us drop through the
air like a flat plank upon the body of the water. In a few
minutes we were in the low, regular swell, and pulled for a
light, which, as we came up, we found had been nm up to
our trysail gaff.

^ Coming aboard, we hoisted up all the boats, and diving
down into the forecastle, changed our wet clothes, and got
otir supper. After supper the sailors lighted their pipes
(dgars, those of us who had them), and we had to tell all
we had seen ashore. Then followed conjectures about the
people ashore, the length of the voyage, carrying hides, etc.,

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66 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

iinta eight bells, when all hands were called aft, and the
" anchor watch" set. We were to stand two in a watch, and
as the nights were pretty long, two hours were to make a
watch. The second mate was to keep the deck until eight
o'clock, and all hands were to be caUed at daybreak, and
the word was passed to keep a bright look-out, and to call
the mate if it should come on to blow from the south-east.
We had also orders to strike the bells every half hour
through the night, as at sea. My watchmate was John, the
Swedish sailor, and we stood from twelve to two, he walking
the larboard side, and I the starboard. At daylight all
hands were called, and we went through the usual process
of washing down, swabbing, etc., and got breakfast at
eight o'clock. In the course of the forenoon, a boat went
aboard of the Ayacucho and brought off a quarter of beef,
which made us a fresh bite for dinner. This we were glad
enough to have, and the mate told us that we should live
upon fresh beef while we were on the coast, as it was cheaper
here than the salt. While at dinner, the cook called, "Sail
ho ! '' and coming on deck, we saw two sails coming round
the point. One was a large ship xmder top-gallant sails, and
the other a small hermaphrodite brig. They both backed
their topsails and sent boats aboard of us. The ship's
colors had puzzled us, and we found that she was from
Genoa, with an assorted cargo, and was trading on the
coast. She filled away again, and stood out ; being bound
up the coast to San Francisco. The crew of the brig's boat
were Sandwich Islanders, but one of them, who spoke a
little English, told us that she was the Loriotte^ Captain Nye,
from Oahu, and was engaged in this trade. She was a Imnp
of a thing — what the sailors call a butter-box. This
vessel, as well as the Ayacucho, and others which we after-
wards saw engaged in the same trade, have English or
Americans for officers, and two or three before the mast to
)^do the work upon the rigging, and to rely upon for seaman-
ship, while the rest of the crew are Sandwich Islanders,
who are active, and very useful in boating.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 67

The three captains went ashore after dinner, and came
off again at night. When in port, everything is attended
to by the chief mate; the captain, xmless he is also super-
cargo, has little to do, and is usually ashore much of his
time. This we thought would be pleasanter for us, as the
mate was a good-natured man and not very strict. So it
was for a time, but we were worse off in the end; for
wherever the captain is a severe, energetic man, and the
mate is wanting in both these qualities, there will always
be trouble. And trouble we had already begim to antici-
pate. The captain had several times found fault with the
mate, in presence of the crew ; and hints had been dropped
that all was not right between them. When this is the
case, and the captain suspects that his chief officer is too
easy and familiar with the crew, then he begins to interfere
in all the duties, and to draw the reins taughter, and the
crew have to suffer.

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CHAPTER X

This night, after sundown, it looked black at the south-
ward and eastward, and we were told to keep a bright
look-out. Expecting to be called up, we turned in early.
Waking up about midnight, I found a man who had just
come down from his watch, striking a light. He said that
it was beginning to puff up from tiie south-east, and that
the sea was rolling in, and he had called the captain ; and
as he threw himself down on his chest with all his clothes
on, I knew that he expected to be called. I felt the vessel
pitching at her anchor, and the chain surging and snapping,
and lay awake, expecting an instant sununons. In a few
minutes it came — three knocks on the scuttle, and "All
hands ahoy ! bear-a-hand up and make sail.'' We sprang
up for our clothes, and were about halfway dressed, when
the mate called out, down the scuttle, "Tumble up here,
men ! tumble up ! before she drags her anchor." We were
on deck in an instant. "Lay aloft and loose the topsails ! "
shouted the captain, as soon as the iSirst man showed him-
self. Springing into the rigging, I saw that the Ayacucho's
topsails were loosed, and heard her crew singing-out at
the sheets as they were hauling them home. This had
probably started our captain ; as "old Wilson'' (the captain
of the Ayactwho) had been many years on the coast, and
knew the signs of the weather. We soon had the topsails
loosed ; and one hand remaining, as usual, in each top, to
overhaul the rigging and light 3ie sail out, the rest of us
laid down to man the sheets. While sheeting home, we
saw the Ayacucho standing athwart our bows, sharp upon
the wind, cutting through the head sea like a knife, with her
raking masts and sharp bows running up like the head of
a greyhoimd. It was a beautiful sight. She was like a bird

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 69

which had been frightened and had spread her wings in
flight. After the topsails had been sheeted home, the head
yards braced aback, the fore-top-mast staysail hoisted,
and the buoys streamed, and all ready forward, for slipping,
we went aft and manned the slip^rope which came through
the stem port with a turn roxm^Tthe timber-heads. "All
ready forward?" asked the captain. "Aye, aye, sir; all
ready," answered the mate. "Let go I " "All gone, sir ; "
and the iron cable grated over the windlass and tihrough the
hawse-hole, and the little vessel's head swinging off from
the wind imder the force of her backed head sails, brought
the strain upon the slip-rope. "Let go aft ! " Instantly
all was gone, and we were imder weigh. As soon as she
was well off from the wind, we filled away the head yards,
braced all up sharp, set the foresail and trysail, and left our
anchorage well astern, giving the point a good berth.
"Nye's off too," said the captain to the mate; and looking
astern, we could just see the little hermaphrodite brig under
sail standing after us.

It now began to blow fresh ; the rain fell fast, and it grew
very black; but the captain would not take in sail until
we were well clear of the point. As soon as we left this
on our quarter, and were standing out to sea, the order was
given, and we sprang aloft, double reefed each topsail,
furled the foresail, and double reefed the trysail, and were
soon under easy sail. In these cases of slipping for south-
easters, there is nothing to be done, after you have got clear
of the coast, but to lie-to xmder easy sail, and wait for the
gale to be over, which seldom lasts more than two days, and
is often over in twelve hours ; but the wind never comes
back to the southward imtil tiiere has a good deal of rain
fallen. "Go below the watch," said the mate; but here
was a dispute which watch it should be, which the mate
soon however settled by sending his watch below, sa3dng
that we should have our turn the next time we got imder
weigh. We renuuned on deck till the expiration of the
watch, the wind blowing very fresh and the rain coming

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70 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

down in torrents. When the watch came up, we wore
ship, and stood on the other tack, in towards land. When
we came up again, which was at four in the morning, it was
very dark, and there was not much wind, but it was rain-
ing as I thought I had never seen it rain before. We had
on oil-cloth suits and south-wester caps, and had nothing to
do but to stand bolt upright and let it pour down upon us.
There are no lunbrellas, and no sheds to go under, at sea.

While we were standing about on deck, we saw the little
brig drifting by us, hove to imder her fore topsail double
reefed ; and she glided by like a phantom. Not a word was
spoken, and we saw no one on deck but the man at the
wheel. Toward morning the captain put his head out of
the companion-way and told the second mate, who com-
manded our watch, to look out for a change of wind, which
usually followed a calm and heavy rain ; and it was well
that he did ; for in a few minutes it fell dead calm, the vessel
lost her steerage-way, and the rain ceased. We hauled up
the trysail and courses, squared the after yards, and waited
for the change, which came in a few minutes, with a ven-
geance, from the north-west, the opposite point of the com-
pass. Owing to our precautions, we were not taken aback,
but ran before the wind with square yards. The captain
coming on deck, we braced up a little and stood baci for
our anchorage. With the change of wind came a change
of weather, and in two hours the wind moderated into the
light steady breeze, which blows down the coast the greater
part of the year, and, from its regularity, might be called
a trade-wind. The sun came up bright, and we set royals,
skysails, and studding-sails, and were under fair way for
Santa Barbara. The little Loriotte was astern of us, nearly
out of sight ; but we saw nothing of the Ayacucho. In a
short time she appeared, standing out from Santa Rosa
Island, imder the lee of which she had been hove to, all
night. Our captain was anxious to get in before her, for
it would be a great credit to us, on tiie coast, to beat the
Ayacucho, which had been called the best sailer in the North

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 71

Pacific, in which she had been known as a trader for six
years or more. We had an advantage over her in light
winds, from our royals and skysails which we carried both
at the fore and main, and also in our studding-sails; for
Captain Wilson carried nothing above top-gallant-sails,
and always unbent his studding-sails when on the coast.
As the wind was light and fair, we held our own, for some
time, when we were both obliged to brace up and come upon
a taught bowline, after rounding the point; and here he
had us on fair ground, and walked away from us, as you
would haul in a line. He afterwards said that we sailed
well enough with the wind free, but that give him a taught
bowline, and he would beat us, if we had all the canvas
of the Royal George.

The Ayacucho got to the anchoring ground about half an
hour before us, and was furling her sails when we came up
to it. This picking up your cables is a very nice piece of
work. It requires some seamanship to do it, and come to
at your former moorings, without letting go another anchor.
Captain Wilson was remarkable, among the sailors on the
coast, for his skill in doing this ; and our captain never let
go a second anchor during all the time that I was with him.
Coming a little to windward of our buoy, we clewed up the
light sails, backed our main topsail, and lowered a boat,
which pulled oflF, and made fast a spare hawser to the buoy
on the end of the slip-rope. We brought the other end to
the capstan, and hove in upon it imtil we came to the slip-
rope, which we took to the windlass, and walked her up to
her chain, the captain helping her by backing and filling the
sails. The chain is then passed through the hawse-hole
and roimd the windlass, and bitted, the slip-rope taken
roimd outside and brought into the stem port, and she is
safe in her old berth. After we had got through, the mate
told us that this was a small touch of California, the like
of which we must expect to have through the winter.

After we had furled the sails and got dinner, we saw the
Loriotte nearing, and she had her anchor before night. At

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72 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

sundown we went ashore again, and found the Loriotte^s
boat waiting on the beach. The Sandwich Islander who
could speak English, told us that he had been up to the
town ; that our agent, Mr. R , and some other pas-
sengers, were going to Monterey with us, and that we were

to sail the same night. In a few minutes Captain T ,

with two gentlemen and one female, came down, and we got
ready to go off. They had a good deal of baggage, which we
put into the bows of the boat, and then two of us took the
sefiora in our arms, and waded with her through the water,
and put her down safely in the stem. She appeared much
amused with the transaction, and her husband was perfectly
satisfied, thinking any arrangement good which saved his
wetting his feet. I pulled the after oar, so that I heard
the conversation, and learned that one of the men, who, as
well as I could see in the darkness, was a young-looking
man, in the European dress, and covered up in a large
cloak, was the agent of the firm to which our vessel be-
longed; and the other, who was dressed in the Spanish
dress of the country, was a brother of our captain, who had
been many years a trader on the coast, and had married
the lady who was in the boat. She was a delicate, dark-
complexioned yoimg woman, and of one of the best families
in California. I also found that we were to sail the same
night. As soon as we got on board, the boats were hoisted
up, the sails loosed, the windlass manned, the slii>-ropes
and gear cast off ; and after about twenty minutes of heav-
ing at the windlass, making sail, and bracing yards, we were
well tmder weigh, and going with a fair wind up the coast
to Monterey. The Loriotte got under weigh at the same
time, and was also bound up to Monterey, but as she took
a different course from us, keeping the land aboard, while
we kept well out to sea, we soon lost sight of her. We had
a fair wind, which is something unusual when going up,
as the prevailing wind is the north, which blows directly
down the coast ; whence the northern are called the wind-
ward, and the southern the leeward ports.

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CHAPTER XI

We got clear of the islands before sunrise the next morn-
ing, and by twelve o'clock were out of the canal, and oflF
Point Conception, the place where we first made the land
upon our arrival. This is the largest point on the coast, and
is an iminhabited headland, stretching out into the Pacific,
and has the reputation of being very windy. Any vessel
does well which gets by it without a gale, especially in the
winter season. We were going along with studding-sails
set on both sides, when, as we came roimd the point, we
had to haul our wind, and took in the lee studding-sails.
As the brig came more upon the wind, she felt it more, and
we doused the skysails, but kept the weather studding-
sails on her, bracing the yards forward so that the swinging-
boom nearly touched the sprit-sail yard. She now lay over
to it, the wind was freshening, and the captain was evi-
dently "dragging on to her." His brother and Mr. R ,

looking a little squally, said something to him, but he only
answered that he knew the vessel and what she would
carry. He was evidently showing off his vessel, and letting
them know how he could carry sail. He stood up to wind-
ward, holding on by the backstays, and looking up at the
sticks, to see how much they would bear; when a puff
came which settled the matter. Then it was "haul down,"
and "clew up," royals, fl)dng-jib, and studding-sails, all at
once. There was what the sailors call a "mess" — every-
thing let go, nothing hauled in, and everything flying.
The poor Spanish woman came to the companion-way,
looking as pale as a ghost, and nearly frightened to death.
The mate and some men forward were trying to haul in the
lower studding-sail, which had blown over the sprit-sail
yard-arm and round the guys while the topmast-studding-

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74 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

sail boom, after buckling up and springing out again like a
piece of whalebone, broke oflF at the boom-iron. I sprang
aloft to take in the main top-gallant studding-sail, but before
I got into the top, the tack parted, and away went the sail,
swinging forward of the top-gallant-sail, and tearing and
slatting itself to pieces. The halyards were at this moment
let go by the run ; and such a piece of work I never had
before, in taking in a sail. After great exertions I got it,
or the remains of it, into the top, and was making it fast,
when the captain, looking up, called out to me, "Lay

aloft there, D , and furl that main royal." Leaving

the studding-sail, I went up to the cross-trees ; and here it
looked rather squally. The foot of the top-gallant^nast
was working between the cross and trussel trees, and the
royal-mast lay over at a fearful angle with the mast be-
low, while everything was working, and cracking, strained
to the utmost.

There's nothing for Jack to do but to obey orders, and I
went up upon the yard ; and there was a worse "mess," if
possible, than I had left below. The braces had been let
go, and the yard was swinging about like a turnpike-gate,
and the whole sail having blown over to leeward, the lee
leach was over the yard-arm, and the skysail was all adrift
and flying over my head. I looked down, but it was in
vain to attempt to make myself heard, for every one was
busy below, and the wind roared, and sails were flapping in
every direction. Fortimately, it was noon and broad day-
light, and the man at the wheel, who had his eyes aloft, soon
saw my difl&culty, and after numberless signs and gestures,
got some one to haul the necessary ropes taught. During
this interval I took a look below. Everything was in con-
fusion on deck; the little vessel was tearing through the
water as if she were mad, the seas flying over her, and the
masts leaning over at an angle of forty-five degrees from the
vertical. At the other royal-mast-head was S , work-
ing away at the sail, which was blowing from him as fast
as he could gather it in. The top-gallant-sail below me

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 75

was soon clewed up, which relieved the mast, and in a short
time I got my sail furled, and went below ; but I lost over-
board a new tarpaulin hat, which troubled me more than
anything else. We worked for about half an hour with
might and main ; and in an hour from the time the squall
struck us, from having all our flying kites abroad, we came
down to double-reefed topsails and the storm-sails.

The wind had hauled ahead during the squall, and we
were standing directly in for the point. So, as soon as we
had got all snug, we wore roimd and stood off again, and
had the pleasant prospect of beating up to Monterey, a
distance of an hundred miles, against a violent"Eead wind.
Before night it began to rain; and we had five days of
rainy, stormy weather, imder close sail all the time, and were
blown several himdred miles off the coast. In the midst
of this, we discovered that our fore topmast [was sprung
(which no doubt happened in the squall), and were obliged
to send down the fore top-gallant-mast and carry as little
sail as possible forward. Our four passengers were dread-
fully sick, so that we saw little or nothing of them during the
five days. On the sixA day it cleared off, and the sim came
out bright, but the wind and sea were still very high. It
was quite like being at sea again : no land for hundreds of
miles, and the captain taking the sun every day at noon.
Our passengers now made their appearance, and I had for
the first time the opportimity of seeing what a miserable and
forlorn creature a sea-sick passenger is. Since I had got
over my own sickness, the first two days from Boston, I
had seen nothing but hale, hearty men, with their sea legs
on, and able to go anywhere (for we had no passengers) ;
and I will own tiiere was a pleasant feeling of superiority
in being able to walk the ded^, and eat, and go about, and
comparing one's self with two poor, miserable, pale crea-
tures, staggering and shuffing about decks, or holding on
and looking up with giddy heads, to see us climbing to the
mast-heads, or sitting quietly at work on the ends of the
lofty yards. A well man at sea has little sympathy with

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76 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

one who is sea-sick ; he is too apt to be conscious of a com-
parison favorable to his own manhood.

After a few days we made the land at Point Pioos (pines),
which is the headland at the entrance of thelbay of Mon-
terey. As we drew in, and ran down the shore, we could
distinguish well the face of the coimtry, and foimd it better
wooded than that to the southward of Point Conception.
In fact, as I afterwards discovered, Point Conception may
be made the dividing line between two different faces of the
coimtry. As you go to the northward of the point, the
coimtry becomes more wooded, has a richer appearance,
and is better supplied with water. This is the case with
Monterey, and still more so with San Francisco ; while to
the southward of the point, as at Santa Barbara, San Pedro,
and particularly San Diego, there is very little wood, and
the country has a naked, level appearance, though it is still
very fertile.

The bay of Monterey is very wide at the entrance, being
about twenty-four miles between the two points, Afio
Nuevo at the north, and Pinos at the south, but narrows
gradually as you approach the town^hich is situated in a
bend, or large cove, at the south-eastern extremity, and
about eighteen miles from the points, which makes the whole
depth of the bay. The shores are extremely well wooded
(the pine abounding upon them), and as it was now the
rainy season, everything was as green as nature could
make it, — the grass, the leaves, and all ; the birds were
singing in the woods, and great numbers of wild fowl were
flying over our heads. Here we could lie safe from the
south-easters. We came to anchor within two cable lengths
of the shore, and the town lay directly before us, making a
very pretty appearance ; its houses being plastered, which
gives a much better effect than those of Santa Barbara,
which are of a mud-color. The red tiles, too, on the roofs,
contrasted well with the white plastered sides, and with the
extreme greenness of the lawn upon which the houses —
about an hundred in number — were dotted about, here

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 77

and there, irregularly. There are in this place, and in
every other town which I saw in California, no^streets, or
fences (except here and there a small patch was"fenced in
for a garden), so that the houses are placed at random
upon tie green, which, as they are of one story and of the
cottage form, gives them a pretty effect when seen from a
little distance.

It was a fine Saturday afternoon when we came to
anchor, the sim about an hour high, and everything looking
pleasantly. The Mexican flag was flying from the little
square Presidio, and the drums and trumpets of the toldiers,
who were out on parade, soimded over the water, and gave
great life to the scene. Every one was delighted with the
appearance of things. We felt as though we had got into a
Christian (which in the sailor's vocabulary means civilized)
country. The first impression which CaUfomia^ad made
upon us was very disagreeable: — the open roadstead of
Santa Barbara ; anchoring three miles from the shore ; nm-
ning out to sea before every south-easter; landing in a
high serf ; with a little dark-looking town, a mile from the
beach ; and not a sound to be heard, or anything to be seen,
but Sandwich Islanders, hides, and tallow-bags. Add to
this the gale off Point Conception, and no one can be at a
loss to account for our agreeable disappointment in Mon-
terey. Beside all this, we soon learned, which was of no
small importance to us, that there was little or no surf here,
and this afternoon the beach was as smooth as a duck-pond.

We landed the agent and passengers, and found several
persons waiting for them on the beach, among whom were
some, who, though dressed in the costume of the country,
spoke English; and who, we afterwards learned, were
English and Americans who had married and settled in the
country.

I also connected with our arrival here another circmn-
stance which more nearly concerns myself; viz., my first
act of what the sailors will allow to be seamanship — send-
ing down a royal-yard. I had seen it done once or twice at

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78 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

sea, and an old sailor, whose favor I had taken some pains
to gain, had taught me carefully everything which was
necessary to be done, and in its proper order, and advised
me to taie the first opportimity when we were in port, and
try it. I told the second mate, with whom I had been
pretty thick when he was before the mast, that I would do
it, and got him to ask the mate to send me up the first time
they were struck. Accordingly I was called upop, and
went up, repeating the operations over in my mind, tak-
ing care to get everything in its order, for the slightest mis-
take spoils the whole. Fortimately, I got through without
any word from the officer, and heard the "well done" of
the mate, when the yard reached the deck, with as much
satisfaction as I ever felt at Cambridge on seeing a "6ew«"
at the foot of a Latin exercise.

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CHAPTER-Xn

The next day being Sunday, which is the liberty-day
among merchantmen, when it is usual to let a part of the
crew go ashore, the sailors had depended upon a day on land,
and were already disputing who should ask to go, when,
upon being called in the morning, we were tumed-to upon
the rigging, and foimd that the topmast, which had been
spnmg, was to come down, and a new one to go up, and top-
gallant and royal-masts, and the rigging to be set up. This
W£is too bad. If there is anything that irritates sailors and
makes them feel hardly used, it is being deprived of their
Sabbath. Not that they would always, or indeed gener-
ally, spend it religiously, but it is their only day of rest.
Then, too, they are so often necessarily deprived of it by
storms, and unavoidable duties of all kinds, that to take it
from them when l)dng quietly and safely in port, without
any urgent reason, bears the more hardly. The only reason
in this case was, that the captain had determined to have
the custom-house officers on board on Monday, and wished
to have his brig in order. Jack is a slave aboard ship;
but still he has many opportimities of thwarting and balk-
ing his master. Wken there is danger, or necessity, or
when he is well used, no one can work faster than he ; but
the instant he feels that he is kept at work for nothing, no
sloth could make less headway. He must not refuse his
duty, or be in any way disobedient, but all the work that
an officer gets out of him, he may be welcome to. Every
man who has been three months at sea knows how to "work
Tom fiox's traverse^' — "three turns roimd the long-boat,
and a pull at the scuttled-butt." This morning everything
went in this way. ^^Sogering" was the order of the day.
Send a man below to get a block, and he would capsize

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8o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

everything before finding it, then not bring it up till an
officer had called him twice, and take as much time to
put things in order again. Marline-spikes were not to be
foimd; knives wanted a prodigious deal of sharpening,
and, generally, three or four were waiting roimd the grind-
stone at a time. When a man got to the mast-head, he
would come slowly down again to get something which he
had forgotten ; and after the tackles were got up, six men
would pull less than one who pulled "with a will." When
the mate was out of sight, nothing was done. It was all
up-hill work ; and at eight o'clock, when we went to break-
fast, things were nearly where they were when we began.

During our short meal, the matter was discussed. One
proposed refusing to work; but that was mutiny, and of
course was rejected at once. I remember, too, that one of
the men quoted "Father Taylor " (as they call the seamen's
preacher at Boston), who told them that if they were ordered
to work on Simday, they must not refuse their duty, and
the blame would not come upon them. After breakfast,
it leaked out, through the officers, that if we would get
through work soon, we might have a boat in the afternoon
and go a fishing. This bait was well thrown, and took with
several who were fond of fishing; and all began to find
that as we had one thing to do, and were not to be kept at
work for the day, the sooner we did it, the better. Accord-
ingly, things took a new aspect; and before two o'clock,
this work, which was in a fair way to last two days, was
done ; and five of us went a fishing in the jolly-boat, in the
direction of Point Pinos ; but leave to go ashore was refused.
Here we saw the Loriotte, which sailed with us from Santa
Barbara, coming slowly in with a light sea-breeze, which
sets in towards afternoon, having been becalmed off the
point all the first part of the day. . We took several fish of
various kinds, among which cod and prr^h l^htnujjg^ and

F (the ci'devant second mate), who was of our niunber,

brought up with his hook a large and beautiful pearl-oyster
shell. We afterwards learned that this place was cele-

dbyGoogk

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 8i

brated for shells, and that a small schooner had made a
good voyage, by carrying a cargo of them to the United
States.

We returned by sun-down, and foimd the Loriotle at
anchor, within a cable's length of the Pilgrim. The next
day we were "tumed-to" early, and began taking off the
hatches, overhauling the cargo, and getting every&ing
ready for inspection. At eight, the officers of the customs,
five in number, came on board, and began overhauling" the
cargo, manifest, etc. The Mexican revenue laws are very
strict, and require the whole cargo to be landed, examined,

and taken on board again ; but our agent, Mr. R , had

succeeded in compoxmding with them for the two last ves-
S€;ls, and saving the trouble of taking the cargo ashore.
The officers were dressed in the costume which we found
|)revailed through the coimtry. A broad-brimmed hat,
usually of a black or dark-brown color, with a gilt or figured
band roimd the crown, and lined inside with silk ; a short
jacket of silk or figured calico (the European skirted body-
coat is never worn) ; the shirt open in the neck ; rich waist-
coat, if any; pantaloons wide, straight, and long, usually
of velvet, velveteen, or broadcloth ; or else short breeches
and white stockings. They wear the deer-skin shoe, which
is of a dark-brown color, and (being made by Indians),
usually a good deal ornamented. They have no suspenders,
but always wear a sash roimd the waist, which is generally
red, and var5dng in quality with the meSms of the wearer.
Add to this the never-failing cloak, and you have the dress
of the Califomian. This last garment, the cloak, is always
a mark of the rank and wealth of the owner. The '^gente de
raziUy^ or aristocracy, wear cloaks of black or dark blue
broadcloth, with as much velvet and trimmmgs as may be ;
and from this they go down to the blanket of the Indian ;
the middle classes wearing something like a large table-
doth, with a hole in the middle for the head to go through.
This is often as coarse as a blanket, but being beautifully
woven with various colors, is quite showy at a distance.

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82 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Among the Spaniards there is no working class (the Indians
being slaves and doing all the hard work) ; and every rich
man looks like a grandee, and every poor scamp like a
broken-down gentleman. I have often seen a man with a
fine figure, and courteous manners, dressed in broadcloth
and velvet, with a noble horse completely covered with
trappings; without a real in his pockets, and absolutely-
suffering for something to eat.

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CHAPTER Xin

The next day, the cargo having been entered in due
form, we began trading. The trade-room was fitted up in
the steerage, and furnished out with the lighter goods, and

with specimens of the rest of the cargo; and M , a

yoimg man who came out from Boston with us, before the
mast, was taken out of the forecastle, and made supercargo's
clerk. He was well qualified for the business, having been
clerk in a coimting-house in Boston. He had been troubled
for some time with the rheumatism, which imfitted him for
the wet and exposed duty of a sailor on the coast. For
a week or ten days all was life on board. The people came
off to look and to buy — men, women, and children ; and
we were continually going in the boats, carrying goods and
passengers, — for tiey have no boats of their own. Every-
thing must dress itself and come aboard and see the new
vessel, if it were only to buy a paper of pins. The agent
and his clerk managed the sales, while we were busy in the
hold or in the boats. Our cargo was an assorted one ; that
is, it consisted of everything imder the sim. We had spirits
of all kinds (sold by the cask), teas, coffee, sugars, spices,
raisins, molasses, hard-ware, crockery-ware, tin-ware, cut-
lery, clothing of all kinds, boots and shoes from Lynn, cali-
coes and cottons from Lowell, crapes, silks; also, shawls,
scarfs, necklaces, jewelry, and combs for the ladies ; furni-
ture; and in fact, everything that can be imagined, from
Chinese fire-works to English cart-wheels — of which we
had a dozen pairs with their iron rims on. .
. The Califomians are an idle, thriftless people, and can
make nothing for themselves. The country abounds in
grapes, yet they buy bad wine made in Boston and brought
roimd by us, at an immense price, and retail it among

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84 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

themselves at a real (12 J cents) by the small wine-glass.
Their hides too, which they value at two dollars in money,
they give for something which costs seventy-five cents
in Boston; and buy shoes (as like as not, made of their
own hides, which have been carried twice rotmd Cape Horn)
at three and four dollars, and "chicken-skin" boots at
fifteen dollars apiece. Things sell, on an average, at an
advance of nearly three himdred per cent, upon the Boston
prices. This is partly owing to the heavy duties which the
government, in their wisdom, with the intent, no doubt,
of keeping the silver in the coimtry, has laid upon imports.
These duties, and the enormous expenses of so long a voyage,
keep all merchants, but those of heavy capital, from engag-
ing in the trade. Nearly two-thirds of all the articles im-
ported into the coimtry from round Cape Horn, for the last
six years, have been by the single house of Bryant, Sturgis
& Co., to whom our vessel belonged and who have a perma-
nent agent on the coast.

This kind of business was new to us, and we liked it very
well for a few days, though we were hard at work every
minute from daylight to dark; and sometimes even later.*

By being thus continually engaged in transporting pas-
sengers with their goods, to and fro, we gained considerable
knowledge of the character, dress, and language of the
people. The dress of the men was as I have before de-
scribed it. The women wore gowns of various texture —
silks, crape, calicoes, etc. — made after the European style,
except that the sleeves were short, leaving the arm bare,
and that they were loose about the waist, having no corsets.
They wore shoes of kid, or satin; sashes or belts of
bright colors ; and almost always a necklace and ear-rings.
Bonnets they had none. I only saw one on the coast, and
that belonged to the wife of an American sea-captain who
had settled in San Diego and had imported the chaotic mass
of straw and ribbon, as a choice present to his new wife.
They wear their hair (which is almost invariably black,
or a very dark brown) long in their necks, sometimes loose,

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 85

and sometimes in long braids ; though the married women
often do it up on a high comb. Their only protection
against the stm and weather is a large mantle which they
put over their heads, drawing it close roimd their faces,
when they go out-of-doors, which is generally only in
pleasant weather. When in the house, or sitting out in front
of it, which they often do in fine weather, they usually
wear a small scarf or neckerchief of a rich pattern. A band,
also, about the top of the head, with a cross, star, or other
ornament in front, is common. Their complexions are
various, depending — as well as their dress and manner —
upon their rank ; or, in other words, upon the amoimt of
Spanish blood they can lay claim to. Those who are of
pure Spanish blood, having never intermarried with the
aborigines, have clear bnmette complexions, and some-
times, even as fair as those of English women. There are
but few of these families in California; being mostly
those in official stations, or who, on the expiration of their
offices, have settled here upon property which they have
acquired; and others who have been banished for state
offences. These form the aristocracy; intermarrying,
and keeping up an exclusive system in every respect. They
can be told by their complexions, dress, manner, and also
by their speech; for, calling themselves Castilians, they
are very ambitious of speaking the pure Castilian language,
which is spoken in a somewhat corrupted dialect by
the lower classes. From this upper class, they go down by
regular shades, growing more and more dark and muddy,
until you come to the pure Indian, who runs about with
nothing upon him but a small piece of cloth, kept up hy a
wide leather strap drawn round his waist. Generally speak^^
ing, each person's caste is decided by the quality of the
blood, which shows itself, too plainly to be concealed, at
first sight. Yet the least drop of Spanish blood, if it be
only of quadroon or octoroon, is sufficient to raise them from
the rank of slaves, and entitle them to a suit of clothes —
boots, hat, cloak, spurs, long knife, and all complete, though

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86 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

coarse and dirty as may be, — and to call themselves
Eq)anolos, and to hold property, if they can get any.

The fondness for dress among the women is excessive,
and is often the ruin of many of them. A present of a fine
mantle, or of a necklace or pair of ear-rings, gains the favor
of the greater part of them. Nothing is more common than
to see a woman living in a house of only two rooms, and the
ground for a floor, dressed in spangled satin shoes, silk
gown, high comb, and gilt, if not gold ear-rings and necklace.
They used to spend whole days on board our vessel, examin-
ing the fine clothes and ornaments, and frequently made
purchases at a rate which would have made a sempstress
or waiting-maid in Boston open her eyes.

Next to the love of dress, I was most struck with the fine-
ness of the voices and beauty of the intonations of both
sexes. Every common ruffian-looking fellow, with a
slouched hat, blanket cloak, dirty under-dress, and soiled
leather leggins, appeared to me to be speaking elegant
Spanish. It was a pleasure simply to listen to the soimd
of the language, before I could attach any meaning to it.
They have a good deal of the Creole drawl, but it is varied
with an occasional extreme rapidity of utterance, in which
they seem to skip from consonant to consonant, imtil,
lighting upon a broad, open vowel, they rest upon that to
restore the balance of soimd. The women carry this
peculiarity of speaking to a much greater extreme than the
men, who have more evenness ond stateliness of utterance.
A common buUock-driver, on horseback, delivering a mes-
sage, seemed to speak like an ambassador at an audience.
In fact, they sometimes appeared to me to be a people on
whom a curse had fallen, and stripped them of everything
but their pride, their manners, and their voices.

Another thing that surprised me was the quantity of
silver that was in circtdation. I certainly never saw so
much silver at one time in my life, as during the week
that we were at Monterey. The truth is, they have no
credit system, no banks, and no way of investing money

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 87

but in cattle. They have no circulating medium but silver
and hides — which the sailors call "California bank notes."
Everything that they buy they must pay for in one or the
other of these things. The hides they bring down dried
and doubled, in clumsy ox-carts, or upon mtdes' backs, and
the money they carry tied up in a handkerchief ; — fifty,
eighty, or an himdred dollars and half dollars.

I had never studied Spanish while at college, and cotdd
not speak a word, when at Juan Fernande? ; but during the
latter part of the passage out, I borrowed a grammar and
dictionary from the cabin, and by a continual use of these,
and a careful attention to every word that I heard spoken, I
soon got a vocabulary together, and began talking for
myself. As I soon knew more Spanish then any of the crew
(who indeed knew none at all), and had been at college and
knew Latin, I got the name of a great linguist, and was
always sent by Sie captain and officers to get provisions, or
to carry letters and messages to different parts of the town.
I was often sent to get something which I could not tell the
name of to save my life; but I liked the business, and
accordingly never pleaded ignorance. Sometimes I man-
aged to jump below and take a look at my dictionary before
going ashore; or else I overhatded some English resident.
on my way, and got the word from him ; and then, by signs,
and the help of my Latin and French, contrived to get
along. This was a good exercise for me, and no doubt
taught me more than I should have learned by months of
study and reading ; it also gave me opportunities of seeing
the customs, characters, and domestic arrangements of the
people; beside being a great relief from the monotony of
a day spent on board ship.

Monterey, as far as my observation goes, is decidedly the
pleasantest and most civilized-looking place in California.
In the centre of it is an open square, surrounded by four
lines of one-story plastered buildings, with half a dozen*
cannon in the centre ; some moimted, and others not. This
is the "Presidio," or fort. Every town has a presidio in its

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88 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

centre; or rather, every presidio has a town built around
it ; for the forts were first built by the Mexican government,
and then the people built near them for protection. The

/ presidio here was entirely open and unfortified. There were
several officers with long titles, and about eighty soldiers,
but they were poorly paid, fed, clothed, and cUsciplined.
The governor-general, or, as he is commonly called, the
"general," lives here; which makes it the seat of govern-
ment. He is appointed by the central government at
Mexico, and is the chief civil and military officer. In
addition to him, each town has a commandant, who is the
chief military officer, and has charge of the fort, and of all

\ transactions with foreigners and foreign vessels; and two
or three alcaldis and corregidores, elected by the inhabit-
ants, who are the civil officers. Courts and jurisprudence
they have no knowledge of. Small municipal matters
are regulated by the alcaldis and corregidores ; and every-
thing relating to the general government, to the military,
and to foreigners, by the commandants, acting imder the
governor-general. Capital cases are decided by him, upon
personal inspection, if he is near ; or upon minutes sent by
the proper officers, if the offender is at a distant place. No
. Protestant has any civil rights, nor can he hold any property,
or, indeed, remain more than a few weeks oi^ shore, imless
he belong to some vessel. Consequently, the Americans
and Enghsh who intend to reside here become Catholics, to
a man ; the current phrase among them being, — "A man
must leave his conscience at Cape Horn."

But to return to Monterey. The houses here, as every-
where else in California, are of one story, built of clay made
into large bricks, about a foot and a half square and three
or four inches thick, and hardened in the sun. These are
cemented together by mortar of the same material, and the
whole are of a common dirt-color. The floors are generally
of earth, the windows grated and without glass; and the
doors, which are seldom shut, open directly into the com-
mon room; there being no entries. Some of the more

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 89

wealthy inhabitants have glass to their windows and board
floors ; and in Monterey nearly all the houses are plastered
on the outside. The better houses, too, have red tiles upon
the roofs. The common ones have two or three rooms
which open into each other, and are furnished with a bed or
two, a few chairs and tables, a looking-glass, a crucifix of
some material or other, and small daubs of paintings en-
closed in glass, and representing some miracle or martyr-
dom. They have no cliimne5rs or fire-places in the houses,
the climate being such as to make a fire imnecessary ; and
all their cooking is done in a small cook-house, separated
from the house. The Indians, as I have said before, do all
the hard work, two or three being attached to. each house ;/
and the poorest persons are able to keep one, at least, for
they have only to feed them and give them a small piece of
coarse cloth and a belt, for the males ; and a coarse gown,
without shoes or stockings, for the females.

In Monterey there are a number of English and Americans
(English or "Ingles" all are called who speak the English
language) who have married Califomians, become imited
to the Catholic church, and acquired considerable property.
Having more industry, frugality, and enterprise than the
natives, they soon get nearly all the trade into their hands.
They usually keep shops, in which they retail the goods
purchased in larger quantities from our vessels, and also
send a good deal into the interior, taking hides in pay,
which they again barter with our vessels. Jn every town
on the coast there are foreigners engaged in this kind of
trade, while I recollect but two shops kept by natives. The
people are naturally suspicious of foreigners, and they would
not be allowed to remain, were it not that they become
good Catholics, and by marrying natives, and bringing
up their children as Catholics and Spaniards, and not teach-
ing them the English language, they quiet suspicion, and
even become popular and leading men. The chief alcaldis
in Monterey and Santa Barbara were both Yankees by
burth.

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go TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

The men in Monterey appeared to me to be always on
horseback. Horses are as abundant here as dogs and
chickens were in Juan Fernandez. There are no stables
to keep them in, but they are allowed to run wild and graze
wherever they please, being branded, anS^aving long
leather ropes, called "lassos,'' attached to their necks and
dragging along behind them, by which they can be easily
taken. The men usually catch one in the morning, throw
a saddle and bridle upon him, and use him for the day, and
let him go at night, catching another the next day. When
they go on long journeys, they ride one horse down, and
catch another, throw the saddle and bridle upon him, and
after riding him down, take a third, and so on to the end of
the journey. There are probably no better riders in the
world. They get upon a horse when only four or five years
old, their little legs not long enough to come halfway over
his sides ; and may almost be said to keep on him until they
have grown to him. The stirrups are covered or boxed up
in front, to prevent their catching when riding through the
woods ; and the saddles are large and heavy, strapped very
tight upon the horse, and have large pommels, or logger-
heads, in front, round which the "lasso" is coiled when not
in use. They can hardly go from one house to another
without getting on a horse, there being generally several
standing tied to the door-posts of the little cottages. When
they wish to show their activity, they make no use of their
stirrups in mounting, but striking the horse, spring into the
saddle as he starts, and sticking their long spurs into him,
go oflf on the full run. Their spurs are cruel things, having
four or five rowels, each an inch in length, dull and rusty.
The flanks of the horses are often sore from them, and I
have seen men come in from chasing bullock with their
horses' hind legs and quarters covered with blood. They
frequently give exhibitions of their horsemanship, in races,
bull-baitings, etc. ; but as we were not ashore during any
holyday, we saw nothing of it. Monterey is also a great
place for cock-fighting, gambling of all sorts, fandangos,

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 91

and every kind of amusement and knavery. Trappers
and hunters, who occasionally arrive here from over the
Rocky Mountains, with their valuable skins and furs, are
often entertained with every sort of amusement and dissi-
pation, until they have wasted their time and their money,
and go back, stripped of everything.

Nothing but the character of the people prevents Mon-
terey from becoming a great town. The soil is as rich as
man could wish ; climate as good as any in the world ; water
abundant, and situation extremely beautiful. The harbor,
too, is a good one, being subject only to one bad wind, the
north ; and though the holding-ground is not the best, yet
I heard of but one vessel's being driven ashore here. That
was a Mexican brig, which went ashore a few months before
our arrival, and was a total wreck, all the crew but one
being drowned. Yet this was from the carelessness or
ignorance of the captain, who paid out all his small cable
before he let go his other anchor. The ship Lagoda, of
Boston, was there at the time, and rode out the gale in
safety, without dragging at all, or finding it necessary to
strike her top-gallant-masts.

The only vessel in port with us was the little Loriotie.
I frequently went on board her, and became very well ac-
quainted with her Sandwich Island crew. One of them
could speak a little English, and from him I learned a good
deal about them. They were well formed and active, with
black eyes, intelligent countenances, dark-olive, or, I should
rather say, copper complexions, and coarse black hair,
but not woolly like the negroes. They appeared to be
talking continually. In the forecastle there was a complete
Babel. Their language is extremely guttural, and not
pleasant at first, but improves as you hear it more, and is
said to have great capacity. They use a good deal of ges-
ticulation, and are exceedingly animated, saying with their
might what their tongues find to say. They are complete
water-dogs, and therefore very good in boating. It is for
this reason that there are so many of them on the coast of

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92 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

California ; they being very good hands in the surf. They
are also quick and active in die rigging, and good hands in
warm weather ; but those who have been witib them round
Cape Horn, and in high latitudes, say that they are useless
in cold weather. In their dress they are precisely like our
sailors. In addition to these Islanders, the vessel had
two English sailors, who acted as boatswains over the Island-
ers, and took care of the rigging. One of them I shall always
remember as the best specimen of the thoroughbred English
sailor that I ever saw. He had been to sea from a boy,
having served a regular apprenticeship of seven years, as all
English sailors are obliged to do, and was then about four
or five and twenty. He was tall ; but you only perceived
it when he was standing by the side of others, for the great
breadth of his shotdders and chest made him appear but
little above the middle height. His chest was as deep as
it was wide ; his arm like diat of Hercules ; and his hand
"the fist of a tar — every hair a rope-yam." With all
this he had one of the pleasantest smiles I ever saw. His
cheeks were of a handsome brown; his teeth brilliantly
white ; and his hair, of a raven black, waved in loose curb
all over his head, and fine, open forehead ; and his eyes he
might have sold to a duchess at the price of diamonds, for
their brilliancy. As for their color, they were like the
Irishman's pig, which wotdd not stay to be coimted ; every
change of position and light seemed to give them a new hue ;
but their prevailing color was black, or nearly so. Take
him with his well- varnished black tarpaulin stuck upon the
back of his head ; his long locks coming down almost into
his eyes ; his white duck trowsers and shirt ; blue jacket ;
and black kerchief, tied loosely round his neck ; and he was
a fine specimen of manly beauty. On his broad chest he
had stamped with India ink "Parting moments'' ; — a ship
ready to sail ; a boat on the beach ; and a girl and her sailor
lover taking their farewell. Underneath were printed the
initials of his own name, and two other letters, standing
for some name which he knew better than I did. This was

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 93

very well done, having been executed by a man who made
it his business to print with India ink, for sailors, at Havre.
On one of his broad arms he had the crucifixion, and on the
other the sign of the "foul anchor."

He was very fond of reading, and we lent him most of
the books which we had in the forecastle, which he read
and returned to us the next time we fell in with him. He
had a good deal of information, and his captain said he was
a perfect seaman, and worth his weight in gold on board a
vessel, in fair weather and in foul. His strength must have
been immense, and he had the sight of a vulture. It is
strange that one should be so minute in the description of
an unknown, outcast sailor, whom one may never see again,
and whom no one may care to hear about; but so it is.
Some people we see under no remarkable circumstances,
but whom, for some reason or other, we never forget. He
called himself Bill Jackson ; and I know no one of all my
accidental acquaintances to whom I would more gladly give
a shake of the hand than to him. Whoever falls in with him
will find a handsome, hearty fellow, and a good shipmate.

Sunday came again while we were at Monterey, but, as
before, it brought us no holyday. The people on shore
dressed themselves and came off in greater nimibers than
ever, and we were employed all day in boating and breaking
out cargo, so that we had hardly time to eat. Our ci-devant
second mate, who was determined to get liberty if it was
to be had, dressed himself in a long coat and black hat, and
polished his shoes, and went aft and asked to go ashore.
He could not have done a more imprudent thing; for he
knew that no liberty would be given ; and besides, sailors,
however sure they may be of having liberty granted them,
always go aft in their working clothes, to appear as though
they had no reason to expect anything, and then wash,
dress, and shave, after they have got their liberty. But
this poor fellow was always getting into hot water, and if
there was a wrong way of doing a thing, was sure to hit
upon it. We looked to see him go aft, knowing pretty well

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94 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

what his reception would be. The captain was walking the

quarter-deck, smoking his morning cigar, and F went

as far as the break of the deck, and there waited for him to
notice him. The captain took two or three turns, and then
walking directly up to him, surveyed him from head to foot,
and lifting up his forefinger, said a word or two, in a tone
too low for us to hear, but which had a magical effect upon

poor F . He walked forward, sprang into the forecastle,

and in a moment more made his appearance in his common
clothes, and went quietly to work again. What the captain
said to him, we never could get him to tell, but it certainly
changed him outwardly and inwardly in a most surprising
manner.

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CHAPTER XIV

After a few days, finding the trade beginning to slacken,
we hove oiir anchor up, set our topsails, ran the stars and
stripes up to the peak, fired a gun, which was returned from
the presidio, and left the little town astern, nmning out of
the bay, and bearing down the coast again, for Santa Bar-
bara. As we were now going to leeward, we had a fair
wind and a plenty of it. After doubling Point Pinos, we
bore up, set studding-sails alow and aloft, and were walking
oflf at the rate of eight or nine knots, promising to traverse
in twenty-four hours the distance which we were nearly three
weeks in traversing on the passage up. We passed Point
Conception at a flying rate, the wind blowing so that it
would have seemed half a gale to us, if we had been going
the other way and close hauled. As we drew near the is-
lands off Santa Barbara, it died away a little, but we came-
to at our old anchoring-groimd in less than thirty hoiirs from
the time of leaving Monterey.

Here everything was pretty much as we left it — the
large bay witiiout a vessel in it ; the surf roaring and rolling
in upon the beach ; the white mission ; the dark town, and
the high, treeless mountains. Here, too, we had our south-
easter tacks aboard again, — slip-ropes, buoy-ropes, sails
furled with reefs in tihem, and rope-yams for gaskets.
We lay here about a fortnight, employed in landing goods
and taking off hides, occasionally, when the surf was not
high ; but there did not appear to be one-half the business
doing here that there was in Monterey. In fact, so far as
we were concerned, the town might almost as well have been
in the middle of the Cordilleras. We lay at a distance of
three miles from the beach, and the town was nearly a mile
farther ; so that we saw little or nothing of it. Occasionally

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96 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE .MAST

we landed a few goods, which were taken away by Indians
in large, clumsy ox-carts, with the yoke on tie ox's neck
instead of under it, and with small solid wheels. A few
hides were brought down, which we carried oflf in the
California style. This we had now got pretty well accus*
tomed to ; and hardened to also ; for it does require a little
hardening even to the toughest.

The hides are always brought down dry, or they would
not be received. When they are taken from the animal,
they have holes cut in the ends, and are staked out, and
thus dried in the sun without shrinking. They are then
doubled once, lengthwise, with the hair side usually in, and
sent down upon mules or in carts, and piled above high-
water mark ; and then we take them upon our heads, one
at a time, or two, if they are small, and wade out with them
and throw them into the boat, which, as there are no
wharves, we usually kept anchored by a small hedge, or
keeleg, just outside of the surf. We all provided ourselves
with thick Scotch caps, which would be soft to the head,
and at the same time protect it ; for we soon found that
however it might look or feel at first, the "head-work*' was
the only system for California. For besides that the seas,
breaking high, often obliged us to carry the hides so, in
order to keep them dry, we foimd that, as they were very
large and heavy, and nearly as stiff as boards, it was the only
way that we could carry them with any convenience to
ourselves. Some of the crew tried other expedients, saying
that that looked too much like West India negroes; but
they air came to it at last. The great art is in getting them
on the head. We had to take tiiem from the groimd, and
as they were often very heavy, and as wide as the arms
could stretch, and easily taken by the wind, we used to have
some trouble with them. I have often been laughed at my-
self, and joined in laughing at others, pitching themselves
down in the sand, trying to swing a large hide upK)n their
heads, or nearly blown over with one in a little gust of wind.
The captain made it harder for us, by telling us that it was

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 97

"California fashion" to carry two on the head at a time;
and as he insisted upon it, and we did not wish to be out-
done by other vessels, we carried two for the first few
months; but after falling in with a few other "hide drog-
hers," and finding that they carried only one at a time, we
"knocked oflf " the extra one, and thus made our duty some-
what easier.

After we had got our heads used to the weight, and had
learned the true California style of tossing a hide, we could
carry off two or three hundred in a short time, without much
trouble ; but it was always wet work, and, if the beach was
stony, bad for our feet ; for we, of course, always went bare-
footed on this duty, as no shoes could stand such constant
wetting with salt water. Then, too, we had a long pull of
three miles, with a loaded boat, which often took a couple
of hours.

We had now got well settled down into our harbor duties,
which, as they are a good deal different from those at sea,
it may be well enough to describe. In the first place, all
hands are called at daylight, or rather — especially if the
days are short — before daylight, as soon as the first grey
of the morning. The cook makes his fire in the galley;
the steward goes about his work in the cabin; and die
crew rig the head pump, and wash down the decks. The
chief mate is always on deck, but takes no active part, all
the duty coming upon the second mate, who has to roll up
his trowsers and paddle about decks barefooted, like the
rest of the crew. The washing, swabbing, squilgeeing, etc.,
lasts, or is made to last, until eight o'clock, when breakfast
is ordered, fore and aft. After breakfast, for which half
an hour is allowed, the boats are lowered down, and made
fast astern, or out to the swinging booms, by geswarps,
and the crew are tumed-to upon their day's work. This
is various, and its character depends upon circumstances.
There is always more or less of boating, in small boats ; and
if heavy goods are to be taken ashore, or hides are brought
down to the beach for us, then all hands are sent ashore with

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98 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

an officer in the long-boat. Then there is always a good deal
to be done in the hold : goods to be broken out ; and cargo
to be shifted, to make room for hides, or to keep the trim
of the vessel. In addition to this, the usual work upon the
rigging must be going on. There is a good deal of the latter
kind of work which can only be done when the vessel is in
port ; — and then everything must be kept taught and in
good order ; spun-yam made ; chafing gear repaired ; and
all the other ordinary work. The great difference between
sea and harbor duty is in the division of time. Instead of
having a watch on deck and a watch below, as at sea, all
hands are at work together, except at meal times, from day-
light till dark; and at night an "anchor-watch" is kept,
which consists of only two at a time ; the whole crew taking
turns. An hour is allowed for dinner, and at dark, the decks
are cleared up ; the boats hoisted ; supper ordered ; and at
eight, the lights put out, except in the binnacle, where the
glass stands ; and the anchor-watch is set. Thus, when at
anchor, the crew have more time at night (standing watch
only about two hours), but have no time to themselves in
the day ; so that reading, mending clothes, etc., has to be
put off imtil Sunday, which is usually given. Some religious
captains give their crews Saturday afternoons to do their
washing and mending in, so that they may have their
Sundays free. This is a good arrangement, and does much
toward creating the preference sailors usually show for
religious vessels. We were well satisfied if we got Sunday
to ourselves, for, if any hides came down on that day, as was
often the case when they were brought from a distance, we
were obliged to bring tfiem off, which usually took half a
day ; 2uid as we now lived on fresh beef, and ate one bullock
a week, the animal was almost always brought down on
Simday, and we had to go ashore, kill it, dress it, and bring
it aboard, which was another interruption. Then, too, our
common day's work was protracted and made more fatigu-
ing by hides coming down late in the afternoon, which some-
times kept us at work in the surf by star-light, with the

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 99

prospect oi pulling on board, and stowing them all away,
before supper.

But all these little vexations and labors would have been
nothing, — they would have been passed by as the common
evils of a sea-life, which every sailor, who is a man, will go
through without complaint, — were it not for the imcer-
tainty, or worse than imcertainty, which hung over the
nature and length of our voyage. Here we were, in a little
vessel, with a small crew, on a half-civilized coast, at the
ends of the earth, and with a prospect of remaining an
indefinite period, two^ threeyears at the least. When we
left Boston we supposed tfiat it was to be a voyage of
eighteen months, or two years, at most ; but upon arriving
on the coast, we learned something more of the trade, and
found that in the scarcity of hides, which was yearly greater I
and greater, it would take_us a year, at least, to collect our/
own cargo, beside the passage out and home ; and that we\
were also to collect a cargo for a large ship belonging to the \
same firm, which was soon to come on the coast, and to
which we were to act as tender. We had heard rumors
of such a ship to follow us, which had leaked out from the
captain and mate, but we passed them by as mere "yams,"
till our arrival, when they were confirmed by the letters
which we brought from the owners to their agent. The ship^
California^ belonging to the same firm, had been nearly |
two years on the coast ; had collected a full cargo, and was i
now at San Diego, from which port she was expected to sail \
in a few weeks for Boston ; and we were to collect all the \
hides we could, and deposit them at San Diego, when the ■
new ship, which would carry forty thousand, was to be filled
and sent home ; and then we were to begin anew, and collect
our own cargo. Here was a gloomy prospect before us,
indeed. The California had been twenty months on the
coast, and the Lagoda, a smaller ship, carrying only thirty-
one or thirty-two thousand, had been two years getting herv
cargo; and we were to collect a cargo of forty thousand
beside our own, which wotdd be twelve or fifteen thousand ;

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loo TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

and hides were said to be growing scarcer. Then, too, this
ship, which had been to us a worse phantom than any
Flying Dutchman, was no phantom, or ideal thing, but had
been reduced to a certainty ; so much so that a name was
given her, and it was said that she was to be the Alert, a
well-known Indiaman, which was expected in Boston in a
few months, when we sailed. There could be no doubt, and
all looked black enough. Hints were thrown out about
three years and four years ; — the older sailors said they
never should see Boston again, but should lay their bones
in California ; and a cloud seemed i^ hang over the whole
voyage. Besides, we were not provided for so long a voy-
age, and clothes, and all sailors' necessaries, were excessively
dear — three or four hundred per cent, advance upon the
Boston prices. This was bad enough for them; but still
worse was it for me, who did not mean to be a sailor for life ;
having intended only to be gone eighteen months or two
years. Three or four years would make me a sailor in
every respect, mind and habits, as well as body — nolens
volens ; and would put all my companions so far ahead of
me that college and a profession would be in vain to think
of ; and I made up my mind that, feel as I might, a sailor
I must be, and to be master of a vessel, must be the height
of my ambition. ^

Beside the length of the voyage, and the hard and exposed
life, we were at the ends of the earth ; on a coast almost
solitary ; in a country where there is neither law nor gospel,
and where sailors are at their captain's mercy, there being
no American consul, or any one to whom a complaint could
be made. We lost all interest in the voyage ; cared noth-
ing about the cargo, which we were only collecting for
others ; began to patch our clothes ; and felt as though we
were fixed beyond all hope of change.

In addition to, and perhaps partly as a consequence of,
this state of things, there was trouble brewing on board the
vessel. Our mate (as the first mate is' always called, par
excellence) was a worthy man ; — a more honest, upright^

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TOSSING' HIDES

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST loi

and kind-hearted man I never saw ; but he was too good for
the mate of a merchantman. He was not the man to knock
a sailor down with a handspike. He wanted the energy
and spirit for such a voyage as ours, and for such a captain.

Captain T was a vigorous, energetic fellow. As sailors

say, *'he hadn't a lazy bone in him." He was made of steel
and whalebone. He was a man to "toe the mark," and to
make every one else step up to it. During all the time
that I was with him, I never saw him sit down on deck.
He was alwa3rs active and driving ; severe in his discipline,
and expected the same of his officers. The mate not being
enough of a driver for him, and being perhaps too easy with
the crew, he was dissatisfied with him, became suspicious
that discipline was getting relaxed, and began to interfere
in everything. He drew tiie reins taughter ; and as, in all
quarrels between officers, the sailors side with the one who
treats them best, he became suspicious of the crew. He
saw that everything went wrong — that nothing was done
"with a will " ; and in his attempt to remedy the difficulty
by severity, he made everything worse. We were in every
respect unfortimately situated. Captain, officers, and crew,
entirely unfitted for one another; and every circimistance
and event was like a two-edged sword, and cut both ways.
The length of the voyage, wluch made us dissatisfied, made
the captain, at the same time, feel the necessity of order and
strict discipline; and the nature of the coimtry, which
caused us to feel that we had nowhere to go for redress, but
were entirely at^the mercy of a hard master, made the cap-
tain feel, on the other h^uid, that he must depend entirely
upon his own resources. Severity created discontent, and
signs of discontent provoked severity. Then, too, ill-treat-
ment and dissatisfaction are no "linimenta labonun" ; and
many a time have I heard the sailors say that they should
not mind the length of the voyage, and the hardships, if they
were only kindly treated, and if they could feel that some-
thing was done to make things lighter and easier. We felt
as though our situation was a call upon our superiors to give

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I02 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

us occasional relaxations, and to make our yoke easier.
But the contrary policy was pursued. We were kept at
work all day when in port ; which, together with a watch
at night, made us glad to turn-in as soon as we got below.
Thus we got no time for reading, or — which was of more
importance to us — for washing and mending our clothes.
And then, when we were at sea, sailing from port to port,
instead of giving us "watch and watch," as was the custom
on board every other vessel on the coast, we were all kept
on deck and at work, rain or shine, making spun-yam and
rope, and at other work in good weather, and picking oakum,
when it was too wet for anything else. All hands were
called to "come up and see it rain,'' and kept on deck hour
after hour in a drenching rain, standing round the deck so
far apart as to prevent our talking with one another, with
our tarpaulins and oil-cloth jackets on, picking old rope to
pieces, or laying up gaskets and robands. This was often
done, too, when we were lying in port with two anchors
down, and no necessity for more than one man on deck as
a look-out. This is what is called "hazing'' a crew, and
"working their old iron up."

While lying at Santa Barbara, we encountered another
south-easter; and like the first, it came on in the night ; the
great black douds coming round from the southward, cover-
ing the mountain, and hanging down over the town, appear-
ing almost to rest upon the roofs of the houses. We made
sail, slipped our cable, cleared the point, and beat about,
for four days, in the oflSng, under close sail, with continual
rain and high seas and winds. No wonder, thought we,
they have no rain in the other seasons, for enough seemed
to have fallen in those four days to last through a common
summer. On the fifth day it cleared up, after a few hours,
as is usual, of rain coming down like a four hours' shower-
bath, and we found ourselves drifted nearly ten leagues
from the anchorage ; and having light head winds, we did not
return until the sixth day. Having recovered our anchor,
we made preparations for getting under weigh to go down

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 103

to leeward. We had hoped to go directly to San Diego,
and thus fall in with the California before she sailed for /
Boston; but our orders were to stop at an intermediate W
port called San Pedro, and as we were to lie there a week or
two, and the California was to sail in a few da3rs, we lost
the opportunity. Just before sailing, the captain took on
board a short, red-haired, round-shouldered, vulgar-looking
fellow, who had lost one eye, and squinted with the other,
and introducing him as Mr. Russell, told us that he was
an oflGicer on board. This was too bad. We had lost over-
board, on the passage, one of the best of our niunber, another
had been taken from us and appointed clerk, and thus
weakened and reduced, instead of shipping some hands to
make our work easier, he had put another officer over us,
to watch and drive us. We had now four officers, and only --^
six in the forecastle. This was bringing her too mudi
down by the stem for our comfort.

Leaving Santa Barbara, we coasted along down, the
country appearing level or moderately uneven, and, for
the most part, sandy and treeless; until, doubling a high,
sandy point, we let go our anchor at a distance of three or
three and a half miles from shore. It was like a vessel,
boimd to Halifax, coming to anchor on the Grand Banks;
for the shore being low, appeared to be at a greater distance
than it actually was, and we thought we might as well have
staid at Santa Barbara, and sent our boat down for the
hides. The land was of a cljiyey consistency, and, as far as
the eye could reach, entirely bare of trees and even shrubs ;
and there was no sign of a town, — not even a house to be
seen. What brought us into such a place, we could not
conceive. No sooner had we come to anchor, than the slip-
rope, and the other preparations for south-easters, were got
ready ; and there was reason enough for it, for we lay ex-
posed to every wind that could blow, except the north-west,
and that came over a flat country with a range of more
than a league of water. As soon as everything was snug on
board, the boat was lowered, and we pulled a^ore, our new

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104 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

officer, who had been several times in the port before, taking
the place of steersman. As we drew in, we found the tide
low, and the rocks and stones, covered with kelp and sea-
weed, lying bare for the distance of nearly an eighth of a
mile. Picking our way barefooted over these, we came to
what is called the landing-place, at high-water mark. The
soil was as it appeared at first, loose and clayey, and except
the stalks of tiie mustard plant, there was no vegetation.
Just in front of the landing, and immediately over it, was a
small hill, which, from its being not more than thirty or
forty feet high, we had not perceived from our anchorage.
Over thi§ hill we saw three men coming down, dressed partly
like sailors and partly like Calif omians ; one of them having
on a pair of untann^ leather trowsers and a red baize shirt.
When they came down to us, we found that they were
Englishmen, and they told us that they had belonged to a
small Mexican brig which had been driven ashore here in a
south-easter, and now lived in a small house just over the
hill. Going up this hill with them, we saw, just behind it,
a small, low building, with one room, containing a fire-place,
cooking-apparatus, etc., and the rest of it undfinished, and
used as a place to store hides and goods. This, they told
us, was bmlt by some traders in the Pueblo (a town about
thirty miles in the interior, to which this was the port),
and used by them as a storehouse, and also as a lodging-
place when they came down to trade with the vessek.
These three men were employed by them to keep the house
in order, and to look out for the things stored in it. They
said that they had been there nearly a year ; had nothing
to do most of the time, living upon beef, hard bread, and
frijoles (a peculiar kind of bean very abimdant in Cali-
fornia). The nearest house, they told us, was a Rancho,
or cattle-farm, about three miles oflF ; and one of them went
up, at the request of our officer, to order a horse to be
sent down, with which the agent, who was on board, might
go up to the Pueblo. From one of them, who was an intel-
ligent English sailor, I learned a good deal, in a few minutes'

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 105

conversation, about the place, its trade, and the news from
the southern ports. San Diego, he said, was about eighty
miles to the leeward of San Pedro ; that they had heard from
there, by a Spaniard who came on horseback, that the
California had sailed for Boston, and that the Lagoda,
which had been in San Pedro only a few weeks before, was
taking in her cargo for Boston. The Ayacucho was also
there, loading for Callao, and the little LoriottCy which had
run directly down from Monterey, where we left her. San*'
Diego, he told me, was a small, snug place, having very little
trade, but decidedly the best harbor on the coast, being
completely land-locked, and the water as smooth as a duck-
pond. This was the depot for all the vessels engaged in
the trade; each one having a large house the^e, built of
rough boards, in which they stowed their hides, as fast as
they collected them in their trips up and down the coast,
and when they had procured a full cargo, spent a few weeks
there taking it in, smoking ship, supplying wood and water,
and making other preparations for tiie voyage home. The
Lagoda was now about this business. When we should be
about it, was more than I could tell ; two years, at least,
I thought to myself.

I also learned, to my surprise, that the desolate-looking s
place we were in was the best place on the whole coast for ^
hides. It was the only porfTor a distance of eighty miles,
and about thirty miles in the interior was a fine plane coun-
try, filled with herds of cattle, in the centre of which was the
Pueblo de los Angelos — the largest town in California —
and severaroTtfie wealthiest missions ; to all of which San
Pedro was the sea-port.

Having made our arrangements for a horse to take the
agent to the Pueblo the next day, we picked our way again
over the green, slippery rocks, and pidled aboard. By the
time we reached the vessel, which was so far oflF that we
could hardly see her, in the increasing darkness, the boats
were hoisted up, and the crew at supper. Going down into
the forecastle, eating our supper, and lighting our cigars

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io6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

and pipes, we had, as usual, to tell all we had seen or heard
ashore. We all agreed that it was the worst place we had
seen yet, especially for getting oflE hides, and our lying off
at so great a distance looked as though it was bad for south-
easters. After a few disputes as to whether we should have
to carry our goods up the hill, or not, we talked of San
Diego, the probability of seeing the Lagoda. before she
sailed, etc.

The next day we pulled the agent ashore, and he went up
to visit the Pueblo and the neighboring missions ; and in a
few days, as the result of his labors, large ox-carts, and
droves of mules, loaded with hides, were seen coming over
the flat country. We loaded our long-boat with goods of
all kinds, light and heavy, and pulled ashore. After land-
ing and rolling them over the stones upon the beach,
we stopped, waiting for the carts to come down the hill and
take tiem; but the captain soon settled the matter by
ordering us to carry them all up to the top, saying that
that was "California fashion.'' So what the oxen would
not do, we were obliged to do. The hill was low, but steep,
and the earth, being clayey and wet with the recent rains,
was but bad holding-ground for our feet. The heavy bar-
rels and casks we rolled up with some difficulty, getting
behind and putting our shoulders to them ; now and then
our feet slipping, added to the danger of the casks rolling
back upon us. But the greatest trouble was with the large
boxes of sugar. These, we had to place upon oars, and
lifting them up, rest the oars upon our shoulders, and creep
slowly up the hill with the gait of a f imeral procession. After
an hour or two of hard work, we got them all up, and
foimd the carts standing full of hides, which we had to
imload, and also to load again with our own goods ; the lazy
Indians, who came down with them, squatting down on
their hams, looking on, doing nothing, and when we asked
them to help us, only shaking their heads, or drawling out
"no quiero.''

Having loaded the carts, we started up the Indians, who

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 107

went oflF, one on each side of the oxen, with long sticks,
sharpened at the end, to punch them with. This is one
of the means of saving labor in California ; — two Indians
to two oxen. Now, the hides were to be got down ; and for
this purpose, we brought the boat roimd to a place where
the hill was steeper, and threw them down, letting them
slide over t^e slope. ^ Many of them lodged, and we had to
let ourselves down and set them agoing again ; and in this
way got covered with dust, and our clothes torn. After
we had got them all down, we were obliged to take them on
our heads, and walk over the stones, and through the water,
to the boat. The water and the stones together would wear
out a pair of shoes a day, and as shoes were very scarce and
very dear, we were compelled to go barefooted. At night,
we went on board, having had the hardest and most dis-
agreeable day's work that we had yet experienced. For
several days, we were employed in this manner, until we
had landed forty or fifty tons of goods, and brought on board
about two^ioiisand hides ; when the trade began to slacken,
and we were kept at work, on board, during the latter part
of the week, either in the hold or upon the rigging. On
Thursday night, there was a violent blow from the north-
ward, but as this was oflE-shore, we had only to let go our
other anchor and hold on. We were called up at night to
send down the royal-yards. It was as dark as a pocket, and
the vessel pitching at her anchors. I went up to the fore,

and my friend S , to the main, and we soon had them

down "ship-shape and Bristol fashion";' for, as we had
now got used to our duty aloft, everything above the cross-
trees was left to us, who were the yoimgest of the crew,
except one boy.

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CHAPTER XV

For several da)rs the captain seemed very much out of
humor. Nothing went right, or fast enough for him. He
quarrelled with the cook, and threatened to flog him for
throwing wood on deck ; and had a dispute with the mate
about reeving a Spanish burton; the mate saying that
he was right, and had been taught how to do it by a man
who was a sailor I This, the captain took in dudgeon, and
they were at sword's points at once. But his displeasure
was chiefly turned against a large, heavy-moulded fellow
from the Middle States, who was called Sam. This man
hesitated in his speech, and was rather slow in his motions,
but was a pretty good sailor, and always seemed to do his
best ; but the captain took a dislike to him, thought he was
surly, and lazy ; and " if you once give a dog a bad name" —
as the sailor-phrase is — "he may as well jmnp over-
board." The captain found fault with everything this
man did, and hazed him for dropping a marline-spike from
the main-yard, where he was at work. This, of course, was
an accident, but it was set down against him. The captain
was on board all day Friday, and everything went on hard
and disagreeably. ''The more you drive a man, the less
he will do," was as true with us as with any other people.
We work^ late Friday night, and were tumed-to, early
Saturday morning. About ten o'clock the captain ordered
our new officer, Russell, who by this time had become
thoroughly disliked by all the crew, to get the gig ready
to take him ashore. John, the Swede, was sitting in the
boat alongside, and Russell and myself were standing by
the main hatchway, waiting for the captain, who was down
in the hold, where the crew were at work, when we heard lus

loS

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 109

voice raised in violent dispute with somebody, whether it
was with the mate, or one of the crew, I could not tell; and
then came blows and scuffling. I ran to the side and
beckoned to John, who came up, and we leaned down the
hatchway ; and though we could see no one, yet we knew
that the captain had the advantage, for his voice was loud
and clear —

"You see your condition! You see your condition!
Will you ever give me any more of your jaw?^^ No an-
swer ; and then came wrestling and heaving, as though the
man was trying to turn him. '* You may as well keep still,
for I have got you," said the captain. Then came the ques-
tion, "Will you ever give me any more of your jaw?"

"I never gave you any, sir," said Sam; for it was his
voice that we heard, though low and half choked.

" That's not what I ask you. Will you ever be impujient
to me again ?"

"I never have been, sir," said Sam.

"Answer my question, or I'll make a spread eagle of you I
I'U flog you."

"I'm no negro slave," said Sam.

"Then I'll make you one," said the captain ; and he came
to the hatchway, and sprang on deck, threw off his coat,
and rolling up his sleeves, called out to the mate — "Seize

that man up, Mr. A ! Seize him up ! Make a spread

eagle of him ! I'll teach you all who is master aboard ! "

The crew and officers followed the captain up the hatch-
way, and after repeated orders the mate laid hold of Sam,
who made no resistance, and carried him to the gangway.

"What are you going to flog that man for, sir?" said
John, the Swede, to the captain.

^ Upon hearing this, the captain turned upon him, but
knowing him to be quick and resolute, he ordered the
steward to bring the irons, and calling upon Russell to help
him, went up to John.

"Let me alone," said John. "I'm willing to be put in
irons. You need not use any force ;" and putting out his

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ijo TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

hands, the captain slipped the irons on, and sent him aft
to the quarter-deck. Sam by this time was seized up, as it
is called, that is, placed against the shrouds, with his wrists
made fast to the shrouds, his jacket off, and his back ex-
posed. The captain stood on the break of the deck, a few
feet from him, and a little raised, so as to have a good swing
at him, and held in his hand the bight of a thick, strong rope.
The officers stood round, and the crew grouped together in
the waist. All these preparations made me feel sick and
almost faint, angry and excited as I was. A man — a
human being, naade in God's likeness — fastened up and
flogged like a beast ! A man, too, whom I had lived with
and eaten with for months, and knew almost as well as a
brother. The first and almost uncontrollable impulse was
resistance. But what was to be done? The time for it
had gone by. The two best men were fast, and there were
only two beside myself, and a small boy of ten or twelve
years of age. And then there were (beside the captain)
three officers, steward, agent, and clerk. But beside the
numbers, what is there for sailors to do? If they resist,
it is mutiny ; and if they succeed, and take the vessel, it is
piracy. If they ever yield again, their punishment must
come; and if they do not yield, they are pirates for life.
If a sailor resist his commander, he resists the law, and
piracy or submission are his only alternatives. Bad as it
was, it must be borne. It is what a sailor ships for. Swing-
ing the rope over his head, and bending his body so as to
give it full force, the captain brought it down upon the
poor fellow's back. Once, twice, — six times. "Will you
ever give me any more of your jaw ?" The man writhed
with pain, but said not a word. Three times more. This
was too much, and he muttered something which I could
not hear; this brought as many more as the man could
stand ; when the captain ordered him to be cut down, and
to go forward.

"Now for you," said the captain, making up to John and
taking his irons off. As soon as he was loose, he ran for-

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST m

ward to the forecastle. "Bring that man aft," shouted the
obtain. The second mate, who had been a shipmate of
Jdm's, stood still in the waist, and the mate walked slowly
forward; but our third oflGicer, anxious to show his zeal,
sprang forward over the windlass, and laid hold of John;
but he soon threw him from him. At this moment I would
have given worlds for the power to help the poor fellow ;
but it was all in vain. The captain stood on the quarter-
deck, bare-headed, his eyes flashing with rage, and his face
as red as blood, swinging the rope, and calling out to his
officers, "Drag him aft ! — Lay hold of him ! I'll sweeten
him ! " etc. The mate now went forward and told John
quietly to go aft ; and he, seeing resistance in vain, threw
tiie blackguard third mate from him ; said he would go aft
of himself ; that they should not drag him ; and went up
to the gangway and held out his hands ; but as soon as the
captain began to make him fast, the indignity was too much,
and he began to resist ; but the mate and Russell holding
him, he was soon seized up. When he was made fast, he
turned to the captain, who stood turning up his sleeves and
getting ready for the blow, and asked him what he was to be
flogged for. "Have I ever refused my duty, sir? Have
you ever known me to hang back, or to be insolent, or not
to know my work ? "

"No," said the captain, "it is not that that I flog you for ;
I flog you for your interference — for asking questions."

"Can't a man ask a question here without being flogged ?"

"No," shouted the captain; "nobody shall open his
mouth aboard this vessel, but myself;" and he began laying
the blows upon his back, swinging half round between each
blow, to give it full effect. As he went on, his passion in-
creased, and he danced about the deck, calling out as he
swung the rope, — "If you want to know what I flog you
for, I'll tell you. It's because I like to do it ! — because I
like to do it I — It suits me ! That's what I do it for ! "

The man writhed under the pain, until he could endure
it no longer^ when he called out, with an exclamation more

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113 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

common among foreigners than with us — **0h, Jesus
Christ ! Oh, Jesus Christ ! ''

"Don't call on Jesus Christ," shouted the captain ; " he

canH hdp you. Call on Captain T . He's the man!

He can help you ! Jesus Christ can't help you now 1 "

At these words, which I never shall forget, my blood
ran cold. I could look on no longer. Disgusted, sick, and
horror-struck, I turned away and leaned over the rail, and
looked down into the water. A few rapid thoughts of my
own situation, and of the prospect of future revenge, crossed
my mind; but the falling of the blows and the cries of
the man called me back at once. At length they ceased, and
turning round, I found that the mate, at a signal from the
captain, had cut him down. Almost doubled up with pain,
the man walked slowly forward, and went down into the
forecastle. Every one else stood still at his post, while the
captain, swelling with rage and with the importance of his
achievement, walked the quarter-deck, and at each turn, as
he came forward, calling out to us, — "You see your con-
dition! You see where I've got you all, and you know
what to expect ! " — "You've been mistaken in me — you
didn't know what I was ! Now you know what I am ! "
— "I'll make you toe the mark, every soul of you, or I'll
flog you all, fore and aft, from the boy, up ! " — "You've
got a driver over you! Yes, a slave-driver — a negro-
driver t I'll see who'll tell me he isn't a negro slave!"
With this and the like matter, equally calculated to quiet
us, and to allay any apprehensions of future trouble, he
entertained us for about ten minutes, when he went below.
Soon after, John came aft, with his bare back covered with
stripes and wales in every direction, and dreadfully swollen,
and asked the steward to ask the captain to let him have
some salve, or balsam, to put upon it. "No," said the
captain, who heard him from below; "tell him to put his
shirt on ; that's the best thing for him ; and pull me ashore
in the boat. Nobody is going to lay-up on board this
vessel." He then called to Mr. Russell to take those two

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 113

men and two others in the boat, and pull him ashore. I
went for one. The two men could hardly bend their backs,
and the captain called to them to "give way," "give way ! "
but finding they did their best, he let them aJone. The
agent was in the stem sheets, but during the whole pull
— a league or more — not a word was spoken. We landed ;
the captain, agent, and oflScer went up to the house, and left
us with the boat. I, and the man with me, staid near the
boat, while John and Sam walked slowly away, and sat down
on the rocks. They talked some time together, but at
length sq)arated, each sitting alone. I had some fears of
Jolm. He was a foreigner, and violently tempered, and
under suffering; and he had his knife with him, and the
captain was to come down alone to the boat. But nothing
happened; and we went quietly on board. The captain
was probably armed, and if either of them had lifted a hand
against him, they would have had nothing before them but
flight, and starvation in the woods of California, or capture
by the soldiers and Indian blood-hounds, whom the offer of
twenty dollars would have set upon them.

After the day's work was done, we went down into the
forecastle, and ate our plain supper ; but not a word was
^ken. It was Saturday night ; but there was no song —
no " sweethearts and wives." A gloom was over everything.
The two men lay in their berths, groaning with pain, and
we all turned in, but for myself, not to sleep. A sound
conung now and then from the berths of the two men
showed that they were awake, as awake they must have
been, for they could hardly lie in one posture a moment ;
the dim, swinging lamp of the forecastle shed its light over
the dark hole in which we lived ; and many and various
reflections and purposes coursed through my mind. I
thought of our situation, living under a tyranny; of the
diaracter of the country we were in ; of the length of the
voyage, and of the uncertainty attending our return to
America ; and then, if we should return, of the prospect of
obtaining justice and satisfaction for these poor men ; and

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114 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

vowed that if God should ever give me the means, I would
do something to redress the grievances and relieve the suf-
ferings of that poor class of beings, of whom I then was one.

The next day was Sunday. We worked as usual, wash-
ing decks, etc., until breakfast-time. After breakfast, we
pulled the captain ashore, and finding some hides there
which had been brought down the night before, he ordered
me to stay ashore and watch them, saying that the boat
would come again before night. They left me, and I spent
a quiet day on the hill, eating dinner with the three men at
the little house. Unfortunately, they had no books, and
after talking with them and walking about, I began to grow
tired of doing nothing. The little brig, the home of so much
hardship and suffering, lay in the offing, almost as far as
one could see; and the only other thing which broke the
surface of the great bay was a small, desolate-looking island,
steep and conical, of a clayey soil, and without the sign of
vegetable life upon it ; yet which had a peculiar and melan-
choly interest to me, for on the top of it were buried the
remains of an Englishman, the commander of a small mer-
chant brig, who died while lying in this port. It was always
a solemn and interesting spot to me. There it stood,
desolate, and in the midst of desolation ; and there were
the remains of one who died and was buried alone and friend-
less. Had it been a common burying-place, it would have
been nothing. The single body corresponded well with
the solitary character of everytiiing around. It was the
only thing in California from which I could ever extract
anything like poetry. Then, too, the man died far from
home ; without a friend near him ; by poison, it was sus-
pected, and no one to inquire into it ; and without proper
funeral rites; the mate (as I was told), glad to have him
out of the way, hurrying him up the hill and into the ground,
without a word or a prayer.

I looked anxiously for a boat, during the latter part of the
afternoon, but none came; until toward sun-down ; when I
saw a speck on the water, and as it drew near, I found it was

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 115

the gig, with the captain. The hides, then, were not to go
oflf. The captain came up the hill, with a man, bringing
my monkey jacket and a blanket. He looked pretty black.;
but inquired whether I had enough to eat ; told me to make
a house out of the hides, and keep myself warm, as I shouWR
have to sleep there among them, and to keep good watch
over them. I got a moment to speak to the maji who
brought my jacket.

"How do things go aboard?" said I.

" Bad enough," said he ; " hard work and not a kind word
spoken."

"What," said I, "have you been at work all day?"

"Yes! no more Sunday for us. Everything has been
moved in the hold, from stem to stem, and from the water-
ways to the keelson."

I went up to the house to supper. We had f rijoles (the
perpetual food of the Califomians, but which, when well
cooked, are the best bean in the world), coflfee made of
burnt wheat, and hard bread. After our meal, the three
men sat down by the light of a tallow candle, with a padc
of greasy Spanish cards, to the favorite game of "treinta
imo," a sort of Spanish "everlasting." I left them and
went out to take up my bivouac among the hides. It was
now dark; the vessel was hidden from sight, and except
the three men in the house, there was not a living soul with-
in a league. The coati (a wild animal of a nature and ap-
pearance between that of the fox and the wolf) set up their
sharp, quick bark, and two owls, at the end of two distant
points running out into the bay, on different sides of the hill
where I lay, kept up their alternate, dismal notes. I had
heard the sound before at night, but did not know what it
was, until one of the men, who came down to look at my
quarters, told me it was the owl. Mellowed by the dis-
tance, and heard alone, at night, I thought it was the most
melancholy, boding sound I had ever heard. Through
nearly all the night they kept it up, answering one another
slowly, at regular intervals. This was relieved by the noisy

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ii6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

coati, some of which came quite near to my quarters, and
were not very pleasant neighbors. The next morning,
before sunrise, the long-boat came ashore, and the hides were
taken off.

We lay at San Pedro about a week, engaged in taking
oflF hides and in other labors, which had now become our
regular duties. I spent one more day on the hill, watching
a quantity of hides and goods, and this time succeeded in
finding a part of a volume of Scott's Pirate, in a comer of
the house ; but it failed me at a most interesting moment,
and I betook myself to my acquaintances on shore, and from
them learned a good deal about the customs of the country,
the harbors, etc. This, they told me, was a worse harbor
than Santa Barbara, for south-easters ; the bearing of the
headland being a point and a half more to windward, and it
being so shallow that the sea broke often as far out as where
we lay at anchor. The gale from which we slipped at Santa
Barbara, had been so bad a one here, that the whole bay,
for a league out, was filled with the foam of the breakers,
and seas actually broke over the Dead Man's island. The
Lagoda was lying there, and slipped at the first alarm, and
in such haste that she was obliged to leave her launch be-
hind her at anchor. The little boat rode it out for several
hours, pitching at her anchor, and standing with her stern
up almost perpendicularly. The men told me that they
watched her tiU towards night, when she snapped her cable
and drove up over the breakers, high and dry upon the
beach.

On board the Pilgrim, everything went on regularly, each
one tr3dng to get along as smoothly as possible; but the
comfort of the voyage was evidently at an end. "That is
a long lane which has no turning" — "Every dog must have
his day, and mine will come by-and-by" — and the like
proverbs, were occasionally quoted; but no one spoke of
any probable end to the voyage, or of Boston, or anything
of the kind ; or if he did, it was only to draw out the per-
petual, surly reply from his shipmate — "Boston, is it?

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 117

You may thank your stars if you ever see that place. You
had better have your back sheathed, and your head cop-
pered, and your feet shod, and make out your log for Cali- •
fomia for life ! " or else something of this kind — "Before
you get to Boston the hides will wear all the hair off your
head, and you'll take up all your wages in clothes, and
won't have enough left to buy a wig with ! ''

The flogging was seldom if ever alluded to by us, in the
forecastle. If any one was inclined to talk about it, the
others, with a delicacy which I hardly expected to find
among them, always stopped him, or turned the subject*
But the behavior of the two men who were flogged toward
one another showed a delicacy and a sense of honor, which
would have been worthy of admiration in the highest walks
of life. Sam knew that the other had suffered solely on
his account, and in all his complaints, he said that if he alone
had been flogged, it would have been nothing ; but that he
never could see that man without thinking what had been
the means of bringing that disgrace upon him ; and John
never, by word or deed, let anything escape him to remind
the other that it was by interfering to save his shipmate,
that he had suffered.

Having got all our spare room filled with hides, we hove
up our anchor and made sail for San Diego. In no operation
can the disposition of a crew be discovered better than in
getting under weigh. Where things are done " with a will,"
every one is like a cat aloft : sails are loosed in an instant ;
each one lays out his strength on his handspike, and the
windlass goes briskly round with the loud cry of " Yo heave
ho ! Heave and pawl ! Heave hearty ho ! " Biit with us,
at this time, it was all dragging work. No one went aloft
beyond his ordinary gait, and the chain came slowly in
over the windlass. The mate, between the knight-heads,
exhausted all his official rhetoric in calls of "Heave, with
a will!" — "Heave hearty, men! — heave hearty!" —
"Heave and raise the dead! — Heave, and away!"
etc; but it would not do. Nobody broke his back or

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ii8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

his handspike by his eflforts. And when the cat-tackle-fall
was strung along, and all hands — cook, steward, and all
— laid hold, to cat the anchor, instead of the lively song
of "Cheerily, men ! " in which all hands join in the chorus,
we pulled a long, heavy, silent pull, and — as sailors say a
song is as good as ten men — the anchor came to the cat-
head pretty slowly. " Give us * Cheerily ! ' " said the mate ;
but there was no "cheerily " for us, and we did without it.
The captain walked the quarter-deck, and said not a word.
He must have seen the change, but there was nothing which
he could notice officially.

We sailed leisurely down the coast before a light, fair
wind, keeping the land well aboard, and saw two other
missions, looking like blocks of white plaster, shining in the
distance ; one of which, situated on the top of a high hill,
was San Juan Campestrano, under which vessels sometimes
come to anchor, in the summer season, and take oflf hides.
The most distant one was St. Louis Rey, which the third
mate said was only fifteen miles from San Diego. At sunset
on the second day, we had a large and well wooded head-
land directly before us, behind which lay the little harbor of
San Diego. We were becalmed oflf this point all night, but
the next morning, which was Saturday, the 14th of March,
having a good breeze, we stood round the point, and hauling
our wind, brought the little harbor, which is rather the outlet
of a small river, right before us. Every one was anxious to
get a view of the new place. A chain of high hills, beginning
at the point (which was on our larboard iiand, coming in),
protected the har);)or on the north and west, and ran oflf
into the interior, as far as the eye could reach. On the other
sides, the land was low, and green, but without trees. The
entrance is so narrow as to admit but one vessel at a time,
the current swift, and the channel runs so near to a low
stony point that the ship's sides appeared almost to touch
it. There was no town in sight, but on the smooth sand :
beach, abreast, and within a cable's length of which three
vessels lay moored^ were four large houses, built of rough

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TWO YEARS PEFORE THE MAST 119

boards, and looking like the great bams in which ice is
stored on the borders of the large ponds near Boston ; with
piles of hides standing round ti^em, and men in red shirts
and large straw hats, walking in and out of the doors.
These were the hide-houses. Of the vessels : one, a short,
clumsy, little hermaphrodite brig, we recognized as our old
acquaintance the Loriotte; anoUier, with sharp bows and
raKng masts, newly painted and tarred, and glittering
in the morning sun, with the blood-red banner and crbss
of St. George at her peak, was the handsome Ayacuchi.
The third was a large ship, with top-gallant-masts housed,
and sails xmbent, and looking as rusty and worn as two
years' "hide droghing'' could make her. This was the
Lagoda. As we drew near, carried rapidly along by the
current, we overhauled our chain, and clewed up the top-
sails. "Let go the anchor !" said the captain; but either
there was not chain enough forward of the windlass, or the
anchor went down foul, or we had too much headway on,
for it did not bring us up. "Pay out chain !" shouted the
captain ; and we gave it to her ; but it would not do. Be-
fore the other anchor could be let go, we drifted down, broad-
side on, and went smash into the Lagoda, Her crew were at
breakfast in the forecastle, and the cook, seeing us coming,
rushed out of his galley, and called up the officers and men.
Fortunately, no great harm was done. Her jib-boom ran
between our fore and main masts, carrying away some of
our rigging, and breaking down the rail. She lost her
martingale. This brought us up, and as they paid out
chain, we swimg clear of them, and let go the other anchor ;
but this had as bad luck as the first, for, before any one
perceived it, we were drifting on to the Loriotte, The cap-
tain now gave out his orders rapidly and fiercely, sheeting
home the topsails, and backing and filling the sails, in hope
of starting or clearing the anchors ; but it was all in vain,
and he sat down on the rail, taking it very leisurely, and
calling out to Captain Nye, that he was coming to pay him
a visit. We drifted fairly into the Loriotte^ her larboard

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I20 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

bow into our starboard quarter, carrying away a part of our
starboard quarter railing, and breaking off her larboard
bumpkin, and one or two stanchions above the deck. We
saw our handsome sailor, Jackson, on the forecastle, with
the Sandwich Islanders, working away to get us dear.
After pajdng out chain, we swimg clear, but our anchors
were no doubt afoul of hers. We manned the windlass,
and hove, and hove away, but to no purpose. Sometimes
we got a little upon the cable, but a good surge would take
it all back again. We now began to drift down toward the
AyacuchOy when her boat put off and brought her com-
mander. Captain Wilson, on board. He was a short, ac-
tive, well-built man, between fifty and sixty years of age ;
and being nearly thirty years older than our captain, and a
thorough seaman, he did not hesitate to give his advice,
and from giving advice, he gradually came to taking the
command ; ordering us when to heave and when to pawl,
and backing and filling the topsails, setting and taking in
jib and trysail, whenever he thought best. Our captain
gave a few orders, but as Wilson generally coxmtermanded
fiiem, sajdng, in an easy, fatherly kind of way, "Oh no I

Captain T , you don't want the jib on her," or "it isn't

time yet to heave ! " he soon gave it up. We had no objec-
tions to this state of things, for Wilson was a kind old man,
and had an encouraging and pleasant way of speaking to
us, which made everything go easily. After two or three
hours of constant labor at the windlass, heaving and "Yo
ho !"-ing with all our might, we brought up an anchor, with
the Loriotte^s small bower fast to it. Having cleared this
and let it go, and cleared our hawse, we soon got our other
anchor, which had dragged half over the harbor. "Now,"
said Wilson, "I'll find you a good berth ;" and setting both
the topsails, he carried us down, and brought us to anchor,
in handsome style, directly abreast of the hide-house which
we were to use. Having done this, he took his leave, while
we furled the sails, and got our breakfast, which was wel-
come to us, for we had worked hard, and it was nearly twelve

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 121

o'clock. After breakfast, and untfl night, we were employed
in getting out the boats and mooring ship.

After supper, two of us took the captain on board the
Lagoda. As he came alongside, he gave his name, and the
mate, in the gangway, called out to the captain down the

companion-way — " Captain T has come aboard, sir V*

"Has he brought his brig with him?'' ^d the rough old
fellow, in a tone which made itself heard fore and aft. This
mortified our captain a little, and it became a standing joke
among us for the rest of the voyage. The captain went
down into the cabin, and we walked forward and put our
heads down the forecastle, where we found the men at
supper. " Come down, shipmates ! come down !" said they,
as soon as they saw us ; and we went down, and f bimd a
large, high forecastle, well lighted ; and a crew of twelve or
fourteen men, eating out of their kids and pans, and drink-
ing their tea, and talking and laughing, all as independent
and easy as so many "wood-sawyer's clerks." This looked
like comfort and enjojnnent, compared with the dark little
forecastle, and scanty, discontented crew of the brig. It
was Saturday night ;* they had got through their work for
the week ; and being snugly moored, had nothing to do
until Monday, again. After two years' hard service, they
had seen the worst, and all, of California ; — had got their
cargo nearly stowed, and expected to sail in a week or two, for
Boston. We spent an hour or more with them, talking over
California matters, xmtil the word was passed — "Pilgrims,
away !" and we went back with our captain. They were a
hardy, but intelligent crew; a little roughened, and their
clothes patched and old, from California wear ; all able sea-
men, and between the ages of twenty and thirty-five. They
inquired about our vessel, the usage, etc., and were not a
little surprised at the story of the flogging. They said there
were often difficulties in vessels on the coast, and sometimes
knock-downs and fightings, but they had never heard before
of a regular seizing-up and flogging. "Spread eagles" were
a new kind of bird in CaUfomia.

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122 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

\ Sunday, they said, was always given in San Diego, both

U at the hide-houses and on board the vessels, a large number
^ usually going up to the town, on liberty. We learned a
good deal from them about curing and stowing of hides, etc.,
and they were anxious to have the latest news (seven
months old) from Boston. One of their first inquiries was
for Father Taylor, the seamen's preacher in Boston. Then
followed the usual strain of conversation, inquiries, stories,
and jokes, which one must always hear in a ship's forecastle,
but which are perhaps, after all, no worse, nor, indeed, more
gross, than that of many well-dressed gentlemen at their
clubs.

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CHAPTER XVI

The next day being Sunday, after washing and clearing
decks, and getting breakfast, the mate came forward with
leave for one watch to go ashore, on liberty. We drew lots,
and it fell to the larboard, which I was in. Instantly all
was preparation. Buckets of fresh water (which we were
allowed in port), and soap, were put in use; go-ashore
jackets and trowsers got out and brushed ; pumps, necker-
chiefs, and hats overhauled; one lending to another; so
that aftnong the whole each one got a good fit-out. A boat
was called to pull the "liberty men*' ashore, and we sat
down in the stern sheets, "as big as pay-passengers,'* and
jumping ashore, set out on our walk for the town, which
was nearly three miles oflf.

It is a pity that some other arrangement is not made in
merchant vessels, with regard to the liberty-day. When
in port, the crews are kept at work all the week, and the only
day they are allowed for rest or pleasure is the Sabbath ;
and imless they go ashore on that day, they cannot go at
all. I have heard of a religious captain who gave his crew
liberty on Saturdays, after twelve o'clock. This would
be a good plan, if shipmasters would bring themselves to
give their crews so much time. For young sailors especially,
many of whom have been brought up with a regard for the
sacredness of the day, this strong temptation to break it,
is exceedingly injurious. As it is, it can hardly be expected
that a crew, on a long and hard voyage, will refuse a few
hours of freedom from toil and the restraints of a vessel,
and an opportunity to tread the ground and see the sights
of society and hiunanity, because it is on a Sunday. It
is too much like escaping from prison, or being drawn out
of a pit, on the Sabbath day.

133

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124 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

I shall never forget the delightful sensation of being in
the open air, with the birds singing around me, and escaped
from the confinement, labor, and strict rule of a vessel —
of being once more in my life, though only for a day, my own
master. A sailor's liberty is but for a day; yet while it
lasts it is perfect. He is under no one's eye, and can do
whatever, and go wherever, he pleases. This day, for the
first time, I may truly say, in my whole life, I felt the mean-
ing of a term which I had often heard — the sweets of

liberty. My friend S was with me, and turning our

backs upon the vessels, we walked slowly along, talking of
the pleasure of being our own masters, of the times past,
when we were free and in midst of friends, in America, and
of the prospect of our return ; and planning where we woxild
go, and what we would do, when we reached home. It was
wonderful how the prospect brightened, and how short and
tolerable the voyage appeared, when viewed in this new
light. Things looked diflferently from what they did when
we talked them over in the little dark forecastle, the night
after the flogging at San Pedro. It is not the least of the
advantages of allowing sailors occasionally a day of liberty,
that it gives them a spring, and makes them feel cheerful
and independent, and leads them insensibly to look on the
bright side of everything for some time after.

S and myself determined to keep as much together

as possible, though we knew that it would not do to cut
our shipmates ; for, knowing our birth and education, they
were a little suspicious that we would try to put on the
gentleman when we got ashore, and would be ashamed of
their company ; and this won't do with Jack. When the
voyage is at an end, you may do as you please, but so long
as you belong to the same vessel, you must be a shipmate
to him on shore, or he will not be a shipmate to you on board.
Being forewarned of this before I went to sea, I took no
''long togs" with me, and being dressed like the rest, in
white duck trowsers, blue jacket and straw hat, which
would prevent my going in better company, and showing

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 125

no disposition to avoid them, I set all suspicion at rest.
Our crew fell in with some who belonged to the other vessels,
and, sailor-like, steered for the first grog-shop. This was
a small mud building, of only one room, in which were
liquors, dry and West India goods, shoes, bread, fruits,
and everything which is vendible in California. It was \
kept by a Yankee, a one-eyed man, who belonged formerly
to Fall River, came out to the Pacific in a whale-ship, left
her at the Sandwich Islands, and came to California and
set up a '^Pulperia." S and I followed in our ship-
mates* wake, knowing that to refuse to drink with them
would be the highest affront, but determining to slip away
at the first opportxmity. It is the imiversal custom with
sailors for each one, in his turn, to treat the whole, calling
for a glass all round, and obliging every one who is present,
even to the keeper of the shop, to take a glass with him.
When we first came in, there was some dispute between our
crew and the others, whether the new comers or the old
California rangers should treat first; but it being settled
in favor of the latter, each of the crews of the other vessels
treated all round in their turn, and as there were a good \
many present (including some ''loafers" who had dropped
in, loiowing what was going on, to take advantage of Jack's^
hospitality), and the Uquor was a real (12^ cents) a glass,
it made somewhat of a hole in their lockers. It was now

our ship's turn, and S and I, anxious to get away,

stepped up to call for glasses ; but we soon found that we
must go in order — the oldest first, for the old sailors did
not choose to be preceded by a couple of youngsters ; and
ban gri, mal gr6, we had to wait our turn, with the twofold
apprehension of being too late for our horses, and of getting
corned ; for drink you must, every time ; and if you drink
with one and not with another, it is always taken as an
insult.

Having at length gone through our turns and acquitted
ourselves of all obligations, we slipped out, and went about
among the houses, endeavoring to get horses for the day,

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126 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

SO that we might ride round and see the country. At first
we had but little success, all that we could get out of the
lazy fellows, in reply to our questions, being the eternal
drawling ^'Quien sabe?^' (**Who knows?") which is an
answer to all questions. After several efforts, we at length
fell in with a little Sandwich Island boy, who belonged to
Captain Wilson of the AyacuchOy and was well acquainted
in the place ; and he, knowing where to go, soon procured
us two horses, ready saddled and bridled, each with a lasso
coiled over the pommel. These we were to have all day,
with the privilege of riding them down to the beach at night,
for a dollar, which we had to pay in advance. Horses are
the cheapest thing in California; the very best not being
worth more than ten dollars apiece, and very good ones
being often sold for three, and four. In taking a day's ride,
you pay for the use of the saddle, and for the labor and
trouble of catching the horses. If you bring the saddle back
safe, they care but little what becomes of the horse.
Mounted on oiu: horses, which were spirited beasts, and
which, by the way, in this country, are always steered by
pressing the contrary rein against the neck, and not by
' pulling on the bit, — we started off on a fine nm over the
country. The first place we went to was the old ruinous
presidio, which stands on a rising groimd near the village,
which it overlooks. It is built in the form of an open
square, like all the other presidios, and was in a most ruin-
ous state, with the exception of one side, in which the
commandant lived, with his family. There were only two
guns, one of which was spiked, and the other had no car-
riage. Twelve, half clothed, and half starved looking
fellows, composed the garrison ; and they, it was said, had
not a musket apiece. The small settlement lay directly
below the fort, composed of about forty dark brown look-
ing huts, or houses, and two larger ones, plastered, which
belonged to two of the ''gente de razdn.'' This town is not
more than half as large as Monterey, or Santa Barbara, and
has little or no business. From the presidio, we rode off

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 127

in the direction of the mission, which we were told was three
miles distant. The country was rather sandy, and there
was nothing for miles which could be called a tree, but the
grass grew green and rank, and there were many bushes
and thickets, and the soil is said to be good. After a pleas-
ant ride of a couple of miles, we saw the white walls of the
mission, and fording a small river, we came directly before
it. The mission is built of mud, or rather of the unbumt
bricks of the country, and plastered. There was something
decidedly striking in its appearance : a number of irregular
buildings, connected with one another, and disposed in the
form of a hollow square, with a church at one end, rising
above the rest, with a tower containing five belfries, in each
of which hung a large bell, and with an immense rusty iron
cross at the top. Just outside of the buildings, and under
the walls, stood twenty or thirty small huts, built of straw
and of the branches of trees, grouped together, in which a
few Indians lived, under the protection and in the service
of the mission.

Entering a gate- way, we drove into the open square, in
which the stillness of death reigned. On one side was the
church ; on another, a range of high buildings with grated
windows ; a third was a range of smaller buildings, or offices ;
and the fourth seemed to be little more than a high con-
necting wall. Not a living creature could we see. We rode
twice roirnd the square, in the hope of waking up some one ;
and in one circuit, saw a tall monk, with shaven head,
sandals, and the dress of the Grey Friars, pass rapidly
through a gallery, but he disappeared without noticing us.
After two circuits, we stopped our horses, and saw, at last,
a man show himself in front of one of the small buildings.
We rode up to him, and found him dressed in the common
dress of the country, with a silver chain round his neck,
sui^K)rting a large bunch of keys. From this, we took him
to be the steward of the mission, and addressing him as
''Mayordomo," received a low bow and an invitation to
walk into his room. Making our horses fast, we went in.

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128 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

It was a plain room, containing a table, three or four chairs,
a small picture or two of some saint, or miracle, or martyr-
dom, and a few dishes and glasses. ''Hay algunas cosas
& comer?" said I. "Si Sefior!" said he. "Que gusta
listed?*' Mentioning frijoles, which I knew they must
have if they had nothing else, and beef and bread, and a
hint for wine, if they had any, he went off to another build-
ing across the court, and returned in a few moments, with
a couple of Indian boys, bearing dishes and a decanter
of wine. The dishes contained baked meats, frijoles stewed
with peppers and onions, boiled eggs, and California flour
baked into a kind of macaroni. These, together with the
wine, made the most siunptuous meal we had eaten since
we left Boston ; and compared with the fare we had lived
upon for seven months, it was a regal banquet. After
despatching our meal, we took out some money and asked
him how much we were to pay. He shook his head, and
crossed himself, saying that it was charity : — that the Lord
gave it to us. Knowing the amount of this to be that he
did not sell, but was willing to receive a present, we gave
him ten or twelve reals j which he pocketed with admirable
nonchalance, saying, "Dios se lo pague." Taking leave
of him, we rode out to the Indians' huts. The little children
were nmning about among the huts, stark naked, and the
men were not much better ; but the women had generally
coarse gowns, of a sort of tow cloth. The men are em-
ployed, most of the time, in tending the cattle of the mission,
and in working in the garden, which is a very large one, in-
cluding several acres, and filled, it is said, with the best
fruits of the climate. The language of these people, which
is spoken by all the Indians of California, is the most brutish
and inhuman language, without any exception, that I ever
heard, or that could well be conceived of. It is a complete
slabber. The words fall off of the ends of their tongues,
and a continual slabbering sound is made in the cheeks,
outside of the teeth. It cannot have been the language
of Montezuma and the independent Mexicans.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 129

Here, among the huts, we saw the oldest man that I
had ever seen ; and, mdeed, I never supposed that a person
could retain life and exhibit such marks of age. He was
sitting out in the sun, leaning against the side of a hut;
and his legs and arms, which were bare, were of a dark red
color, the skin withered and shrunk up like burnt leather,
and the limbs not larger round than those of a boy of five
years. He had a few grey hairs, which were tied together
at the back of his head ; and he was so feeble that, when
we came up to him, he raised his hands slowly to his face,
and taking hold of his lids with his fingers, hfted them up
to look at us; and being satisfied, let them drop again.
All conunand over the lid seemed to have gone. I asked
his age, but could get no answer but ''Quien sabe? " and
they probably did not know the age.

Leaving the mission, we retxuned to the village, going
nearly all the way on a full nm. The California horses have
no medixmi gait, which is pleasant, between walking and
running ; for as there are no streets and parades, they have
no need of the genteel trot, and their riders usually keep
them at the top of their speed imtil they are tired, and then
let them rest themselves by walking. The fine air of the
afternoon; the rapid rate of the animals, who seemed
almost to fly over the ground; and the excitement and
novelty of the motion to us, who had been so long confined
on shipboard, were exhilarating beyond expression, and we
felt willing to ride all day long. Coming into the village,
we found things looking very lively. The Indians, who
always have a holyday on Sunday, were engaged at playing
a kind of running game of ball, on a level piece of ground,
near the houses. The old ones sat down in a ring, looking
on, while the young ones — men, boys, and girls — were
chasing the ball, and throwing it^with all their might.
Some of the girls ran like greyhounds. At every accident,
or remarkable feat, the old people set up a deafening scream-
ing and clapping of hands. Several blue jackets were reel-
ing about among the houses, which showed that the pul-

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I30 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

perias had been well patronized. One or two of the sailors
had got on horseback, but being rather indifferent horsemen,
and the Spaniards having given them vicious horses, they
were soon thrown, much to the amusement of the people.
A half dozen Sandwich Islanders, from the hide-houses
and the two brigs, who are bold riders, were dashing about
on the full gallop, hallooing and laughing like so many wild
men.

It was now nearly sun-down, and S and myself went

into a house and sat quietly down to rest ourselves before
going down to the beach. Several people soon collected
to see ^'los Ingles marineros," and one of them — a young
woman — took a great fancy to my pocket handkerchief,
which was a large silk one that I had before going to sea,
and a handsomer one than they had been in the habit of
seeing. Of course, I gave it to her ; which brought us into
high favor ; and we had a present of some pears and other
fruits, which we took down to the beach with us. When
we came to leave the house, we found that our horses, which
we left tied at the door, were both gone. We had paid for
them to ride down to the beach, but they were not to be
found. We went to the man of whom we hired them, but
he only shrugged his shoulders, and to our question, "Where
are the horses ?" only answered — "Quien sabe?" but as he
was very easy, and made no inquiries for the saddles, we saw
that he knew very well where they were. After a. little
trouble, determined not to walk down, — a distance of
three miles, — we procured two, at four reals apiece, with
an Indian boy to hm on behind and bring them back.
Determined to have "the go" out of the horses, for our
trouble, we went down at full speed, and were on the beach
in fifteen minutes. Wishing to make our liberty last as
long as possible, we rode up and down among the hide-
houses, amusing ourselves with seeing the men, as they came
down (it was now dusk), some on horseback and others
on foot. The Sandwich Islanders rode down, and were in
"high snuff." We inquired for our shipmates, and were

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 131

told that two of them had started on horseback and been
thrown or had fallen off, and were seen heading for the
beach, but steering pretty wild, and by the looks of things,
would not be down much before midnight.

The Indian boys having arrived, we gave them our horses,
and having seen them safely off, hailed for a boat and went
aboard. Thus ended our first liberty-day on shore. We
were well tired, but had had a good time, and were more
willing to go back to our old duties. About midnight, we
were waked up by our two watch-mates, who had come
aboard in high dispute. It seems they had started to come
down on the same horse, double-backed; and each was
accusing the other of being the cause of his fall. They soon,
however, turned-in and fell asleep, and probably forgot all
about it, for the next morning the dispute was not renewed.

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CHAPTER XVn

The next sound that we heard was "All hands ahoy !"
and looking up the scuttle, saw that it was just daylight.
Our liberty had now truly taken flight, and with it we
laid away our pumps, stockings, blue jackets, neckerchiefs,
and other go-ashore paraphernalia, and putting on old duck
trowsers, red shirts, and Scotch caps, began taking out and
landing our hides. For three days we were hard at work,
from the grey of the morning until starlight, with the ex-
ception of a short time allowed for meals, in this duty.
V, For landing and taking on board hides, San Diego is de-
cidedly the best place in California. The harbor is small
and land-locked; there is no surf; the vessels lie within
a cable's length of the beach ; and the beach itself is smooth,
hard sand, without rocks or stones. For these reasons,
it is used by all the vessels in the trade, as a depot; and,
indeed, it would be impossible, when loading with the cured
hides for the passage home, to take them on board at any
of the open ports, without getting them wet in the surf,
which would spoil them. We took possession of one of the
hide-houses, which belonged to our firm, and had been used
by the California. It was built to hold forty thousand
hides, and we had the pleasing prospect of filling it before
we could leave the coast ; and toward this, our thirty-five
hundred, which we brought down with us, would do but
little. There was not a man on board who did not go a
dozen times into the house, and look round, and make
some calculation of the time it would require.

The hides, as they come rough and uncured from the
vessels, are piled up outside of the houses, whence they are
taken and carried through a regular process of pickling,
drying, cleaning, etc., and stowed away in the 'house, ready
to be put on board. This process is necessary in order that

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 133

they may keep, during a long voyage and in warm latitudes.
For the purpose of curing and taking care of these hides, an
officer and a part of the crew of each vessel are usually left
ashore; and it was for this business, we found, that our
new officer had joined us. As soon as the hides were landed,
he took charge of the house, and the captain intended to
leave two or three of us with him, hiring Sandwich Islanders
to take our places on board ; but he could not get any Sand-
wich Islanders to go, though he offered them fifteen dollars
a month ; for the report of the flogging had got among them,
and he was called "aole maikai *' (no good), and that was
an end of the business. They were, however, willing to
work on shore, and four of them were hired and put with
Mr. Russell to cure the hides.

After landing our hides, we next sent ashore all our spare
spars and rigging ; all the stores which we did not want to
use in the course of one trip to windward; and, in fact,
everything which we could spare, so as to make room for
hides: among other things, the pig-sty, and with it "old
Bess." This was an old sow that we had brought from
Boston, and which lived to get round Cape Horn, where
all the other pigs died from cold and wet. Report said that
she had been a Canton voyage before. She had been the
pet of the cook during the whole passage and he had fed
her with the best of everything, and taught her to know
his voice, and to do a number of strange tricks for his amuse-
ment. Tom Cringle says that no one can fathom a negro's
affection for a pig ; and I believe he is right, for it almost
broke our poor darky's heart when he heard that Bess was
to be taken ashore, and that he was to have the care of her
no more during the whole voyage. He had depended upon
her as a solace, during the long trips up and down the coast.
''Obey orders, if you break owners!" said he. "Break
hearts, ^^ he meant to have said ; and lent a hand to get her.
over the side,, trying to make it as easy for her as possible.
We got a whip up on the main-yard, and hooking it to a
strap round her body, swayed away; and giving a wink

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134 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

to one another, ran her chock up to the yard. ^' 'Vast there !
Vast ! '' said the mate ; **none of your skylarking ! Lower
away!" But he evidently enjoyed the joke. The pig
squealed like the "crack of doom," and tears stood in the
poor darky's eyes ; and he muttered something about hav-
ing no pity on a dumb beast. *^Dumb beast !" said Jack;
"if she's what you call a diunb beast, then my eyes a'n't
mates." This produced a laugh from all but the cook. He
was too intent upon seeing her safe in the boat. He watched
her all the way ashore, where, upon her landing, she was
received by a whole troop of her kind, who had been set
ashore from the other vessels, and had multiplied and formed
a large commonwealth. From the door of his galley, the
cook used to watch them in their manoeuvres, setting up a
shout and clapping his hands whenever Bess came off vic-
torious in the struggles for pieces of raw hide and half-
picked bones which were lying about the beach. During
the day, he saved all the nice things, and made a bucket of
swill, and asked us to take it ashore in the gig, and looked
quite disconcerted when the mate told him that he would
pitch the swill overboard, and him after it, if he saw any of
it go into the boats. We told him that he thought more
about the pig than he did iibout his wife, who lived down in
Robinson's Alley ; and, indeed, he could hardly have been
more attentive, for he actually, on several nights, after
dark, when he thought he would not? be seen, sculled himself
ashore in a boat with a- bucket of nice swill, and returned
like Leander from crossing the Hellespont.

The next Sunday the other half of our crew went ashore
on liberty, and left us on board, to enjoy the first quiet
Sunday which we had had upon the coast. Here were
no hides to come off, and no south-easters to fear. We
washed and mended our clothes in the morning, and ^pent
the rest of the day in reading and writing. Several of us
wrote letters to send home by the Lagoda. At twelve
o'clock the Ayacucho dropped her fore topsail, which was a
signal for her sailing. She unmoored and warped down into

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 135

the bight, from which she got under weigh. During this
operation, her crew were a long time heaving at the windlass,
and I listened for nearly an hour to the musical notes of a
Sandwich Islander, called Mahannah, who *'sang out" for
them. Sailors, when heaving at a windlass, in order that
they may heave together, always have one to sing out;
which is done in a peculiar, high and long-drawn note, vary-
ing with the motion of the windlass. This requires a high
voice, strong lungs, and much practice, to be done well.
This fellow had a very peculiar, wild sort of note, breaking
occasionally into a falsetto. The sailors thought that it
was too high, and not enough of the boatswain hoarseness
about it ; but to me it had a great charm. The harbor was
perfectly still, and his voice rang among the hills, as though
it could have been heard for nidles. Toward sun-down, a
good breeze having sprung up, she got under weigh, and
with her long, sharp head cutting elegantly through the
water, on a taught bowline, she stood directly out of the
harbor, and bore away to the southward. She was bound
to Caliao, and thence to the Sandwich Islands, and expected
to be on the coast again in eight or ten months.
At the close of the week we were ready to sail, but were

delayed a day or two by the nmning away of F , the

man who had been our second mate, and was turned for-
ward. From the time that he was " broken," he had a dog's
berth on board the vessel, and determined to run away at
the first opportunity. Having shipped for an officer when
he was not half a seaman, he found little pity with the crew,
and was not man enough to hold his ground among them.
The captain called him a ''soger," ^ and promised to "ride

* Soger (soldier) is the worst term of reproach that can be applied to a
sailor. It signifies a skulk, a sherk, — one who is always tr)ring to get clear
of work, and is out of the way, or hanging back, when duty is to be done.
** Marine " is the term applied more particularly to a man who is ignorant
and clumsy about seaman's work — a green-horn — a land-lubber. To
make a sailor shoulder a handspike, and walk fore and aft the deck, like a
sentry, is the most ignominious punishment that could be put upon him.
Such a punishment inflicted upon an able seaman in a vessel of war, would
break his spirit down more than a flogging.

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136 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

him down as he would the mam tack" ; and when officers
are once determined to " ride a man down," it is a gone case
with him. He had had several difficulties with the captain,
and asked leave to go home in the Lagoda; but this was re-
fused him. One night he was insolent to an officer on the
beach, and refused to come aboard in the boat. He was
reported to the captain; and, as he came aboard, — it
being past the proper hour, — he was called aft, and told
that he was to have a flogging. Immediately, he fell
down on deck, calling out — "Don't flog me. Captain

T ; don't flog me ! " and the captain, angry with him,

and disgusted with his cowardice, gave him a few blows over
the back with a rope's end and sent him forward. He was
not much hurt, but a good deal frightened, and made up
his mind to run away that very night. This was managed
better than anything he ever did in his life, and seemed
really to show some spirit and forethought. He gave his
bedding and mattress to one of the Lagoda' s crew, who took
it aboard his vessel as something which he had bought,
and promised to keep it for him. He then unpacked his
chest, putting all his valuable clothes into a large canvas
bag, and told one of us, who had the watch, to call him at
midnight. Coming on deck at midnight, and finding no
officer on deck, and all still aft, he lowered his bag into a
boat, got softly down into it, cast off the painter, and let
it drop down silently with the tide imtil he was out of
hearing, when he sculled ashore.
The next morning, when all hands were mustered, there

was a great stir to find F . Of course, we would tell

nothing; and all they could discover was, that he had left
an empty chest behind him, and that he went off in a boat ;
for they saw it lying up high and dry on the beach. After
breakfast, the captain went up to the town, and offered a re-
ward of twenty dollars for him ; and for a couple of days the
soldiers, Indians, and all others who had nothing to do, were
scouring the country for him, on horseback, but without
effect ; for he was safely concealed, all the time, within fifty

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 137

rods of the hide-houses. As soon as he had landed, he went
directly to the Lagoda^s hide-house, and a part of her
crew, who were living there on shore, promised to conceal
him and his traps until the Pilgrim should sail, and then
to intercede with Captain Bradshaw to take him on board
the ship. Just behind the hide-houses, among the thickets
and underwood, was a small cave, the entrance to which
was known only to two men on the beach, and which was
so well concealed that, though, when I afterwards came to
live on shore, it was shown to me two or three times, I was
never able to find it alone. To this cave he was carried
before daybreak in the morning, and supplied with bread
and water, and there remained until he saw us under weigh
and well round the point.
Friday, March 27/A. The captain having given up all

hope of finding F , and being unwilling to delay any

longer, gave orders for unmooring ship, and we made sail,
dropping slowly down with the tide and light wind. We \
left letters with Captain Bradshaw to take to Boston, and ^
had the satisfaction of hearing him say that he should be
back again before we feft the coast. The wind, which was
v^ry light, died away soon after we doubled the point, and
we lay becalmed for two days, not moving three miles the
whole time, and a part of the second day were almost
within sight of the vessels. On the third day, about noon,
a cool sea-breeze came rippling and darkening the surface
of the water, and by sun-down we were off St. Juan's, which
is about forty miles from San Diego, and is called halfway
to San Pedro, where we were now bound. Our crew was
now considerably weakened. One. man we had lost over-
board; another had been taken aft as clerk ; and a third had

mn away ; so that, beside S and myself, there were only

three able seamen and one boy of twelve years of age.
With this diminished and discontented crew, and in a small
vessel, we were now to battle the watch through a couple
of years of hard service ; yet there was not one who was not
glad that F had escaped; for, shiftless and good for

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138 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

nothing as he was, no one could wish to see him dragging on
a miserable life, cowed down and disheartened ; and we were
all rejoiced to hear, upon our return to San Diego, about
two months afterwards, that he had been immediately taken
aboard the Lagoda^ and went home in her, on regular sea-
man's wages.

After a slow passage of five days, we arrived, one Wednes-
day, the first of April, at our old anchoring ground at San
Pedro. The bay was as deserted, and looked as dreary,
as before, and formed no pleasing contrast with the security
and snugness of San Diego, and the activity^ and interest
which the loading and unloading of four vessels gave to
that scene. In a few days the hides began to come slowly
down, and we got into the old business of rolling goods up
the hill, pitching hides down, and pulling our long league
off and on. Nothing of note occurred while we were lying
here, except that an attempt was made to repair the small
Mexican brig which had been cast away in a south-easter,
and which now lay up, high and dry, over one reef of rocks
and two sandbanks. Our carpenter surveyed her, and pro-
nounced her capable of refitting, and in a few days the
owners came down from the Pueblo, and waiting^ for .*:^e
high spring tides, with the help of our cables, k^^Hs, L ,^
crew, got her off and afloat, after several trials, r- c three
men at the house on shore, who had formerly been a part of
her crew, now joined her, and seemed glad enough at the
prospect of getting off the coast.

On board our own vessel, things went on in the common
monotonous way. The excitement which immediately
followed the flogging scene had passed off, but the effect
of it upon the crew, and especially upon the two men them-
selves, remained. The different manner in which these men
were affected, corresponding to their different characters,
was not a little remarkable. John was a foreigner and high-
tempered, and though mortified, as any one would beat having
had the worst of an encounter, yet his chief feeling seemed
to be anger ; and he talked much of satisfaction and revenge,

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 139

if he ever got back to Boston. But with the other, it was
very diflferent. He was an American, and had had some
education ; and this thing coming upon him, seemed com-
pletely to break him down. He had a feeling of the deg-
radation that had been inflicted upon him, which the other
man was incapable of. Before that, he had a good deal of
; fun, and amused us often with queer negro stories, — (he
was from a slave state) ; but afterwards he seldom smiled ;
seemed to lose all life and elasticity ; and appeared to have
but one wish, and that was for the voyage to be at an end.
\L have often known him to draw a long sigh when he was
alone, and he took but little part or interest in John's plans
of satisfaction and retaliation.

After a stay of about a fortnight, during which we slipped ,
for one south-easter, and were at sea two days, we got under
weigh for Santa Barbara. It was now the middle of April,
and the south-easter season was nearly over ; and the light,
regular trade-winds, which blow down the coast, began to
set steadily in, during the latter part of each day. Against
these, we beat slowly up to Santa Barbara — a distance of
about ninety miles — in three days. There we found, lying
at anchor, the large Genoese ship which we saw in the same
pU^ Ok the first day of our coming upon the coast. She
had^been up to San Francisco, or, as it is called, "chock up
to windward," had stopped at Monterey on her way down,
and was shortly to proceed to San Pedro and San Diego,
and thence, taking in her cargo, to sail for Valparaiso and
Cadiz. She was a large, clumsy ship, and with her top-
masts stayed forward, and high poop-deck, looked like
an old woman with a crippled back. It was now the close
of Lent, and on (Jood Friday she had all her yards a'-cock-
bill, which is customary among Catholic vessels. Some
also have an effigy of Judas, which the crew amuse them-
selves with keel-hauling and hanging by the neck from the
yard-arms.

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CHAPTER XVm

The next Sunday was Easter Sunday, and as there had
been no liberty at San Pedro, it was our turn to go ashore
and misspend another Sabbath. Soon after breakfast,
a large boat, filled with men in blue jackets, scarlet caps,
and various colored under-clothes, bound ashore on liberty,
left the Italian ship, and passed under our stem ; the men
singing beautiful Italian boat-songs, all the way, in fine,
full chorus. Among the songs I recognized the favorite
"O Pescator dell' onda." It brought back to my mind
piano-fortes, drawing-rooms, young ladies singing, and a
thousand other things which as little befitted me, in my sit-
uation, to be thinking upon. Supposing that the whole day
would be too long a time to spend ashore, as there was no
place to which we could take a ride, we remained quietly
on board until after dinner. We were then pulled ashore
in the stem of the boat, and, with orders to be on the beach
at sun-down, we took our way for the town. There, every-
thing wore the appearance of a holyday. The people were
all dressed in their best ; the men riding about on horse-
back among the houses, and the women sitting on carpets
before the doors. Under the piazza of a "pulperia," two
men were seated, decked out with knots of ribands and bou-
quets, and playing the violin and the Spanish guitar. These
are the only instruments, with the exception of the drums
and tmmpets at Monterey, that I ever heard in California ;
and I suspect they play upon no others, for at a great
fandango at which I was afterwards present, and where«they
mustered all the music they could find, there were three
violins and two guitars, and no other instmments. As it
was now too near the middle of the day to see any dancing,
and hearing that a bull was expected down from the country,

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to be baited in the presidio square, in the course of an hour
or two, we took a stroll among the houses. Inquiring for
an American who, we had been told, had married in the
place, and kept a shop, we were directed to a long, low
building, at the end of which was a door, with a sign over it,
in Spanish. Entering the shop, we found no one in it, and
the whole had an empty, deserted appearance. In a few
minutes the man made his appearance, and apologized for
having nothing to entertain us with, saying that he had had
a fandango at his house the night before, and the people had
eaten and dnmk up everything.

''Oh yes ! " said I, "Easter holydays ! "

"No ! " said he, with a singular expression to his face;
"I had a little daughter die ^e other day, and that's the
ciistom of the country.''

Here I felt a little strangely, not knowing what to say,
or whether to offer consolation or no, and was beginning
to retire, when he opened a side door and told us to walk in.
Here I was no less astonished ; for I found a large room,
filled with young girls, from three or four years of age up to
fifteen and sixteen, dressed all in white, with wreaths of
flowers on their heads, and bouquets in their hands. Fol-
lowing our conductor through all these girls, who were
playing about in high spirits, we came to a table, at the end
of the room, covered with a white cloth, on Which lay a
coffin, about three feet long, with the body of his child.
The coflSn was lined on the outside with white cloth, and on
the inside with white satin, and was strewed with flowers.
Through an open door we saw, in another room, a few
elderly people in common dresses; while the benches and
tables Uirown up in a comer, and the stained walls, gave
evident signs of the last night's "high go." Feeling, like
Garrick, between tragedy and comedy, an uncertainty of
purpose and a little awkwardness, I asked the man when
the funeral would take place, and being told that it would
move toward the mission in about an hour, took my leave.

To pass away the time, we took horses and rode down

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142 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

to the beach, and there found three or four Italian sailors,
mounted, and riding up and down, on the hard sand, at a
furious rate. We joined them, and found it fine sport.
The beach gave us a stretch of a mile or more, and the horses
flew over the smooth, hard sand, apparently invigorated
and excited by the salt sea-breeze, and by the continual
roar and dashing of the breakers. From tie beach we re-
turned to the town, and finding that the funeral procession
had moved, rode on and overtook it, about halfway to the
mission. Here was as peculiar a sight as we had seen before
in the house ; the one looking as much like a f imeral pro-
cession as the other did like a house of moiuning. The
little coflSn was borne by eight girls, who were continually
relieved by others, nmning forward from the procession
and taking their places. Behind it came a straggling
company of girls, dressed as before, in white and flowers,
and including, I should suppose by their numbers, nearly
all the girls between five and fifteen in the place. They
played along on the way, frequently stopping and nmning
all together to talk to some one, or to pick up a flower, and
then running on agai^ to overtake the coflin. There were a
few elderly women in common colors ; and a herd of yoimg
I men and boys, some on foot and others mounted, followed
: them, or walked or rode by their side, frequently interrupt-
ing them by jokes and questions. But the most singular
thing of all was, that two men walked, one on each side of
the coflSn, carrying muskets in their hands, which they
* continually loaded, and fired into the air. Whether this
was to keep off the evil spirits or not, I do not know. It
was the only interpretation that I could put upon it.

As we drew near the mission, we saw the great gate
thrown open, and the padre standing on the steps, with a
crucifix in hand. The mission is a large and deserted-
looking place, the out-buildings going to ruin, and every-
thing giving one the impression of decayed grandeur. A
large stone foimtain threw out pure water, from four mouths,
into a basin, before the chiurch door ; and we were on the

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 143

point of riding up to let our horses drink, when it occurred
to us that it might be consecrated, and we forbore. Just
at this moment, the bells set up their harsh, discordant
dang; and the procession moved into the court. I was
anxious to follow, and see the ceremony, but the horse of
one of my companions had become frightened, and was
tearing off toward the town ; and having thrown his rider,
and got one of his feet caught in the saddle, which had
slipped, was fast dragging and ripping it to pieces. Know-
ing that my shipmate could not speak a word of Spanish,
and fearing that he would get into diflSculty, I was obliged
to leave the ceremony and ride after him. I soon overtook
him, trudging along, swearing at the horse, and carrying the
remains of the saddle, which he had picked up on the road.
Going to the owner of the horse, we made a settlement with
him, and foimd him surprisingly liberal. All parts of the
saddle were brought back, and being capable of repair, he
was satisfied with six reals. We thought it would have been
a few dollars. We pointed to the horse, which was now
halfway up one of the mountains ; but he shook his head,
saying, "No importe !" and giving us to understand that
he had plenty more.

Having returned to the town, we saw a great crowd
collected in the square before the principal pulperia, and
riding up, found that all these people — men, women, and
children — had been drawn together by a couple of bantam
cocks. The cocks were in full tilt, springing into one an-
other, and the people were as eager, laughing and shouting,
as though the combatants had been men. There had been
a disappointment about the bull ; he had broken his bail,
and taken himself off, and it was too late to get another;
so the people were obliged to put up with a cock-fight.
One of the bantams having been knocked in the head, and
had an eye put out, he gave in, and two monstrous prize-
cocks were brought on. These were the object of the whole
affair ; the two bantams having been merely served up as
a first course, to collect the people together. Two fellows

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144 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

came into the ring holding the cocks in their arms, and
stroking them, and running about on all fours, encouraging
and setting them on. Bets ran high, and, like most other
contests, it remained for some time undecided. They both
showed great pluck, and fought probably better and longer
than their masters would. Whether, in the end, it was
the white or the red that beat, I do not recollect ; but which-
ever it was, he strutted off with the true veni-vidi-vid look,
leaving the other lying panting on his beam-ends.

This matter having been settled, we heard some talk
about *'cabaUos*^ and ^^carrira/^ and seeing the people all
streaming off in one direction, we followed, and came upon
a level piece of ground, just out of the town, which was used
as a race-course. Here the crowd soon became thick again,
the ground was marked off ; the judges stationed ; and the
horses led up to one end. Two fine-looking old gentle-
men — Don Carlos and Don Domingo, so called — held the
stakes, and all was now ready. We waited some time, dur-
ing which we could just see the horses twisting round and
turning, until, at length, there was a shout along the lines,
and on they came — heads stretched out and eyes starting ;
— working all over, both man and beast. The steeds came
by us like a couple of chain-shot — neck and neck ; and now
we could see nothing but their backs, and their hind hoofs
flying in the air. As fast as the horses passed, the crowd
broke up behind them, and ran to the goal. When we got
there, we found the horses returning on a slow walk, having
run far beyond the mark, and heard that the long, bony one
had come in head and shoulders before the other. The
riders were light-built men ; had handkerchiefs tied round
their heads ; and were bare-armed and bare-legged. The
horses were noble-looking beasts, not so sleek and combed
as our Boston stable horses, but with fine limbs and spirited
eyes. After this had been settled, and fully talked over,
the crowd scattered again and flocked back to the town.

Returning to the large pulperia, we found the violin and
guitar screaming and twanging away under the piazza,

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 145

where they had been all day. As it was now sun-down, there
began to be some dancing. The Italian sailors danced, and
one of our crew exhibited himself in a sort of West India
shuffle, much to the amusement of the bystanders, who
cried out, '* Bravo!" "Otra vez!" and "Vivan los mari-
neros ! " but the dancing did not become general, as the
women and the "gente de raz6n" had not yet made their
appearance. We wished very much to stay and see the style
of dancing ; but, although we had had our own way during
the day, yet we were, after all, but 'foremast Jacks ; and
having been ordered to be on the beach by sun-down, did
not venture to be more than an hour behind the time ; so
we took oiu" way down. We found the boat just pulling
ashore through the breakers, which were running high,
there having been a heavy fog outside, which, from some
cause or other, always brings on or precedes a heavy sea.
Liberty-men are privileged from the time they leave the
vessel until they step on board again ; so we took our places
in the stem sheets, and were congratulating ourselves upon
getting oflf dry, when a great comber broke fore and aft the
boat, and wet us through and through, filling the boat half
full of water. Having lost her buoyancy by the weight of
the water, she dropped heavily into every sea that struck
her, and by the time we had pulled out of the surf into deep
water, she was but just afloat, and we were up to our knees.
By the help of a small bucket and our hats, we bailed her
out, got on board, hoisted the boats, eat our supper, changed
our clothes, gave (as is usual) the whole history of our day's
adventures to those who had staid on board, and having
taken a night-smoke, tumed-in. Thus ended our second
day's liberty on shore.

On Monday morning, as an offset to our day's sport, we
were all set to work ''tarring down" the rigging. Some got
girt-lines up for riding down the stays and back-stays,
and others tarred the shrouds, lifts, etc., laying out on the
yards, and coming down the rigging. We overhauled our
bags and took out our old tarry trowsers and frocks, which

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146 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

we had used when we tarred down before, and were all at
work in the rigging by sun-rise. After breakfast, we had
the satisfaction of seeing the Italian ship's boat go ashore,
filled with men, gaily dressed, as on the day before, and
singing their barcaroUas. The Easter holydays are kept
up on shore during three days ; and being a Catiiolic vessel,
the crew had the advantage of them. For two successive
days, while perched up in fiie rigging, covered with tar and
engaged in oiu: disagreeable work, we saw these fellows go-
ing ashore in the morning, and coming off again at night, in
high spirits. So much for being Protestants. There's no
danger of Catholicism's spreading in New England ; Yan-
kees can't afford the time to be Catholics. American ship-
masters get nearly three weeks more labor out of their
crews, in the course of a year, than the masters of vessels
from Catholic coxmtries. Yankees don't keqpQiristmas,
and ship-masters at sea never know when Thanksgiving
comes, so Jack has no festival at all.

About noon, a man aloft called out "Sail ho !" and look-
ing roxmd, we saw the head sails of a vessel coming roimd the
point. As she drew roxmd, she showed the broadside of a
full-rigged brig, with the Yankee ensign at her peak. We
ran up our stars and stripes, and knowing that there was
no American brig on the coast but ourselves, expected to
have news from home. She roxmded-to and let go her
anchor, but the dark faces on her yards, when they furled
the sails, and the Babel on deck, soon made known that she
was from the Islands. Immediately afterwards, a boat's
crew came aboard, bringing her skipper, and from them
we learned that she was from Oahu, and was engaged in the
same trade with the AyacuchOj LoriottCy etc., between the
coast, the Sandwich Islands, and the leeward coast of Peru
and Chili. Her captain and officers were Americans, and
also a part of her crew ; the rest were Islanders. She was
called the Catalinay and, like all the other vessels in that
trade, except the AyacuchOy her papers and colors were
from Uncle Sam. They, of coiurse, brought us no news, and

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 147

we were doubly disappointed, for we had thought, at first, it
might be the ship which we were expecting from Boston.
^ After lying here about a fortnight, and collecting all the
hides the place afforded, we set sail again for San Pedro.
There we foimd the brig which we had assisted in getting off,
lying at anchor, with a mixed crew of Americans, English,
Sandwich Islanders, Spaniards, and Spanish Indians ; and
though much smaller than we, yet she had three times the
number of men ; and she needed them, for her oflScers were
Califomians. No vessels in the world go so poorly manned
as American and English ; and none do so well. A Yankee
brig of that size would have had a crew of four men, and
would have worked round and round her. The Italian ship
had a crew of thirty men ; nearly three times as many as the
Alerty which was afterwards on the coast, and was of the
same size ; yet the Alert would get imder weigh and come-to
in half the time, and get two anchors, while they were all
talking at once — jabbering like a parcel of *' Yahoos,''
and running about decks to find their cat-block.

There was only one point in which they had the advan-
tage over us, and that was in lightening their labors in the
boats by their songs. The Americans are a time and money
saving people, but have not yet, as a nation, learned that
music may be " turned to account.'' We pulled the long dis-
tances to and from the shore, with our loaded boats, without
a word spoken, and with discontented looks, while they not
only lightened the labor of rowing, but actually made it
pleasant and cheerful, by their music. So true is ity^ that —

" For the tired slave, song lifts the languid oar,

And bids it aptly fall, with chime
That beaijtifies the fairest shore,

And mitigates the harshest clime."

We lay about a week in San Pedro, and got under weigh v
for San Diego, intending to stop at San Juan, as the soutfi-
easter season was nearly over, and there was little or no
danger.

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148 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

This being the spring season, San Pedro, as well as all
the other open ports upon the coast, was filled witijrfiales,
that had come in to make their anniial visit upon soimdings.
For the first few days that we were here and at Santa Bar-
bara, we watched them with great interest — calling out
"there she blows !" every time we saw the spout of one
breaking the surface of the water ; but they soon became so
common that we took little notice of them. They often
"broke "very near us, and one thick, foggy night, during a
dead calm, while I was standing anchor-watch, one of them
rose so near, that he struck our cable, and miade all sturge
again. He did not seem to like the encoimter much himself,
for he sheered oflf, and spouted at a good distance. We
once came very near running one down in the gig, and should
probably have been knocked to pieces and blown sky-high.
We had been on board the little Spanish brig, and were
returning, stretching out well at our oars, the little boat
going like a swallow ; our backs were forward (as is always
the case in pulling), and the captain, who was steering, was
not looking ahead, when, all at once, we heard the spout of
a whale directly ahead. "Back water! back water, for
your lives!" shouted the captain; and we backed our
blades in the water and brought the boat to in a smother of
foam. Turning our heads, we saw a great, rough, hump-
backed whale, slowly crossing our fore foot, within three or
four yards of the boat's stem. Had we not backed water
just as we did, we should inevitably have gone smash upon
him, stiiking him with our stem just about amidships. He
took no notice of us, but passed slowly on, and dived a few
yards beyond us, throwing his tail high in the air. He
was so near that we had a perfect view of him, and, as may
be supposed, had no desire to see him nearer. He was a
disgusting creature ; with a skin rough, hairy, and of an iron-
y grey color. This kind differs much from~the sperm, in color
* and skin, and is said to be fiercer. We saw a few sperm
whales ; but most of the whales that come upon the coast
are fin-backs, himip-backs, and right-whales, which are more

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 149

difficult to take, and are said not to give oil enough to pay
for the trouble. For this reason, whale-ships do not come
upon the coast after them. Our captain, together with
Captain Nye of the Loriotte, who had been in a whale-ship,
thought of making an attempt upon one of them with two
boats' crews, but as we had only two harpoons and no proper
lines, they gave it up.

During 5ie months of March, April, and May, these
whales appear in great numbers in the open ports of Santa
Barbara, San Pedro, etc., and hover off the coast, while a
few find their way into the dose harbors of San Diego and
Monterey. They are all off again before midsimuner, and
make their appearance, on the "off-shore groxmd." We
saw some fine ''schools" of sperm whales, which are easily
distinguished by their spout, blowing away, a few miles
to windward, on our passage to San Juan.

Coasting along on die quiet shore of the Pacific, we came
to anchor, in twenty fathoms' water, almost out at sea, as it
were, and directly abreast of a steep hill which overhung
the water, and was twice as high as our royal-mast-head.
We had heard much of this place from the Lagoda^s crew,
who said it was the worst place in California. The shore is
rocky, and directly exposed to the south-east, so that ves-
sels are obliged to slip and run for their lives on the first sign
of a gale ; and late as it was in the season, we got up our
slip-rope and gear, though we meant to stay only twenty-
four hours. We pulled the agent ashore, and were ordered
to wait for him, while he took a circuitous way round the
hill to the mission, which was hidden behind it. We were
glad of the opportimity to examine this singular place, and
hauling the boat up and making her well fast, took different
directions up and down the beach, to explore it.

San Juan is the only romantic spot in California. The
country here for several miles is high table-land, running
boldly to the shore, and breaking off in a steep hill, at the
foot of which the waters of the Pacific are constantly dash-
ing. For several miles the water washes the very base of

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ISO • TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

the hill, or breaks upon ledges and fragments of rocks which
run out into the sea. Just where we landed was a small
cove, or "bight," which gave us, at high tide, a few square
feet of sand-beach between the sea and the bottom of the
hill. This was the only landing-place. Directly before
us, rose the perpendicular height of four or five hxmdred
feet. How we were to get hides down, or goods up, upon
the table-land on which the mission was situated, was more
than we could tell. The agent had taken a long circuit, and
yet had frequently to jump over breaks, and dimb up steep
places, in the ascent. No animal but a man or a monkey
could get up it. However, that was not our look-out ; and
knowing that the agent would be gone an hour or more, we
strolled about, picking up shells, and following the sea
where it tumbled in, roaring and spouting, among the crev-
ices of the great rocks. What a sight, thought I, must this
be in a south-easter ! The rocks were as large as those of
Nahant or Newport, but, to my eye, more grand and broken.
Beside, there was a grandeur in everything around, which
gave almost a solemnity to the scene : a silence and solitari-
ness which affected everything ! Not a human being but
ourselves for miles ; and no sound heard but the pulsations
of the great Pacific ! and the great steep hill rising like a
wall, and cutting us off from all the world, but the "world
of waters ! " I separated myself from the rest, and sat down
on a rock, just where the sea ran in and formed a fine spout-
ing horn. Compared with the plain, dull sand-beach of the
rest of the coast, this grandeur was as refreshing as a great
rock in a weary land. It was almost the first time that I
had been positively alone — free from the sense that human
beings were at my elbow, if not talking with me — since
I had left home. My better nature returned strong upon
me. Everything was in accordance with my state of feel-
ing, and I experienced a glow of pleasure at finding that
what of poetry and romance I ever had in me, had not been
entirely deadened by the laborious and frittering life I had
led. Nearly an hour did I sit, almost lost in the luxmy of

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST % 151

this entire new scene of the play in which I had been so long
acting, when I was aroused by the distant shouts of my
companions, and saw that they were collecting together, as
the agent had made his appearance, on his way back to our
boat.

We pulled aboard, and foxmd the long-boat hoisted out,
and nearly laden with goods ; and after dinner, we all went
on shore in the quarter-boat, with the long-boat in tow.
As we drew in, we foxmd an ox-cart and a couple of men
standing directly on the brow of the hill ; and having landed,
the captain took his way roimd the hill, ordering me and
one other to follow him. We followed, picking our way out,
and jumping and scrambling up, walking over briers and
prickly pears, imtil we came to the top. Here the country
stretched out for miles, as far as the eye could reach, on a
level, table surface ; and the only habitation in sight was the
small white mission of San Juan Caippestrano, with a few
Indian huts about it, standing in a small hollow, about a mile
from where we were. Reaching the brow of the hill where the
cart stood, we foimd several piles of hides, and Indians sit-
ting round them. One or two other carts were coming
slowly on from the mission, and the captain told us to begin
and throw the hides down. This, then, was the way they
were to be got down : thrown down, one at a time, a dis-
tance of four hxmdred feet ! This was doing the business
on a great scale. Standing on the edge of the hill and look-
ing down the perpendicular height, the sailors,

" That walked upon the beach,

Appeared like mice; and our tall anchoring bark
Diminished to her cock; her cock a buoy
Almost too small for sight."

Down this height we pitched the hides, throwing them
as far out into the air as we could ; and as they were all
large, stiflF, and doubled, like the cover of a book, the wind
took them, and they swayed and eddied about, plimging
and rising in the air, like a kite when it has broken its string.

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152 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

As it was now low tide, there was no danger of their falling
into the water, and as fast as they came to ground, the men
below picked them up, and taking them on their heads,
walked off with them to the boat. It was really a pic-
turesque sight : the great height ; the scaling of the hides ;
and the continual walking to and fro of the men, who looked
like mites, on the beach ! This was the romance of high-
droghing !

Some of the hides lodged in cavities which were imder the
bank and out of our sight, being directiy imder us ; but by
sending others down in the same direction, we succeeded in
dislodging them. Had they remained there, the captain
said he should have sent on board for a couple of pair of long
halyards, and got some one to have gone down for them.
It was said that one of the crew of an English brig went
down in the same way, a few years before. We looked over,
and thought it would not be a welcome task, especially for a
few paltry hides ; but no one knows what he can do imtil he
is called upon ; for, six months afterwards, I went down the
same place by a pair of top-gallant studding-sail halyards,
to save a half a dozen hides which had lodged there.

Having thrown them all down, we took our way back
again, and found the boat loaded and ready to start. We
pulled oflf ; took the hides all aboard ; hoisted in the boats ;
hove up our anchor ; made sail ; and before sun-down, were
on our way to San Diego.

Friday^ May 8/A, 1835. Arrived at San Diego. Here
we found the littie harbor deserted. The Lagoda, Aya-
cucho, LoriottCy and all, had left the coast, and we were
nearly alone. All the hide-houses on the beach, but ours,
were shut up, and the Sandwich Islanders, a dozen or twenty
in number, who had worked for the other vessels and
been paid oflf when they sailed, were living on the beach,
keeping up a grand carnival. A Russian discovery-ship,
which had been in this port a few years before, had buHt
a large oven for baking bread, and went away, leaving it
standing. This, the Sandwich Islanders took possession of.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 153

and had kept, ever since, undisturbed. It was big enough
to hold six or eight men — that is, it was as large as a ship's
forecastle ; had a door at the $ide, and a vent-hole at top.
They covered it with Oahu mats, for a carpet ; stopped up
the vent-hole in bad weather, and made it their head-
quarters. It was now inhabited by as many as a dozen
or twenty men, who lived there in complete idleness —
drinking, playing cards, and carousing in every way. They
bought a buHo^ once a week, whidb kept tiiem in meat,
and one of them went up to the town every day to get
fruit, liquor, and provisions. Besides this, they had bought
a cask of ship-bread, and a barrel of flour from the La-
goda, before she sailed. There they lived, having a grand

time, and caring for nobody. Captain T was anxious

to get three or four of them to come on board the PUgrimy
as we were so much diminished in numbers ; and went up
to the oven, and spent an hour or two trying to negotiate
with them. One of them, — a finely built, active, strong
and intelligent fellow, — who was a sort of king among
them, acted as spokesman. He was called Mannini, — or
rather, out of compliment to his known importance and
influence, Mr. Mannini, — and was known all over Cali-
fornia. Through him, the captain offered them fifteen
dollars a month, and one month's pay in advance ; but it
was like throwing pearls before swine, or, rather, carrying
coals to Newcastle. So long as they had money, they
would not work for fifty dollars a month, and when their
money was gone, they would work for ten.

"What do you do here, Mr. Mannini ?" ^ said the captain.

"Oh, we play cards, get drimk, smoke — do anything
we're a mind to."

"Don't you want to come aboard and work?"

^'Aole I aok make make makou i ka hana. Now, got plenty
money ; no good, work. Mamtde, money pau — all gone.
Ah ! very good, work ! — maikaiy hana hana nuiT^

^ The letter % in the Sandwich Island language is seimded like e in the
English- ^Wk i^^^'^ ^^^'^ ^^^'^ j , A^(^

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154 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

*'But you'll spend all your money in this way," said the
captain.

"Aye! me know that. By-'em-by money pau — all
gone ; thdi Kanaka work plenty."

This was a hopeless case, and the captain left them, to
wait patiently imtil their money was gone.

We discharged our hides and tallow, and in about a week
were ready to set sail again for the windward. We im-
moored, and got everything ready, when the captain mad6
another attempt upon the oven. This time he had more
regard to the ''moUia tempora fandi," and succeeded very
well. He got Mr. Mannini in his interest, and as the shot
was getting low in the locker, prevailed upon him and
three others to come on board with their chests and baggage,
and sent a hasty summons to me and the boy to come ashore
with our things, and join the gang at the hide-house. This
was imexpected to me ; but anything in the way of variety
I liked ; so we got ready, and were pulled ashore. I stood
on the beach while the brig got imder weigh, and watched
her until she rounded the point, and then went up to the
hide-house to take up my quarters for a few months.

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CHAPTER XIX

Here was a change in my life as complete as it had been
sudden. In the twinkling of an eye, I was transformed
from a sailor into a "beach-comber'' and a hide-curer; yet
the novelty and the comparative independence of the life
were not impleasant. Oiir hide-house was a large building, 1
made of rough boards, and intended to hold forty thousand
hides. In one comer of it, a small room was parted oflF, in \ /
which four berths were made, where we were to live, with /
mother eartn for our floor. It contained a table, a small
locker for pots, spoons, plates, etc., and a small hole cut to
let in the light. Here we put our chests, threw our bedding
into the berths, and took up our quarters. Over oxu: head
was another small room, in which Mr, Russell lived, who
had charge of the hide-house ; the same man who was for a
time an officer of the Pilgrim. There he lived in solitary
grandeur; eating and sleeping alone (and these were his
principal occupations), and commiming with his own
dignity. The boy was to act as cook ; while myself, a giant
of a Frenchman named Nicholas, and four Sandwich Isl-
anders, were to cure the hides. Sam, the Frenchman, and
myself, \iyf)t together in the room, and the four Sandwich
Islanders worked and ate with us, but generally slept at
the oven. My new messmate, Nicholas, was the most im-
mense man that I had ever seen in my life. He came on
the coast in a vessel which was afterwards wrecked, and
now let himself out to the different houses to cure hides.
He was considerably over six feet, and of a frame so large
that he might have been shown for a curiosity. But the
most remarkable thing about him was his feet. They were
so large that he could not find a pair of shoes in CaUfomia
to fit him, and was obliged to send to Oahu for a pair ; and

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IS6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

when he got them, he was compelled to wear them down at
the heel. He told me once, himself, that he was wrecked
in an Americaii brig on the Goodwin Sands, and was sent
up to London, to the charge of the American consul, without
clothing to his back or shoes to his feet, and was obliged to
go about London streets in his stocking-feet three or four
days, in the month of January, until the consul could have
a pair of shoes made for him. His strength was in propor-
tion to his size, and his ignorance to his strength — ''strong
as an ox, and ignorant as strong/' He neiAer knew how
to read nor to write. He had been to sea from a boy, and
had seen all kinds of service, and been in every kind of ves-
sels: merchant-men, men-of-war, privateers, and slavers;
and from what I could gather from his accounts of himself,
and from what he once told me, in confidence, after we had
become better acquainted, he had even been in worse busi-
ness than slave-trading. He was once tried for his life in
Charleston, South Carolina, and though acquitted, yet he
was so frightened that he never would show himself in the
United States again ; and I could not persuade him that he
could never be tried a second time for the same offence. He
said he had got safe off from the breakers, and was too good
a sailor to risk his timbers again.

Though I knew what his life had been, yet I never had
the slightest fear of him. We always got along very well
together, and, though so much stronger and larger than I,
he showed a respect for my education, and for what he had
heard of my situation before coming to sea. "I'll be good
friends with you," he used to say, "for by-and-by you'll
come out here captain, and then you'll haze me well ! " By
holding well together, we kept the officer in good order,
for he was evidently afraid of Nicholas, and never ordered
us, except when employed upon the hides. My other
companions, the Sandwich Islanders, deserve particular
notice.

A considerable trade has been carried on for several years
between California and the Sandwich Islands, and most of

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 157

the vessels are manned with Islanders ; who, as they, for
the most part, sign no articles, leave whenever they choose,
and let themselves out to cure hides at San Diego, and to
supply the places of the men of the American vessels while
on the coast. In this way, quite a colony of them had be-
come settled at San Diego, as their head-quarters. Some
of these had recently gone off in the Ayacucho and LorioUe,
and the Pilgrim had taken Mr. Mannini and three others,
so that there were not more than twenty left. Of these,
four were on pay at the Ayacucho^s house, four more work-
ing with us, and the rest were Uving at the oven in a quiet
way ; for their money was nearly gone, and they must make
it last until some other vessel came down to employ them. ,
During the four months that I lived here, I got well /
acquainted with 31 of them, and took the greatest pains
to become familiar with their language, habits, and char-
acters. Their language, I could only learn orally, for they
had not any books among them, though many of them had
been taught to read and write by the missionaries at home.
They spoke a little English, and by a sort of compromise,
a mixed language was used on the beach, which could be
imderstood by all. The long name of Sandwich Islanders
is dropped, and they are called by the whites, all over the
Pacific Ocean, "Kanakas," from a word in their own lan-
guage which they apply to themselves, and to all South Sea
Islanlers, in distinction from whites, whom they call
"Haole.'' This name, "Kanaka,'' they answer to, both
collectively and individually. Their proper names, in their
own language, being difficult to pronoimce and remember,
they are called by any names which the captains or crews
may choose to give them. Some are called after the vessel
they are in ; others by common names, as Jack, Tom, Bill ;
and some have fancy names, as Ban-yan, Fore-top, Rope-
yam, Pelican, etc. Of the four who worked at our house,
one was named "Mr. Bingham," after the missionary at
Oahu ; another, Hope, after a vessel that he had been in ;
a third, Tom Davis, the name of his first captain ; and the

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iS8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

fourth, Pelican, from his fancied resemblance to that bird.
\Then there was Lagoda-Jack, California-Bill, etc. But
py whatever names they might be called, they were the
most interesting, intelligent, and kind-hearted people that
I ever fell in with. I felt a positive attachment for almost
all of them ; and many of them I have, to this time, a feel-
ing for, which would lead me to go a great way for the mere
pleasure of seeing them, and which will always make me
feel a strong interest in the mere name of a Sandwich
Islander.

Tom Davis knew how to read, write, and cipher in com-
mon arithmetic ; had been to the United States, and spoke
English quite well. His education was as good as that of
three quarters of the Yankees in California, and his man-
ners and principles a good deal better, and he was so quick
of apprehension that he might have been taught navigation,
and the elements of many of the sciences, with the most
perfect ease. Old '*Mr. Bingham" spoke very little Eng-
lish — almost none, and neither knew how to read nor write ;
but he was the best-hearted old fellow in the world. He
must have been over fifty years of age, and had two of his
front teeth knocked out, which was done by his parents as
a sign of grief at the death of Tamahamaha, the great king
of the Sandwich Islands. We used to tell him that he ate
Captain Cook, and lost his teeth in that way. That was
the only thing that ever made him angry. He would always
be quite excited at that ; and say — ^^AoleT' (no.) **Me.
no eat Captain Cook ! Me pikinini — small — so high —
— no more ! My father see Captain Cook ! Me — no ! *'
None of them liked to have anything said about Captain
Cook, for the sailors all believe that he was eaten, and that,
they cannot endure to be taimted with. — *'New Zealand
Kanaka eat white man ; — Sandwich Island Kanaka, — no.
Sandwich Island Kanaka ua like pu na haole — all 'e same
a' you!''

Mr. Bingham was a sort of patriarch among them, and
was always treated with great respect, though he had not

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 159

the education and energy which gave Mr. Mannini his power
over them. I have spent hours in talking with this old
fellow about Tamahamaha, the Charlemagne of the Sand-
wich Islands; his son and successor Riho Riho, who died
in England, and was brought to Oahu in the frigate BlondCy
Captain Lord Byron, and whose funeral he remembered
perfectly ; and also about the customs of his coimtry in his
boyhood, and the changes which had been made by the
missionaries. He never would allow that human beings
had been eaten there ; and, indeed, it always seemed like an
insult to tell so affectionate, intelligent, and civilized a class
of men, that such barbarities had been practised in their
own coimtry within the recollection of many of them.
Certainly, the history of no people on the globe can show
anything like so rapid an advance. I would have trusted
my life and my fortune in the hands of any one of these
people; and certainly, had I wished for a favor or act of /
sacrifice, I would have gone to them all, in turn, before I 1
should have applied to one of my own countrymen on the J
coast, and should have expected to have seen it done, before
my own coimtrymen had got half through counting the cost.
Their customs, and manner of treating one another, show
a simple, primitive generosity, which is truly delightful;
and whidi is often a reproach to our own people. Whatever
one has, they all have. Money, food, clothes, they share
with one another ; even to the last piece of tobacco to put
in their pipes. I once heard old Mr. Bingham say, with
the highest indignation, to a Yankee trader who was trying
to persuade him to keep his money to himself — *'No!
We no all 'e same a' you ! — Suppose one got money, all got
money. You ; — suppose one got money — lock him up in
chest. — No good ! " — " Kanaka all 'e same a' one ! " This
principle they carry so far, that none of theifi will eat any-
thing in sight of others, without offering it all round. I have
seen one of them break a biscuit, which had been given him,
into five parts, at a time when I knew he was on a very short
allowance, as there was but little to eat on the beadi.

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i6o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

My favorite among all of them, and one who was liked by
both officers and men, and by whomever he had anything to
do with, was Hope. He was an intelligent, kind-hearted
little fellow, and I never saw him angry, Siough I knew him
for more than a year, and have seen him imposed upon
by white people, and abused by insolent officers of vessels.
He was always civil, and always ready, and never forgot a
benefit. I once took care of him when he was ill, getting
medicines from the ship's chests, when no captain or officer
would do anything for him, and he never forgot it. Every
Kanaka has one particular friend, whom he considers him-
self boxmd to do everything for, and with whom he has a
sort of contract, — an alliance oflFensive and defensive, —
and for whom he will often make the greatest sacrifices.
This friend they call aikane; and for suci, did Hope adopt
me. I do not believe I could have wanted anything which
he had, that he would not have given me. In return for
this, I was always his friend among the Americans, and
used to teach him letters and numbers; for he left home
before he had learned how to read. He was very curious
> about Boston (as they call the United States) ; asking many
questions about the houses, the people, etc., and always
wished to have the pictures in books explained to him.
They were all astonishingly quick in catching at explana-
tions, and many things which I had thought it utterly impos-
sible to make them xmderstand, they often seized in an
instant, and asked questions which showed that they knew
enough to make them wish to go farther. The pictures of
steamboats and railroad cars, in the columns of some news-
papers which I had, gave me great difficulty to explain.
The grading of the road, the rails, the construction of the
carriages, ttiey could easily understand, but the motion
produced by steam was a little too refined for them. I
attempted to show it to them once by an experiment upon
the cook's coppers, but failed ; probably as much from my
own ignorance as from their want of apprehension; and,
I have no doubt, left them with about as dear an idea of

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST i6i

the principk as I had myself. This diflSculty, of course,
existed in the same force with the steamboats; and all I
could do was to give them some accoxmt of the results, in
the shape of speed ; for, failing in the reason, I had to fall
back upon the fact. In my accoimt of the speed I was sup-
ported by Tom, who had been to Nantucket, and seen a
little steamboat which ran over to New Bedford.

A map of the world, which I once showed them, kept
their attention for hours; those who knew how to read
pointing out the places and referring to me for the distances.
I remember being much amused with a question which
Hope asked me. Pointing to the large irregular place which
is always left blank round the poles, to denote that it is
undiscovered, he looked up and asked — '^Pau? " (Done ?
ended ?)

The system of naming the streets and numbering the
houses, Uiey easily imderstood, and the utility of it. They
had a great desire to see America, but were afraid of doubling
Cape Horn, for they suffer much in cold weather, and had
heard dreadful accoimts of the Cape from those of their
number who had been roxmd it.

They smoke a great deal, though not much at a time;
using pipes with large bowls, and very short stems, or no
stems at all. These, they light, and putting them to their
mouths, take a long draught, getting their mouths as full
as they can hold, and their cheeks distended, and then let
it slowly out through their mouths and nostrils. The pipe
is then passed to others, who draw, in the same manner,
one pipe-full serving for a half a dozen. They never take
shorty continuous draughts, Uke Europeans, but one of
these "Oahu puffs," as the sailors caU them, serves for
an hour or two, imtil some one else lights his pipe, and it is
passed roimd in the same manner. Each Kanaka on the
beach had a pipe, flint, steel, tinder, a hand of tobacco,
and a jack-knife, which he always carried about with him.

That which strikes a stranger most peculiarly is their
style of singing. They nm on, in a low, guttiural, monoto-

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i62 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

nous sort of chant, their lips and tongues seeming hardly
to move, and the sounds apparently modulated solely in
the throat. There is very little tune to it, and the words,
so far as I could learn, are extempore. They sing about
persons and things which are around them, and adopt this
method when they do not wish to be understood by any
but themselves ; and it is very effectual, for with the most
careful attention I never could detect a word that I knew.
I have often heard Mr. Mannini, who was the most noted
improvisaiore among them, sing for an hour together, when
at work in the midst of Americans and Englishmen ; and,
by the occasional shouts and laughter of the Kanakas, who
were at a distance, it was evident that he was singing about
Ithe different men that he was at work with. They have
treat powers of ridicule, and are excellent mimics; many
fof them discovering and imitating the peculiarities of our
own people, before we had seen them ourselves.

These were the people with whom I was to spend a few
months ; and who, with the exception of the officer, Nicho-
las the Frenchman, and the boy, made the whole popula-
tion of the beach. I ought, perhaps, to except the dogs, for
they were an important part of oiu: settlement. Some of
the first vessels brought dogs out with them, who, for con-
venience, were left ashore, and there multiplied, xmtil they
came to be a great people. While I was on the beach,
the average nimiber was about forty, and probably an equal,
or greater number, are drowned, or killed in some other way,
every year. They are very useful in guarding the beadi,
the Indians being afraid to come down at night; for it
was impossible for any one to get within half a mile of the
hide-houses without a general alarm. The father of the
colony, old Sachem, so called from the ship in which he
was brought out, died while I was there, full of years, and
was honorably buried. Hogs, and a few chickens, were
the rest of the animal tribe, and formed, like the dogs, a
common company, though they were all known and marked,
and usually fed at the houses to which they belonged.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 163

I had been but a few hours on the beaeh, and the Pilgrim
was hardly out of sight, when the cry of "Sail ho !'' was
raised, and a small hermaphrodite bng rounded the point,
bore up into the harbor, and came to anchor. It was the
Mexican brig Fazio, which we had left at San Pedro, and
which had come down to land her tallow, try it all over,
and make new bags, and then take it in, and leave the
coast. They moored ship, erected their try-works on shore,
put up a small tent, in which they all lived, and commenced
operations. They made an addition to our society, and
we spent many evenings in their tent, where, amid the
Babel of English, Spanish, French, Indian, and Kanaka,
we foimd some words that we could understand in common.

The morning after my landing, I began the duties of
hide-curing. Li order to understand these, it will be neces- X
sary to give the whole history of a hide, from the time it
is taken from a bullock imtil it is put on board the vessel
to be carried to Boston. When the hide is teiken from
the bullock, holes are cut round it, near the edge, by which
it is staked out to dry. In this manner it dries without
shrinking. After they are thus dried in the sim, they are
received by the vessels, and brought down to the depot.
The vessels land them, and leave them in large piles near
the houses. Then begins the hide-curer's duty. The
first thing is to put them in soak. This is done by carryr
ing them down at low tide, and making them fast, in small
piles, by ropgs, and letting the tide come up and cover
them. Every day we put in soak twenty-five for each
man, which, with us, made an hundred and fifty. There
they lie forty-eight hours, when they are taken out, and
rolled up, in wheelbarrows, and thrown into the vats.
These vats contain brine, made very strong; being sea-
water, with great quantities of salt thrown in. This pickles
the hides, and in this they lie forty-eight hours; the use
of the sea-water, into which they are first put, being merely
to soften and clean them. From these vats, they are taken,
and lie on a platform twenty-four hours, and then are

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\ .

164 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

spread upon the ground, and carefully stretched and staked
out, so that they may dry smooth. After they were staked,
and while yet wet and soft, we used to go upon them with
our knives, and carefully cut off all the bad parts : — the
pieces of meat and fat, which would corrupt and infect the
whole if stowed away in a vessel for many months, the
large flippers j the ears, and all other parts which would
prevent close stowage. This was the most difficult part
of our duty ; as it required much skill to take everything
necessary off and not to cut or injure the hide. It was
also a long process, as six of us had to clean an hundred
and fifty, most of which required a great deal to be done
to them, as the Spaniards are very careless in skinning
their cattle. Then, too, as we cleaned them while they
were staked out, we were obliged to kneel down upon them,
which always gives beginners the back-ache. The first
day, I was so slow and awkward that I cleaned only eight ;
at tie end of a few days I doubled my nimiber; and in
a fortnight or three weeks, could keep up with the others,
and clean my proportion — twenty-five.

This cleaning must be got through with before noon;
for by that time they get too dry. Aiter the sim has been
upon them a few hours, they are carefully gone over with
scrapers, to get off all the ^[lease which the sim brings out.
This being done, the stakes are pulled up, and the hides
carefully doubled, with the hair side out, and left to dry.
About the middle of the afternoon they are turned upon
the other side, and at sim-down pilbd up and covered over.
The next day they are spread out and opened again, and
at night, if fully dry, are thrown upon a long, horizontal
pole, five at a time, and beat with flails. This takes all
the dust from them. Then, being salted, scraped, cleaned,
dried, and beaten, they are stowed away in the house.
Here ends their history, except that they are taken out
again when the vessel is ready to go home, beaten, stowed
away on board, carried to Boston, tanned, made into shoes
and other articles for which leather is used; and many of

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 165

them, very probably, in the end, brought baci again to
California in the shape of shoes, and worn out in pursuit
of other bullocks, or in the curing of other hides.

By putting an himdred and fifty in soak every day, we
had the same number at each stage of curing, on each
day ; so that we had, every day, the same work to do upon
the same nimiber : an hundred and fifty to put in soak ;
an himdred and fifty to wash out and put in the vat ; the
same number to haul from the vat and put on the platform
to drain ; the same number to spread and stake out and
clean; and the same nimaber to beat and stow away in
the house. I ought to except Simday; for, by a pre-
scription which no captain or agent has yet ventured to
break in upon, Sunday has been a day of leisure on the
beach for years. On Saturday night, the hides, in every
stage of progress, are carefully covered up, and not uncov-
ered until Monday morning. On Sundays we had abso-
lutely no work to do, xmless it was to kill a bullock, which
was sent down for our use about once a week, and some-
times came on Simday. Another good arrangement was,
that we had just so much work to do, and when that was
through, the time was our own. Knowing this, we worked
hard, and needed no driving. We "turned out" every
morning at the first signs of daylight, and allowing a short
time, about eight o'clock, for breakfast, generally got
through our labor between one and two o'clock, when we
dined, and had the rest of the time to ourselves; imtil
just before sim-down, when we beat the dry hides and put
them in the house, and covered over all the others. By
this means we had about three hours to ourselves every
afternoon ; and at sim-down we had our supper, and our
work was done for the day. There was no watch to stand,
and no topsails to reef. The evenings we generally spent
at one another's houses, and I often went up and spent
an hour or so at the oven ; which was called the "Kanaka
Hotel," and the "Oahu Coffee-house." Immediately
after dinner we usually took a short siesta to make up for

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i66 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

our early rising, and spent the rest of the afternoon accord-
ing to our own fancies. I generally read, wrote, and made
or mended clothes ; for necessity, the mother of invention,
had taught me these two latter arts. The Kanakas went
up to the oven, and spent the time in sleeping, talking,
and smoking; and my messmate, Nicholas, who neither
knew how to read or write, passed away the time by a long
siesta, two or three smokes with his pipe, and a paseo to
the other houses. This leisure time is never interfered
with, for the captains know that the men earn it by work-
ing hard and fast, and that if they interfered with it, the
men could easily make their twenty-five hides apiece last
through the day. We were pretty independent, too, for
the master of the house — "capitan de la casa" — had
nothing to say to us, except when we were at work on the
hides, and although we coiild not go up to the town without
his permission, this was seldom or never refused.

Tlie great weight of the wet hides, which we were obliged
to roll about in wheelbarrows; the continual stooping
upon those which were pegged out to be cleaned ; and the
smell of the vats, into which we were often obliged to get,
knee-deep, to press down the hides; all made the work
disagreeable and fatiguing; — but we soon got hardened
to it, and the comparative independence of our life reconciled
us to it ; for there was nobody to haze us and find fault ;
and when we got through, we had only to wash and change
our clothes, and our time was our own. There was, how-
ever, one exception to the time's being our own; which
was, that on two afternoons of every week we were obliged
to go off and get wood, for the cook to use in the galley.
Wood is very scarce in the vicinity of San Diego ; there
being no trees of any size, for miles. In the town, the in-
habitants bum tb^ small wood which grows in thickets,
and for which they send out Indians in large numbers,
every few days. Fortimately, the climate is so fine that
they have no need of a fire in their houses, and only use
it for cooking. With us, the getting of wood was a great

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 167

trouble ; for all that in the vicinity of the houses had been
cut down, and we were obliged to go off a mile or two, and
to carry it some distance on our backs, as we could not
get the hand-cart up the hills and over the uneven places.
Two afternoons in the week, generally Monday and Thurs-
day, as soon as we had got through dinner, we started oflf for
the bush, each of us fiunished with a hatchet and a long
piece of rope, and dragging the hand-cart behind us, and
followed by the whole colony of dogs, wfej were always
ready for tiie bush, and were half mad whenever they saw
our preparations. We went with the hand-cart as far as
we could conveniently drag it, and leaving it in an open,
conspicuous place, separated ourselves; each taking his
own course, and looking about for some good place to begin
upon. Frequently, we had to go nearly a mile from the
hand-cart, before we could find any fit place. Having
lighted upon a good thicket, the next thing was to clear
away the under-brush, and have fair play at the trees.
These trees are seldom more than five or six feet high, and
the highest that I ever saw in these expeditions could not
have been more than twelve ; so that, with lopping oflf the
branches and clearing away the imderwood, we had a good
deal of cutting to do for a very little wood. Having cut
enough for a '^ back-load," the next thing was to make it
well fast with the rope, and heaving the bundle upon our
backs, and taking the hatchet in hand, to walk oflf, up hill
and down dale, to the hand-cart. Two good back-loads
apiece filled the hand-cart ; and that was each one's pro-
portion. When each had brought down his second load,
we filled the hand-cart, and took our way again slowly
back to the beach. It was generally sim-down when we
got back, and imloading, covering the hides for the night,
and getting our supper, finished the day's work.

These wooding excursions had always a mixture of some-
thing rather pleasant in them. Roaming about in the
woods with hatchet in hand, like a backwoodsman, followed
by a troop of dogs ; starting up of birds, shakes, hares, and

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i68 TW# YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

foxes, and examining the various kinds of trees, flowers,
and birds' nests, was, at least, a change from the monoto-
nous drag and pull on shipboard. Frequently, too, we
had some amusement and adventure. The coati, of which
I have before spoken„ — a sort of mixture of the fox and
wolf breeds, — fierce little animals, with bushy tails and
large heads, and a quick, sharp bark, abound here, as in
all other parts of California. These, the dogs were very
watchful for,^iid whenever they saw them, started off in
full nm after them. We had many fine chases; yet, al-
though our dogs ran finely, the rascals generally escaped.
They are a match for the dog, — one to one, — but as the
dogs generally went in squads, there was seldom a fair fight.
A smaller dog, belonging to us, once attacked a coati, single,
and got a good deal worsted, and might perhaps have
been killed, had we not come to his assistance. We had,
however, one dog which gave them a good deal of trouble
and many hard runs. He was a fine, tall fellow, and united
strength and agility better than any dog that I have ever
seen. He was bom at the Islanc^, his father being an
English mastiff and his mother a greyhound. He had
the high head, long legs, narrow body, and springing gait
of the latter, and the heavy jaw, thici jowls, and strong
fore-quarters of the mastiff. When he was brought to
San Diego, an English sailor said that he looked, about the
face, precisely like the Duke of Wellington, whom he bad
once seen at the Tower ; and, indeed, there was something
about him which resembled the portraits of the Duke.
From this time he was christened " Welly,*' and became
the favorite and bully of the beach. He always led the
dogs by several yards in the chase, and had killed two coati
at different times in single combats. We often had fine
sport with these fellows. A quick, sharp bark from a
coati, and in an instant every dog was at the height of his
speed. A few moments made up for an unfair start, and
gave each dog his relative place. Welly, at the head,
seemed almost to skim over the bushes; and after him

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CURING THE HIDES

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 169

came Fanny, Bravo, Childers, and the other fleet ones, —
the spaniels and terriers; and then, behind, followed the
heavy corps, — bulldogs, etc. ; for we had every breed.
Pursuit by us was in vain, and in about half an hour a few
of them would come panting and straggling back.

Beside the coati, the dogs sometimes made prizes of rab-
bits and hares, which are very plentiful here, and great
numbers of which we often shot for our dinners. There
was another animal that I was not so much disposed to
find amusement from, and that was the rattlesnake. These
are very abundant here, especially during the spring of
the year. The latter part of the time that I was on shore,
I did not meet with so many, but for the first two months
we seldom went into "the bush" without one of our num-
ber starting some of them. The first that I ever saw, I
remember perfectly well. I had left my companions, and
was beginning to clear away a fine clump of trees, when,
just in the midst of the thicket, not more than eight yards
from me, one of these fellows set up his hiss. It is a sharp,
continuous sound, and resembles very much the letting
off of the steam from the small pipe of a steamboat, ex-
cept that it is on a smaller scale. I knew, by the sound
of an axe, that one of my companions was near, and called
out to him, to let him know what I had fallen upon. He
took it very lightly, and as he seemed inclined to laugh at
me for being afraid, I determined to keep my place. I
knew that so long as I could hear the rattle, I was safe,
for these snakes never make a noise when they are in motion.
Accordingly, I kept at my work, and the noise which I
made with cutting and breaking the trees kept him in alarm ;
so that I had the rattle to show me his whereabouts. Once
or twice the noise stopped for a short time, which gave me
a little uneasiness, and retreating a few steps, I threw some-
thing into the bush, at which he would set his rattle agoing ;
and finding that he had not moved from his first place,
I was easy again. In this way I continued at my work
until I had cut a full load, never suffering him to be quiet

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I70 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

for a moment. Having cut my load, I strapped it to-
gether, and got everything ready for startmg. I felt that
I could now call the others without the imputation of being
afraid ; and went in search of them. In a few minutes we
were all collected, and began an attack upon the bush.
The big Frenchman, who was the one that I had called
to at first, I foimd as little inclined to approach the snake
as I had been. The dogs, too, seemed afraid of the rattle,
and kept up a barking at a safe distance ; but the Kanakas
showed no fear, and getting long sticks, went into the bush,
and keeping a bright look-out, stood within a few feet of
him. Ctae or two blows struck near him, and a few stones
thrown, started him, and we lost his track, and had the
pleasant consciousness that he might be directly imder our
feet. By throwing stones and chips in different directions,
we made him spring his rattle again, and began another
attack. This time we drove him into the clear groimd,
and saw him gliding off, with head and tail erect, when
a stone, well aimed, knocked him over the bank, down a
declivity of fifteen or twenty feet, and stretched him at
his length. Having made sure of him, by a few more
stones, we went down, and one of the Kanakas cut off his
rattle. These rattles vary in nimiber, it is said, accord-
ing to the age of the snake ; though the Indians think they
indicate the number of creatures they have killed. We
always preserved them as trophies, and at the end of the
sununer had quite a number. None of our people were
ever bitten by them, but one of our dogs died of a bite,
and another was supposed to have been bitten, but re-
covered. We had no remedy for the bite, though it was
said that the Indians of the coimtry had, and the Kanakas
professed to have an herb which would cure it, but it was
fortimately never brought to the test.

Hares and rabbits, as I said before, were abimdant, and,
during the winter months, the waters are covered with
wild ducks and geese. Crows, too, were very numerous,
and frequently alighted in great numbers upon our hides.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 171

picking at the pieces of dried meat and fat. Bears and
wolves are numerous in the upper parts, and in the interior
(and, indeed, a man was killed by a bear within a few miles
of San Pedro, while we were there), but there were none in
our immediate neighborhood. The only other animals were
horses. Over a dozen of these were owned by different
people on the beach, and were allowed to rim loose among
the hills, with a long lasso attached to them, and pick up
feed wherever they could find it. We were sure of seeing
them once a day, for there was no water among the hills,
and they were obliged to come down to the well which had
been dug upon the beach. These horses were bought at
from two to six and eight dollars apiece, and were held
very much as common property. We generally kept one
fast to one of the houses every day, so that we could mount
him and catch any of the others. Some of them were
really fine animals, and gave us many good runs up to the
presidio and over the country.

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CHAPTER XX

After we had been a few weeks on shore, and had begun
to feel broken into the regularity of our life, its monotony-
was interrupted by the arrival of two vessels from the wind-
ward. We were sitting at dinner in our little room, when
we heard the cry of "Sail ho !" This, we had learned, did
not always signify a vessel, but was raised whenever a
woman was seen coming down from the town ; or a squaw,
or an ox-cart, or anything imusual, hove in sight upon the
road ; so we took no notice of it. But it soon became so
loud and general from all parts of the beach, that we were
led to go to the door ; and there, sure enough, were two sails
coming roimd the point, and leaning over from the strong
north-west wind, which blows down the coast every after-
noon. The headmost was a ship, and the other, a brig.
Everybody was alive on the beach, and all manner of con-
jectures were abroad. Some said it was the Pilgrim^ with
the Boston ship, which we were expecting; but we soon
saw that the brig was not the Pilgriniy and the ship, with
her stump top-gallant-masts and rusty sides, could not be
a dandy Boston Indiaman. As they drew nearer, we soon
discovered the high poop and top-gallant forecastle, and
other marks of the Italian ship Rosa, and the brig proved
to be the CataJina, which we saw at Santa Barbara, just
arrived from Valparaiso. They came to anchor, moored
ship, and conunenced discharging hides and tallow. The
Rosa had purchased the house occupied by the Lagoda,
and the Catalina took the other spare one between ours and
the Ayacucho^Sy so that, now, each one was occupied, and
the beach, for several days, was all alive. The Catalina
had several Kanakas on board, who were inmiediately
besieged by the others, and carried up to the oven, where

172

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 173

they had a long pow-wow, and a smoke. Two Frenchmen,
who belonged to the Rosa^s crew, came in, every evening,
to see Nicholas ; and from them we learned that the Pilgrim
was at San Pedro, and was the only other vessel now on
the coast. Several of the Italians slept on shore at their
hide-house ; and there, and at the tent in which the Fazio^s
crew lived, we had some very good singing, almost every
evening. The Italians sang a variety of songs — barca-
roUas, provincial airs, etc. ; in several of which I recognized
parts of our favorite operas and sentimental songs. They
often joined in a song, taking all the different parts ; which
produced a fine effect, as many of them had good voices,
and all seemed to sing with spirit and feeling. One yoimg
man, in particular, had a falsetto as clear as a clarionet.

The greater part of the crews of the vessels came ashore
every evening, and we passed the time in going about from
one house to another, and listening to all manner of lan-
guages. The Spanish was the common ground upon which
we all met ; for every one knew more or less of that. We
had now, out of forty or fifty, representatives from almost
every nation under the sim : two Englishmen, three Yan-
kees, two Scotchmen, two Welshmen, one Irishman, three
Frenchmen (two of whom were Normans, and the third from
Gascony), one Dutchman, one Austrian, two or three
Spaniards (from old Spain), half a dozen Spanish- Ameri-
cans and half-breeds, two native Indians from Chili and
the Island of Chiloe, one Negro, one Mulatto, about twenty
Italians, from aU parts of .Italy, as many more Sandwidi
Islanders, one Otaheitan, and one Kanaka from the Mar-
quesas Islands.

The night before the vessels were ready to sail, all the
Europeans united and had an entertainment at the Rosa^s
hide-house, and we had songs of every nation and tongue.
A German gave us "Och ! mein lieber Augustin !'' the three
Frenchmen roared through the Marseilles Hymn; the,
English and Scotchmen gave us ''Rule Britannia," and
''Wha'U be King but Charlie?" the Italians and Spaniards

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174 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

screamed through some national affairs, for which I was
none the wiser; and we three Yankees made an attempt
at the '^Star-spangled Banner." After these national
tributes had been paid, the Austrian gave us a very pretty
little love-song, and the Frenchmen sang a spirited thing
called '*Sentinelle! O prenez garde a vous!" and then
followed the melange which might have been expected.
When I left them, the aquadiente and annisou was pretty
well in their heads, and they were all singing and talking
at once, and their peculiar national oaths were getting as
plenty as pronouns.

The next day, the two vessels got under weigh for the
windward, and left us in quiet possession of the beach.
Our numbers were somewhat enlarged by the opening of
the new houses, and the society of the beach a little changed.
In charge of the Caialina^s house, was an old Scotchman,
who, like most of his countrymen, had a pretty good edu-
cation, and, like many of them, was rather pragmatical,
and had a ludicrously solemn conceit. He employed his
time in taking care of his pigs, chickens, turkeys, dogs, etc.,
and in smokiag his long pipe. Everything was as neat as
a pin in the house, and he was as regular in his hours as
a chronometer, but as he kept very much by himself, was
not a great addition to our society. He hardly spent a cent
all the time he was on the beach, and the others said he
was no shipmate. He had been a petty oflScer on board the
British frigate DiMin, Capt. Lord James Townshend, and
had great ideas of his own importance. The man in charge
of the Rosa^s house was an Austrian by birth, but spoke,
read, and wrote four languages with ease and correctness.
German was his native tongue, but being bom near the
borders of Italy, and having sailed out of (Jenoa, the Italian
was almost as familiar to him as his own language. He
was six years on board of an English man-of-war, where
he learned to speak our language with ease, and also to
read and write it. He had been several years in Spanish
vessels, and had acquired that language so well, that he

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 175

could read any books in it. He was between forty and
fifty years of age, and was a singular mixture of the man-
of-war's-man and Puritan. He talked a great deal about
propriety and steadiness, and gave good advice to the
youngsters and Kanakas, but seldom went up to the town,
without coming down "three sheets in the wind." One
holyday, he and old Robert (the Scotchman from the
Catalina) went up to town, and got so cozy, talking over
old stories and giving one another good advice, that they
came down, double-backed, on a horse, and both rolled off
into the sand as soon as the horse stopped. This put an
end to their pretensions, and they never heard the last
of it from the rest of the men. On the night of the enter-
tainment at the Rosa^s house, I saw old Schmidt (that
was the Austrian's name), standing up by a hogshead,
holding on by both hands, and calling out to himself —
"Hold on, Sdimidt ! hold on, my good fellow, or you'll be
on your back !" Still, he was an intelligent, good-natured
old fellow, and had a chest-full of books, which he will-
ingly lent me to read. In the same house with him was a
Frenchman and an Englishman ; the latter a regular-built
"man-of-war Jack"; a thorough seaman; a hearty, gen-
erous fellow ; and, at the same time, a drunken, dissolute
dog. He made it a point to get drunk once a fortnight
(when he always managed to sleep on the road, and have
his money stolen from him), and to battle the Frenchman
once a week. These, with a Chilian, and a half a dozen
Kanakas, formed the addition to our company.

In about six weeks from the time when the Pilgrim sailed,
we had got all the hides which she left us cured and stowed
away; and having cleared up the groimd, and emptied
the vats, and set everything in order, had nothing more
to do imtil she should come down again, but to supply
ourselves with wood. Instead of going twice a week for
this purpose, we determined to give one whole week to
getting wood, and then we should have enough to last us
half through the summer. Accordingly, we started off

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176 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

every morning, after early breakfast, with our hatchets
in hand, and cut wood until the sun was over the point, —
which was our only mark of time, as there was not a watch
on the beach — and then came back to dinner, and after
dinner, started off again with our hand-cart and ropes,
and carted and "backed" it down, imtil sunset. This, we
kept for up a week, imtil we had collected several cords,

— enough to last us for six or eight weeks — when we
"knocked off" altogether, much to my joy; for, though
I liked straying in the woods, and cutting, very well, yet
the backing the wood for so great a distance, over an un-
even country, was, without exception, the hardest work
I had ever done. I usually had to kneel down and con-
trive to heave the load, which was well strapped together,
upon my back, and then rise up and start off with it, up
the hills and down the v^es, sometimes through thickets,

— the rough points sticking into the skin, and tearing the
clothes, so that, at the end of the week, I had hardly a
whole shirt to my back.

We were now through all our work, and had nothing
more to do \mtil the Pilgrim should come down again.
We had nearly got through our provisions too, as well as
our work ; for our oflScer had been very wasteful of them,
and the tea, flour, sugar, and molasses, were all gone. We
suspected him of sending them up to the town; and he
always treated the squaws with molasses when they came
down to the beach. Finding wheat-coffee and dry bread
rather poor living, we clubbed together, and I went up to
the town on horseback, with a great salt-bag behind the
saddle, and a few reals in my pocket, and brought back
the bag full of onions, pears, beans, water-melons, and other
fruits ; for the young woman who tended the garden, find-
ing that I belonged to the American ship, and that we were
short of provisions, put in a double portion. With these
we lived like fighting-cocks for a week or two, and had,
besides, what the sailors call "a blow-out on sleep"; not
turning out in the morning \mtil breakfast was ready. I

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 177

employed several days in overhauling my chest, and mend-
ing up all my old clothes, until I had got everything in
order — patch upon patch, like a sand-barge's mainsail.
Then I took hold of Bowditch's Navigator, which I had
always with me. I had been through the greater part of
it, and now went carefully through it, from beginning to
end, working out most of the examples. That done, and
there being no signs of the Pilgrim, I made a descent upon
old Schmidt, and borrowed and read all the books there
were upon the beach. Such a dearth was there of these
latter articles, that anything, even a little child's story-
book, or the half of a shipping-calendar, appeared like a
treasure. I actually read a jest-book through, from begin-
ning to end, in one day, as I should a novel, and enjoyed it
very much. At last, when I thought that there were no
more to be got, I foimd, at the bottom of old Schmidt's
chest, "Mandeville, a Romance, by Godwin, in five vol-
umes." This I had never read, but Godwin's name was
enough, and after the wretched trash I had devoured, any-
thing bearing the name of a distinguished intellectual man,
was a prize indeed. I bore it oflf, and for two days I was
up early and late, reading with all my might, and actually
drinking in delight. It is no extravagance to say that
it was fike a spring in a desert land.

From the sublime to the ridiculous — so, with me, from
Mandeville to hide-curing, was but a step ; for

Wednesday, July 18/A, brought us the brig Pilgrim from
the windward. As she came in, we found that she was a
good deal altered in her appearance. Her short top-gallant-
masts were up; her bowlines all imrove (except to the
courses) ; the quarter boom-irons off her lower yards ; her
jack-cross-trees sent down; several blocks got rid of;
running-rigging rove in new places ; and niunberless other
changes, of the same character. Then, too, there was a
new voice giving orders, and a new face on the quarter-deck,
— a short, dark-complexioned man, in a green jacket and
a high leather cap. These changes, of course, set the whole

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178 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

beach on the qui-vivCy and we were all waiting for the boat
to come ashore, that we might have things explained. At
length, after the sails were furled and the anchor carried
out, the boat pulled ashore, and the news soon flew that
the expected ship had arrived at Santa Barbara, and that

Captain T had taken command of her, and her captain,

\ Faucon, had taken the Pilgrim, and was the green-jadteted
man on the quarter-deck. The boat put directly off again,
without giving us time to ask any more questions, and we
were obliged to wait till night, when we took a little skiff,
that lay on the beach, and paddled off. When I stepped
aboard, the second mate called me aft, and gave me a large
bundle, directed to me, and marked '*Ship i4fer/." Tins
was what I had longed for, yet I refrained from opening
it imtil I went ashore. Diving down into the forecastle,
I foimd the same old crew, and was really glad to see them
again. Numerous inquiries passed as to the new ship, the
latest news from Boston, etc. S had received let-
ters from home, and nothing remarkable had happened.
The Alert was agreed on all hands to be a fine sWp, and
a large one: ''Larger than the Rosa*' — "Big enough to
carry off all the hides in California'' — "Rail as high as a
man's head" — "A crack ship" — "A regular dandy,"

etc. Captain T took command of her, and she went

directly up to Monterey; from thence she was to go to
San Francisco, and probably would not be in San Diego
\mder two or three months. Some of the Pilgrim's crew
found old shipmates aboard of her, and spent an hour or
two in her forecastle, the evening before she sailed. They
said her decks were as white as snow — holystoned every
morning, like a man-of-war's; everything on board "ship-
shape and Bristol fashion"; a fine crew, three mates,
a sailmaker and carpenter, and aU complete. "They've
got a man for mate of that ship, and not a bloody sheep
about decks !" — "A mate that knows his duty, and makes
everybody do theirs, and won't be imposed upon either
by captain or crew." After collecting all the information

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 179

we could get on this point, we asked something about thdr
new captain. He had hwily been on board long enough
for them to know much about him, but he had taken hold
strong, as soon as he took command ; — sending down the
top-gallant-masts, and unreeviog half the rigging, the very
fiist day.

Having got all the news we could, we pulled ashore;
and as soon as we reached the house, I, as might be sup-
posed, proceeded directly to opening my bundle, and found
a reasonable supply of duck, flannel shirts, shoes, etc.,
and, what was still more valuable, a packet of eleven letters.
These I sat up nearly all the ni^t to read, and put them
carefully away, to be read and re-read again and again
at my leisure. Then came a half a dozen newspapers, the
last of which gave notice of Tlianksgiving, and of the dear- ^
ance of "ship Alerts Edward H. Faucon, master, for Callao
and California, by Bryant, Sturgis & Co." No one has ever
been on distant voyages, and sSter a long absence received
a newspaper from home, who cannot understand the delight
that they give one. I read every part of them — the y^
houses to let ; things lost or stolen ; auction sales, and all.
Nothing carries you so entirely to a place, and makes you
feel so i>erfectly at home, as a newspaper. The very name
of "Boston Daily Advertiser" "sounded hospitably upon
the ear."

The Pilgrim discharged her hides, which set us at work
again, and in a few dajrs we were in the old routine of
dry hides — wet hides — cleaning — beating, etc. Captain
Faucon came quietly up to me, as I was at work, with my
knife, cutting the meat from a dirty hide, asked me how
I liked California, and repeated — "Tityre, tu patulse
recubans sub tegmine fagi." Very apropos, thought I,
and, at the same time, serves to show that you understand
Latin. However, a kind word from a captain is a thing
not to be slighted; so I answered him civilly, and made
the most of it.

Saturday, Jidy nth. The PUgrim set sail for the wind- ^

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i8o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

ward, and left us to go on in our old way. Having laid in
such a supply of wood, and the days being now long, and
invariably pleasant, we had a good deal of time to ourselves.
All the duck I received from home I soon made up into
trowsers and frocks, and displayed, every Simday, a com-
plete suit of my own make, from head to foot, having formed
the remnants of the duck into a cap. Reading, mending,
sleeping, with occasional excursions into the bush, with
the dogs, in search of coati, hares, and rabbits, or to en-
coimter a rattlesnake, and now and then a visit to the
presidio, filled up our spare time after hide-curing was over
for the day. Another amusement, which we sometimes
indulged in, was "burning the water" for craw-fish. For
this purpose, we procured a pair of grains, with a long staff
like a harpoon, and making torches with tarred rope twisted
roimd a long pine stick, took the only boat on the beach,
a small skiff, and with a torch-bearer in the bow, a steers-
man in the stem, and one man on each side with the grains,
went off, on dark nights, to burn the water. This is fine
sport. Keeping within a few rods of the shore, where the
water is not more than three or four feet deep, with a clear
sandy bottom, the torches light everything up so that one
could almost have seen a pin among the grains of sand.
The craw-fish are an easy prey, and we used soon to get a
load of them. The other fish were more difficult to catch,
yet we frequently speared a number of them, of various
kinds and sizes. The Pilgrim brought us down a supply
of fish-hooks, which we had never had before, on the beach,
and for several days we went down to the Point, and caught
a quantity of cod and mackerel. On one of these expedi-
tions, we saw a battle between two Sandwich Islanders
and a shark. "Johnny" had been playing about our
boat for some time, driving away the fish, and showing
his teeth at our bait, when we missed him, and in a few
moments heard a great shouting between two Kanakas
who were fishing on the rock opposite to us: "-E hana
hana make i kaia nuil'^ "JE pii mai Aikanet " etc. ; and

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST i8i

saw them pulling away on a stout line, and "Johnny
Shark " floundering at the other end. The line soon broke ;
but the Kanakas would not let him off so easily, and sprang
directly into the water after him. Now came the tug of
war. Before he could get into deep water, one of them
seized him by the tail, and ran up with him upon the beach,
but Johnny twisted round, turning his head under his
body, and showing his teeth in the vicinity of the Kanaka's
hand, made him let go and spring out of the way. The
shark now turned tail and made the best of his way, by
flapping and floimdering, toward deep water; but here
again, before he was fairly off, the other Kanaka seized him
by the tail, and made a spring towards the beach, his com-
panion at the same time paying away upon him with stones
and a large stick. As soon, however, as the shark could
turn, he was obliged to let go his hold ; but the instant he
made toward deep water, they were both behind him,
watching their chance to seize him. In this way the battle
went on for some time, the shark, in a rage, splashing and
twisting about, and the Kanakas, in high excitement, yelling
at the top of their voices; but the shark at last got off,
canying away a hook and line, and not a few severe bruises.

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CHAPTER XXI

We kept up a constant connection with the presidio,
and by the close of the summer I had added mudi to my
vocabulary, beside having made the acquaintance of nearly
everybody in the place, and acquired some knowledge of
the character and habits of the people, as well as of the
institutions \mder which they live.

CaUfomia was first discovered in 1536, by Cortes, and
was subsequently visited by nimierous other adventurers,
as well as commissioned voyagers of the crown. It was
found to be inhabited by numerous tribes of Indians, and
to be in many parts extremely fertile ; to which, of course,
was added nunors of gold mines, pearl fishery, etc. No
sooner was the importance of the country known, than the
Jesuits obtained leave to establish themselves in it, to
christianize and enlighten the Indians. They established
missions in various parts of the country toward the close
of the seventeenth century, and collected the natives about
them, baptizing them into the church, and teaching them
the arts of civ&ized life. To protect the Jesuits in their
missions, and at the same time to support the power of
the crown over the civilized Indians, two forts were erected
and garrisoned, one at San Diego, and the other at Mon-
terey. These were called Presidios, and divided the com-
mand of the whole coimtry between them. Presidios have
since been established at Santa Barbara and San Francisco ;
thus dividing the coimtry into four large districts, each with
its presidio, and governed by the commandant. The
soldiers, for the most part, married civilized Indians ; and
thus, in the vicinity of eadi presidio, spnmg up, gradually,
small towns. In the course of time, vessels began to come
into the ports to trade with the missions, and received hides

183

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 183

in return ; and thus began the great trade of California,
Nearly all the cattle in the country belonged to the missions,
and they employed their Indians, who became, in fact, their
slaves, in tending their vast herds. In the year 1793, when
Vancouver visited San Diego, the missions had obtained
great wealth and power, and are accused of having de-
predated the coimtry with the sovereign, that they might
be allowed to retain their possessions. On the expulsion of
the Jesuits from the Spanish dominions, the missions passed
into the hands of the Franciscans, tiiough without any
essential change in their management. Ever since the in-
dependence of Mexico, the missions have been going down ;
until, at last, a law was passed, stripping them of all their
possessions, and confining the priests to their spiritual
duties ; and at the same time declaring all the Indians free
and independent Rancheros. The change in the condition
of the Indians was, as may be supposed, only nominal:
they are virtually slaves, as much as. they ever were. But
in the missions, the change was complete. The priests
have now no power, except in their religious character, and
the great possessions of the missions are given over to be
preyed upon by the harpies of the civil power, who are
sent there in the capacity of administradoreSy to settle up
the concerns ; and who usually end, in a few years, by mak-
ing themselves fortunes, and leaving their stewardships
worse than they foimd them. The dynasty of the priests
was much more acceptable to the people of the country,
and, indeed, to every one concerned with the coimtry, by
trade or otherwise, than that of the administradores. The
priests were attached perpetually to one mission, and felt
the necessity of keeping up its credit. Accordingly, their
debts were regularly paid, and the people were, in 8ie main,
well treated, and attached to those who had spent their
whole lives among them. But the administradores are
strangers sent from Mexico, having no interest in the coim-
try ; not identified in any way with their charge, and, for
the most part, men of desperate fortunes — broken down

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i84 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

politicians and soldiers — whose only object is to retrieve
their condition in as short a time as possible. The change
had been made but a few years before our arrival upon the
coast, yet, in that short time, the trade was much dimin-
ished, credit impaired, and the venerable missions going
rapidly to decay. The external arrangements remain the
same. There are four presidios, having \mder their protec-
tion the various missions, and puebjii^, which are towns
formed by the dvil power, and containing no mission or
presidio. The most northerly presidio is San Francisco;
the next Monterey; the next Santa Barbara, including
the mission of the same, St. Louis Obispo, and St. Buena-
ventura, which is the finest mission in the whole coxmtry,
having very fertile soil and rich vineyards. The last, and
most southerly, is San Diego, including the mission of the
same, San Juan Campestrano, the Pueblo de los Angelos,
the largest town in California, with the neighboring mission
of San Gabriel. The priests in spiritual matters are sub-
ject to the Archbishop of Mexico, and in temporal matters
to the governor-general, who is the great dvil and military
head of the coimtry.

The government of the country is an arbitrary democ-
racy; having no common law, and no judidary. Their
only laws are made and immade at the caprice of the legis-
lature, and are as variable as the legislature itself. They
pass through the form of sending representatives to the
congress at Mexico, but as it takes several months to go
and return, and there is very little commimication between
the capital and this distant province, a member usually
stasis there, as permanent member, knowing very well that
there will be revolutions at home before he can write and
receive an answer ; and if another member should be sent,
he has only to challenge him, and dedde the contested
election in that way.

Revolutions are matters of constant occurrence in Cali-
fornia. They are got up by men who are at the foot of
the ladder and in desperate drciunstances, just as a new

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 185

political party is started by such men in our own country.
The only object, of course, is the loaves and fishes; and
instead of caucusing, paragraphing, libelling, feasting, prom-
ising, and lying, as with us, they take muskets and bayonets,
and seizing upon the presidio and custom-house, divide the
spoils, and declare a new dynasty. As for justice, they
know no law but will and fear. A Yankee, who had been
naturalized, and become a Catholic, and had married in the
coimtry, was sitting in his house at the Pueblo de los Ange-
los, with his wife and children, when a Spaniard, with whom
he had had a difficulty, entered the house, and stabbed him
to the heart before them all. The murderer was seized by
some Yankees who had settled there, and kept in confine-
ment \mtil a statement of the whole affair could be sent to
the governor-general. He refused to do anything about it,
and the coimtrymen of the murdered man, seeing no pros-
pect of justice being administered, made known that if
nothing was done, they should try the man themselves.
It chanced that, at this time, there was a company of forty
trappers and hunters from Kentucky, with their rifles,
who had made their head-quarters at the Pueblo ; and these,
together with the Americans and Englishmen in the place,
who were between twenty and thirty in number, took pos-
session of the town, and waiting a reasonable time, pro-
ceeded to try the man according to the forms in their own
country. A judge and jury were appointed, and he was
tried, convicted, sentenced to be shot, and carried out
before the town with his eyes blindfolded. The names of
all the men were then put into a hat, and each one pledging
himself to perform his duty, twelve names were drawn out,
and the men took their stations with their rifles, and firing
at the word, laid him dead. He was decently buried, and
the place was restored quietly to the proper authorities.
A general, with titles enough for an hidalgo, was at San
Gabriel, and issued a proclamation as long as the fore-top-
bowline, threatening destruction to the rebels, but never
stirred from his fort; for forty Kentucky hunters, with

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i86 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

their rifles, were a match for a whole regiment of hungry,
drawling, lazy half-breeds. This affair happened while we
were at San Pedro (the port of the Pueblo), and we had
all the particulars directly from those who were on the spot.
A few months afterwards, another man, whom we had often
seen in San Diego, murdered a man and his wife on the high
road between the Pueblo and San Louis Rey, and the for-
eigners not feeling themselves called upon to act in this case,
the parties being all natives, nothing was done about it;
and I frequently afterwards saw the murderer in San Diego,
where he was living with his wife and family.

When a crime has been committed by Indians, justice,
or rather vengeance, is not so tardy. One Sunday after-
noon, while I was at San Diego, an Indian was sitting on his
horse, when another, with whom he had had some difficulty,
came up to him, drew a long knife, and plimged it directly
into the horse's heart. The Indian sprang from his falling
horse, drew out the knife, and plunged it into the other
Indian's breast, over his shoulder, and laid him dead. The
poor fellow was seized at once, clapped into the calabozo,
and kept there until an answer could be received from
Monterey. A few weeks afterwards, I saw the poor wretch,
sitting on the bare ground, in front of the calabozo, with
his feet chained to a stake, and the handcuffs about his
wrists. I knew there was very little hope for him. Al-
though the deed was done in hot blood, the horse on which
he was sitting being his own, and a great favorite, yet he
was an Indian, and that was enough. In about a week
after I saw him, I heard that he had been shot. These few
instances serve to give one a notion of the distribution of
justice in California.

In their domestic relations, these people are no better
than in their public. The men are thriftless, proud, and
extravagant, and very much given to gaming; and the
women have but little education. Of the poor Indians,
very little care is taken. The priests, indeed, at the mis-
sions, are said to keep them very strictly, and some rules are

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 187

usually made by the alcaldes to punish their misconduct;
but it all amounts to but little. Intemperance is a common
vice among the Indians. The Spaniards, on the contrary,
are very abstemious, and I do not remember ever having
seen a Spaniard intoxicated.

Such are the people who inhabit a country embracing
four or five hundred miles of sea-coast, with several good
harbors ; with fine forests in the north ; the waters filled
with fish, and the plains covered with thousands of herds of
cattle ; blessed with a climate, than which there can be no
better in the world; free from all manner of diseases,
whether epidemic or endemic ; and with a soil in which corn
yields from seventy to eighty fold. In the hands of an
enterprising people, what a country this might be ! we are
ready to say. Yet how long would a people remain so, in
such a coimtry ? The Americans (as those from the United
States are called) and Englishmen, who are fast filling up
the principal towns, and getting the trade into their hands,
are indeed more industrious and effective than the Span-
iards ; yet their children are brought up Spaniards, in every
respect, and if the "California fever" (laziness) spares the
first generation, it always attacks the second.

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CHAPTER XXn

Saturday, July i8th. This day, safled the Mexican
hermaphrodite brig, Fazio, for San Bias and Mazatlan.
This was the brig which was driven ashore at San Pedro in
a south-easter, and had been lying at San Diego to repair
and take in her cargo. The owner of her had had a good
deal of difficulty with the government about the duties, etc.,
and her sailing had been delayed for several weeks; but
everything having been arranged, she got imder weigh with
a light breeze, and was floating out of the harbor, when two
horsemen came dashing down to the beach, at full speed,
and tried to find a boat to put off after her ; but there being
none on the beach, they offered a handful of silver to any
Kanaka who would swim off and take a letter on board.
One of the Kanakas, a fine, active, well-made yoimg fellow,
instantly threw off everything but his duck trowsers, and
putting the letter into his hat, swam off, after the vessel.
Fortunately, the wind was very light and the vessel was
going slowly, so that, although she was nearly a mile off
when he started, he gained on her rapidly. He went
through the water leaving a wake like a small steamboat.
I certainly never saw such swimming before. They saw
him coming from the deck, but did not heave-to, suspecting
the nature of his errand; yet, the wind continuing light,
he swam alongside and got on board, and delivered his let-
ter. The captain read the letter, told the Kanaka there was
no answer, and giving him a glass of brandy, left him to
jump overboard and find the best of his way to the shore.
The Kanaka swam in for the nearest point of land, and, in
about an hour, made his appearance at the hide-house.
He did not seem at all fatigued, had made three or four
dollars, got a glass of brandy, and was in fine spirits. The

i88

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 189

brig kept on her course, and the government officers, who
had come down to forbid her sailing, went back, each with
something like a flea in his ear, having depended upon ex-
torting a little more money from the owner.

It was now nearly three months since the Alert arrived
at Santa Barbara, and we began to expect her daily. About
a half a mile behind the hide-house, was a high hill ; and
every afternoon, as soon as we had done our work, some one
of us walked up to see if there were any sail in sight, coming
down before the regular trades, which blow every afternoon.
EacJi day, after the latter part of July, we went up the hill,
and came back disappointed. I was anxious for her arrival,
for I had been told by letter that the owners in Boston, at

the request of my friends, had written to Captain T to

take me on board the Alert, in case she returned to the
United States before the Pilgrim; and I, of course, wished
to know whether the order had been received, and what was
the destination of the ship. One year more or less might
be of small consequence to others, but it was everything to
me. It was now just a year since we sailed from Boston,
and at the shortest, no vessel could expect to get away imder
eight or nine months, which would make our absence two
years in all. This would be pretty long, but would not be
fatal. It would not necessarily be decisive of my future
life. But one year more would settle the matter. I should
be a sailor for life ; and although I had made up my mind to
it before I had my letters from home, and was, as I thought,
quite satisfied ; yet, as soon as an opportunity was held out
to me of returning, and the prospect of another kind of life
was opened to me, my anxiety to return, and, at least, to
have the chance of deciding upon my course for myself, was
beyond measure. Beside that, I wished to be ** equal to
either fortune," and to qualify myself for an officer's berth,
and a hide-house was no place to learn seamanship in. I
had become experienced in hide-curing, and everything
went on smoothly, and I had many opportunities of becom-
ing acquainted with the people, and much leisure for reading

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I90 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

and studying navigation ; yet practical seamanship could
only be got on board ship ; therefore, I determined to ask
to be taken on bpard the ship when she arrived. By the
first of August, we finished curing all our hides, stored them
away, cleaned out our vats (in which latter work we spent
two days, up to our knees in mud and the sediments of six
months' hide-curing, in a stench which would drive an Irish-
man from his breakfast), and got in readiness for the arrival
of the ship, and had another leisure interval of three or
four weeks; which I spent, as usual, in reading, writing,
studying, making and mending my clothes, and getting my
wardrobe in complete readiness, in case I should go on board
the ship ; and in fishing, ranging the woods with the dogs,
and in occasional visits to the presidio and mission. A good
deal of my time was spent in taking care of a little puppy,
which I had selected from thirty-six, that were bom within
three days of one another, at our house. He was a fine,
promising pup, with four white paws, and all the rest of his
body of a dark brown. I built a little kennel for him,
and kept him fastened there, away from the other dogs, feed-
ing and disciplining him myself. In a few weeks, I got him
in complete subjection, and he grew finely, was very much
attached to me, and bid fair to be one of the leading dogs on
the beach. I called him Bravo, and the only thing I re-
gretted at the thought of leaving the beach, was parting
with him.

Day after day, we went up the hill, but no ship was to be
seen, and we began to form all sorts of conjectures as to her
whereabouts ; and the theme of every evening's conversa-
tion at the different houses, and in our afternoon's paseo
upon the beach, was, the ship — where she could be — had
she been to San Francisco ? — how many hides she would
bring, etc.

Tuesday, August 25/A. This morning, the officer in
charge of our house went off beyond the point a fishing, in a
small canoe with two Kanakas ; and we were sitting quietly
in our room at the hide-house, when, just before noon, we

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST igt

heard a complete yell of "Sail ho !" breaking out from all
parts of the beach, at once, — from the Kanakas' oven to
the Rosa^s house. In an instant, every one was out of hb
house ; and there was a fine, tall ship, with royals and sky-
sails set, bending over before the strong afternoon breeze,
and doming rapidly round the point. Her yards were
braced sharp up ; every sail was set, and drew well ; the
Yankee ensign was flying from her mizen-peak ; and having
the tide in her favor, she came up like a race-horse. It was
nearly six months since a new vessel had entered San Diego,
and of course, every one was on the qui-vive. She certainly
made a fine appearance. Her light sails were taken in, as
she passed the low, sandy tongue of land, and clewing up her
head sails,, she rounded handsomely to, under her mizen
topsail, and let go the anchor at about a cable's length
from the shore. In a few minutes, the topsail yards were
manned, and all three of the topsails furled at once. From
the fore top-gallant yard, the men slid down the stay to furl
the jib, and from the mizen top-gallant yard, by the stay,
into the main-top, and thence to the yard ; and the men on
the topsail yards came down the lifts to the yard-arms of
the courses. The sails were furled with great care, the
bimts triced up by jiggers, and the jibs stowed in cloth.
The royal yards were then struck, tackles got upon the yard-
arms and the stay, the long-boat hoisted out, a large anchor
carried astern, and the ship moored. Then the captain's
gig' was lowered away from the quarter, and a boat's crew
of fine lads, between the ages of fourteen and eighteen,
pulled the captain ashore. The gig was a light whale-boat,
handsomely painted, and fitted up with cushions, etc., in
the stem sheets. We immediately attacked the boat's crew,
and got very thick with them in a few minutes. We
had much to ask about Boston, their passage out, etc., and
they were very curious to know about the life we were lead-
ing upon the beach. One of them offered to exchange with
me ; which was just what I wanted ; and we had only to
get the permission of the captain.

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192 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

After dinner, the crew began discharging their hides,
and, as we had nothing to do at the hide-houses, we were
ordered aboard to help them. I had now my first oppor-
tunity of seeing the ship which I hoped was to be my home
for the next year. She looked as well on board as she did
from without. Her decks were wide and roomy (there be-
ing no poop, or house on deck, which disfigures the after
part of most of our vessels), flush, fore and aft, and as white
as snow, which the crew told us was from constant use of
holystones. There was no foolish gilding and gingerbread
work, to take the eye of landsmen and passengers, but
everything was "ship-shape and Bristol fashion." There
was no rust, no dirt, no rigging hanging slack, no fag ends
of ropes and "Irish pendants" aloft, and the yards were
squared " to a /" by lUts and braces. The mate was a fine,
hearty, noisy fellow, with a voice like a lion, and always
wide awake. He was "a man, every inch of him," as the
sailors said; and though "a bit of a horse," and "a hard
customer," yet he was generally liked by the crew. There
was also a second and third mate, a carpenter, sailmaker,
steward, cook, etc., and twelve, including boys, before the
mast. She had, on board, seven thousand hides, which she
had collected at the windward, and also horns and tallow.
All these we began discharging, from both gangways at
once, into the two boats, the second mate having charge of
the laimch, and the third mate of the pinnace. For
several days, we were employed in this way, until all the
hides were taken out, when the crew began taking in
ballast, and we returned to our old work, hide-curing.

Saturday J Aug. 29/A. Arrived, brig Catalinai from the
windward.

Sunday J y>th. This was the first Simday that the crew
had been in San Diego, and of course they were all for going
up to see the town. The Indians came down early, with
horses to let for the day, and all the crew, who could obtain
liberty, went off to the presidio and mission, and did not
return until night. I had seen enough of San Diego, and

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 193

went on board and spent the day with some of the crew,
whom I found quietly at work in the forecastle, mending
and washing their clothes, and reading and writing. They
told me that the ship stopped at Caliao in the passage out,
and there lay three weeks. She had a passage of a little y^'
over eighty days from Boston to Caliao, which is one of the
shortest on record. There, they left the Brandywine frig-
ate, and other smaller American ships of war, and the Eng-
lish frigate Blonde^ and a French seventy-four. From Cal-
iao they came directly to California, and had visited every v/
port on the coast, including San Francisco. The forecastle
in which they lived was large, tolerably well lighted by bulls-
eyes, and, being kept perfectly clean, had quite a com-
fortable appearance; at least, it was far better than the
little, blade, dirty hole in which I had lived so many months
on board the Pilgrim. By the regulations of the ship, the
forecastle was cleaned out every morning, and the crew,
being very neat, kept it dean by some regulations of their
own, such as having a large spit-box always imder the steps
and between the bits, and obliging every man to hang up
his wet dothes, etc. In addition to this, it was holystoned
every Saturday morning. In the after part of the ship was
a handsome cabin, a dining-room, and a trade-room, fitted ^
out with shelves and furnished with all sorts of goods. Be-
tween these and the forecastle was the '*between-decks,''
as high as the gun deck of a frigate ; being six feet and a half,
under the beams. These between-decks were holystoned
regularly, and kept in the most perfect order ; the carpen-
ter's bench and tools being in one part, the sailmaker's in
another, and boatswain's locker, with the spare rigging, in
a third. A part of the crew slept here, in hammocks swung
fore and aft from the beams, and triced up every morning.
The sides of the between-decks were clapboarded, the knees
and stanchions of iron, and the latter made to unship. The
crew said she was as tight as a drum, and a fine sea boat,
her only fault being, that of most fast ships, — that she was
wet, forward. When she was going, as she sometimes

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194 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

would, eight or nine knots on a wind, there would not be a
dry spot forward of the gangway. The men told great
stories of her sailing, and had great confidence in her as a
"lucky ship.'* She was seven years old, and had always
been in the Canton trade, and never had met with an acci-
dent of any consequence, and had never made a passage
that was not shorter than the average. The third mate,
a young man of about eighteen years of age, nephew of one
of the owners, had been in the ^p from a small boy, and
'* believed in the ship" ; and the chief mate thought more
of her than he would of a wife and family.

The ship lay about a week longer in port, when, having
discharged her cargo and taken in ballast, she prepared to
get under weigh. I now made my application to the captain
to go on board. He told me that I coiild go ^ome in the
ship when she sailed (which I knew before) ; and, finding
that I wished to be on board while she was on the coast,
said he had no objection, if I could find one of my own age
to exchange with me, for the time. This, I easily accom-
plished, for they were glad to change the scene by a few
months on shore, and, moreover, escape the winter and the
south-easters ; and I went on board the next day, with my
chest and hammock, and found myself once more afloat.

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CHAPTER XXm

Tuesday, Sept. 8th. This was my first day's duty on
board the ship ; and though a sailor's life is a sailor's life
wherever it may be, yet I found everything very different
here from the customs of the brig Pilgrim. After all hands
were called, at daybreak, three minutes and a half were
allowed for every man to dress and come on deck, and if
any were longer than that, they were sure to be overhauled
by the mate, who was always on deck, and making himself
heard all over the ship. The head-pump was then rigged,
and the decks washed down by the second and third mates ;
the chief mate walking the quarter-deck and keeping a
general supervision, but not deigning to touch a bucket
or a brush. Inside and out, fore and aft, upper deck and
between-decks, steerage and forecastle, rail, bulwarks, and
water-ways, were washed, scrubbed, and scraped with
brooms and canvas, and the decks were wet and sanded
all over, and then holystoned. The hol3rstone is a large,
soft stone, smooth on the bottom, with long ropes attached
to each end, by which the crew keep it sliding fore and aft,
over the wet, sanded decks. Smaller hand-stones, which
the sailors call "prayer-books," are used to scrub in among
the crevices and narrow places, where the large holystone
will not go. An hour or two, we were kept at this work,
when the head-pump was manned, and all the sand washed
off the decks and sides. Then came swabs and squilgees ;
and after the decks were dry, each one went to his particular
morning job. There were five boats belonging to the ship,
— laimch, pinnace, jolly-boat, larboard, quarter-boat,
and gig, — each of whick had a coxswain, who had charge
of it, and was answerable for the order and cleanness of it.
The rest of the cleaning was divided among the crew ; one

X9S

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196 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

having the brass and composition work about the capstan;
another the bell, which was of brass, and kept as bright as
a gilt buttpn ; a third, the harness-cask, another, the man-
rope stanchions; others, the steps of the forecastle and
hatchways, whidi were hauled up and holystoned. Each
of these jobs must be finished before breakfast; and, in
the mean time, the rest of the crew filled the scuttle-butt,
and the cook scraped his kids (wooden tubs out of which
the sailors eat) and polished the hoops, and placed
them before the galley, to await inspection. When the
decks were dry, the lord paramount made his appearance
on the quarter-deck, and took a few turns, when eight bells
were struck, and dl hands went to breakfast. Half an
hour was allowed for breakfast, when all hands were called
again; the kids, pots, bread-bags, etc., stowed away; and,«
tMs morning, preparations were made for getting imder
weigh. We paid out on the chain by which we swtmg; hove
in on the other; catted the anchor; and hove short on the
first. This work was done in shorter time than was usual
on board the brig ; for though everything was more than
twice as large and heavy, the cat-block being as much as a
man could lift, and the chain as large as three of the PU-
grim'Sy yet there was a plenty of room to move about in,
more discipline and system, more men, and more good will.
Every one seemed ambitious to do his best: officers and
men knew their duty, and all went well. As soon as she
was hove short, the mate, on the forecastle, gave the order
to loose the sails, and, in an instant, every one spnmg into
the rigging, up the shrouds, and out on the yards, scram-
bling by one another, — the first up the best fellow, — cast
off the yard-arm gaskets and bunt gaskets, and one man
remained on each yard, holding the bunt jigger with a turn
roimd the tye, all ready to let go, while the rest laid down
to man the sheets and halyards. The mate then hailed
the yards — "All ready forward ?" — "All ready the cross-
jack yards?" etc.; and "Aye, aye, sir!" being returned
from each, the word was given to let go ; and in the twin-

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 197

kling of an eye, the ship, which had shown nothing but her
bare yards, was covered with her loose canvas, from the
royal-mast-heads to the decks. Every one then laid down,
except one man in each top, to overhaul the rigging, and
the topsails were hoisted and sheeted home ; all three yards
going to the mast-head at once, the larboard watch hoist-
ing the fore, the starboard watch the main, and five light
hands (of whom I was one), picked from the two watches,
the mizen. The yards were then trimmed, the anchor
weighed, the cat-block hooked on, the fall stretched out,
manned by "all hands and the cook," and the anchor
brought to the head with "cheerily men!" in full chorus.
The ship being now under weigh, the light sails were set,
one after another, and she was under fiill sail, before she
Jiad passed the sandy point. The fore royal, which fell to
my lot (being in the mate's watch), was more than twice as
large as that of the Pilgrim, and, though I could handle
the brig's easily, I found my hands full, with this, especially
as there were no jacks to the ship ; everything being for
neatness, and nothing left for Jack to hold on by, but his
eyelids.

As soon as we were beyond the point, and all sail out,
the order was given, "Go below the watch !" and the crew
said that, ever since they had been on the coast, they had
had "watch and watch," while going from port to port;
and, in fact, everything showed that, though strict disci-
pline was kept, and the utmost was required of every man,
in the way of his duty, yet, on the whole, there was very
good xisage on board. Each one knew that he must be a
man, and show himself smart when at his duty, yet every
one was satisfied with the usage ; and a contented crew,
agreeing with one another, and finding no fault, was a con-
trast indeed with the small, hard-used, dissatisfied, gnmi-
bling, desponding crew of the Pilgrim.

It being the turn of our watch to go below, the men went
to work, mending their clothes, and doing other little things
for themselves ; and I, having got my wardrobe in complete

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198 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

order at San Diego, had nothing to do but to read. I ac-
cordingly overhauled the chests of the crew, but found
nothing that suited me exactly, until one of the men said
he had a book which ''told all about a great highwayman/'
at the bottom of his chest, and producing it, I foimd, to my
surprise and joy, that it was nothing else than Bulwer's
Paul Clifford. This, I seized immediately, and going to my
hanunock, lay there, swinging and reading, until the watdi
was out. Tlie between-decks were dear, the hatchways
open, and a cool breeze blowing through them, the ship
imder easy way, and everything comfortable. I had just
got well into the story, when eight bells were struck, and
we were all ordered to dinner. After dinner came our watdi
on deck for four hours, and, at four o'clock, I went be-
low again, turned into my hanmiock, and read imtil the
dog watch. As no lights were allowed after eight o'clock,
there was no reading in the night watch. Having light
winds and calms, we were three days on the passage, and
each watch below, during the daytime, I spent in the same
manner, until I had fini^ed my book. I shall never forget
the enjo)anent I derived from it. To come across anything
with the slightest claims to literary merit, was so imxisual,
that this was a perfect feast to me. The brilliancy of the
book, the succession of capital hits, lively and characteristic
sketches, kept me in a constant state of pleasing sensa-
tions. It was far too good for a sailor. I could not
expect such fine times to last long.

While on deck, the regular work of the ship went on.
The sailmaker and carpenter worked between decks, and
the crew had their work to do upon the rigging, drawing
yams, making spun-yams, etc., as usual in merchantmen.
The night watches were much more pleasant than on board
the Pilgrim. There, there were so few in a watch, that, one
being at the wheel, and another on the look-out, there was
no one left to talk with ; but here, we had seven in a watch,
so that we had long yams, in abundance. After two or
three night watches, I became quite well acquainted with

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 199

all tiie larboard watch. The sailmaker was the head man
of the watch, and was generally considered the most ex-
perienced seaman on board. He was a thoroughbred old
man-of-warVman, had been to sea twenty-two years, in
all kinds of vessels, — men-of-war, privateers, slavers,
and merchantmen ; — everything except whalers, which a
thorough sailor despises, and will always steer clear of, if
he can. He had, of course, been in all parts of the world,
and was remarkable for drawing a long bow. His yams
frequently stretched through a watch, and kept all hands
awake. They were always amusing from their improb-
ability, and, indeed, he never expected to be believed,
but spun them merely for amusement ; and as he had some
humor and a good supply of man-of-war slang and sailor's
salt phrases, he always made fun. Next to him in age and
experience, and, of course, in standing in the watch, was an
Englishman, named Harris, of whom I shall have more to
say hereafter. Then, came two or three Americans, who
had been the common run of European and South American
voyages, and one who had been in a "spouter," and, of
course, had all the whaling stories to himself. Last of all,
was a broad-backed, thidt-headed boy from Cape Cod,
who had been in mackerel schooners, and was maJung his
first voyage in a square-rigged vessel. He was bom in
Hingham, and of course was called "Bucket-maker."
The other watch was composed of about the same niunber.
A tall, fine-looking Frenchman, with coal-black whiskers
and curly hair, a first-rate seaman, and named John (one
name is enough for a sailor), was the head man of the watch.
Then came two Americans (one of whom had been a dis-
sipated yoimg man of property and family, and was reduced
to duck trowsers and monthly wages), a German, an Eng-
lish lad, named Ben, who belonged on the mizen topsail yard
with me, and was a good sailor for his years, and two Boston
boys just from the public schools. The carpenter some-
tunes mustered in the starboard watch, and was an old sea-
dog, a Swede by birth, and accoimted the best helmsman

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200 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

in the ship. This was our ship's company, beside cook and
steward, who were blacks, three mates, and the captain.

The second day out, the wind drew ahead, and we had
to beat up the coast ; so that, in taddng ship, I could see
the regulations of the vessel. Instead of going wherever
was most convenient, and nmning from place to place,
wherever work was to be done, eadi man had his station.
A regular tacking and wearing bill was made out. The chief
mate commanded on the forecastle, and had charge of the
head sails and the forward part of the ship. Two of the best
men in the ship — the sailmaker from our watch, and John,
the Frenchman, from the other, worked the forecastle.
The third mate commanded in the waist, and, with the
carpenter and one man, worked the main tack and bowline ;
the cook, eX'officio, the fore sheet, and the steward the main.
The second mate had charge of the after yards and let go the
lee fore and main braces. I was stationed at the weather
cross- jack braces; three other light hands at the lee;
one boy at the spanker-sheet and guy ; a man and a boy at
the main topsail, top-gallant, and royal braces ; and all the
rest of the crew — men and boys — tallied on to the main
brace. Every one here knew his station, must be there
when all hands were called to put the ship about, and was
answerable for every rope committed to him. Each man's
rope must be let go and hauled in at the order, properly

' made fast, and neatly coiled away when the ship was about.

f As soon as all hands are at their stations, the captain, who
stands on the weather side of the quarter-deck, makes a
sign to the man at the wheel to put it down, and calls out
"Helm's a lee' !" "Helm's a lee' !" answers the mate on
the forecastle, and the head sheets are let go. "Raise tacks
and sheets!" says the captain; "tacks and sheets!" is
passed forward, and the fore tack and main sheet are let
go. The next thing is to haul taught for a swing. The
weather cross- jack braces and the lee main braces are each
belayed together upon two pins, and ready to be let go, and
the opposite braces hauled taught. "Main topsail haul !"

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 201

shouts the captam ; the braces are let go ; and if he has
taJcen his time well, the yards swing round like a top ; but
if he is too late, or too soon, it is like drawing teeth. The
after yards are then braced up and belayed, the main sheet
haided aft, the spanker eased over to leeward, and the men
from the braces stand by the head yards. **Let go and
haid ! " says the captain ; the second mate lets go the weather
fore braces, and the men haul in to leeward. The mate,
on the forecastle, looks out for the head yards. "Well, the
fore topsail yard !" "Top-gallant yard's well 1" "Royal
yard too much ! Haul in to windward ! So ! well thcU/^'
"Well off/" Then the starboard watch board the main
tack, and the larboard watch lay forward and board the
fore tack and haul down the jib sheet, clapping a tackle
upon it if it blows very fresh. The after yards are then
trinmied, the captain generally looking out for them him-
self. "Well the cross- jack yard !" "Small pull the main
top-gallant yard!" "WeU ^Aa//" "Well the mizen top-
sail yard!" " Cross- jack yards aUtc^/" "WeUaUaft!"
"Haid taught to windward!" Ever3rthing being now
trinmied and in order, each man coils up the rigging at his
own station, and the order is given — "Go below the
watch!")

During the last twenty-four hours of the passage, we
beat off and on the land, making a tack about once in four
hours, so that I had a siiffident opportunity to observe the
working of the ship ; and certainly, it took no more men to
brace about this ship's lower yards, which were more than
fifty feet square, than it did those of the Pilgrim, which were
not much more than half the size ; so much depends upon
the manner in which the braces run, and the state of the
blocks; and Captain Wilson, of the Ayacucho, who was
afterwards a passenger with us, upon a trip to windward,
said he had no doubt that our ship worked two men lighter
than his brig.

Friday, Sept. 11. This morning, at four o'clock, went
below, San Pedro point being about two leagues ahead, and

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202 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

the ship going on under studding-sails. In about an hour
we were waked up by the hauling of the chain about decks,
and in a few minutes *'Ali hands ahoy !" was called ; and
we were all at work, hauling in and making up the studding-
sails, overhauling the chain forward, and getting the anchors
ready. "The Pilgrim is there at anchor," said some one,
as we were nmning about decks ; and taking a moment's
look over the rail, I saw my old friend, deeply laden, lying at
anchor inside of the kelp. In coming to anchor, as well as
in taddng, each one had his station and duty. The light
sails were clewed up and furled, the courses hauled up, and
the jibs down ; then came the topsails in the buntlines, and
the anchor let go. As soon as she was well at anchor, all
hands lay aloft to furl the topsails ; and this, I soon foimd,
was a great matter on board this ship; for every sailor
knows tiiat a vessel is judged of, a good deal, by the furl of
her sails. The third mate, sailmaker, and tiie larboard
watch went upon the fore topsail yard ; the second mate,
carpenter, and the starboard watdi upon the main; and
myself and the English lad, and the two Boston bo3rs, and
the yoimg Cape-Cod man, furled the mizen topsail. This
sail belonged to us altogether, to reef and to furl, and not
a man was allowed to come upon our yard. The mate took
us \mder his special care, frequently making us furl the sail
over, three or four times, tmtil we got the bunt up to a per-
fect cone, and the whole sail without a wrinkle. As soon
as each sail was hauled up and the b\mt made, the jigger
was bent on to the slack of the buntlines, and the b\mt triced
up, on deck. The mate then took his place between the
knight-heads to "twig" the fore, on the windlass to twig
the main, and at the foot of the main-mast, for the mizen ;
and if anything was wrong, — too much bunt on one side,
clues too taught or too slack, or any sail abaft the yard, —
the whole must be dropped again. When all was right, the
bunts were triced well up, the yard-arm gaskets passed, so
as not to leave a wrinkle forward of the yard — short gas-
kets with tiuns close together.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 203

From the moment of letting go the anchor, when the
captain ceases his care of things, the chief mate is the great
man. With a voice like a yomig lion, he was hallooing and
bawling, in all directions, making everything fly, and, at the
same time, doing everything well. He was quite a contrast
to the worthy, quiet, imobtrusive mate of the Pilgrim: not
so estimable a man, perhaps, but a far better mate of a

vessel ; and the entire change in Captain T 's conduct, ^ ^ ^

since he took command of the ship, was owing, no doubt, in
a great measure, to this fact. If the chief officer wants
force, discipline slackens, everything gets out of joint, the
captain interferes continually ; that makes a difficulty be-
tween them, which encourages the crew, and the whole
ends in a three-sided quarrel. But Mr. Brown (the mate of
the Alert) wanted no help from anybody; took everything
into his own hands ; and was more likely to encroach upon
the authority of the master, than to need any spurring.

Captain T gave his directions to the mate in private,

and except in coming to anchor, getting imder weigh, tack-
ing, reeffiig topsails, and other "all-hands-work," seldom
appeared in person. This is the proper state of things, and
while this lasts, and there is a good understanding aft,
everything will go on well.

Having furled all the sails, the royal yards were next to,
be sent down. The English lad and myself sent down the
main, which was larger than the Pilgrim^ s main top-gallant
yard ; two more light hands, the fore ; and one boy, the
mizen. This order, we always kept while on the coast;
sending them up and down every time we came in and went
out of port. They were all tripped and lowered together,
the main on the starboard side, and the fore and mizen, to
port. No sooner was she all snug, than tackles were got up
on the yards and stays, and the long-boat and pinnace hove
out. The swinging booms were then guyed out, and the
boats made fast by geswarps, and everything in harbor
style. After breakfast, the hatches were taken oflf, and all ^
got ready to receive hides from the Pilgrim. All day, boats

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204 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

were passing and repassing, until we had taken her hides
from her, and left her in ballast trim. These hides made but
little show in our hold, though they had loaded the Pilgrim
down to the water's edge. This changing of the hides
settled the question of the destination of the two vessels,
which had been one of some speculation to us. We were

>/ to remain in the leeward ports, while the Pilgrim was to
sail, the next morning, for San Francisco. After we had
knocked off work, and cleared up decks for the night, my

friend S came on board, and spent an hour with me

in our berth between decks. The Pilgrim^s crew envied
me my plaice on board the ship, and seemed to think that I
had got a little to windward of them; especially in the

matter of going home first. S was determined to go

j_^ home in the Alert, by begging or buying ; if Captain T

would not let him come on other terms, he would purchase
an exchange with some one of the crew. The prospect
of another year after the Alert should sail, was rather " too
much of the monkey." About seven o'clock, the mate
came down into the steerage, in fine trim for fun, roused the
boys out of the berth, tiuned up the carpenter with his
fiddle, sent the steward with lights to put in the between-
dedc^s, and set all hands to dancing. The between-decks
were high enough to allow of jmnping ; and being clear, and
white, from holystoning, made a fine dancing-hall. Some
of the Pilgrim^s crew were in the forecastle, and we all
tumed-to and had a regular sailor's shuffle, till eight bells.
The Cape-Cod boy could dance the true fisherman's jig,
barefooted, knocking with his heels, and slapping the dec^
with his bare feet, in time with the music. This was a
favorite amusement of the mate's, who always stood at the
steerage door, looking on, and if the boys would not dance,
he hazed them round with a rope's end, much to the amuse-
ment of the men.

The next morning, according to the orders of the agent,
the Pilgrim set sail for the windward, to be gone three or

--. four months. She got under weigh with very little fuss.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE, THE MAST 205

and came so near ns as to throw a letter on board, Captain
Faucon standing at the tiller himself, and steering her as

he would a mackerel smack. When Captain T was in

command of the Pilgrim, there was as much preparation
and ceremony as there would be in getting a seventy-four
imder weigh. Captain Faucon was a sailor, every inch of
him ; he knew what a ship was, and was as much at home in
one, as a cobbler in his stall. I wanted no better proof of
this than the opinion of the ship's crew, for they had been
six months under his command, and knew what he was:
and if sailors allow their captain to be a good seaman, you
may be sure he is one, for that is a thing they are not always
ready to say.

After the Pilgrim left us, we lay three weeks at San Pedro, ^
from the nth of September until the 2d of October, en-
gaged in the usual port duties of landing cargo, taking off
hides, etc. These duties were much easier, and went on
much more agreeably, than on board the Pilgrim. "The
more, the merrier," is the sailor's maxim; and a boat's
crew of a dozen could take off all the hides brought down in
a day, without much trouble, by a division of labor ; and
on shore, as well as on board, a good will, and no discontent
or gnunbling, make everything go well. The oflBicer, too,
who usually went with us, the third mate, was a fine young
fellow, and made no unnecessary trouble ; so that we gener-
ally had quite a sociable time, and were glad to be relieved
from the restraint of the ship. While here, I often thought
of the miserable, gloomy weeks we had spent in this dull
place, in the brig ; discontent and hard usage on board, and
four hands to do all the work on shore. Give me a big ship.
There is more room, more hands, better outfit, better regu-
lation, more life, and more company. Another thing was
better arranged here : we had a regular gig's crew. A light
whale-boat, handsomely painted, and fitted out with stem
seats, yoke, tiller-ropes, etc., hung on the starboard quarter,
and was used as the gig. The youngest lad in the ship, a
Boston boy about thirteen years old, was coxswain of this

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2o6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

boat, and had the entire charge of her, to keep her clean,
and have her in readiness to go and come at any hour.
Four light hands, of about the same size and age, of whom
I was one, formed the crew. Each had his oar and seat
niunbered, and we were obliged to be in our places, have owe
oars scraped white, our tholepins in, and tie fenders over
the side. The bow-man had charge of the boat-hook and
painter, and the coxswain of the rudder, yoke, and stem-
sheets. Our duty was to carry the captain and agent about,
and passengers oflf and on ; which last was no trifling duty,
as the people on shore have no boats, and every purchaser,
from the boy who buys his pair of shoes, to the trader who
buys his casks and bales, were to be taken off and on, in our
boat. Some days, when people were coming and going fast,
we were in the boat, pulling off and on, all day long, with
hardly time for our meals ; making, as we lay nearly three
miles from shore, from forty to fifty miles' rowing in a day
Still, we thought it the best berth in the ship ; for when th
gig was employed, we had nothing to do with the carg<
except small bundles which the passengers carried wil
them, and no hides to carry, besides the opportunity n
seeing everybody, making acquaintances, hearing th
news, etc. Unless the captain or agent were in the boat, we
had no officer with us, and often had fine times with tht
passengers, who were always willing to talk and joke with
us. Frequently, too, we were obliged to wait several hours
on shore ; when we would haul the boat up on the beach,
and leaving one to watch her, go up to the nearest house,
or spend the time in strolling about the beach, picking up
shells, or playing hop-scotch, and other games, on the hard
sand. The rest of the crew never left the ship, except for
bringing heavy goods and taking off hides ; and though we
were always in the water, the surf hardly leaving us a dry
thread from morning till night, yet we were young, and the
climate was good, and we thought it much better than the
quiet, hum-drum drag and pull on board ship. We made
liie acquaintance of nearly half California; for, besides

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 207

canying everybody in our boat, — men, women, and chil-
dren, — all the messages, letters, and light packages went
by us, and being known by our dress, we found a ready
reception ever3rwhere.

At San Pedro, we had none of this amusement, for, there
being but one house in the place, we, of course, had but little
company. All the variety that I had, was riding, once a
week, to the nearest rancho, to order a bullock down for
the ship.

The brig CakUina came in from San Diego, and being
boimd up to windward, we both got imder weigh at the same
time, for a trial of speed up to Santa Barbara, a distance of
about eighty miles. We hove up and got under sail about
eleven o'clock at night, with a light land-breeze, which died
away toward morning, leaving us becalmed only a few miles
; from our anchoring-place. The Catalina, being a small
•vessel, of less than half our size, put out sweeps and got a
boat ahead, and pulled out to sea, during the night, so that
'she had the sea-breeze earlier and stronger than we did, and
•we had the mortification of seeing her standing up the coast,
^th a fine breeze, the sea all ruffled about her, while we were
; becalmed, in-shore. When the sea-breeze died away, she
: was nearly out of sight ; and, toward the latter part of the
T afternoon, the regular north-west wind set in fresh, we
. braced sharp upon it, took a pull at every sheet, tack, and
halyard, and stood after her, in fine style, our ship being
very good upon a taughtened bowline. We had nearly five
hours of fiine sailing, beating up to windward, by long
stretches in and oflf shore, and evidently gaining upon the
Catalina, at every tack. When this breeze left us, we were so
near as to count the painted ports on her side. Fortunately,
the wind died away when we were on our inward tack, and
she on her outward, so we were in-shore, and caught the
land-breeze first, which came oflf upon our quarter, about
the middle of the first watch. All hands were turned up,
and we set all sail, to the skysails and the royal studding-
sails; and with these we glided quietly through the water.

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2o8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

leaving the CakUinay which could not spread so much canvas
as we, gradually astern, and, by daylight, were off St.
Buenaventura, and our antagonist nearly out of sight.
The sea-breeze, however, favored her again, while we were
becalmed under the headland, and laboring slowly along,
she was abreast of us by noon. Thus we continued, ahead,
astern, and abreast of one another, alternately; now, far
out at sea, and again, close in under the shore. On the third
morning, we came into the great bay of Santa Barbara, two
hours behind the brig, and thus lost the bet ; though, if the
race had been to the point, we should have beaten her by
five or six hours. This, however, settled the relative sailing
of the vessels, for it was admitted that although she, being
small and light, could gain upon us in very light winds, yet
whenever there was breeze enough to set us agoing, we
walked away from her like hauling in a Hne ; and in beating
to windward, which is the best trial of a vessel, we had much
the advantage of her.

Sunday, Oct. 4th. This was the day of our arrival ; and
somehow or other, our captain always managed not only to
sail, but to come into port, on a Sunday. The main reason
for sailing on the Sabbath is not, as many people suppose,
because Simday is thought a lucky day, but because it is a
leisure day. Diuing the six days, the crew are employed
upon the cargo and other ship's works, and the Sabbath,
being their only day of rest, whatever additional work can
be thrown into Sunday, is so much gain to the owners. This
is the reason of our coasters, packets, etc., sailing on the
Sabbath. They get six good days' work out of the crew,
and then throw all the labor of sailing into the Sabbath.
Thus it was with us, nearly all the time we were on the
coast, and many of our Sabbaths were lost entirely to us.
The Catholics on shore have no trading and make no jour-
neys on Sunday, but the American has no national reli-
gion, and likes to show his independence of priestcraft by
doing as he chooses on the Lord's day.

Santa Barbara looked very much as it did when I left it

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 209

five months before : the long sand beach, with the heavy
rollers, breaking upon it in a continual roar, and the little
town, imbedded on the plain, girt by its amphitheatre of
moimtains. Day after day, the sun shone clear and bright
upon the wide bay and the red roofs of the houses ; every-
thing being as still as death, the people really hardly seeming
to earn their sun-light. Daylight actually seemed thrown
away upon them. We had a few visitors, and collected
about an hundred hides, and every night, at sun-down, the
gig was sent ashore, to wait for the captain, who spent his
evenings in the town. We always took our monkey-jackets
with us and flint and steel, and made a fire on the beach
with the driftwood and the bushes we pulled from the
neighboring thickets, and lay down by it, on the sand.
Sometimes we woidd stray up to the town, if the captain
was likely to stay late, and pass the time at some of the
houses, in which we were almost always well received by
the inhabitants. Sometimes earlier and sometimes later,
the captain came down ; when, after a good drenching in
the surf, we went aboard, changed our clothes, and turned
in for the night — yet not for all the night, for there was the
anchor watdi to stand.

This leads me to ^eak of my watchmate for nine months
— and, taking him all in all, the most remarkable man I
have ever seen — Tom Harris. An hour, every night, while
lying in port, Harris and myself had the deck to ourselves,
and walking fore and aft, night after night, for months, I
learned his whole character and history, and more about
foreign nations, the habits of different people, and especially
the secrets of sailors' lives and hardships, and also of prac-
tical seamanship (in which he was abundantly capable of
instructing me), than I could ever have learned elsewhere.
But the most remarkable thing about him, was the power
of his mind. His memory was perfect ; seeming to form a
regular chain, reaching from his earliest childhood up to the
time I knew him, without one link wanting. His power of
calculation, too, was remarkable. I called myself pretty

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2IO TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

quick at figures, and had been through a course of mathe-
matical studies ; but, working by my head, I was imable to
keep within sight of this man, who had never been beyond
his arithmetic : so rapid was his calculation. He carried in
his head not only a log-book of the whole voyage, in which
everything was complete and accurate, and from which no
one ever tiiought of appealing, but also an accurate registry
of all the cargo ; knowing, precisely, where each thing was,
and how many hides we took in at every port.

One night, he made a rough calculation of the number of
hides that could be stowed in the lower hold, between the
fore and main mast, taking the depth of hold and breadth of
beam (for he always knew the dimension of every part of
a ship, before he had been a month on board), and the aver-
age area and thickness of a hide; he came surprisingly
near the nimiber, as it afterwards turned out. The mate
frequently came to him to know the capacity of different
parts of the vessel, and he could tell tie sailmaker very
nearly the amoimt of canvas he would want for each sail
in the ship ; for he knew the hoist of every mast, and spread
of every sail, on the head and foot, in feet and inches.
When we were at sea, he kept a running account, in his
head, of the ship's way — the number of knots and the
courses ; and, if the courses did not vary much during the
twenty-four hours, by taking the whole progress, and
allowing so many eighths southing or northing, to so many
easting or westing; he would make up his reckoning just
before the captain took the sun at noon, and often came
wonderfully near the mark. Calculation of all kinds was
his delight. He had, in his chest, several volumes giving
accounts of inventions in mechanics, which he read with
great pleasure, and made himself master of. I doubt if he
ever forgot anything that he read. The only thing in the
way of poetry that he ever read was Falconer's Shipwreck,
which he was delighted with, and whole pages of which he
could repeat. He knew the name of every sailor that had
ever been his shipmate, and also, of every vessel, captain, and

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 211

officer, and the principal dates of each voyage ; and a sailor
whom we afterwards fell in with, who had been in a ship
with Harris neariy twelve years before, was very mudi
surprised at having Harris tell him things about himself
which he had entirely forgotten. His facts, whether dates
or events, no one thought of disputing ; and his opinions,
few of the sailors dared to oppose; for, right or wrong,
he always had the best of the argimient wiQi them. His
reasoning powers were remarkable. I have had harder
work maintaining an argmnent with him in a watch, even
when I knew myself to be right, and he was only doubting,
than I ever had before ; not from his obstinacy, but from
his acuteness. Give him only a little knowledge of his
subject, and, certainly, among all the young men of my
acquaintance and standing at college, there was not one
whom I had not rather meet, than this man. I never
answered a question from him, or advanced an opinion to
him, without thinking more than once. With an iron
memory, he seemed to have your whole past conversation
at command, and if you said a thing now which ill agreed
with somethhig said months before, he was sure to have you
on the hip: In fact, I always felt, when with him, that I
was with no common man. I had a positive respect for his
powers of mind, and felt often that if half the pains had
been spent upon his education which are thrown away,
yearly, in our colleges, he would have been a man of great
weight in society. Like most self-taught men, he over-
estimated the value of an education ; and this I often told
him, though I profited by it myself ; for he always treated
me with respect, and often unnecessarily gave way to me,
from an over-estimate of my knowledge. For the capacities
of all the rest of the crew, captain and all, he had the most
sovereign contempt. He was a far better sailor, and prob-
ably a better navigator, than the captain, and had more
brains than all the after part of the ship put together. The
sailors said, "Tom's got a head as long as the bowsprit,"
and if any one got into an argmnent with him, they would

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212 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

call out — "Ah, Jack ! you'd better drop that, as you would
a hot potato, for Tom will turn you inside out before you
know it."

I recollect his posing me once on the subject of the Com
Laws. I was called to stand my watch, and, coming on
deck, found him there before me ; and we began, as usual,
to walk fore and aft, in the waist. He talked about the
com laws ; asked me my opinion about them, which I gave
him ; and my reasons ; my small stock of which I set forth
to the best advantage, supposing his knowledge on the sub-
ject must be less than mine, if, indeed, he had any at all.
When I had got through, he took the liberty of differing
from me, and, to my surprise, brought arguments and facts
connected with the subject which were new to me, and to
which I was entirely unable to reply. I confessed that I
knew almost nothing of the subject, and expressed my sur-
prise at the extent of his information. He said that, a num-
ber of years before, while at^ boarding-house in Liverpool,
he had fallen in with a pamphlet on the subject, and, as it
contained calculations, had read it very carefully, and had
ever since wished to find some one who coidd add to his
stock of knowledge on the question. Although it wa
many years since he had seen the book, and it was a subjec
with which he had had no previous acquaintance, yet b
had the chain of reasoning, founded upon principles ,
political economy, perfect in his memory ; and his facts, 5
far as I could judge, were correct ; at least, he stated the
with great precision. The principles of the steam engir
too, he was very familiar with, having been several mont
on board of a steamboat, and made himself master of '
secrets. He knew every lunar star in both hemispher ^
and was a perfect master of his quadrant and sexta
Such was the man, who, at forty, was still a dog before ^
mast, at twelve dollars a month. The reason of this was ^
be found in his whole past life, as I had it, at differi '
times, from himself.

He was an Englishman, by birth, a native of Hfracoml

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 213

in Cornwall. His father was skipper of a small coaster,
from Bristol, and dying, left him, when quite young, to the
care of his mother, by whose exertions he received a com-
mon-school education, passing his winters at school and his
summers in the coasting trade, until his seventeenth year,
when he left home to go upon foreign voyages. Of this
mother, he often spoke with the greatest respect, and said
that she was a strong-minded woman, and had the best
system of education he had ever known ; a system which
had made respectable men of his three brothers, and failed
only in him, from his own indomitable obstinacy. One
thing he often mentioned, in which he said his mother dif-
fered from all other mothers that he had ever seen disciplin-
ing their children ; that was, that when he was out of humor
and refused to eat, instead of putting his plate away, as most
mothers would, and saying that his hunger would bring
him to it, in time, she would stand over him and oblige him
to eat it — every mouthful of it. It was no fault of hers
that he was what I saw him ; and so great was his sense of
gratitude for her efforts, though unsuccessful, that he de-
termined, at the close of the voyage, to embark for home
with all the wages he should get, to spend with and for his
tiother, if perchance he should &id her alive.
i After leaving home, he had spent nearly twenty years, sail-
ag upon all sorts of voyages, generally out of the ports
if New York and Boston. Twenty years of vice ! Every
in that a sailor knows, he had gone to the bottom of.
everal times he had been hauled up in the hospitals, and
fe often, the great strength of his constitution had brought
Im out again in health. Several times, too, from his
aown capacity, he had been promoted to the office of chief
«ate, and as often, his conduct when in port, especially his
iUnkenness, which neither fear nor ambition could induce
m to abandon, put him back into the forecastle. One
cght, when giving me an account of his life, and lamenting
he years of manhood he had thrown away, he said that
tiiere, in the forecastle, at the foot of the steps — a chest

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214 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

of old clothes — was the result of twenty-two years of hard
labor and exposure — worked like a horse, and treated
like a dog. As he grew older, he began to feel the necessity
of some provision for his later years, and came gradually to
the conviction that rum had been his worst enemy. One
night, in Havana, a young shipmate of his was brought
aboard drunk, with a dangerous gash in his head, and his
money and^ new clothes stripped from him. Harris had
seen and been in himdreds of such scenes as these, but in
his then state of mind, it fixed his determination, and he
resolved never to taste another drop of strong drink, of any
kind. He signed no pledge, and made no vow, but relied
on his own strength of purpose. The first thing with him
was a reason, and then a resolution, and the thing was done.
The date of his resolution he knew, of course, to the very
hour. It was three years before I knew him, and during all
that time, nothing stronger than cider or coffee had passed
his lips. The sailors never thought of enticing Tom to take
a glass, any more than they would of talking to the ship's
compass. He was now a temperate man for life, and capa-
ble of filling any berth in a ship, and many a high station
there is on shore which is held by a meaner man.

He understood the management of a ship upon scientific
principles, and could give the reason for hauling every rope ;
and a long experience, added to careful observation at the
time, and a perfect memory, gave him a knowledge of the
expedients and resorts in times of hazard, which was re-
markable, and for which I became much indebted to him,
as he took the greatest pleasure in opening his stores of
information to me, in return for what I was enabled to do
for him. Stories of ts^anny and hardship which had
driven men to piracy; — of the incredible ignorance of
masters and mates, and of horrid brutality to the sick, dead,
and dying ; as well as of the secret knavery and impositions
practised upon seamen by connivance of the owners, land-
lords, and officers ; all these he had, and I could not but
believe them ; for men who had known him for fifteen years

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 215

had never taken him even in an exaggeration, and, as I
have said, his statements were never disputed. I remember,
among other things, his speaking of a captain whom I had
known by report, who never handed a thing to a sailor, but
put it on deck and kicked it to him ; and of another, who
was of the best connections in Boston who absolutely
murdered a lad from Boston that went out with him before
the mast to Simiatra, by keeping him hard at work while
ill of the coast fever, and obliging him to sleep in the close
steerage. (The same captain has since died of the same
fever on the same coast.)

In fact, taking together all that I learned from him of
seamanship, of the history of sailors' lives, of practical
wisdom, and of himian nature imder new circumstances, —
a great history from which many are shut out, — I would -
not part with the hours I spent in the watch with that man
for any given hours of my life passed in study and social
iQtercoiirse.

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CHAPTER XXIV

Sunday, Oct. iith. Set safl this morning for the lee-
ward ; passed within sight of San Pedro, and, to our great
joy, did not come to anchor, but kept directly on to San
Diego, where we arrived and moored ship on

Thursday f Oct. 15th. Found here the Italian ship La
J Rosa, from the windward, which reported the brig Pilgrim
at San Francisco, all well. Everytiiing was as quiet here
as usual. We discharged our hides, horns, and tallow, and
were ready to sail again on the following Simday. I went
ashore to my old quarters, and found the gang at the hide-
house going on in the even tenor of their way, and spent an
hour or two, after dark, at the oven, taking a whiff with
' my old Kanaka friends, who really seemed ^ad to see me
again, and saluted me as the Aikane of the Kanakas. I was
grieved to find that my poor dog Bravo was dead. He
had sickened and died suddenly, the very day after I sailed
in the Alert.

Simday was again, as usual, our sailing day, and we got
under weigh with a stiff breeze, which reminded us that it
was the latter part of the autumn, and time to expect
south-easters once more. We beat up against a strong
head wind, under reefed topsails, as far as San Juan, where
^ we came to anchor nearly three miles from the shore, with
slip-ropes on our cables, in the old south-easter style of last
winter. On the passage up, we had an old sea captain on
board, who had married and settled in California, and had
not been on salt water for more than fifteen years. He was
astonished at the changes and improvements that had been
made in ships, and still more at the manner in which we
carried sail ; for he was really a little frightened ; and said
that while we had top-gallant sails on, he should have been

316

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 217

under reefed topsails. The working of the ship, and her
progress to windward, seemed to delight him, for he said
she went to windward as though she were kedging.

Tuesday, Oct, 20/A. Having got everything ready, we
set the agent ashore, who went up to the mission to hasten
down the hides for the next morning. This night we had the
strictest orders to look out for south-easters ; and the long,
low clouds seemed rather threatening. But the night
passed over without any trouble, and early the next morn-
ing, we hove out the long-boat and pinnace, lowered away
the quarter-boats, and went ashore to bring off our hides.
Here we were again, in this romantic spot ; a perpendicular
hill, twice the height of the ship's mast-head, with a single
circuitous path to the top, and long sand beach at its base,
with the swell of the whole Pacific breaking high upon it,
and our hides ranged in piles on the overhanging summit.
The captain sent me, who was the only one of the crew that
had ever been there before, to the top, to coimt the hides
and pitch them down. There I stood again, as six months
before, throwing off the hides, and watching them, pitching
and scaling, to the bottom, while the men, dwarfed by the
distance, were walking to and fro on the beach, carrying
the hides, as they picked them up, to the distant boats, upon
the tops of their heads. Two or three boat-loads were sent
off, until, at last, all were thrown down, and the boats nearly
loaded again, when we were delayed by a dozen or twenty
hides which had lodged in the recesses of the hill, and which
we could not reach by any missiles, as the general line of the
side was exactly perpendicular, and these places were caved
in, and could not be seen or reached from Uie top. As hides
are worth in Boston twelve and a half cents a pound, and
the captain's conmiission was two per cent., he determined
not to give them up ; and sent on board for a pair of top-
gallant studding-sail halyards, and requested some one of
the crew to go to the top, and come down by the halyards.
The older sailors said the boys, who were light and active,
ought to go, while the boys thought that strength and expe-

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2i8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

rience were necessary. Seeing the dilemma, and feeling
myself to be near the medium of these requisites, I offered
my services, and went up, with one man to tend the rope,
and prepared for the descent.

We foimd a stake fastened strongly into the groimd, and
apparently capable of holding my weight, to which we made
one end of the halyards well fast, and taking the coil, threw
it over the brink. The end, we saw, just reached to a
landing-place, from which the descent to the beach was easy.
Having nothing on but shirt, trowsers, and hat, the common
sea-rig of warm weather, I had no stripping to do, and
began my descent, by taking hold of the rope in each hand,
and slipping down, sometimes with hands and feet round
the rope, and sometimes breasting off with one hand and
foot against the precipice, and holding on to the rope with
the other. In this way I descended imtil I came to a place
which shelved in, and in which the hides were lodged.
Keeping hold of the rope with one hand, I scrambled in,
and by the other hand and feet succeeded in dislodging aU
the hides, and continued on my way. Just below this place,
the precipice projected again, and going over the projection,
I could see nothing below me but the sea and the rocks upon
which it broke, and a few gulls flying in mid air. I got down
in safety, pretty well covered with dirt ; and for my pains
was told, **What a fool you were to risk your life for a half
a dozen hides ! "

While we were carrying the hides to the boat, I perceived,
what I had been too busy to observe before, that heavy black
clouds were rolling up from seaward, a strong swell heaving
in, and every sign of a south-easter. The captain hurried
everything. The hides were pitched into the boats ; and,
with some difficulty, and by wading nearly up to our
armpits, we got the boats through the surf, and began pull-
ing aboard. Our gig's crew towed T:he pinnace Astern of
the gig, and the launch was towed by six men in tfie jolly-
boat. The ship was lying three miles off, pitching at her
anchor, and the farther we pulled, the heavier grew the

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KEEPING HOLD OF THE ROPE WITH ONE
HAND. I SCRAMBLED IN

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 219

swell. Our boat stood nearly up and down several times ;
the pinnace parted her tow-line, and we expected every
moment to see the laimch swamped. We at length got
alongside, our boats half full of water ; and now came the
greatest difficulty of all, — unloading the boats, in a heavy
sea, which pitched them about so that it was almost im-
possible to stand in them ; raising them sometimes even with
the rail, and again dropping them below the bends. With
great difficulty, we got all the hides aboard and stowed
under hatches, the yard and stay tackles hooked on, and
the laimch and pinnace hoisted, chocked, and griped.
The quarter-boats were then hoisted up, and we began
heaving in on the chain. Gretting the anchor was no easy
work in such a sea, but as we were not coming back to this
port, the captain determined not to slip. The ship's head
pitched into the sea, and the water rushed through the
hawse-holes, and the chain siu-ged so as almost to imship
the barrel of the windlass. "Hove short, sir!'' said the
mate. "Aye, aye! Weather-bit yoiu: chain and loose
the topsails ! Make sail on her, men — with a will !" A
few moments served to loose the topsails, which were furled
with reefs, to sheet them home, and hoist them up. "Bear
a hand ! " was the order of the day ; and every one saw the
necessity of it, for the gale was already upon us. The ship
broke out her own anchor, which we catted and fished, after
a fashion, and stood oflf from the lee shore against a heavy
head sea, imder reefed topsails, fore top-mast stay-sail
and spanker. The fore course was given to her, which
helped her a little ; but as she hardly held her own against
the sea which was setting her to leeward — "Board the
main tack!" shouted the captain; when the tack was
carried forward and taken to the windlass, and all hands
called to the handspikes. The great sail bellied out hori-
zontally as though it would lift up the main stay; the
blocks rattled and flew about ; but the force of machinery
was too much for her. "Heave ho! Heave and pawl I
Yo, heave, hearty, ho !" and, in time with the song, by the

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220 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

force of twenty strong arms, the windlass came slowly
round, pawl after pawl, and the weather clue of the sail was
brought down to the water-ways. The starboard watch
hauled aft the sheet, and the ship tore through the water
like a mad horse, quivering and shaking at every joint, and
dashing from its head the foam, which flew off at every blow,
yards and yards to leeward. A half hour of such sailing
served oiu: turn, when the clues of the sail were hauled up,
the sail fiurled, and the ship, eased of her press, went more
quietly on her way. Soon after, the fore-sail was reefed,
and we mizen-top men were sent up to take another reef
in the mizen topsail. This was the first time I had taken
a weather earing, and I felt not a little proud to sit astride
of the weather yard-arm, pass the_earing, and sing out,
''Haul out to leeward !" Fromlhis tfme until we got to
Boston, the mate never suffered any one but oiu* own gang
to go upon the mizen topsail yard, either for reefing or
furling, and the young English lad and myself generally
took 3ie earings between us.

Having cleared the point and got well out to sea, we
squared away the yards, made more sail, and stood on,
nearly before the wind, for San Pedro. It blew strong,
with some rain, nearly all night, but fell calm toward morn-
ing, and the gale having gone over, we came-to, —

Thursday y Oct. 2 2 J, at San Pedro, in the old south-easter
berth, a league from shore, with a slip-rope on the cable,
reefs in the topsails, and rope-yams for gaskets. Here
we lay ten days, with the usual boating, hide-carrying,
rolling of cargo up the steep hill, walking barefooted over
stones, and getting drenched in salt water.

The third day after oiu* arrival, the Rosa came in from San
Juan, where she went the day after the south-easter. Her
crew said it was as smooth as a mill-pond, after the gale,
and she took off nearly a thousand hides, which had been
brought down for us, and which we lost in consequence of
the south-easter. This mortified us; not only that an
Italian ship should have got to windward of us in the trade,

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 221

but because every thousand hides went toward completing
the forty thousand which we were to collect before we could
say gootfby to California.

\\^e lying here, we shipped one new hand, an English-
man, of about two or three and twenty, who was quite an
acquisition, as he proved to be a good sailor, could sing
tolerably, and, what was of more importance to me, had a
good education, and a somewhat remarkable history. He
called himself George P. Marsh ; professed to have been at
sea from a small boy, and to have served his time in the
smuggling trade between (Jermany and the coasts of France
and England. Thus he accoimted for his knowledge of
the French language, which he spoke and read as well as
he did English ; but his cutter education would not account
for his English, which was far too good to have been learned
in a smuggler; for he wrote an imconmionly handsome
hand, spoke with great correctness, and frequently, when in
private talk with me, quoted from books, and showed a
knowledge of the customs of society, and particularly of the
formalities of the various English courts of law and of Par-
liament, which surprised me. Still, he would give no other
accoimt of himself than that he was educated in a smuggler.
A man whom we afterwards fell in with, who had been a
ship-mate of George's a few years before, said that he heard
at the boarding-house from which they shipped, that George
had been at a college (probably a naval one, as he knew no
Latin or Greek), where he learned French and mathematics. -
He was by no means the man by nature that Harris was.
Harris had made everything of his mind and character in
spite of obstacles ; while this man had evidently been bom
in a different rank, and educated early in life accordingly,
but had been a vagabond, and done nothing for himself
since. What had been given to him by others, was all that
made him to differ from those about him; while Harris
had made himself what he was. Neither had George the
character, strength of mind, acuteness, or memory of Harris ;
yet there was about him the remains of a pretty good

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222 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

education, which enabled him to talk perhaps beyond his
brains, and a high spirit and sense of honor, which years
of a dog's life had not broken. After he had been a little
while on board, we learned from him his remarkable his-
tory, for the last two years, which we afterwards heard
confirmed in such a manner, as put the truth of it beyond
a doubt.

He sailed from New York in the year 1833, if I mistake
not, before the mast, in the brig Lascar j for Canton. She
was sold in the East Indies, and he shipped at Manilla, in a
small schooner, boimd on a trading voyage among the La-
drone and Pelew Islands. On one of the latter islands, their
schooner was wrecked on a reef, and they were attacked by
the natives, and, after a desperate resistance, in which all
their nimiber except the captain, George, and a boy, were
killed or drowned, they surrendered, and were carried boimd,
in a canoe, to a neighboring island. In about a month after
this, an opportxmity occurred by which one of their nimiber
might get away. I have forgotten the circimistances, but
only one could go, and they yielded to the captain, upon his
promising to send them aid if he escaped. He was success-
ful in his attempt ; got on board an American vessel, went
back to Manilla, and thence to America, without making
any effort for their rescue, or indeed, as George afterwar(k
discovered, without even mentioning their case to any one
in Manilla. The boy that was widi George died, and he
being alone, and there being no chance for his escape, the
natives soon treated him with kindness, and even with
attention. They painted him, tattooed his body (for he
would never consent to be marked in the face or hands),
gave him two or three wives ; and, in fact, made quite a i>et
of him. In this way, he lived for thirteen months, in a fine
climate, with a plenty to eat, half naked, and nothing to do.
He soon, however, became tired, and went roimd the island,
on different pretences, to look out for a sail. One day, he
was out fishing in a small canoe with another man, when he
saw a large sail to windward, about a league and a half off,

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 223

passing abreast of the island and standing westward. With
some diflSculty, he persuaded the islander to go off with
him to the ship, promising to return with a good supply of
rum and tobacco. These articles, which the islanders had
got a taste of from American traders, were too strong a temp-
tation for the fellow, and he consented. They paddled off
in the track of the ship, and lay-to imtil she came down to
them. George stepped on board the ship, nearly naked, v
painted from head to foot, and in no way distinguishable
from his companion imtil he began to speak. Upon this,
the people on board were not a little astonished, and having
learned his story, the captain had him washed and clothed,
and sending away the poor astonished native with a knife ^
or two and some tobacco and calico, took George with him
on the|jwjjrage. This was the ship Caboty of New York,
Captaii^\Low. She was boimd to Manilla, from across the
Pacific, and George did seaman's duty in her until her
arrival in Manilla, when he left her, and shipped in a brig
boimd to the Sandwich Islands. From Oahu, he came, in
the British brig Clementine, to Monterey, as second oflScer,
where, having some difficulty with the captain, he left her,
and coming down the coast, joined us at San Pedro. Nearly
six months after this, among some papers we received by an
arrival from Boston, we foimd a letter from Captain Low,
of the Cabot, published immediately upon his arrival at New
York, and giving all the particulars just as we had them from
George. The letter was published for the information of the
friends of George, and Captain Low added, that he left him
at Manilla to go to Oahu, and he had heard nothing of him
since.

George had an interesting journal of his adventures in the
Pelew Islands, which he had written out at length, in a
handsome hand, and in correct English.

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CHAPTER XXV

Sunday, November ist. Sailed this day (Sunday
again), for Santa Barbara, where we arrived on the 5th.
Coming round St. Buenaventura, and nearing the anchor-
age, we saw two vessels in port, a large full-rigged, and a
small hermaphrodite brig. The former, the crew said must
be the Pilgrim; but I had been too long in the Pilgrim to
be mistaken in her, and I was right in differing from them ;
for, upon nearer approach, her long, low shear, sharp bows,
and raking masts, told quite another story. ** Man-of-war
brig," said some of them ; "Baltimore clipper," said others ;
the AyacuchOy thought I ; and soon the broad folds of the
beautiful banner of St. (Jeorge, — white field with blood-red
border and cross, — were displayed from her peak. A few
minutes put it beyond a doubt, and we were lying by the
side of the Ayacucho, which had sailed from San Diego about
nine months before, while we were lying there in the Pilgrim.
She had since been to Valparaiso, Callao, and the Sandwich
Islands, and had just come upon the coast. Her boat came
on board, bringing Captain Wilson ; and in a half an hour
the news was all over the ship that there was a war between
the United States and France. Exaggerated accoimts
reached the forecastle. Battles had been fought, a large
French fleet was in the Pacific, etc. ; and one of the boat's
crew of the Ayaau:ho said that when they left Callao, a large
French frigate and the American frigate Brandyivine, which
were l3ang there, were going outside to have a battle, and
that the English frigate Blonde was to be mnpire, and see
fair play. Here was important news for us. Alone, on an
unprotected coast, without an American man-of-war within
some thousands of miles, and the prospect of a voyage home
through the whole length of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans !

324

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 225

A French prison seemed a much more probable place of
destination than the good port of Boston. However, we
were too salt to believe every yarn that comes into the fore-
castle, and waited to hear the truth of the matter from
higher authority. By means of the supercargo's clerk, I
got the amount of the matter, which was, that the govern-
ments had had a difficulty about the payment of a debt;
that war had been threatened and prepared for, but not
actually declared, although it was pretty generally antici-
pated. This was not quite so bad, yet was no small cause
of anxiety. But we cared very Uttle about the matter our-
selves. " Happy go lucky " with Jack ! We did not believe
that a French prison would be much worse than "hide-
droghing" on the coast of California ; and no one who has
not been a long, dull voyage, shut up in one ship, can con-
ceive of the effect of monotony upon one's thoughts and
wishes. The prospect of a change is like a green spot in a
desert, and the remotest probability of great events and
exciting scenes gives a feeling of delight, and sets life in
motion, so as to give a pleasure, which any one not in the
same state would be entirely imable to account for. In fact,
a more jovial night we had not passed in the forecastle for
months. Every one seemed in imaccoimtably high spirits.
An undefined anticipation of radical changes, of new scenes,
and great doings, seemed to have possessed every one-
and the common drudgery of the vessel appeared contempt,
ibie. Here was a new vein opened : a grand theme of con-
versation and a topic for all sorts of discussions. National
feeling was wrought up. Jokes were cracked upon the only
Frenchman in the ship, and comparisons made between
**old horse" and "soup meagre," etc.

We remained .in imcertainty as to this war for more than
two months, when an arrival from the Sandwich Islands
brought us the news of an amicable arrangement of the
difficulties.

The other vessel which we foimd in port was the her-
maphrodite brig Avon, from the Sandwich Islands. She

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226 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

was fitted up in handsome style ; fired a gun and ran her
ensign up and down at sim-rise and sun-set ; had a band of
four or five pieces of music on board, and appeared rather
like a pleasure yacht than a trader ; yet, in connection with
the LonottCy Clementine^ BoHvar, Convoy, and other small
vessels, belonging to simdry Americans at Oahu, she carried
on a great trade — legal and illegal — in otter skins, silks,
teas, specie, etc.

The second day after our arrival, a full-rigged brig came
roimd the point from the northward, sailed leisurely through
the bay, and stood off again for the south-east, in the direc-
tion of the large island of Catalina. The next day the Avon
got imder weigh, and stood in the same direction, boimd for
San Pedro. This might do for marines and Califomians,
but we knew the ropes too well. The brig was never again
seen on the coast, and the Avon arrived at San Pedro in
about a week, with a full cargo of Canton and American
goods.

This was one of the means of escaping the heavy duties
the Mexicans lay upon all imports. A vessel comes on the
coast, enters a moderate cargo at Monterey, which is the
only custom-house, and commences trading. In a month
or more, having sold a large part of her cargo, she stretches
over to Catalina, or other of the large uninhabited islands
which lie off the coast, in a trip from port to port, and sup-
plies herself with choice goods from a vessel from Oahu,
which has been lying off and on the islands, waiting for her.
Two days after the sailing of the Avon, the Lorioite came in
from the leeward, and without doubt had also a snatch at
the brig's cargo.

Tuesday, Nov. loth. Going ashore, as usual, in the gig,
just before sun-down, to bring off the captain, we found,
upon taking in the captain and pulling off again, that our
ship, which lay the farthest out, had nm up her ensign.
This meant '^Sail ho !'' of course, but as we were within the
point, we could see nothing. "Give way, boys! Give
way ! Lay out on your oars, and long stroke !" said the

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 227

captain ; and stretching to the whole length of our arms,
bending back again, so that our backs touched the thwarts,
we sent her through the water like a rocket. A few minutes
of such pulling opened the islands, one after another, in
range of the point, and gave us a view of the Canal, where
was a ship, under top-gallant-sails, standing in, with a
light breeze, for the anchorage. Putting the boat's head
in the direction of the ship, the captain told us to lay out
again ; and we needed no spurring, for the prospect of board-
ing a new ship, perhaps from home, hearing the news, and
having something to tell of when we got back, was excite-
ment enough for us, and we gave way, with a will. Captain
Nye, of the Lorioite, who had been an old whaleman, was
in the stem-sheets, and fell mightily into the spirit of it.
*'Bend your backs and break your oars !" said he. '*Lay
me on. Captain Bimker !" '* There she flukes !'' and other
exclamations, peculiar to whalemen. In the mean time, it
fell flat calm, and being within a couple of miles of the ship,
we expected to board her in a few moments, when a sudden
breeze sprung up, dead ahead for the ship, and she braced up
and stood off toward the islands, sharp on the larboard tack, jV
making good way through the water. This, of course, j/
brought us up, and we had only to '^ease larboard oars;
pull round starboard V and go aboard the Alerts with some-
thing very like a flea in the ear. There was a light land-
breeze all night, and the ship did not come to anchor until
the next morning.

As soon as her anchor was down, we went aboard, and
foimd her to be the whale-ship, Wilmington and Liverpool
Packet, of New Bedford, last from the "off-shore ground,"
with nineteen hundred barrels of oil. A " spouter " we knew
her to be as soon as we saw her, by her cranes and boats,
and by her stump top-gallant-masts, and a certain slovenly
look to the sails, rigging, spars, and hull ; and when we got
on board, we foimd everything to correspond, — spouter
fashion. She had a false deck, which was rough and oily,
and cut up in every direction by the chimes of oil casks;

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228 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

her rigging was slack and turning white ; no paint on the
spars or blocks ; clumsy seizings and straps without covers,
and homeward-bound splices in every direction. Her
crew, too, were not in much better order. Her captain was
a slab-sided, shamble-legged Quaker, in a suit of brown,
with a broad-brimmed hat, and sneaking about decks, like a
sheep, with his head down ; and the men looked more like
fishermen and farmers than they did like sailors.

Though it was by no means cold weather (we having on
only our red shirts and duck trowsers), they all had on
woollen trowsers — not blue and ship-shape — but of all
colors — brown, drab, grey, aye, and greetiy with suspenders
over their shoulders, and pockets to put their hands in.
This, added to guernsey frocks, striped comforters about
the neck, thick cowhide boots, woollen caps, and a strong,
oily smell, and a decidedly green look, will complete the
description. Eight or ten were on the fore topsail yard
and as many more in the main, furling the topsails, while
eight or ten were hanging about the forecastle, doing noth-
ing. This was a strange sight for a vessel coming to anchor ;
so we went up to them, to see what was the matter. One
of them, a stout, hearty-looking fellow, held out his leg
and said he had the scurvy; another had cut his hand;
and others had got nearly well, but said that there were
plenty aloft to furl the sails, so they were sogering on the
forecastle. There was only one "splicer" on board, a fine-
looking old tar, who was in the bunt of the fore topsail.
He was probably the only sailor in the ship, before the mast.
The mates, of course, and the boat-steerers, and also two or
three of the crew, had been to sea before, but only whaling
voyages ; and the greater part of the crew were raw hands,
just from the bush, as green as cabbages, and had not yet
got the hay-seed out of their heads. The mizen topsail
himg in the bimtlines until everything was furled forward.
Thus a crew of thirty men were half an hour in doing
what would have been done in the Alert, with eighteen hands
to go aloft, in fifteen or twenty minutes.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 229

We found they had been at sea six or eight months, and
had no news to tell us ; so we left them, and promised to
get Uberty to come on board in the evening, for some curi-
osities, etc. Accordingly, as soon as we were knocked off
in the evening and had got supper, we obtained leave, took
a boat, and went aboard and spent an hour or two. They
gave us pieces of whalebone, and the teeth and other parts
of curious sea animals, and we exchanged books wJth them
— a practice very common among ships in foreign ports,
by which you get rid of the books you have read and re-read,
and a supply of new ones in their stead, and Jack is not very
nice as to their comparative value.

Thursday, Nov. i2ih. This day was quite cool in the early
part, and tiere were black clouds about ; but as it was often
so in the morning, nothing was apprehended, and all the
captains went ashore together, to spend the day. Towards
noon, the clouds himg heavily over the moimtains, coming
halfway down the lulls that encircle the town of Santa
Barbara, and a heavy swell rolled in from the south-east.
The mate immediately ordered the gig's crew away, and,
at the same time, we saw boats pulling ashore from the other
vessels. Here was a grand chance for a rowing match, and
every one did his best. We passed the boats of the Aya-
cucho and Loriotte, but could gain nothing upon, and, indeed,
hardly hold our own with, the long, six-oared, boat of the
whale-ship. They reached the breakers before us ; but here
we had the advantage of them, for, not being used to the
surf, they were obUged to wait to see us beach our boat, just
as, in the same place, nearly a year before, we, in the PU-
grim, were glad to be taught by a boat's crew of Kanakas.

We had hardly got the boats beached, and their heads
out, before our old friend, Bill Jackson, the handsome
English sailor, who steered the Lorioite's boat, called out
that the brigwas adrift ; and, sure enough, she was dragging
her anchof^Tand drifting down into the bight of the bay.
Without waiting for the captain (for there was no one on
board but the mate and steward), he spnmg into the boat,

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230 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

called the Kanakas together, and tried to put off. But the
Kanakas, though capital water dogs, were frightened by
their vessel's being adrift, and by the emergency of the case,
and seemed to lose their faculty. Twice, their boat filled,
and came broadside upon the beach. Jackson swore at
them for a parcel of savages, and promised to flog every one
of them. This made the matter no better ; when we came
forward, told the Kanakas to take their seats in the boat,
and, going two on each side, walked out with her till it was
up to our shoulders, and gave them a shove, when, giving
way with their oars, they got her safely into the long, regular
swell. In the mean time, boats had put off from our ship
and the whaler, and coming all on board the brig together,
they let go the other anchor, paid out chain, braced the
yards to tiie wind, and brought the vessel up. »

In a few minutes, the captains came hurrying down, on
the nm; and there was no time to be lost, for the gale
promised to be a severe one, and the surf was breaking up>on
the beach, three deep, higher and higher every instant.
The Ayacucho^s boat, pulled by four Kanakas, put off first,
and as they had no rudder or steering oar, woiUd probably
never have got off, had we not waded out with them, as far
as the surf would permit. The next that made the attempt
was the whale-boat, for we, being the most experienced
** beach-combers," needed no help, and staid till the last.
Whalemen make the best boats' crews in the world for a
long pull, but this landing was new to them, and notwith-
standing the examples they had had, they slued roimd and
were hove up — boat, oars, and men — all together, high
and dry upon the sand. The second time, they filled, and
had to turn their boat over, and set her off again. We could
be of no help to them, for they were so many as to be in one
another's way, without the addition of our numbers. The
third time, they got off, though not without shipping a sea
which drenched tiem all, and half filled their boat, keeping
them baling, imtil they reached their ship. We now got
ready to go off, putting the boat's head out ; English Ben

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 231

and I, who were the largest, standing on each side of the
bows, to keep her "head on" to the sea, two more shipping
and manning the two after oars, and the captain taking the
steering oar. Two or three Spaniards, who stood upon the
beach looking at us, wrapped their cloaks about them,
shook their heads and muttered, "Caramba !" They had
no taste for such doing; in fact, the hydrophobia is a
national malady, and shows itself in their persons as well as
their actions.

Watching for a "smooth chance," we determined to show
the other boats the way it should be done ; and, as soon as
ours floated, ran out with her, keeping her head on, with all
our strength, and the help of the captain's oar, and the two
after oarsmen giving way regularly and strongly, imtil our
feet were off the groimd, we tumbled into the bows, keeping
perfectly still, from fear of hindering the others. For some
time it was doubtful how it would go. The boat stood
nearly up and down in the water, and the sea, rolling from
imder her, let her fall upon the water with a force which
seemed almost to stave her bottom in. By quietly sliding
two oars forward, along the thwarts, without impeding the
rowers, we shipped two bow oars, and thus, by the help of
four oars and the captain's strong arm, we got safely off,
though we shipped several seas, which left us half full of
water. We pidled alongside of the Loriotte, put her skipper
on board, and found her making preparations for slipping,
and then pulled aboard our own ship. Here Mr. Brown,
always "on hand," had got everything ready, so that we
had only to hook on the gig and hoist it up, when the order
was given to loose the sails. While we were on the yards,
we saw the Loriotte imder weigh, and before our yards were
mast-headed, the Ayacucho had spiread her wings, and, with
yards braced sharp up, was standing athwart our hawse.
There is no prettier sight in the world than a full-rigged,
clipper-built brig, sailing sharp on the wind. In a moment,
our slip-rope was gone, the head-yards filled away, and we
were off. Next came the whaler ; and in a half an hoxu: from

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232, TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

the time when four vessels were lying quietly at anchor,
without a rag out, or a sign of motion, 3ie bay was deserted,
and four white clouds were standing off to sea. Being sure
of clearing the point, we stood off with our yards a little
braced in, while the Ayacucho went off with a tauf^t bow-
line, which brought her to windward of us. During all this
day, and the greater part of the night, we had the usual
south-easter entertainment, a gale of wind, variegated and
finally topped off with a drenching rain of three or four hours.
At daybreak, the clouds thinned off and rolled away, and
the Sim came up clear. The wind, instead of coming out
from the northward, as is usual, blew steadily and freshly
from the anchoring-groimd. This was bad for us, for, being
"flying-light," wiQi little more than ballast trim, we were
in no condition for showing off on a taught bowline, and had
depended upon a fair wind, with which, by the help of our
light sails and studding-sails, we meant to have been the
first at the anchoring-ground ; but the Ayacucho was a good
league to windward of us, and was standing in, in fine style.
The whaler, however, was as far to leeward of us, and the
Loriotte was nearly out of sight, among the islands, up the
Canal. By hauling every brace and bowline, and clapping
watch-tackles upon all the sheets and halyards, we managed
to hold our own, and drop the leeward vessels a little in
every tack. When we reached the anchoring-groimd, the
Ayacucho had got her anchor, furled her sails, squared her
yards, and was lying as quietly as if nothing had happened
for the last twenty-four hours.

We had our usual good luck in getting our anchor without
letting go another, and were all snug, with our boats at the
boom-ends, in half an hour. In about two hours more,
the whaler came in, and made a clumsy piece of work in
getting her anchor, being obliged to let go her best bower,
and finally, to get out a kedge and a hawser. They were
heave-ho-ing, stopping and unstopping, pawling, catting,
and fishing for three hours ; and the sails hung from the
yards all the afternoon, and were not furled until sun-down.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 233

The LorioUe came in just after dark, and let go her anchor,
makmg no attempt to pick up the other imtil the next day.
This affair led to a great dispute as to the sailing of our
ship and the Ayacucho. Bets were made between the cap-
tains, and the crews took it up in their own way ; but as
she was boimd to leeward and we to windward, and mer-
chant captains cannot deviate, a trial never took place ; and
perhaps it was well for us that it did not, for the Ayacucho
had been eight years in the Pacific, in every part of it —
Valparaiso, Sandwich Islands, Canton, California, and all,
and was called the fastest merchantman that traded in
the Pacific, unless it was the brig John Gilpin, and perhaps
the ship Ann McKim of Baltimore.
t^'^'^^aturday, Nov. 14/A. This day we got imder weigh, with ^
the agent and several Spaniards of note, as passengers,
bound up to Monterey. We went ashore in the gig to bring
them off with their baggage, and found them waiting on the
beach, and a little afraid about going off, as the surf was
running very high. This was nuts to us ; for we liked to
have a Spaniard wet with salt water ; and then the agent
was very much disliked by the crew, one and all ; and we
hoped, as there was no officer in the boat, to have a chance
to duck them ; for we knew that, they were such "marines"
that they woiild not know whether it was our fault or not.
Accordingly, we kept the boat so far from shore as to oblige
them to wet their feet in getting into her ; and then waited
for a good high comber, and letting the head slue a little
round, sent the whole force of the sea into the stem-sheets,
drenching them from head to feet. The Spaniards sprang
out of the boat, swore, and shook themselves, and protested
against trying it again ; and it was with the greatest diffi-
culty that ^e agent could prevail upon them to make
another attempt. The next time we took care, and went
off easily enough, and pulled aboard. The crew came to
the side to hoist in their baggage, and we gave them the
wink, and they heartily enjoyed the half-drowned looks of
the company.

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234 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Everything being now ready, and the passengers aboard,
we ran up the ensign and broad pennant (for tiiere was no
man-of-war, and we were the largest vessel on the coast),
and the other vessels ran up their ensigns. Having hove
short, cast ofif the gaskets, and made the bunt of each sail
fast by the jigger, with a man on each yard ; at the word,
the whole canvas of the ship was loosed, and with the great-
est rapidity possible, everything was sheeted home and
hoisted up, (he anchor tripped and catheaded, and the
ship irnder headway. We were determined to show the
'^spouter" how things could be done in a smart ship, with
a good crew, though not more than half their number. The
royal yards were all crossed at once, and royals and sky-
sails set, and, as we had the wind free, the booms were run
out, and every one was aloft, active as cats, lajdng out on
the yards and booms, reeving the studding-sail gear; and
sail after sail the captain piled upon her, until she was cov-
ered with canvas, her sails looking like a great white cloud
resting upon a black speck. Before we doubled the point,
we were going at a dashing rate, and leaving the shipping
far astern. We had a fine breeze to take us through the
Canal, as they call this bay of forty miles long by ten wide.
The breeze died away at night, and we were becalmed all
day on Simday, about halfway between Santa Barbara and
Point Conception. Sirnday night we had a light, fair wind,
which set us up again ; and having a fine sea-breeze on the
first part of Monday, we had the prospect of passing, with-
out any trouble, Point Conception, — the Cape Horn of
California, where it begins to blow the first of January, and
blows all the year round. Toward the latter part of the
afternoon, however, the regular north-west wind, as usual,
set in, which brought in our studding-sails, and gave us the
chance of beating round the Point, which we were now just
abreast of, and which stretched off into the Pacific, high,
rocky and barren, forming the central point of the coast for
hundreds of miles north and south. A cap-full of wind
will be a bag-full here, and before night oiu: royals were

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 235

furled, and the ship was laboring hard under her top-gallant-
sails. At eight bells our watch went below, leaving her with
as much sail as she could stagger under, the water flying
over the forecastle at every plunge. It was evidently
blowing harder, but then there was not a cloud in the sky,
and the sim had gone down bright.

We had been below but a short time, before we had the
usual premonitions of a coming gale: seas washing over
the whole forward part of the vessel, and her bows beating
against them with a force and soxmd like the driving of
piles. The watch, too, seemed very busy trampling about
decks, and singing out at the ropes. A sailor can always
tell, by the sound, what sail is coming in, and, in a short
time, we heard the top-gallant-sails come in, one after
another, and then the flying jib. This seemed to ease her
a good deal, and we were fast going off to the land of Nod,
when — bang, bang, bang — on the scuttle, and ** All hands,
reef topsails, ahoy!" started us out of our berths; and,
it not being very cold weather, we had nothing extra to
put on, and were soon on deck. I shall never forget the
fineness of the sight. It was a clear, and rather a chilly
night ; the stars were twinkling with an intense brightness,
and as| far as the eye could reach, there was not a cloud to
be seen. The horizon met the sea in a defined line. A
painter could not have painted so clear a sky. There was
not a speck upon it. Yet it was blowing great guns from
the north-west. When you can see a cloud to windward,
you f eel^ that there is a place for the wind to come from ;
but here,, it seemed to come from nowhere. No person
could have told, from the heavens, by their eyesight alone,
that it was not a still summer's night. One reef after an-
other, we took in the topsails, and before we could get
them hoisted up, we heard a sound like a short, quick rat-
tling of thunder, and the jib was blown to atoms out of the
bolt-rope. We got the topsails set, and the fragments
of the jib stowed away, and the fore top-mast stay-sail
set in its place, when the great mainsail gaped open, and

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236 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

the sail ripped from head to foot. ^'Lay up on that main-
yard and furl the sail, before it blows to tatters !" shouted
the captain ; and in a moment, we were up, gathering the
remains of it upon the yard. We got it wrapped round the
yard, and passed gaskets over it as snugly as possible, and
were just on deck again, when, with another loud rent,
which was heard throughout the ship, the fore topsail,
which had been double-reefed, split in two, athwartships,
just below the reef-band, from earing to earing. Here again
it was down yard, haul out reef-tackles, and lay out upon
the yard for reefing. By hauling the reef-tackles chock-a-
block, we took the strain from the other earings, and pass-
ing the close-reef earing, and knotting the points carefully,
we succeeded in setting the sail, close-reefed.

We had but just got the rigging coiled up, and were wait-
ing to hear "go below the watch !'' when the main royal
worked loose from the gaskets, and blew directly out to
leeward, flapping, and shaking the mast like a wand.
Here was a job for somebody. The royal must come in
or be cut adrift, or the mast would be snapped short oflf.
All the light hands in the starboard watch were sent up,
one after another, but they could do nothing with it. At
length, John, the tall Frenchman, the head of the star-
board watch (and a better sailor never stepped upon a
deck), sprang aloft, and, by the help of his long arms and
legs, succeeded, after a hard struggle, — the sail blowing
over the yard-arm to leeward, and the skysail blowing
directly over his head, — in smothering it, and f rapping
it with long pieces of sinnet. He came very near being
blown or shaken from the yard, several times, but he was
a true sailor, every finger a fish-hook. Having made the
sail snug, he prepared to send the yard down, which was
a long and difficult job ; for, frequently, he was obliged to
stop and hold on with all his might, for several minutes,
the ship pitching so as to make it impossible to do anything
else at that height. The yard at length came down safe,
and after it, the fore and mizen royal-yards were sent down.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 237

All hands were then sent aloft, and for an hour or two we
were hard at work, making the booms well fast ; imreeving
the studding-sail and royaJ and skysail gear ; getting roll-
ing-ropes on the yards; setting up the weaQier breast-
backstays; and making other preparations for a storm.
It was a fine night for a gale ; just cool and bracing enough
for quick work, without being cold, and as bright as day.
It was sport to have a gale in such weather as this. Yet
it blew like a hurricane. The wind seemed to come with
a spite, an edge to it, which threatened to scrape us off the
yards. The mere force of the wind was greater than I had
ever seen it before ; but darkness, cold, and wet are the
worst parts of a storm, to a sailor.

Having got on deck again, we looked roimd to see what
time of night it was, and whose watch. In a few minutes
the man at the wheel struck four bells, and we found that
the other watch was out, and our own half out. Accord-
ingly, the starboard watch went below, and left the ship
to us for a couple of hours, yet with orders to stand by
for a call.

Hardly had they got below, before away went the fore
top-mast stay-sail, blown to ribands. This was a small sail,
which we could manage in the watch, so that we were not
obliged to call up the other watch. We laid out upon the
bowsprit, where we were imder water half the time, and
took in the fragments of the sail, and as she must have some
head sail on her, prepared to bend another stay-sail. We
got the new one out, into the nettings ; seized on the tack,
sheets, and halyards, and the hanks ; manned the halyards,
cut adrift the frapping lines, and hoisted away ; but before
it was halfway up the stay, it was blown all to pieces.
When we belayed the halyards, there was nothing left
but the bolt-rope. Now large eyes began to show them-
selves in the foresail, and knowing that it must soon go,
the mate ordered us upon the yard to furl it. Being im-
willing to call up the watch who had been on deck all night,
he roused out die carpenter, sailmaker, cook, steward, and

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238 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

other idlers, and, with their help, we manned the fore-yard,
and, after nearly half an hour's struggle, mastered the sail,
and got it well furled roimd the yard. The force of the
wind had never been greater than at this moment. In
going up the rigging, it seemed absolutely to pin us down
to the dirouds ; and on the yard, there was no such thing
as turning a face to windward. Yet here was no driving
sleet, and darkness, and wet, and cold, as off Cape Horn ;
and instead of a stiff oil-cloth suit, south-wester caps, and
thick boots, we had on hats, roimd jackets, duck trowsers,
light shoes, and everything light and easy. All these things
make a great difference to a sailor. When we got on deck,
the man at the wheel struck eight bells (four o'clock in
the morning), and "All starbowlines, ahoy !" brought the
other watch up. But there was no going below for us.
The gale was now at its height, "blowing like scissors
and thumb-screws;" the captain was on deck; the ship,
which was light, rolling and pitching as though she would
shake the long sticks out of her; and the sails gaping
open and splitting, in every direction. The mizen topsail,
which was a comparatively new sail, and close-reefed,
split, from head to foot, in the bunt ; the fore topsail went,
in one rent, from clew to earing, and was blowing to tatters ;
one of the chain bobstays parted ; the sprit-sail yard sprung
in the slings ; the martingale had slued away off to leeward ;
and, owing to the long dry weather, the lee rigging himg
in large bights, at every lurch. One of the main top-gallant
shrouds had parted ; and, to crown all, the galley had got
adrift, and gone over to leeward, and the anchor on the lee
bow had worked loose, and was thumping the side. Here
was work enough for all hands for half a day. Our gang
laid out on the mizen topsail yard, and after more than
half an hour's hard work, furled the sail, though it bellied
out over our heads, and again, by a slat of the wind, blew
in under the yard, with a fearful jerk, and almost threw
us off from the foot-ropes.
Double gaskets were passed roimd the yards, rolling

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 239

tackles and other gear bowsed taught, and everything
made as secure as could be. Coming down, we found the
rest of the crew just laying down the fore rigging, having
furled the tattered topsail, or, rather, swathed it round the
yard, which looked like a broken limb, bandaged. There
was no sail now on the ship but the spanker and the close-
reefed main topsail, which still held good. But this was
too much after sail ; and order was given to furl the spanker.
The brails were hauled up, and all the light hands in the
starboard watch sent out on the gafif to pass the gaskets ;
but they could do nothing with it. The second mate swore
at them for a parcel of '* sogers," and sent up a couple of
the best men ; but they could do no better, and the gaff
was lowered down. All hands were now employed in setting
up the lee rigging, fishing the sprit-sail yard, lashing the
galley, and getting tackles upon the martingale, to bowse
it to windward. Being in the larboard watch, my duty
was forward, to assist in setting up the martingale. Three
of us were out on the martingale guys and back-ropes
for more than half an hour, carrying out, hooking and
imhooking the tackles, several times buried in the seas,
until the mate ordered us in, from fear of our being washed
off. The anchors were then to be taken up on the rail,
which kept all hands on the forecastle for an hour, though
every now and then the seas broke over it, washing the
rigging off to leeward, filling the lee scuppers breast high,
and washing chock aft to the taffrail.

Having got everything secure again, we were promising
ourselves some breakfast, for it was now nearly nine o'clock
in the forenoon, when the main topsail showed evident
signs of giving way. Some sail must be kept on the ship,
and the captain ordered the fore and main spencer gaffs
to be lowered down, and the two spencers (which were
storm sails, brand new, small, and made of the strongest
canvas) to be got up and bent; leaving the main topsail
to blow away, with*a blessing on it, if it would only last
imtil we coidd set the spencers. These we bent on very

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240 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

carefully, with strong robands and seizings, and making
tackles fast to the dues, bowsed them down to the water-
ways. By this time the main topsail was among the things
that have been, and we went aloft to stow away the rem-
nant of the last sail of all those which were on the ship
twenty-four hours before. The spencers were now the only
whole sails on the ship, and being strong and small, and near
the deck, presenting but little surface to the wind above
the rail, promised to hold out well. Hove-to under these,
and eased by having no sail above the tops, the ship rose
and fell, and drifted off to leeward like a line-of-battle ship.

It was now eleven o'clock, and the watch was sent below
to get breakfast, and at eight bells (noon), as eversrthing
was snug, although the gale had not in the least abated,
the watch was set, and the other watch and idlers sent
below. For three days and three nights, the gale con-
tinued with imabated fury, and with singular regularity.
There were no lulls, and very little variation in its fierceness.
Oux ship, being light, rolled so as almost to send the fore
yard-arm imder water, and drifted off bodily, to leeward.
All this time there was not a cloud to be seen in the sky,
day or night ; — no, not so large as a man's hand. Every
morning die sun rose cloudless from the sea, and set again
at night, in the sea, in a flood of light. The stars, too,
came out of the blue, one after another, night after night,
unobscured, and twinkled as dear as on a still frosty night
at home, imtil the day came upon them. All this time,
the sea was rolling in immense surges, white with foam,
as . far as the eye could reach, on every side, for we were now
leagues and leagues from shore.

The between-decks being empty, several of us slept there
in hammocks, which are the best things in the world to
sleep in during a storm ; it not being true of them, as it is of
another kind of bed, "when the wind blows, the cradle will
rock" ; for it is the ship that rocks, while they always hang
vertically from the beams. During these seventy-two hours
we had nothing to do, but to turn in and out, four hours

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THEJMAST 241

on deck, and four below, eat, sleep, and keep watch. The
watches were only varied by taking the helm in turn, and
now and then, by one of the sails, which were furled, blow-
ing out of the gaskets, and getting adrift, which sent us
up on the yards ; and by getting tackles on different parts
of the rigging, which were slack. Once, the wheel-rope
parted, which might have been fatal to us, had not the
chief mate sprimg instantly with a relieving tackle to wind-
ward, and kept tiie tiller up, till a new one could be rove.
On the morning of the twentieth, at daybreak, the gale
had evidently done its worst, and had somewhat abated;
so much so, that all hands were called to bend new sails,
although it was still blowing as hard as two common gales.
One at a time, and with great difficulty and labor, the old
sails were imbent and sent down by the bimtlines, and three
new topsails, made for the homeward passage round Cape
Horn, and which had never been bent, were got up from
the sail-room, and, under the care of the sailmaker, were
fitted for bending, and sent up by the halyards into the
tops, and, with stops and frapping lines, were bent to
the yards, close-reefed, sheeted home, and hoisted. These
were done one at a time, and with the greatest care and
difficulty. Two spare courses were then got up and bent
in the same manner and furled, and a storm-jib, with the
bonnet off, bent and furled to the boom. It was twelve
o'clock before we got through ; and five hours of more ex-
hausting labor I never experienced; and no one of that
ship's crew, I will venture to say, will ever desire again
to imbend and bend* five large sails, in the teeth of a tre-
mendous north-wester. ^ Tows^rds night, a few clouds
appeared in the horizon, and as the gale moderated, the
usual appearance of driving clouds relieved the face of the
sky. The fifth day after the commencement of the storm,
we shook a reef out of each topsail, and set the reefed
fore-sail, jib and spanker ; but it was not imtil after eight
days of reefed topsails that we had a whole sail on the ship ;
and then it was quite soon enough, for the captain was

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242 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

anxious to make up for leeway, the gale having blown us
half the distance to the Sandwich Islands.

Inch by inch, as fast as the gale would permit, we made
sail on the ship, for the wind s^ continued a-head, and we
had many days' sailing to get back to the longitude we were
in when the storm took us. For eight days more we beat
to windward under a stiff top-gallant breeze, when the wind
shifted and became variable. A light south-easter, to which
we could carry a reefed topmast studding-sail, did wonders
for our dead reckoning.

Friday, December 4/A, after a passage of twenty days, we
arrived at the mouth of the bay of San Francisco.

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CHAPTER XXVI

Our place of destination had been Monterey, but as we
were to the northward of it when the wind hauled a-head,
we made a fair wind for San Francisco. This large bay,
which lies in latitude 37° 58', was discovered by Sir Francis
Drake, and by him represented to be (as indeed it is) a
magnificent bay, containing several good harbors, great
depth of water, and surroimded by a fertile and finely-
wooded country. About thirty miles from the mouth of
the bay, and on the south-east side, is a high point, upon
which the presidio is built. Behind this, is the harbor
in which trading vessels anchor, and near it, the mission of
San Francisco, and a newly begun settlement, mostly of
Yankee Califomians, called Yerba Buena, which promises
well. Here, at anchor, and the only vessel, was a brig
imder Russian colors, from Asitka, in Russian America,
which had come down to winter, and to take in a supply
of tallow and grain, great quantities of which latter article
are raised in the missions at the head of the bay. The
second day after our arrival, we went on board the brig,
it being Sunday, as a matter of curiosity; and there was
enough there to gratify it. Though no larger than the Pil-
grimy she had five or six officers, and a crew of between
twenty and thirty; and such a stupid and greasy-looking
set, I certainly never saw before. Although it was qxiite
comfortable weather, and we had nothing on but straw hats,
shirts, and duck trowsers, and were barefooted, they had,
every man of them, double-soled boots, coming up to the
knees, and well greased; thick woollen trowsers, frocks,
waistcoats, pea-jackets, woollen caps, and everything in
true Nova Zembla rig ; and in the warmest days they made
no change. The clothing of one of these men would weigh

243

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244 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

nearly as much as that of half our crew. They had brutish
faces, looked like the antipodes of sailors, and apparently
dealt in nothing but grease. They lived upon grease;
ate it, drank it, slept in the midst of it, and their clothes
were covered with it. To a Russian, grease is the greatest
luxury. They looked with greedy eyes upon the tallow-
bags as they were taken into the vessel, and, no doubt,
would have eaten one up whole, had not the oflScer kept
watch over it. The grease seemed actually coming through
their pores, and out in their hair, and on their faces. It
seems as if it were this saturation which makes them stand
cold and rain so well. If they were to go into a warm
climate, they would aU die of the scurvy.

The vessel was no better than the crew. Everything
was in the oldest and most inconvenient fashion possible :
running trusses on the yards, and large hawser cables, coiled
all over the decks, and served and parcelled in all directions.
The topmasts, top-gallant-masts, and studding-sail booms
were nearly black for want of scraping, and the decks would
have turned the stomach of a man-of-war's-man. The
galley was down in the forecastle ; and there the crew lived,
in the midst of the steam and grease of the cooking, in a
place as hot as an oven, and as dirty as a pig-sty. Five
minutes in the forecastle was enough for us, and we were
glad to get into the open air. We made some trade with
them, buying Indian curiosities, of which they had a great
number ; such as bead-work, feathers of birds, fiu: mocas-
sins, etc. I purchased a large robe, made of the skins of
some animal, dried and sewed nicely together, and covered
all over on the outside with thick downy feathers, taken from
the breasts of various birds, and arranged with their dif-
ferent colors, so as to make a brilliant show.

A few days after our arrival, the rainy season set in, and,
for three weeks, it rained almost every hour, without cessa-
tion. This was bad for ovu* trade, for the collecting of hides
is managed differently in this port from what it is in any
other on the coast. The mission of San Francisco, near the

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 245

anchorage, has no trade at all, but those of San Jos6, Santa
Clara, and others, situated on large creeks or rivers which Y
run into the bay, and distant between fifteen and forty
miles from the anchorage, do a greater business in hides
than any in California. Large boats, manned by Indians, !
and capable of carrying nearly a thousand hides apiece, !
are attached to the missions, and sent down to the vessels 1
with hides, to bring away goods in retiun. Some of the |
crews of the vessels are obliged to go and come in the boats,
to look out for the hides and goods. These are favorite
expeditions with the sailors, in fine weather ; but now, to
to be gone three or four days, in open boats, in constant rain,
without any shelter, and with cold food, was hard service.
Two of our men went up to Santa Clara in one of these
boats, and were gone three da)rs, during all which time they
had a constant rain, and did not sleep a wink, but passed
three long nights, walking fore and aft the boat, in the open
air. When they got on board, they were completely ex-
hausted, and took a watch below of twelve hours. All the
hides, too, that came down in the boats, were soaked with
water, and imfit to put below, so that we were obliged to
trice them up to dry, in the intervals of simshine or wind,
upon all parts of the vessel. We got up tridng-lines from
the jib-boom-^nd to each arm of the fore yard, and thence
to the main and cross- jack yard-arms. Between the tops,
too, and the mast-heads, from the fore to the main swif ters,
and thence to the mizen rigging, and in all directions
athwartships, tridng-lines were nm, and stnmg with hides.
The head stays and guys, and the sprit-sail yard, were lined,
and, having still more, we got out the swinging booms, and
strung them and the forward and after guys, with hides.
The rail, fore and aft^ the windlass, capstan, the sides of
the ship, and every vacant place on deck, were covered
with wet hides, on the least sign of an interval for drying.
Our ship was nothing but a mass of hides, from the cat-
harpins to the water's edge, and from the jib-boom-end to
l^e taffrail.

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246 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

One cold, rainy evening, about eight o'clock, I received
orders to get ready to start for San Jos6 at four the next
morning, in one of these Indian boats, with four days'
provisions. I got my oil-cloth clothes, south-wester, and
thick boots all ready, and turned into my hanmiock early,
determined to get some sleep in advance, as the boat was
to be alongside before daybreak. I slept on till all hands
were called in the morning; for, fortunately for me, the
Indians, intentionally, or from mistaking their orders, had
gone oflf alone in the night, and were far out of sight. Thus
I escaped three or four days of very imcomfortable service.

Four of our men, a few days afterwards, went up in one
of the quarter-boats to Santa Clara, to carry the agent,
and remained out all night in a drenching rain, in the small
boat, where there was not room for them to tiun roimd;
the agent having gone up to the mission and left the men
to their fate, making no provision for their acconmiodation,
and not even sending them anything to eat. After this,
they had to pull thirty miles, and when they got on board,
were so stiflf that they could not come up the gangway
ladder. This filled up the measure of tie agent's un-
popularity, and never after this could he get anything done
by any of the crew ; and many a delay and vexation, and
many a good ducking in the surf, did he get to pay up old
scores, or "square the yards with the bloody quill-driver.*'

Having collected nearly all the hides that were to be
procured, we began our preparations for taking in a supply
of wood and water, for both of which San Francisco is
the best place on the coast. A small island, situated about
two leagues from the anchorage, called by us "Wood
Island," and by the Spaniards "Isla de los^^Angelos,"
was covered with trees to the water's edge; and to this,
two of our crew, who were Kennebec men, and could handle
an axe like a plaything, were sent every morning to cut
wood, with two boys to pile it up for them. In about
a week, they had cut enough to last us a year, and the
third mate, with myself and three others, were sent over

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 247

in a large, schooner-rigged, open launch, which we had
hired of the mission, to take in the wood, and bring it to
the ship. We left the ship about noon, but, owing to a
strong head wind, and a tide, which here runs foiu: or five
knots, did not get into the harbor, formed by two points of
the island, where the boats Ke, imtil sun-down. No sooner
had we come-to, than a strong south-easter, which had been
threatening us all day, set in, with heavy rain and a chilly
atmosphere. We were in rather a bad situation : an open
boat, a heavy rain, and a long night ; for in winter, in this
latitude, it was dark nearly fifteen hours. Taking a small
skiff which we had brought with us, we went ashore, but
found no shelter, for everything was open to the rain, and
collecting a little wood, which we found by lifting up the
leaves and brush, and a few mussels, we put aboard again,
and made the best preparations in our power for passing
the night. We imbent the mainsail, and formed an awning
with it over the after part of the boat, made a bed of wet
logs of wood, and, with our jackets on, lay down, about six
o'clock, to sleep. Finding the rain rimning down upon us,
and our jackets getting wet through, and the rough, knotty
logs rather indifferent couches, we turned out ; and taking
an iron pan which we brought with us, we wiped it out
dry, pufe«some stones aroimd it, cut the wet bark from some
sticks, and striking a light, made a small fire in the pan.
Keeping some sticks near, to dry, and covering the whole
over with a roof of boards, we kept up a small fire, by which
we cooked our mussels, and eat tiiem, rather for an occupa-
tion than from himger. Still, it was not ten o'clock, and
the night was long before us, when one of the party pro-
duced an old pack of Spanish cards from his monkey-jacket
pocket, which we hailed as a great windfall ; and keeping
a dim, flickering light by our fagots, we played game after
game, till one or two o'clock, when, becoming really tired,
we went to oiu- logs again, one sitting up at a time, in ttun,
to keep watch over the fire. Toward morning, the rain
ceased, and the air became sensibly colder, so that we foimd

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248 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

sleep impossible, and sat up, watching for daybreak. No
sooner was it light than we went ashore, and began our
preparations for loading our vessel. We were not mis-
taken in the coldness of the weather, for a white frost was on
the groimd, a thing we had never seen before In California,
and one or two little puddles of fresh water were skimmed
over with a thin coat of ice. In this state of the weather,
and before sim-rise, in the grey of the morning, we had to
wade off, nearly up to our hips in water, to load the skiff
with the wood by arms-full. The third mate remained on
board the laimch, two more staid in the skiff, to load and
manage it, and all the water-work, as usual, fell upon the
two yoimgest of us ; and there we were, with frost on the
groimd, wading forward and back, from the beach to the
boat, with arms-full of wood, barefooted, and our trowsers
rolled up. When the skiff went off with her load, we could
only keep our feet from freezing by racing up and down the
beach on the hard sand, as fast as we could go. We were
all day at this work, and toward sun-down, having loaded
the vessel as deep as she would bear, we hove up our anchor,
and made sail, beating out of the bay. No sooner had we
got into the large bay, than we foimd a strong tide setting
us out to seaward, a thick fog which prevented our seeing
the ship, and a breeze too light to set us against the tide ;
for we were as deep as a sand-barge. By the utmost ex-
ertions, we saved ourselves from being carried out to sea,
and were glad to reach the leewardmost point of the island,
where we came-to, and prepared to pass another night,
more uncomfortable than the first, for we were loaded up
to the gunwale, and had only a choice among logs and
sticks for a resting-place. The next morning, we made sail
at slack water, with a fair wind, and got on board by eleven
o'clock, when all hands were tiuned-to, to imload and stow
away the wood, which took till night.

Having now taken in all our wood, the next morning a
water-party was ordered off with all the casks. From this
we escaped, having had a pretty good siege with the wood-

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 249

ing. The water-party were gone three days, during which
time they narrowly escaped being carried out to sea, and
passed one day on an island, where one of them shot a deer, jf
great niunbers of which ovemm the islands and hills of San
Francisco Bay.

While not off, on these wood and water parties, or up the
rivers to the missions, we had very easy times on board the
ship. We were moored, stem and stem, within a cable's
length of the shore, safe from south-easters, and with very
little boating to do ; and as it rained nearly all the time,
awnings were put over the hatchways, and all hands sent
down between-decks, where we were at work, day after day,
picking oakum, imtil we got enough to caidk the ship all
over, and to last the whole voyage. Then we made a whole
suit of gaskets for the voyage home, a pair of wheel-ropes
from strips of green hide, great quantities of spim-yam, and
everything else that coidd be made between decks. It
being now mid-winter and in high latitude, the nights were
very long, so that we were not tumed-to imtil seven in the
morning, and were obliged to knock off at five in the even-
ing, when we got supper ; which gave us nearly three hours
before eight bells, at which time the watch was set.

As we had now been about a year on the coast, it was
time to think of the voyage home ; and knowing that the
last two or three months of our stay would be very busy
ones, and that we should never have so good an opportmiity
to work for ourselves as the present, we all employed our
evenings in making clothes for the passage home, and more
especially for Cape Horn. As soon as supper was over
and the_^kids cleared away, and each one had taken his
smoke, we seated ourselves on our chests roimd the lamp,
which swimg from a beam, and each one went to work in
his own way, some making hats, others trowsers, others
jackets, etc. ; and no one was idle. The boys who could
not sew well enough to make their own clothes, laid up
grass into §jnnet, for the men, who sewed for them in return.
Several of us dubbed together and bought a large piece of

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250 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

twilled cotton, which we made into trowsers and jackets,
and giving them several coats of linseed oil, laid them by
for Cape Horn. I also sewed and covered a tarpaulin hat,
thick and strong enough to sit down upon, and made myself
a complete suit of flannel under-clothing, for bad weather.
Those who had no south-wester caps, made them, and
several of the crew made themselves taipaulin jackets and
trowsers, lined on the inside with flannel. Industry was the
order of the day, and every one did something for himself ;
for we knew that as the season advanced, and we went
further south, we should have no evenings to work in.

Friday y December 2$th. This day was Christmas; and
as it rained all day long, and there were no hides to take in,
and nothing especial to do, the captain gave us a holyday
(the first we had had since leaving Boston), and plmn duff
for dinner. The Russian brig, following the Old Style,
had celebrated their Christmas eleven days before; when
they had a grand blow-out, and (as our men said) drank,
in the forecastle, a barrel of gin, ate up a bag of tallow, and
made a soup of the skin.

Sunday y December 2ph. We had now finished all our
business at this port, and it being Simday, we unmoored
ship and got under weigh, filing a salute to the Russian
brig, and another to the presidio, which were both answered.
The commandant of the presidio, Don Gaudaloupe Villego,
a yoimg man, and the most popular, among the Americans
and English, of any man in California, was on board when
we got under weigh. He spoke English very well, and was
suspected of being favorably inclined to foreigners.

We sailed down this magnificent bay with a light wind,
the tide, which was rimning out, carrying us at the rate of
four or five knots. It was a fine day; the first of entire
sunshine we had had for more than a month. We passed
directly under the high cliff on which the presidio is built,
and stood into the middle of the bay, from whence we could
see small bays, making up into the interior, on every side ;
large and beautifully-wooded islands; and the mouths of

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 251

several small rivers. If California ever becomes a pros-
perous country, this bay will be the centre of its prosperity.
The abimdance of wood and water, the extreme fertility
of its shores, the excellence of its climate, which is as near
to being perfect as any in the world, and its facilities for
navigation, afifording the best anchoring-grounds in the
whole western coast of America, all fit it for a place of great
importance ; and, indeed, it has attracted much attention,
for the settlement of **Yerba Buena," where we lay at
anchor, made chiefly by Americans and English, and which
bids fair to become the most important trading place on the
coast, at this time began to supply traders, Russian ships,
and whalers, with their stores of wheat and frijoles.

The tide leaving us, we came to anchor near the mouth
of the bay, imder a high and beautifully sloping hill, upon
which herds of hundreds and hundreds of red deer, and the
stag, with his high branching antTers, were boimding about,
looking at us for a moment, and then starting off, affrighted
at the noises which we made, for the purpose of seeing the
variety of their beautiful attitudes and motions.

At midnight, the tide having turned, we hove up our
anchor and stood out of the bay, with a fine starry heaven
above us, — the first we had seen for weeks and weeks.
Before the light northerly winds, which blow here with the
regularity of trades, we worked slowly along, and made
Point Ano Nuevo, the northerly point of the Bay of Mon-
terey, on Monday afternoon. We spoke, going in, the brig
Diana, of the Sandwich Islands, from the North-west Coast,
last from Asitka. She was off the point at the same time
with us, but did not get in to the anchoring-ground imtil an
hour or two after us. It was ten o'clock on Tuesday morn-
ing when we came to anchor. The town looked just as it
did when I saw it last, which was eleven months before, in
the brig Pilgrim. The pretty lawn on which it stands, as
green as sim and rain could make it ; the pine wood on the
south ; the small river on the north side ; the houses, with
their white plastered sides and red-tiled roofs, dotted about

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252 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

on the green ; the low, white presidio, with its soiled, tri-
colored flag flying, and the discordant din of drums and
trumpets for ^e noon parade ; all brought up the scene we
had witnessed here with so much pleasure nearly a year be-
fore, when coming from a long voyage, and our imprepos-
sessing reception at Santa Barbara. It seemed almost like
coming to a home.

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CHAPTER XXVn

The only other vessel in the port was a Russian govern-
ment bark, from Asitka, mounting eight guns (four of which
we found to be Quakers), and having on board the ex-
governor, who was going in her to Mazatlan, and thence
over land to Vera Cruz. He offered to take letters, and de-^
liver them to the American consul at Vera Cruz, whence
they could be easily forwarded to the United States. We
accordingly made up a packet of letters, almost every one
writing, and dating them "January ist, 1836.'^ The gov-
ernor was true to his promise, and theyaJTreached Boston
before the middle of March ; the shortest commimication
ever yet made across the country. -^"

The brig PUgnm had been lying in Monterey through
the latter part of November, according to orders, waiting
for us. Day after day. Captain Faucon went up to the
hill to look out for us, and at last, gave us up, thinking we
must have gone down in the gale which we experienced
off Point Conception, and which had blown with great fury
over the whole coast, driving a^ore several vessels in the
snuggest ports. An English brig, which had put into San
Francisco, lost both her anchors ; the Rosa was driven upon
a mud bank in San Diego; and the Pilgrim^ with great
difficulty, rode out the gale in Monterey, with three anchors
a-head. She sailed early in December for San Diego and
ifUermedios.

As we were to be here over Sunday, and Monterey was
the best place to go ashore on the whole coast, and we had
had no liberty-day for nearly three months, every one was
for going ashore. On Sxmday morning, as soon as the decks
were washed, and we had got breakfast, those who had
obtained liberty began to clean themselves, as it is called, to

253

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254 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

go ashore. A bucket of fresh water apiece, a cake of soap,
a large coarse towel, and we went to work scrubbing one
another, on the forecastle. Having gone through this,
the next thing was to get into the head, — one on each
side, — with a bucket apiece, and duck one another, by
drawing up water and heaving over each other, while we
were stripped to a pair of trowsers. Then came the rigging-
up. The usual outfit of pumps, white stockings, loose
white duck trowsers, blue jackets, clean checked shirts,
black kerchiefs, hats well varnished, with a fathom of black
ribbon over the left eye, a silk handkerchief flying from the
outside jacket pocket, and foxu: or five dollars tied up in
the back of the neckerchief, and we were "all right." One
of the quarter-boats pulled us ashore, and we streamed up
to the town. I tried to find the church, in order to see the
worship, but was told that there was no service, except
a mass early in the morning ; so we went about the town,
visiting the Americans and English, and the natives whom
we had known when we were here before. Toward noon
we procured horses, and rode out to the Carmel mission,
which is about a league from the town, where we got some-
thing in the way of a dinner — beef, eggs, frijoles, tortillas,
and some middling wine — from the mayordomo, who,
of course, refused to make any charge, as it was the Lord's
gift, yet received our present, as a gratuity, with a low bow,
a touch of the hat, and "Dios se lo pague !"

After this repast, we had a fine run, scouring the whole
country on oxir fleet horses, and came into town soon after
sim-down. Here we found our companions who had re-
fused to go to ride with us, thinking that a sailor has no
more business with a horse than a fish has with a balloon.
They were moored, stem and stem, in a grog-shop, making
a great noise, with a crowd of Indians and hungry half-
breeds about them, and with a fair prospect of being stripped
and dirked, or left to pass the night in the calabozo. With
a great deal of trouble, we managed to get them down to
the boats, though not without many angry looks and inter-

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 255

ferences from the Spaniards, who had marked them out for
their prey. The Diana^s crew, — a set of worthless out-
casts, who had been picked up at the islands from the refuse
of whale-ships, — were all as drunk as beasts, and had a set-
to, on the beach, with their captain, who was in no better
state than themselves. They swore they would not go
aboard, and went back to the town, were stripped and
beaten, and lodged in the calabozo, imtil the next day, when
the captain bought them out. Our forecastle, as usual
after a liberty-day, was a scene of timxult all night long, from
the drunken ones. They had just got to sleep toward morn-
ing, when they were turned up with the rest, and kept at
work all day in the water, carrying hides, their heads achiog
so that they could hardly stand. This is sailor's pleasure.
Nothing worthy of remark happened while we were here,
except a Uttle boxing-match on board our own ship, which
gave us something to talk about. A broad-backed, big-
headed Cape Cod boy, about sixteen years old, had been
playing the bully, for the whole voyage, over a slender,
delicate-looking boy, from one of the Boston schools, and
over whom he had much the advantage, in strength, age,
and experience in the ship's duty, for this was the first time
the Boston boy had been on salt water. The latter, how-
ever, had "picked up his crumbs," was learning his duty,
and getting strength and confidence daily; and began to
assert his rights against his oppressor. Still, the other
was his master, and, by his superior strength, always tackled
with him and threw him down. One afternoon, before we
were tumed-to, these boys got into a violent squabble in
the between-decks, when George (the Boston boy) said he
would fight Nat, if he could have fair play. The chief mate
heard the noise, dove down the hatchway, hauled them
both up on deck, and told them to shake hands and have
no more trouble for the voyage, or else they should fight
till one gave in for beaten. Finding neither willing to make
an offer of reconciliation, he called all hands up (for the
captain was ashore, and he could do as he chose aboard).

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2S6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

ranged the crew in the waist, marked a line on the deck,
brought the two boys up to it, making them "toe the
mark" ; then made the bight of a rope fast to a belaying
pin, and stretched it across the deck, bringing it just above
their waists. "No striking below the rope!" And there
they stood, one on each side of it, face to face, and went at
it like two game-cocks. The Cape Cod boy, Nat, put in his
double-fisters, starting the blood, and bringing the black
and blue spots all over the face and arms of the other, whom
we expected to see give in every moment: but the more
he was hurt, the better he fought. Time after time he
was knocked nearly down, but up he came again and faced
the mark, as bold as a lion, again to take the heavy blows,
which sounded so as to niake one's heart turn with pity
for him. At length he came up to the mark the last time,
his shirt torn from his body, his face covered with blood
and bruises, and his eyes flashing fire, and swore he would
stand there imtil one or the other was killed, and set-to
like a young fury. "Hurrah in the bow !" said the men,
cheering him on. "Well crowed ! " "Never say die, while
there's a shot in the locker !" Nat tried to close with him,
knowing his advantage, but the mate stopped that, saying
there should be fair play, and no fingering. Nat then
came up to the mark, but looked white about the mouth,
and his blows were not given with half the spirit of his first.
He was evidently cowed. He had always been master,
and had nothing to gain, and everything to lose ; while the
other fought for honor and freedom, and imder a sense of
wrong. It would not do. It was soon over. Nat gave in ;
not so much beaten, as cowed and mortified ; and never
afterwards tried to act the bully on board. We took
Greorge forward, washed him in the deck-tub, complimented
his pluck, and from this time he became somebody on board,
having fought himself into notice. Mr. Brown's plan had
a good effect, for there was no more quarrelling among the
boys for the rest of the voyage.
\ Wednesday, January 6ih, Set sail from Monterey, with

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 257

a number of Spaniards as passengers, and shaped our course
for Santa Barbara. The Diana went out of the bay in com-
pany with us, but parted from us oflE Point Pinos, being
bound to the Sandwich Islands. We had a smacking breeze
for several hours, and went along at a great rate, untU night,
when it died away, as usual, and the land-breeze set in,
which brought us upon a taught bowline. Among our
passengers was a young man who was the best representation
of a decayed gentleman I had ever seen. He reminded
me much of some of the characters in Gil Bias. He was
of the aristocracy of the country, his family being of pure
Spanish blood, and once of great importance in Mexico.
His father had been governor of the province, and having
amassed a large property, settled at San Diego, where he
built a large house with a court-yard in front, kept a great
retinue of Indians, and set up for the grandee of that part
of the country. His son was sent to Mexico, where he
received the best education, and went into the first society
of the capital. Misfortune, extravagance, and the want
of funds, or any manner of getting interest on money, soon
eat the estate up, and Don Juan Bandini returned from
Mexico accomplished, poor, and proud, and without any
office or occupation, to lead the life of most young men of
the better families — dissolute and extravagant when the
means are at hand; ambitious at heart, and impotent in
act ; often pinched for bread ; keeping up an appearance of
style, when their poverty is known to each half-naked
Indian boy in the street, and they stand in dread of every
small trader and shopkeeper in the place. He had a slight
and elegant figure, moved gracefully, danced and waltzed
beautifully, spoke the best of Castilian, with a pleasant
and refined voice and accent, and had, throughout, the
bearing of a man of high birth and figure. Yet here he
was, with his passage given him (as I afterwards learned),
for he had not the means of paying for it, and living upon
the charity of our agent. He was polite to every one,
spoke to the sailors, and gave four reals — I dare say the

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2S8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

last he had in his pocket — to the steward, who waited upon
him. I could not but feel a pity for him, especially when I
saw him by the side of his fellow-passenger and townsman,
a fat, coarse, vulgar, pretending fellow of a Yankee trader,
who had made money in San Diego, and was eating out the
very vitals of the Bandinis, fattening upon their extrava-
gance, grinding them in their poverty; having mortgages
on their lands, forestalling their cattle, and already making
an inroad upon their jewels, which were their last hope.

Don Juan had with him a retainer, who was as much
like many of the characters in Gil Bias as his master. He
called hhnself a private secretary, though there was no
writing for him to do, and he lived in the steerage with the
carpenter and sailmaker. He was certainly a character ;
could read and write extremely well ; spoke good Spanish ;
had been all over Spanish America, and lived in every
possible situation, and served in every conceivable capacity,
though generally in that of confidential servant to some
man of figure. I cultivated this man's acquaintance, and
during the five weeks that he was with us, — for he remained
on board imtil we arrived at San Diego, — I gained a greater
knowledge of the state of political parties in Mexico, and
the habits and affairs of the diflEerent classes of society,
than I could have learned from almost any one else. He
took great pains in correcting my Spanish, and supplying
me with colloquial phrases, and common terms and excla-
mations in speaking. He lent me a file of late newspapers
from the city of Mexico, which were full of the triumphal
reception of Santa Ana, who had just returned from Tam-
pico after a victory, and with the preparations for his
expedition against the Texans. "Viva Santa Ana!'*
was the by-word everywhere, and it had even reached Cali-
fornia, though there were still many here, among whom
was Don Juan Bandini, who were opposed to his govern-
ment, and intriguing to bring in Bustamente. Santa
Ana, they said, was for breaking down the missions ; or,
as they termed it — "Santa Ana no quiere religion.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 259

Yet I had no doubt that the office of administrador of San
Diego would reconcile Don Juan to any dynasty, and any
state of the church. In these papers, too, I found scraps
of American and English news ; but which were so uncon-
nected, and I was so ignorant of everything preceding them
for eighteen months past, that they only awakened a curi-
osity which they could not satisfy. One article spoke of
Taney as Justida Mayor de los Estados Unidos (what had
become of Marshall? was he dead, or banished?) and an-
other made known, by news received from Vera Cruz, that
"El Vizconde Melbourne" had returned to the office of
"primer ministro,'' in place of Sir Roberto Peel. (Sir
Robert Peel had been minister, then ? and where were Earl
Grey and the Duke of Wellington?) Here were the out-
lines of a grand parliamentary overturn, the filling up of
which I could imagine at my leisure.

The second morning after leaving Monterey, we were ofiE
Point Conception. It was a bright, sunny day, and the
wind, though strong, was fair; and everything was in
striking contrast with our experience in the same place two
months before, when we were drifting off from a north-
wester imder a fore and main spencer. "Sail ho !" cried a
man who was rigging out a top-gallant studding-sail boom.
— "Where away?" — "Weather beam, sir !" and in a few
minutes a full-rigged brig was seen standing out from under
Point Conception. The studding-sail halyards were let go,
and the yards boom-ended, the after yards braced aback,
and we waited her coming down. She rounded to, backed
her main topsail, and showed her decks full of men, four
guns on a side, hammock nettings, and everything man-of-
war fashion, except that there was no boatswain's whistle,
and no imiforms on the quarter-deck. A short, square-
built man, in a rough grey jacket, with a speaking-tnmipet
in hand, stood in the weather hammock nettings. "Ship
ahoy!" — "Hallo!" — "What ship is that, pray?" —
'' Alert.'' — "Where are you from, pray?" etc. She
proved to be the brig Convoy, from the Sandwich Islands,

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26o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

engaged in otter hunting, among the islands which lie along
the coast. Her armament was from her being an illegal
trader. The otter are very numerous among these islands,
and being of great value, the government requires a heavy
sum for a license to himt them, and lays a high duty upon
every one shot or carried out of the country. This vessel
had no license, and paid no duty, besides being engaged in
smuggling goods on board other vessels trading on the coast,
and belonging to the same owners in Oahu. Our captain
told him to look out for the Mexicans, but he said they
had not an armed vessel of his size in the whole Pacific.
This was without doubt the same vessel that showed her-
self off Santa Barbara a few months before. These vessels
frequently remain on the coast for years, without making
port, except at the islands for wood and water, and an
occasional visit to Oahu for a new outfit.

Sunday, January loth. Arrived at Santa Barbara, and
on the following Wednesday, slipped our cable and went to
sea, on accoimt of a south-easter. Returned to our anchor-
age the next day. We were the only vessel in the port.
The Pilgrim had passed through the Canal and hove-to
off the town, nearly six weeks before, on her passage down
from Monterey, and was now at the leeward. She heard
here of our safe arrival at San Francisco.

Great preparations were making on shore for the marriage

of our agent, who was to marry Donna Anneta De G

De N y C , youngest daughter of Don Antonio

N , the grandee of the place, and the head of the first

family in California. Our steward was ashore three days,
making pastry and cake, and some of the best of our stores
were sent off with him. On the day appointed for the wed-
ding, we took the captain ashore in the gig, and had orders
to come for him at night, with leave to go up to the house
and see the fandango. Returning on board, we found prepa-
rations making for a salute. Our guns were load^ and
run out, men appointed to each, cartridges served out,
matches lighted, and all the flags ready to be run up. I

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 261

took my place at the starboard after gun, and we all waited
for the signal from on shore. At ten 6'clock the bride went
up with her sister to the confessional, dressed in deep black.
Nearly an hour intervened, when the great doors of the
mission church opened, the bells rang out a loud, discordant
peal, the private signal for us was run up by the captain
ashore, the bride, dressed in complete white, came out of the
chiu-ch with the bridegroom, followed by a long procession.
Just as she stepped from the church door, a small white
cloud issued from the bows of our ship, which was full in
sight, the loud report echoed among the surroxmding hills
and over the bay, and instantly the ship was dressed in
flags and pennants from stem to stem. Twenty-three guns
followed in regular succession, with an interval of fifteen
seconds between each, when the cloud cleared away, and
the ship lay dressed in her colors, all day. At sun-down,
another salute of the same nimiber of. guns was fired, and
all the flags run down. This we thought was pretty well —
a gun every fifteen 'seconds — for a merchantman with
only four guns and a dozen or twenty men.

After supper, the gig's crew were called, and we rowed
ashore, dressed in our uniform, beached the boat, and went
up to the fandango. The bride's father's house was the
principal one in the place, with a large court in front, upon
which a tent was built, capable of containing several hun-
dred people. As we drew near, we heard the accustomed
soimd of violins and guitars, and saw a great motion of
the people within. Going in, we foimd nearly all the people
of the town — men, women, and children — collected and
crowded together, leaving barely room for the dancers;
for on these occasions no invitations are given, but every
one is expected to come, though there is always a private
entertainment within the house for particular friends. The
old women sat down in rows, clapping their hands to the
music, and applauding the yoimg ones. The music was
lively, and among the times, we recognized several of our
popular airs, which we, without doubt, have taken from the

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262 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Spanish. In the dancing, I was much disappointed. The
women stood upright, with their hands down by their sides,
their eyes fixed upon the groimd before them, and sidled
about without any perceptible means of motion ; for their
feet were invisible, the hem of their dresses forming a per-
fect circle about them, reaching to the ground. They
looked as grave as though they were going through some
religious ceremony, their faces as little excited as their limbs ;
and on the whole, instead of the spirited, fascinating Spanish
dances which I had expected, I found the Califomian fan-
dango, on the part of the women at least, a lifeless aflfair.
The men did better. They danced with grace and spirit,
moving in circles round their nearly stationary partners
and showing their figures to great advantage.

A great deal was said about our friend Don Juan Bandini,
and when he did appear, which was toward the close of the
evening, he certainly gave us the most graceful dancing that
I had ever seen. He was dressed in white pantaloons, neatly
made, a short jacket of dark silk, gaily figured, white stock-
ings, and thin morocco slippers upon his very small feet.
His slight and graceful figure was well calculated for danc-
ing, and he moved about with the grace and daintiness of a
young fawn. An occasional touch of the toe to the groimd,
seemed all that was necessary to give him a long interval of
motion in the air. At the same time he was not fantastic or
flourishing, but appeared to be rather repressing a strong
tendency to motion. He was loudly applauded, and danced
frequently toward the close of the evening. After the sup-
per, the waltzing began, which was confined to a very few
of the "gente de raz6n," and was considered a high accom-
plishment, and a mark of aristocracy. Here, too, Don
Juan figured greatly, waltzing with the sister of the bride
(Donna Angustia, a handsome womqjj and a general favor-
ite), in a variety of beautiful figures, which lasted as much
as half an hour, no one else taking the floor. They were
repeatedly and loudly applauded, the old men and women
jiunping out of their seats in admiration, and the young

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 263

people waving their hats and handkerchiefs. Indeed,
among people of the character of these Mexicans, the waltz
seemed to me to have found its right place. The great
amusement of the evening, — which I suppose was owing
to its being carnival — was the breaking of eggs filled with
cologne, or other essences, upon the heads of the company.
One end of the egg is broken and the inside taken out, then
it is partly filled with cologne, and the whole sealed up.
The women bring a great nimiber of these secretly about
them, and the amusement is to break one upon the head of a
gentleman when his back is turned. He is bound in gal-
lantry to find out the lady and return the compliment,
though it must not be done if the person sees you. A tall,
stately Don, with immense grey whiskers, and a look of
great importance, was standing before me, when I felt a
light hand on my shoulder, and turning round, saw Donna
Aigustia (whom we all knew, as she had been up to Mon-
terey, and down again, in the Alert)^ with her finger upon
her lip, motioning me gently aside. I stepped back a little,
when she went up behind the Don, and with one hand
knocked off his huge sombrero , and at the same instant, with
the other, broke the egg upon his head, and springing behind
me, was out of sight in a moment. The Don turned slowly
round, the cologne nmning down his face, and over his
clothes, and a loud laugh breaking out from every quarter.
He looked round in vain, for some time, imtil the direction
of so many laughing eyes showed him the fair offender.
She was his niece, and a great favorite with him, so old
Don Domingo had to join in the laugh. A great many such
tricks were played, and many a war of sharp manoeuvering
was carried on between couples of the yoimger people, and
at every successful exploit a general laugh was raised.

Another singulai^ustom I was for some time at a loss
about. A pretty ^img girl was dancing, named, after
what would appear to us the sacrilegious custom of the
coxmtry — Espiritu Santo, when a yoimg man went behind
her and placed his hat directly upon her head, letting it fall

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264 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

down over her eyes, and sprang back among the crowd.
She danced for some time with the hat on, when she threw
it off, which called forth a general shout; and the yoimg
man was obliged to go out upon the floor and pick it up.
Some of the ladies, upon whose heads hats had been placed,
threw them off at once, and a few kept them on throughout
the dance, and took them off at the end, and held them out
in their hands, when the owner stepped out, bowed, and
took it from them. I soon began to suspect the meaning of
the thing, and was afterwards told that it was a compliment,
and an offer to become the lady's gallant for the rest of the
evening, and to wait upon her home. If the hat was thrown
off, the offer was refused, and the genUeman was obliged
to pick up his hat amid a general laugh. Much amusement
was caused sometimes by gentlemen putting hats on the
ladies' heads, without permitting them to see whom it was
done by. This obliged them to throw them off, or keep
them on at a venture, and when they came to discover the
owner, the laugh was often turned upon them.

The captain sent for us about ten o'clock, and we went
aboard in high spirits, having enjoyed the new scene much,
and were of great importance among the crew, from having
so much to tell, and from the prospect of going every night
until it was over ; for these fandangos generally las^tiiree
days. The next day, two of us were sent up to the town,
and took care to come back by way of Capitan Noriego's,
and take a look into the booth. The musicians were still
there, upon their platform, scraping and twanging away,
and a few people, apparently of the lower classes, were
dancing. The dancing is kept up, at intervals, throughout
the day, but the crowd, the spirit, and the eliky come in at
night. The next night, which was the last, we went ashore
in the same manner, until we got almoak tired of the monot-
onous twang of the instruments, the cfflroUng sounds which
the women kept up, as an accompaniment, and the slapping
of the hands in time with the music, in place of castanets.
We found ourselves as great objects of attention as any

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 265

persons or anything at the place. Our sailor dresses — and
we took great pains to have them neat and ship-shape —
were much admired, and we were invited, from every
quarter, to give them an American sailor's dance ; but after
the ridiculous figures some of our coimtrymen cut, in danc-
ing after the Spaniards, we thought it best to leave it to
their imaginations. Our agent, with a tight, black, swallow-
tailed coat, just imported from Boston, a high stiff cravat,
looking as if he had been pinned and skewered, with only
his feet and hands left free, took the floor just after Bandini ;
and we thought they had had enough of Yankee grace*

The last night they kept it up in great style, and were
getting into a high-go, when the captain called us off to go
aboard, for, it being south-easter season, he was afraid to
remain on shore long ; and it was well he did not, for that
very night, we slipped our cables, as a crowner to our fxm
ashore, and stood off before a south-easter, which lasted
twelve hoiurs, and returned to our anchorage the next day.

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CHAPTER XXVra

Monday, Feb. ist. After having been in port twenty-
one days, we sailed for San Pedro, where we arrived on the
following day, having gone "all fluking," with the weather
clue of tiie main-sail hauled up, the yards braced in a little,
and the lower studding-sail just drawing ; the wind hardly
shifting a point during the passage. Here we found the
Ayacucho and the Pilgrim, which last we had not seen since
the nth of September, — nearly five months ; and I really
felt something like an affection for the old brig which had
been my first home, and in which I had spent nearly a year,
and got the first rough and tumble of a sea-life. She, too,
was associated in my mind with Boston, the wharf from
which we sailed, anchorage in the stream, leave-taking, and
all such matters, which were now to me like small links con-
necting me with another world, which I had once been in,
and which, please God, I might yet see again. I went on
board the first night, after supper ; foimd the old cook in
the galley, playing upon the fife which I had given him, as
a parting present ; had a hearty shake of the hand from
him ; and dove down into the forecastle, where were my old
ship-mates, the same as ever, glad to see me ; for they had
nearly given us up as lost, especially when they did not
find us in Santa Barbara. They had been at San Diego
last, had been l)ang at San Pedro nearly a month, and had
received three thousand hides from the pueblo. These were
taken from her the next day, which filled us up, and we
both got imder weigh on the 4th, sl|^ bound up to San
Francisco again, and we to San Diego, where we arrived on
the 6th.

We were always glad to see San Diego ; it being the depot,
and a snug little place, and seeming quite like home, espe-

266

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 267

ciaDy to me, who had spent a summer there. There was no
vessel in port, the Rosa having sailed for Valparaiso and
Cadiz, and the CakUina for CaUao, nearly a month before.
We discharged our hides, and in four days were ready to
sail again for the windward ; and, to our great joy — for
the last time ! Over thirty thousand hides had been already
collected, cured, and stowed away in the house, which, to-
gether with what we should collect, and the Pilgrim would
bring down from San Francisco, would make out our cargo.
The thought that we were actually going up for the last time,
and that the next time we went round San Diego point it
would be "homeward boimd," brought things so near a
dose, that we felt as though we were just there, though it
must still be the greater part of a year before we could see
Boston.

I spent one evening, as had been my custom, at the oven
with the Sandwich Islanders; but it was far from being
the usual noisy, laughing time. It has been said, that the
greatest curse to each of the South Sea islands, was the first
man who discovered it ; and every one who knows anything
of the history of our conunerce in those parts, knows how
much truth there is in this ; and that the white men, with
their vices, have brought in diseases before unknown to the
islanders, and which are now sweeping off the native popu-
lation of the Sandwich Islands, at the rate of one fortieth of
the entire population annually. They seem to be a doomed
people. The curse of a people calling themselves Christian,
seems to follow them everjrwhere; and even here, in this
obscure place, lay two young islanders, whom I had
left strong, active yoimg men, in the vigor of health,
wasting away imder a disease, which they would never
have known but for their intercourse with christianized
Mexico and people Irom Christian America. One of them
was not so ill ; and was moving about, smoking his pipe, and
talking, and trying to keep up his spirits ; but the other, who
was my friend, and Aikane — Hope, was the most dreadful
object I had ever seen in my life : his eyes sunken and dead,

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268 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

bis cheeks fallen in against his teeth, his hands looking
like claws ; a dreadful cough, which seemed to rack his whole
shattered system, a hollow, whispering voice, and an entire
inability to move himself. There he lay, upon a mat, on
the ground, which was the only floor of the oven, with no
medicine, no comforts, and no one to care for, or help him,
but a few Kanakas, who were willing enough, but could do
nothing. The sight of him made me sick and faint. Poor
fellow! During the four months that I lived upon the
beach, we were continually together, both in work, and in
our excursions in the woods, and upon the water. I really
felt a strong affection for him, and preferred him to any of
my own countrymen there ; and I believe there was nothing
which he would not have done for me. When I came into
the oven he looked at me, held out his hand, and said, in a
low voice, but with a delightful smile, ^^Aloha^ Aikanel
Aloha nut / " I comforted him as well as I could, and prom-
ised to ask the captain to help him from the medidne-
chest, and told him I had no doubt the captain would do
what he could for him, as he had worked in our employ for
several years, both on shore and aboard our vessels on the
coast. I went aboard and turned into my hammock, but
I could not sleep.

Thinking, from my education, that I must have some
knowledge of medicine, the Kanakas had insisted upon my
examining him carefully ; and it was not a sight to be for-
gotten. One of our crew, an old man-of-war's-man, of
twenty years' standing, who had seen sin and suffering in
every shape, and whom I afterwards took to see Hope, said
it was dreadfully worse than anything he had ever seen,
or even dreamed of. He was horror-struck, as his cotmte-
nance showed ; yet he had been among the worst cases in
our naval hospitals. I could not get the thought of the
poor fellow out of my head all night ; his horrible suffering,
and his apparently inevitable, horrible end.

The next day I told the captain of Hope's state, and asked
him if he would be so kind as to go and see hinL

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 269

*'What? a Kanaka?"

"Yes, sir," said I ; '*but he has worked four years for our
vessels, and has been in the employ of our owners, both on
shore and aboard."

*'0h ! he be d d !" said the captain, and walked off.

This same man died afterward of a fever on the deadly
coast of Siunatra ; and God grant he had better care taken
of him in his sufferings, than he ever gave to any one else !
Finding nothing was to be got from the captain, I con-
sulted an old ship-mate, who had much experience in these
matters, and got from him a recipe, which he always kept
by him. With this I went to the mate, and told him the
case. Mr. Brown had been entrusted with the general care
of the medicine-chest, and although a driving fellow, and a
taught hand in a watch, he had good feelings, and was al-
ways inclined to be kind to the sick. He said that Hope was
not strictly one of the crew, but as he was in our employ
when taken sick, he should have the medicines ; and he got
them and gave them to me, with leave to go ashore at night.
Nothing could exceed the delight of the Kanakas, when I
came bringing the medicines. All their terms of affection
and gratitude were spent upon me, and in a sense wasted (for
I could not understand half of them), yet they made all
known by their manner. Poor Hope was so much revived
at the bare thought of anything's being done for him, that
he was already stronger and better. I knew he must die
as he was, and he could but die under the medicines, and
any chance was worth nmning. An oven, exposed to every
wind and change of weather, is no place to take calomel ;
but nothing else would do, and strong remedies must be
used, or he was gone. The applications, internal and ex-
ternal, were powerful, and I gave him strict directions to
keep warm and sheltered, telling him it was his only chance
for life. Twice, after this, I visited him, having only time
to nm up, while waiting in the boat. He promised to take
his medicines regularly until we returned, and insisted upon
it that he was doing better.

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270 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

We got under weigh on the loth, bound up to San Pedro,
and had three days of cahn and head winds, making but
little progress. Oii the fourth, we took a stiflf south-easter,
which obliged us to reef our topsails. While on the yard,
we saw a sail on the weather bow, and in about half an hour,
passed the Ayacucho, under double-reefed topsails, beating
down to San Diego. Arrived at San Pedro on the fourth
day, and came-to in the old place, a league from shore, with
no other vessel in port, and the prospect of three weeks, or
more, of dull life, rolling goods up a slippery hill, carrying
hides on our heads over sharp stones, and, perhaps, slipping
for a south-easter.

There was but one man in the only house here, and him
I shall always remember as a good specimen of a California
ranger. He had been a tailor in Philadelphia, and getting
intemperate and in debt, he joined a trapping party and
went to the Columbia river, and thence down to Monterey,
where he spent everything, left his party, and came to the
Pueblo de los Angelos, to work at his trade. Here he went
dead to leeward among the pulperias, gambling rooms, etc.,
and came down to San Pedro, to be moral by being out of
temptation. He had been in the house several weeks,
working hard at his trade, upon orders which he had brought
with him, and talked much of his resolution, and opened his
heart to us about his past life. After we had been here some
time, he started off one morning, in fine spirits, well dressed,
to carry the clothes which he had been making to the pueblo,
and saying he would bring back his money and some fresh
orders the next day. The next day came, and a week passed
and nearly a fortnight, when, one day, going ashore, we
saw a tall man, who looked like our friend the tailor, getting
out of the bade of an Indian's cart, which had just come
down from the pueblo. He stood for the house, but we
bore up after him ; when, finding that we were overhauling
him, he hove-to and spoke us. Such a sight I never saw
before. Barefooted, with an old pair of trowsers tied round
his waist by a piece of green hide, a soiled cotton shirt,

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tE PLACED HIS HAT DIRECTLY UPON HER ;
HEAD

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\r liU MWlV

• ' ••::',!'." .-.d up to S<;n PHro,

a u- 1 >.e.iJ >.•■•"■ ^>, nK.f^K'ig but
■ ..'.1.:'.. we c-v k a '^l'«i south-ea>ter.

* " .r Ifv-.:]!... W'iiiic on the yarJ
. . i' *' T bow, a^.'' ir. -^.S ;ut hall an h«)i'

'■J •^" ^^'0- '.-r''-*'Hi tor.saiis, boatir^
\'i\'. . ^t .^j.r. J'cdro on tl-c four *
-....•.'.:.• ..:! ,'laC'', a i '1 ^ue fron. sii^re, w'-
' ; 1 ;., .-t .--,1 the prj^rv' t oi th^"* we^ks. t.;
. ■ * 1* " -r^ / /':< ;:m a b]i;jpciy M!!, airrvn.
: t- \v r .h^'T' ^^^^-^ ar .1, perhaps, slippir

. . * " .'- .r ' r :u t'*: i. .i'; li' ::.f; here, and h'
. ;.' - ■; - n J-" '. • ...M , > a ;;■."* i t- Hriu-" fh a Caliior-
■ /. J!'' '-..A ". ■• 'I a i lil r A\ y:^::i^'' Iphia, ana getti-

'.• .:; U- :;'e C r.i;iir.:.i,L ,■^K-. ".^> i.u"^-,.- down w^roinet- •.

" • ■ : J V jry: ,■ lii i^f. r^ *i ■ i " ; 'i r - v. ar ( : ca me to '
f'u ' - A' I ! \ to W'^rl: at ii'.s travie. Here he w:

'-] .. • ,' i:d -.i;"'!-:: ■•■c pui.v ai.-. can blin^ rcioms, e*.
; ,..i . 1; '>vn S- '■\. i Pl-Ih;. to l;c nhaa; l-y being out >

•(''%>: • . '■ Kv h.id been in the ho':-e several wecL
w '^':>' ^ ! a-^' at, h:> iiade, upon orders wla^h he had broug*
w^O: 1 if'^ ar.o rai';cd n^acr of his Tcsol-itic^n. and opened >
i;:-..i t-^ ':- .^oout his pr/-t !!>•. A'"tcr we had been here ho:i' -
I'v-.' . ^v s.-t^\ \ { *i -'Kv. mo.aa :<:. in .^in-j spirits, w.-ll dresse-l
to ... : V the viothe^ v/' 1:1: he hiut ae'-n mak:o^r to thepuebi*.-.
a' ■■ "^'./-t.K he v^ a !.: 1 iic: b.)c> h-:^ nior.ey ana Sjnie fresfi
o^.I r- ■/'!( nextfi.y. 'J :jt: n' vt da> canic. ard a wcekpas^stxi
'd.A I.' r!y .1 f^Tlni.^^^ht, wiicm, o-e duv, gt'in.Gj ashore, we
:;..'A a t'ai (Van, v>'ho iookec^ iik.^ our frieuJ inc tailor, getting
v)Ul of the bavk ot an Imhan'.- ca'•^ \r'l\ had just con:*:
vi' '-n trani thr r>.chlu. He sUuvi hr t';a r...use, but ^vi
•' -/ ;i[> alter ■"im ; when, 1 iv::..: tint v,^ vvtjre oveHiauIin :
•', I'o h.-ve tO ^ \c; ry-.'^kr us. S'M,"a a .- ': '.•* 1 never sav/
'■ ■• oart i'^'oted, Vriic an o' ■ i- ••- c^j ;a --a- -.^ tit.d T'/Uiri

i '■ ^. • -: t.y a piece o'" g'.c-i V'r ■., a -•;. . : • 'Hon -hl^-i.

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•'^''- z »•

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 271

and a torn Indian hat; '' cleaned out/' to the last real,
and completely "used up." He confessed the whole mat-
ter; acknowledged that he was on his back ; and now he had
a prospect of a fit of the horrors for a week, and of being
worse than useless for months. This is a specimen of the
life of half of the Americans and English who are adrift over
the whole of California. One of the same stamp was Rus-
sell, who was master of the hide-house at San Diego, while I
was there, and afterwards ttimed away for his misconduct.
He spent his own money and nearly all the stores among
the half-bloods upon the beach, and being turned away,
went up to the presidio, where he lived the life of a desperate
"loafer," imtil some rascally deed sent him off "between
two days," with men on horseback, dogs, and Indians in full
cry after him, among the hills. One night, he burst into
our room at the hide-house, breathless, pale as a ghost,
covered with mud, and torn by thorns and briers, nearly
naked, and begged for a crust of bread, saying he had neither
eaten nor slept for three days. Here was the great Mr.
Russell, who a month before was "Don Tomis," "Capitan
de la playa," "Mafetro de la casa," etc., begging food
and shelter of Kanakas and sailors. He staid with us till
he gave himself up, and was dragged off to the calabozo.

Another, and a more amusing specimen, was one whom
we saw at San Francisco. He had been a lad on board the
ship California^ in one of her first voyages, and ran away
and commenced Ranchiro, gambling, stealing horses, etc.
He worked along up to San Francisco, and was living on a
rancho near there, while we were in port. One morning,
when we went ashore in the boat, we found him at the land-
ing-place, dressed in California style, — a wide hat, faded
velveteen trowsers, and a blanket cloak thrown over his
shoulders — and wishing to go off in the boat, saying he
was going to paseir with our captain a little. We had
many doubts of the reception he would meet with ; but he
seemed to think himself company for any one. We took
him aboard, landed him at the gangway, and went about our

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272 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

work, keeping an eye upon the quarter-deck, where the
captam was walkmg. The lad went up to him, with the
most complete assurance, and raising his hat, wished him

a good afternoon. Captain T turned roimd, looked at

him from head to foot, and saying coolly, "Hallo ! who are
you ?" kept on his walk. This was a rebuff not to be mis-
taken, and the joke passed about among the crew by winks
and signs, at different parts of the ship. Finding himself
disappointed at head-quarters, he edged along forward to the
mate, who was overseeing some work upon the forecastle,
and tried to begin a yam ; but it would not do. The mate
had seen the reception he had met with aft, and would have
no cast-off company. The second mate was aloft, and the
third mate and myself were painting the quarter-boat,
which hung by the davits, so he betook himself to us ; but
we looked at one another, and the officer was too busy to say
a word. From us, he went to one and another of the crew,
but the joke had got before him, and he found everybody
busy and silent. Looking over the rail a few moments
afterward, we saw him at the galley-door, talking with the
cook. This was a great come-down, from the highest seat
in the synagogue to a seat in the galley with the black cook.
At night, too, when supper was called, he stood in the waist
for some time, hoping to be asked down with the officers,
but they went below, one after another, and left him. His
next chance was with the carpenter and sailmaker, and he
lounged round the after hatchway imtil the last had gone
down. We had now had fim enough out of him, and taking
pity on him, offered him a pot of tea, and a cut at the kid,
with the rest, in the forecastle. He was hungry, and it was
growing dark, and he began to see that there was no use in
playing the caballiro any longer, and came down into the
forecastle, put into the ''grub" in sailor's style, threw off
all his airs, and enjoyed the joke as much as any one: for
a man must take a joke among sailors. He gave us the
whole accoimt of his adventures in the country, — roguery
and all — and was very entertaining. He was a smart.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 273

imprincipled fellow, was at the bottom of most of the ras-
cally doings of the coimtry, and gave us a great deal of in-
teresting information in the ways of the world we were in.

Saturday, Feb. 13/A. Were called up at midnight to slip
for a violent north-easter, for this rascally hole of San Pedro
is unsafe in every wind but a south-wester, which is seldom
known to blow more than once in a half century. We went
oflF with a flowing sheet, and hove-to under the lee of Cata-
lina island, where we lay three days, and then returned to
oiu: anchorage.

Tuesday f Feb. 23^. This afternoon, a signal was made
from the shore, and we went off in the gig, and foimd the
agent's clerk, who had been up to the pueblo, waiting at the
landing-place, with a package under his arm, covered with
brown paper and tied carefully with twine. No sooner had
we shoved off than he told us there was good news from
Santa Barbara. "What's that?" said one of the crew;
"has the bloody agent slipped off the hooks ? Has the old
bimdle of bones got him at last ? " — *' No ; better than that.
The California has arrived." Letters, papers, news, and,
perhaps — friends, on board ! Oxu: hearts were all up in
our mouths, and we pulled away like good fellows ; for the
precious packet could not be opened except by the captain.
As we pulled imder the stem, the clerk held up the package,
and called out to the mate, who was leaning over the taffrail,
that the California had arrived.

" Hiurah ! " said the mate, so as to be heard fore and aft ;
'* California come, and news from Boston !"

Instantly there was a confusion on board which no one
could account for who has not been in the same situation.
All discipline seemed for a moment relaxed.

"What's that, Mr. Brown?" said the cook, putting his
head out of the galley — '^ California come?"

"Aye, aye ! you angel of darkness, and there's a letter
for you from Bullknop street, number two-two-five — green
door and brass knocker I"

The packet was sent down into the cabin, and every one

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274 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

waited to hear the result. As nothing came up, the oflBl-
cers began to feel that they were acting rather a child's
part, and ttimed the crew to again; and the same strict
discipline was restored, which prohibits speech between
man and man, while at work on deck ; so that, when the
steward came forward with letters for the crew, each man
took his letters, carried them below to his chest, and came
up again immediately ; and not a letter was read until we
had cleared up decks for the night.

An overstrained sense of manliness is the characteristic
of seafaring men, or, rather, of life on board ship. This
often gives an appearance of want of feeling, and even of
cruelty. From tiiis, if a man comes within an ace of break-
ing his neck and escapes, it is made a joke of ; and no notice
must be taken of a bruise or a cut ; and any expression of
pity, or any show of attention, would look sisterly, and
imbecoming a man who has to face the rough and tiunble
of such a life. From this, too, the sick are neglected at sea,
and whatever sailors may be ashore, a sick man finds little
sympathy or attention, forward or aft. A man, too, can
have nothing peculiar or sacred on board ship ; for all the
nicer feelings Uiey take pride in disregarding, both in them-
selves and others. A thin-skinned man could not live an
hour on shipboard. One would be torn raw imless he had
the hide of an ox. A moment of natural feeling for home
and friends, and then the frigid routine of sea-life returned.
Jokes were made upon those who showed any interest in the
expected news, and everything near and dear was made
common stock for rude jokes and unfeeling coarseness,
to which no exception could be taken by any one.

Supper, too, must be eaten before the letters were read;
and when, at last, they were brought out, they all got roimd
any one who had a letter, and expected to have it read aloud,
and have it all in common. If any one went by himself to
read, it was — "Fair play, there; and no skulking!'' I
took mine and went into the saUmaker's berth, where I
could read it without interruption. It was dated August.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 275

just a year from the time I had sailed from home ; and every
one was well, and no great change had taken place. Thus,
for one year, my mind was set at ease, yet it was already
six months from the date of the letter, and what another
year would bring to pass, who could tell? Every one
away from home thinks that some great thing must have
happened, while to those at home there seems to be a con-
tinued monotony and lack of incident.

As much as my feelings were taken up by my own intel-
ligence from home, I coxJd not but be amused by a scene in
the steerage. The carpenter had been married just before
leaving Boston, and during the voyage had talked much
about his wife, and had to bear and forbear, as every man,
known to be married, must, aboard ship ; yet the certainty
of hearing from his wife by the first ship, seemed to keep up
his spirits. The California came ; the packet was brought
on board ; no one was in higher spirits than he ; but when
the letters came forward, there was none for him. The
captain looked again, but there was no mistake. Poor
"Chips" could eat no supper. He was completely down
in the mouth. "Sails" (the sailmaker) tried to comfort
him, and told him he was a bloody fool to give up his grub
for any woman's daughter, and reminded him that he had
told huTi a dozen times that he'd never see or hear from his
wife again.

"Ah !" said Chips, "you don't know what it is to have
a wife, and" —

"Don't I ?" said Sails ; and then came, for the hundredth
time, the story of his coming ashore at New York, from the
Constellation frigate, after a cruise of four years roimd the
Horn, — being paid off with over five hundred dollars, —
marrying, atid taking a couple of rooms in a four-story
house, — furnishing tie rooms (with a particular accoimt of
the furniture, including a dozen flag-bottomed chairs, which
he always dilated upon, whenever the subject of furniture
was alluded to), — going off to sea again, leaving his wife
half-pay, like a fool, — coming home and finding her "off,

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276 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

like Bob's horse, with nobody to pay the reckoning" ; fur-
niture gone, — flag-bottomed chairs and all ; — and with it,
his *'long togs," the half-pay, his beaver hat, white linen
shirts, and ever3rthing else. His wife he never saw, or heard
of, from that day to this, and never wished to. Then fol-
lowed a sweeping assertion, not much to the credit of the
sex, if true, though he has Pope to back him. "Come,
Chips, cheer up like a man, and take some hot grub I Don't
be made a fool of by anything in petticoats ! As for your
wife, you'll never see her again ; she was 'up keeleg and off*
before you were outside of Cape Cod. YouVe hove your
money away like a fool ; but every man must learn once,
just as I did; so you'd better square the yards with her,
and make the best of it."

This was the best consolation "Sails" had to offer, but
it did not seem to be just the thing the carpenter wanted ;
for, during several days, he was very much dejected, and
bore with difficulty the jokes of the sailors, and with still
more difficulty their attempts at advice and consolation,
of most of which the sailm^er's was a good specimen.

Thursdayy Feb. 25/A. Set sail for Santa Barbara, where
we arrived on Simday, the 28th. We just missed of seeing
the California, for she had sailed three days before, bound to
Monterey, to enter her cargo and procure her license, and
thence to San Francisco, etc. Captain Arthur left files of

Boston papers for Captain T , which, after they had

been read and talked over in the cabin, I procured from my
friend the third mate. One file was of all the Boston Tran-
scripts for the month of August, 1835, and the rest were
about a dozen Daily Advertisers and Couriers , of different
dates. After all, there is nothing in a strange land like a
newspaper from home. Even a letter, in many respects,
is nothing, in comparison with it. It carries you back to
the spot, better than anything else. It is almost equal to
clairvoyance. The names of the streets, with the things
advertised, is almost as good a& seeing the signs ; and while
reading "Boy lost !" one can almost hear the bell and well-

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 277

known voice of ''Old Wilson," cndng the boy as "strayed,
stolen, or mislaid !" Then there was the Commencement
at Cambridge, and the full accoimt of the exercises at the
graduating of my own class. A list of all those familiar
names (beginning as usual with Abbot, and ending with
W.), which, as I read them over, one by one, brought up
their faces and characters as I had known them in 3ie va-
rious scenes of college life. Then I imagined them upon the
stage, speaking their orations, dissertations, colloquies, etc.,
with the gestures and tones of each, and tried to fancy the

manner in which each would handle his subject. ,

handsome, showy, and superficial ; , with his strong

head, clear brain, cool self-possession ; , modest, sensi-
tive, and underrated ; , the mouth-piece of the debating

clubs, noisy, vaporous, and democratic; and so following.
Then I could see them receiving their A.B.'s from the dig-
nified, feudal-looking President, with his ''auctoritate mihi
commissa," and walking off the stage with their diplomas
in their hands ; while, upon the very same day, their class-
mate was walking up and down California beach with a hide
jupon his head.

Every watch below, for a week, I pored over these papers,
imtil I was sure there could be nothing in them that had
escaped my attention, and was ashamed to keep them any
longer.

Saturday J March $th. This was an important day in our
almanac, for it was on this day that we were first assured
that our voyage was really drawing to a close. The captain
gave orders to have the ship ready for getting under weigh ;
and observed that there was a good breeze to take us down
to San Pedro. Then we were not going up to windward.
Thus much was certain, and was soon known fore and aft ;
and when we went in the gig to take him off, he shook hands
with the people on the beach, and said that he never ex-
pected to see Santa Barbara again. This settled the matter,
and sent a thrill of pleasure through the heart of every
one in the boat. We pulled off with a will, saying to our-

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278 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

selves (I can speak for myself at least) — ^' Good-by, Santa
Barbara ! — This is the last pull here ! — No more duckings
in your breakers, and slipping from your cursed south-
easters !" The news was soon known aboard, and put life
into everything when we were getting imder weigh. Each
one was taking his last look at the mission, the town, the
breakers on the beach, and swearing that no money would
make him ship to see them again ; and when all hands tallied
on to the cat-fall, the chorus of ''Time for us to go !" was
raised for the first time, and joined in, with full swing, by
everybody. One would have thought we were on our voy-
age home, so near did it seem to us, though there were yet
three months for us on the coast.

We left here the yoimg Englishman, George Marsh, of
whom I have before spoken, who was wrecked upon the
Pelew Islands. He left us to take the berth of second mate
on board the Ayacucho, which was lying in port. He was
well qualified for this, and his education would enable him
to rise to any situation on board ship. I felt really sorry to
part from him. There was something about him which
excited my curiosity ; for I could not, for a moment, doubt
that he was well bom, and, in early life, well bred. There
was the latent gentleman about him, and the sense of honor,
and no little of the pride, of a yoimg man of good family.
The situation was offered him only a few hours before we
sailed ; and though he must give up returning to America,
yet I have no doubt that the change from a dog's berth to
an officer's, was too agreeable to his feelings to be declined.
We pulled him on board the Ayacucho, and when he left
the boat he gave each of its crew a piece of money, except
myself, and shook hands with me, nodding his head, as
much as to say, — "We understand one another," and
sprang on board. Had I known, an hour sooner, that he
was to leave us, I would have made an effort to get from
him the true history of his early life. He knew that I had
no faith in the story which he told the crew, and perhaps,
in the moment of parting from me, probably forever, he

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 279

would have given me the true account. Whether I shall
ever meet him again, or whether his manuscript narrative
of his adventures in the Pelew Islands, which would be cred-
itable to him and interesting to the world, will ever see the
light, I cannot tell. His is one of those cases which are more
niunerous than those suppose, who have never lived any-
where but in their own homes, and never walked but in one
line from their cradle to their graves. We must come down
from our heights, and leave our straight paths, for the by-
ways and low places of life, if we would learn truths by
strong contrasts ; and in hovels, in forecastles, and among
our own outcasts in foreign lands, see what has been wrought
upon our fellow-creatures by accident, hardship, or vice.

Two days brought us to San Pedro, and two days more
(to our no small joy) gave us our last view of that place,
which was imiversally called the hell of California, and
seemed designed, in every way, for the wear and tear of
sailors. Not even the last view could bring out one feeling
of regret. No thanks, thought I, as we left the sandy
shores in the distance, for the hours I have walked over
your stones, barefooted, with hides on my head ; — for the
burdens I have carried up your steep, muddy hill; — for
the duckings in your surf ; and for the long days and longer
nights passed on your desolate hill, watchhig piles of hides,
hearing the sharp bark of your eternal coati, and the dismal/
hooting of your owls. '

As I bade good-by to each successive place, I felt as
though one link after another were struck from the chain
of my servitude. Having kept close in shore, for the land-
breeze, we passed the mission of San Juan Campestrano the
same night, and saw distinctly, by the bright moonlight,
the hill which I had gone down by a pair of halyards in
search of a few paltry hides. ^'Forsitan et haec olim,"
thought I, and took my last look of that place too. And
on the next morning we were under the high point of San
Diego. The flood tide took us swiftly in, and we came-to,
opposite our hide-house, and prepared to get everything in

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28o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

trim for a long stay. This was our last port. Here we
were to discharge everything from the ship, clean her out,
smoke her, take in our hides, wood, water, etc., and set sail
for Boston. While all this was doing, we were to lie still
in one place, and the port was a safe one, and there was no
fear of south-easters. Accordingly, having picked out a
good berth, in the stream, with a good smooth beach oppo-
site, for a landing-place, and within two cables' length of our
hide-house, we moored ship, unbent all the sails, sent down
the top-gallant yards and all the studding-sail booms, and
housed Uie top-gallant-masts. The boats were then hove
out, and all the sails, the spare spars, the stores, the rigging
not rove, and, in fact, everything which was not in daily
use, sent ashore, and stowed away in the house. Then went
all our hides and horns, and we left hardly anything in the
ship but her ballast, and this we made preparation to heave
out, the next day. At night, after we had knocked oflf, and
were sitting round in the forecastle, smoking and talking
and taking sailor's pleasure, we congratulated ourselves
upon being in that situation in which we had wished our-
selves every time we had come into San Diego. *' If we were
only here for the last time," we had often said, "with our
top-gallant-masts housed and our sails unbent!" — and
now we had our wish. Six weeks, or two months, of the
hardest work we had yet seen, was before us, and then —
"Good-by to California!"

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CHAPTER XXrX

We tumed-iD early, knowing that we might expect an
early call; and sure enough, before the stars had quite
faded, "All hands ahoy !" and we were tumed-to, heaving
out ballast. A regulation of the port forbids any ballast
to be thrown overboard; accordingly, our long-boat was
lined inside with rough boards and brought alongside the
gangway, but where one tub-full went into the boat, twenty
went overboard. This is done by every vessel, for the bal-
last can make but little difference in the channel, and it saves
more than a week of labor, which would be spent in loading
the boats, rowing them to the point, and unloading them.
When any people from the presidio were on board, the boat
was hauled up and the ballast thrown in ; but when the coast
was clear, she was dropped astern again, and the ballast fell
overboard. This is one of those petty frauds which every
vessel practises in ports of inferior foreign nations, and which
are lost sight of, among the countless deeds of greater weight
which are hardly less common. Fortunately, a sailor, not
being a free agent in work aboard ship, is not accountable ;
yet the fact of being constantly employed, without thought,
in such things, begets an indifference to the rights of others.

Friday, and a part of Saturday, we were engaged in this
work, until we had thrown out all but what we wanted under
our cargo on the passage home ; when, as the next day was
Sunday, and a good day for smoking ship, we cleared every-
thing out of the cabin and forecastle, made a slow fire of
charcoal, birch bark, brimstone, and other matters, on the
ballast in the bottom of the hold, calked up the hatches
and every open seam, and pasted over the cracks of the
windows, and the slides of the scuttles, and companion-way.
Wherever smoke was seen coming out, we calked and pasted,

381

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282 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

and, so far as we could, made the ship smoke tight. The
captain and officers slept under the awning which was spread
over the quarter-deck ; and we stowed ourselves away under
an old studding-sail, which we drew over one side of the fore-
castle. The next day, from fear that something might
happen, orders were given for no one to leave the ship, and,
as the decks were lumbered up with everything, we could not
wash them down, so we had nothing to do, all day long.
Unfortunately, our books were where we could not get at
them, and we were turning about for something to do, when
one man recollected a book he had left in the galley. He
went after it, and it proved to be Woodstock. This was a
great windfall, and as all could not read it at once, I, being
the scholar of the company, was appointjsd reader. I got
a knot of six or eight about me, and no one could have had
a more attentive audience. Some laughed at the "schol-
ars,*' and went over the other side of the forecastle, to work,
and spin their yams ; but I carried the day, and had the
cream of the crew for my hearers. Many of the reflections,
and the political parts, I omitted, but all the narrative they
were delighted with ; especially the descriptions of the Puri-
tans, and the sermons and harangues of the Round-head
soldiers. The gallantry of Charles, Dr. RadcUffe's plots, the
knavery of " trusty Tompkins/' — in fact, every part seemed
to chain their attention. Many things which, while I was
reading, I had a misgiving about, thinking them above their
capacity, I was surprised to find them enter into completely.

I read nearly all day, imtil sim-down ; when, as soon as
supper was over, as I had nearly finished, they got a light
from the galley ; and by skipping what was less interesting,
I carried them through to the marriage of Everard, and
the restoration of Charles the Second, before eight o'clock.

The next morning, we took the battens from the hatches,
and opened the ship. A few stifled rats were found ; and
what bugs, cockroaches, fleas, and other vermin, there might
have been on board, must have unrove their life-lines before
the hatches were opened. The ship being now ready, we

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 283

covered the bottom of the hold over, fore and aft, with dried
brush, for dunnage, and having levelled everything away,
we were ready to take in our cargo. All the hides that had
been collected since the California left the coast (a little
more than two years), amounting to about forty thousand,
were cured, dried, and stowed away in the house, waiting
for our good ship to take them to Boston.

Now began the operation of taking in our cargo, which
kept us hard at work, from the grey of the morning till
star-light, for sixjyeeks, with the exception of Sundays,
and of just time to swallow our meals. To carry the work
on quicker, a division of labor was made. Two men threw
the hides down from the piles in the house, two more picked
them up and put them on a long horizontal pole, raised a
few feet from the ground, where they were beaten by two
more with flails, somewhat like those used in threshing
wheat. When beaten, they were taken from this pole by
two more, and placed upon a platform of boards ; and ten
or a dozen men, with their trowsers rolled up, were con-
stantly going, back and forth, from the platform to the boat,
which was kept off where she would just float, with the hides
upon their heads. The throwing the hides upon the pole
was the most difficult work, and required a sleight of hand
which was only to be got by long practice. As I was known
for a hide-curer, this post was assigned to me, and I con-
tinued at it for six or eight days, tossing, in that time, from
eight to ten thousand hides, until my wrists became so lame
that I gave in ; and was transferred to the gang that was
employed in filling the boats, where I remained for the rest
of the time. As we were obliged to carry the hides on our
heads from fear of their getting wet, we each had a piece
of sheepskin sewed into the inside of our hats, with the wool
next our heads, and thus were able to bear the weight, day
after day, which would otherwise have soon worn off our
hair, and borne hard upon our skulls. Upon the whole,
ours was the best berth ; for though the water was nipping
cold, early in the morning and late at night, and being so

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284 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

continually wet was rather an exposure, yet we got rid of
the constant dust and dirt from the beating of the hides,
and being all of us young and hearty, did not mind the ex-
posure. The older men of the crew, whom it would have
been dangerous to have kept in the water, remained on
board with the mate, to stow the hides away, as fast as they
were brought off by the boats.

We continued at work in this manner imtil the lower hold
was filled to within four feet of the beams, when all hands
were called aboard to commence steeving. As this is a
peculiar operation, it will require a minute description.

Before stowing the hides, as I have said, the ballast is
levelled off, just above the keelson, and then loose dimnage
placed upon it, on which the hides rest. The greatest care
is used in stowing, to make the ship hold as many hides as
possible. It is no mean art, and a man skilled in it is an
important character in California. Many a dispute have I
heard raging high between professed "beach-combers,"
as to whether the hides should be stowed '* shingling," or
** back-to-back, and flipper-to-flipper"; upon which point
there was an entire and bitter division of sentiment among
the savans. We adopted each method at different periods
of the stowing, and parties ran high in the forecastle, some
siding with "old Bill" in favor of the former, and others
scouting him, and relying upon "English Bob" of the Aya-
cucho, who had been eight years in California, and was will-
ing to risk his life and limb for the latter method. At
length a compromise was effected, and a middle course, of
shifting the ends and backs at every lay, was adopted, which
worked well, and which, though they held it inferior to their
own, each party granted was better than that of the other.

Having filled the ship up, in this way, to within four feet
of her beams, the process of steeving commenced, by which
an hundred hides are got into a place where one could not
be forced by hand, and which presses the hides to the ut-
most, sometimes starting the beams of the ship, resembhng
in its effects the jack-screws which are used in stowing cot-

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 285

ton. Each morning we went ashore, and beat and brought
off as many hides as we could steeve in the course of the day,
and, after breakfast, went down into the hold, where we
remained at work imtil night. The whole length of the
hold, from stem to stem, was floored off level, and we began
with raising a pile in the after part, hard against the bulk-
head of the nm, and filling it up to the beams, crowding in
as many as we could by hand and pushing in with oars;
when a large ''book" was made of from twenty-five to fifty
hides, doubled at the backs, and put into one another, like
the leaves of a book. An opening was then made between
two hides in the pile, and the back of the outside hide of the
book inserted. Two long, heavy spars, called steeves, made
of the strongest wood, and sharpened off like a wedge at one
end, were placed with their wedge ends into the inside of the
hide which was the centre of the book, and to the other end
of each, straps were fitted, into which large tackles were
hooked, composed each of two huge purchase blocks, one
hooked to the strap on the end of the steeve, and the other
into a dog, fastened into one of the beams, as far aft as it
could be got. When this was arranged, and the ways
greased upon which the book was to slide, the falls of the
tackles were stretched forward, and all hands tallied on, and
bowsed away imtil the book was well entered ; when these
tackles were nippered, straps and toggles clapped upon the
falls, and two more luff tackles hooked on, with dogs, in
the same manner; and thus, by luff upon luff, the power
was multiplied, until into a pile in which one hide more
could not be crowded by hand, an hundred or an hundred
and fifty were often driven in by this complication of pur-
chases. When the last luff was hooked on, all hands were
called to the rope — cook, steward, and all — and ranging
ourselves at the falls, one behind the other, sitting down
on the hides, with our heads just even with the beams,
we set taught upon the tackles, and striking up a song, and
all lying back at the chorus, we bowsed the tackles home,
and drove the large books chock in out of sight.

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286 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

The sailors' songs for captains and faUs are of a peculiar
kind, having a chorus at the end of each line. The burden
is usually sung by one alone, and, at the chorus, all hands
join in, — and the louder the noise, the better. With us,
the chorus seemed almost to raise the decks of the ship, and
might be heard at a great distance, ashore. A song is as
necessary to sailors as the drum and fife to a soldier. They
can't pull in time, or pull with a will, without it. Many a
time, when a thing goes heavy, with one fellow yo-ho-ing,
a lively song, like ''Heave, to the girls!" "Nancy oh!"
"Jack Cross-tree," etc., has put Ufe and strength into every
arm. We often found a great difference in the effect of
the different songs in driving in the hides. Two or three
songs would be tried, one after the other, with no effect;

— not an inch could be got upon the tackles — when a new
song, struck up, seemed to hit the hiunor of the moment,
and drove the tackles "two blocks" at once. "Heave
round hearty!" "Captain gone ashore!" and the like,
might do for conmion pulls, but on an emergency, when we
wanted a heavy, "raise-the-dead" pull, which should start
the beams of the ship, there was nothing like "Time for us
to go!" "Roimd the comer," or "Hurrah hurrah! my
hearty bullies!"

This was the most lively part of our work. A little
boating and beach work in the morning; then twenty or
thirty men down in a close hold, where we were obliged to
sit down and slide about, passing hides, and rowsing about
the great steeves, tackles, and dogs, singing out at the
falls, and seeing the ship filling up every day. The work
was as hard as it could well be. There was not a moment's
cessation from Monday morning till Saturday night, when
we were generally beaten out, and glad to have a full night's
rest, a wash and shift of clothes, and a quiet Sunday. Dur-
ing all this time, — which would have startled Dr. Graham,

— we lived upon almost nothing but fresh beef : fried beef-
steaks, three times a day, — morning, noon, and night.
At morning and night we had a quart of tea to each man ;

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 287

and an allowance of about a pound of hard bread a day;
but our chief article of food was the beef. A mess, consist-
ing of six men, had a large wooden kid piled up with beef-
steaks, cut thick, and fried in fat, with the grease poured
over them. Round this we sat, attacking it with our jack-
knives and teeth, and with the appetite of yoimg lions, and
sent back an empty kid to the galley. This was done three
times a day. How many poxmds each man ate in a day, I
will not attempt to compute. A whole bullock (we ate liver
and all) lasted us but four days. ^. Such devouring of flesh,
I will venture to say, was seldom known before. What one
man ate in a day, over a hearty man's allowance, would
make a Russian's heart leap into his mouth. Indeed, during
all the time we were upon the coast, our principal food was
fresh beef, and every man had perfect health ; but this was
a time of especial devouring ; and what we should have done
without meat, I cannot tefl. Once or twice, when our bul-
locks failed and we were obliged to make a meal upon dry
bread and water, it seemed like feeding upon shavings.
Light and dry, feeling unsatisfied, and, at the. same time,
full, we were glad to see four quarters of a bullock, just
killed, swinging from the fore-top. Whatever theories
may be started by sedentary men, certainly no men could
have gone through more hard work and exposure for six-
teen months in more perfect health, and without ailings and
failings, than our ship's crew, let them have lived upon
Hygeia's own baking and dressing.

Friday, April 15/A. Arrived, brig Pilgrim, from the
windward. It was a sad sight for her crew to see us getting
ready to go off the coast, while they, who had been longer
on the coast than the Alert, were condemned to another
year's hard service. I spent an evening on board, and
foimd them making the best of the matter, and determined

to rough it out as they might ; but my friend S was

determined to go home in the ship, if money or interest
could bring it to pass. After considerable negotiating and
working, he succeeded in persuading my English friend,

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288 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Tom Harris, — my companion in the anchor watch, — for
thirty dollars, some clothes, and an intimation from Cap-
tain Faucon that he should want a second mate before the
voyage was up, to take his place in the brig as soon as she
was ready to go up to windward.

The first opportunity I could get to speak to Captain
Faucon, I asked him to step up to the oven and look at
Hope, whom he knew well, having had him on board his
vessel. He went to see him, but said that he had so little
medicine, and expected to be so long on the coast, that he
could do nothing for him, but that Captain Arthur would
take care of him when he came down in the California^
which would be in a week or more. I had been to see Hope
the first night after we got into San Diego this last time, and
had frequently since spent the early part of a night in the
oven. I hardly expected, when I left him to go to wind-
ward, to find him alive upon my return. He was certainly
as low as he could well be when I left him, and what would
be the effect of the medicines that I gave him, I hardly then
dared to conjecture. Yet I knew that he must die without
them. I was not a little rejoiced, therefore, and relieved,
upon our return, to see him decidedly better. The medi-
cines were strong, and took hold and gave a check to the dis-
order which was destroying him ; and, more than that, they
had begun the work of exterminating it. I shall never for-
get the gratitude that he expressed. All the Kanakas attrib-
uted his escape solely to my knowledge, and would not be per-
suaded that I had not all the secrets of the physical system
open to me and under my control. My medicines, however,
were gone, and no more could be got from the ship, so that
his life was left to hang upon the arrival of the California.

Sunday, April 24th. We had now been nearly seven
weeks in San Diego, and had taken in the greater part of
our cargo, and were looking out, every day, for the arrival
of the Calif omia, which had our agent on board; when,
this afternoon, some Kanakas, who had been over the hill
for rabbits and to fight rattlesnakes, came running down

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 289

the path, singing, "Kail ho!'' with all their might. Mr.
H., our third mate, was ashore, and asking them particu-
larly about the size of the sail, etc., and learning that it
was ^'Moku — Nut Moku,^' hailed our ship, and said that
the California was on the other side of the point. Instantly,
all hands were turned up, the bow guns run out and loaded,
the ensign and broad pennant set, the yards squared by lifts
and braces, and everything got ready to make a good ap-
pearance. The instant she showed her nose round the
point, we began our salute. She came in under top-gal-
lant-sails, clewed up and furled her sails in good order, and
came-to, within good swinging distance of us. It being Sun-
day, and nothing to do, all hands were on the forecastle,
criticising the new-comer. She was a good, substantial
ship, not quite so long as the Aleri, and wall-sided and ket-
tle-bottomed, after the latest fashion of south-shore cotton
and sugar wagons ; strong, too, and tight, and a good aver-
age sailer, but with no pretensions to beauty, and nothing in
the style of a "crack ship." Upon the whole, we were
perfectly satisfied that the Akrt might hold up her head
with a ship twice as smart as she.

At night, some of us got a boat and went on board, and
f oimd a large, roomy forecastle (for she was squarer forward
than the Alert), and a crew of a dozen or fifteen men and
boys, sitting aroimd on their chests, smoking and talking,
and ready to give a welcome to any of our ship's company.
It was just seven months since they left Boston, which
seemed but yester3ay to us. Accordingly, we had much to
ask, for though we had seen the newspapers that she brought,
yet these were the very men who had been in Boston and
seen everything with their own eyes. One of the green-hands
was a Boston boy, from one of the public schools, and, of
course, knew many things which we wished to ask about, and
on inquiring the names of our two Boston boys, found that
they had been schoolmates of his. Our men had hundreds
of questions to ask about Ann street, the boarding-houses,
the ships in port, the rate of wages, and other matters.

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290 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST \

Among her crew were two English man-of-warVmen, ^
that, of course, we soon had music. They sang in the true
sailor's style, and the rest of the crew, which was a remark-
ably musical one, joined in the choruses. They had many
of the latest sailor songs, which had not yet got about
among pur merchantmen, and which they were very choice
of. They began soon after we came on board, and kept it
up until after two bells, when the second mate came for-
ward and called "the Alerts away !" Battle-songs, drink-
ing-songs, boat-songs, love-songs, and everything else, they
seemed to have a complete assortment of, and I was glad
to find that "All in the downs,'' "Poor Tom Bowline,"
"The Bay of Biscay,'' "List, ye landsmen !" and all those
classical songs of the sea, still held their places. In addition
to these, they had picked up at the theatres and other places
a few songs of a little more genteel cast, which they were
very proud of ; and I shall never forget hearing an old salt,
who had broken his voice by hard drinking on shore, and
bellowing from the mast-head in an hundred north-westers,
with all manner of ungovernable trills and quavers — in
the high notes, breaking into a rough falsetto — and in the
low ones, growling along like the dying away of the boat-
swain's "all hands ahoy!" down the hatchway, singing,
"Oh no, we never mention him."

" Perhaps, like me, he struggles with
Each feeling of regret;
But if he'd loved as I have loved,
He never can forget! "

The last line, being the conclusion, he roared out at the
top of his voice, breaking each word up into half a dozen
syllables. This was very popular, and Jack was called upon
every night to give them his "sentimental song." No one
called for it more loudly than I, for the complete absurdity
of the execution, and the sailors' perfect satisfaction in it,
were ludicrous beyond measure.

The next day, the California commenced imloading her

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 291

cargo; and her boats' crews, in coming and going, sang
their boat-songs, keeping time with their oars. This they
did all day long for several days, until their hides were all
discharged, when a gang of them were sent on board the
Alerty to help us steeve our hides. This was a windfall for
us, for they had a set of new songs for the capstan and fall,
and ours had got nearly worn out by six weeks' constant use.
I have no doubt that this timely reinforcement of songs
hastened our work several days.

Our cargo was now nearly all taken in ; and my old friend,
the Pilgrim, having completed her discharge, immoored,
to set sail the next morning on another long trip to wind-
ward. I was just thinking of her hard lot, and congratu-
lating myself upon my escape from her, when I received a
sunmions into the cabin. I went aft, and there found,
seated round the cabin table, my own captain. Captain

Faucon of the Pilgrim, and Mr. R , the agent. Captain

T turned to me and asked abruptly —

"D , do you want to go home in the ship?"

" Certainly, sir," said I ; '* I expect to go home in the ship."
"Then," said he, "you must get some one to go in your
place on board the PilgrimJ'

I was so completely "taken aback" by this sudden inti-
mation, that for a moment I could make no reply. I knew
that it would be hopeless to attempt to prevail upon any
of the ship's crew to take twelve months more upon Cali-
fornia in the brig. I knew, too, that Captain T had

received orders to bring me home in the Alert, and he had
told me, when I was at the hide-house, that I was to go f
home in her ; and even if this had not been so, it was cruel
to give me no notice of the step they were going to take,
imtil a few hours before the brig would sail. As soon as I
had got my wits about me, I put on a bold front, and told
him plainly that I had a letter in my chest informing me
that he had been written to, by the owners in Boston, to
bring me home in the ship, and moreover that he had told
me that I was to go in the ship.

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292 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

To have this told him, and tq be opposed in such a man-
ner, was more than my lord paramount had been used to.
He turned fiercely upon me, and tried to look me down, and
face me out of my statement ; but finding that that wouldn't
do, and that I was entering upon my defence in such a way
as would show to the other two that he was in the wrong, —
he changed his ground, and pointed to the shipping papers
of the Pilgrim, from which my name had never been erased,
and said that there was my name, — that I belonged to her,
— that he had an absolute discretionary power, — and, in
short, that I must be on board the Pilgrim by the next morn-
ing with my chest and hammock, or have some one ready
to go in my place, and that he would not hear another word
from me. No court of star chamber could proceed more
summarily with a poor devil, than this trio was about to
do with me ; condenming me to a punishment worse than
a Botany Bay exUe, and to a fate which would alter the
whole current of my future life ; for two years more in Cali-
fornia would have made me a sailor for the rest of my days.
I felt all this, and saw the necessity of being determined.
I repeated what I had said, and insisted upon my right to
return in the ship.

I " raised my arm, and tauld my crack,
Before them a'."

But it would have all availed me nothing, had I been
''some poor body,*' before this absolute, domineering tri-
bunal. But they saw that I would not go, unless ''vi et
armis," and they knew that I had friends and interest
enough at home to make them suffer for any injustice
they might do me. It was probably this that turned the
matter; for the captain changed his tone entirely, and
asked me if, in case any one went in my place, I would give

him the same sum that S gave Harris to exchange with

him. I told him that if any one was sent on board the
brig, I should pity him, and be willing to help him to that,

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 293

or almost any amoxint; but would not speak of it as an
exchange.

" Very well/' said he. '* Go forward about your business,
and send English Ben here to me !"

I went forward with a Ught heart, but feeling as angry
and as much contempt as I could well contain between my
teeth. English Ben was sent aft, and in a few moments
came forward, looking as though he had received his sen-
tence to be hung. The captain had told him to get his
things ready to go on board the brig the next morning ; and
that I would give him thirty dollars and a suit of clothes.
The hands had "knocked off" for dinner, and were standing
about the forecastle, when Ben came forward and told his
story. I could see plainly that it made a great excitement,
and that, unless I explained the matter to them, the feeling
would be turned against me. Ben was a poor English boy,
a stranger in Boston, and without friends or money ; and
being an active, willing lad, and a good sailor for his years,
was a general favorite. " Oh yes ! " said the crew, '* the cap-
tain has let you off, because you are a gentleman's son, and
have got friends, and know the owners; and taken Ben,
because he is poor, and has got nobody to say a word for
him !" I knew that this was too true to be answered, but
I excused myself from any blame, and told them that I
had a right to go home, at all events. This pacified them a
little, but Jack had got a notion that a poor lad was to be
imposed upon, and did not distinguish very clearly; and
though I knew that I was in no fault, and, in fact, had barely
escaped the grossest injustice, yet I felt that my berth was
getting to be a disagreeable one. The notion that I was
not "one of them,^' which, by a participation in all their
labor and hardships, and having no favor shown me, had
been laid asleep, was beginning to revive. But far stronger
than any feeling for myself, was the pity I felt for the poor
lad. He had depended upon going home in the ship ; and
from Boston, was going immediately to Liverpool, to see
his friends. Beside this, having begim the voyage with

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294 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

very few clothes, he had taken up the greater part of his
wages in the slop-chest, and it was every day a losing concern
to him ; and, like all the rest of the crew, he had a hearty
hatred of California, and the prospect of eighteen months
or two years more of hide-droghing seemed completely to
break down his spirit. I had determined not to go myself,
< happen what would, and I knew that the captain would not
/ dare to attempt to force me. I knew, too, that the two
captains had agreed together to get some one, and that un-
less I could prevail upon somebody to go volimtarily, there
would be no help for Ben. From this consideration, though
I had said that I would have nothing to do with an exchange,
I did my best to get some one to go voluntarily. I offered
to give an order upon the owners in Boston for six months'
wages, and also all the clothes, books, and other matters,
which I should not want upon the voyage home. When
this offer was published in the ship, and the case of poor Ben
was set forth in strong colors, several, who would not have
dreamed of going themselves, were busy in talking it up to
others, who, they thought, might be tempted to accept it ;
and, at length, one fellow, a harum-scarum lad, whom we
called Harry Bluff, and who did not care what country or
ship he was in, if he had clothes enough and money enough
— partly from pity for Ben, and partly from the thought he
should have "cruising money" for the rest of his stay, —
came forward, and offered to go and '*sling his hammock in
the bloody hooker." Lest his purpose should cool, I signed
an order for the sum upon the owners in Boston, gave him
all the clothes I could spare, and sent him aft to the captain,
to let him know what had been done. The skipper accepted
the exchange, and was, doubtless, glad to have it pass off
so easily. At the same time he cashed the order, which
was endorsed to him,^ and the next mormng, the lad went

* When the crew were paid off in Boston, the owners answered
the order, but generously refused to deduct the amount from the
pay-roll, saving that the exchange was made under compulsion.
They also allowed S his exchange money.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 295

aboard the brig, apparently in good spirits, having shaken
hands with each of us and wished us a pleasant passage
home, jingling the money in his pockets, and calling out,
** Never say die, while there's a shot in the locker." The
same boat carried oflf Harris, my old watchmate, who had
previously made an exchange with my friend S .

I was sorry to part with Harris. Nearly two hundred
hours (as we had calculated it) had we walked the ship's
deck together, at anchor watch, when all hands were below,
and talked over and over every subject which came within
the ken of either of us. He gave me a strong gripe with his
hand ; and I told him, if he came to Boston again, not to
fail to find me out, and let me see an old watchmate. The
same boat brought on board S , my friend, who had be-
gun the voyage with me from Boston, and, like me, was
going back to his family and to the society which we had
been bom and brought up in. We congratulated one an-
other upon finding what we had long talked over and wished
for, thus brought about ; and none on board the ship were
more glad than ourselves to see the old brig standing round
the point, tmder full sail. As she passed abreast of us, we
all collected in the waist, and gave her three loud, hearty
cheers, waving our hats in the air. Her crew sprang into
the rigging and chains, and answered us with three as loud,
to whidi we, after the nautical custom, gave one in return.
I took my last look of their familiar faces as they got over
the rail, and saw the old black cook put his head out of the
galley, and wave his cap over his head. The crew flew aloft
to loose the top-gallant-sails and royals ; the two captains
waved their hands to one another; and, in ten minutes,
we saw the last inch of her white canvas, as she rounded the
point.

Relieved as I was to see her well oflF (and I felt like one
who had just sprung from an iron trap which was closing
upon him) I had yet a feeling of regret at taking the last
look at the old craft in which I had spent a year, and the
first year, of my sailor's life — which had been my first home

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296 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

in the new world into which I had entered — and with which
I had associated so many things, — my first leaving home,
my first crossing the equator, Cape Horn, JuaH Fernandez,
death at sea, and other things, serious and common. Yet,
with all this, and the feeling I had for my old shipmates,
condenmed to another term of California life, the thought
that we were done with it, and that one week more would
see us on our way to Boston, was a cure for everything.

Friday, May 6th, completed the taking in of our cargo,
and was a memorable day in our calendar. The time when
we were to take in our last hide, we had looked forward to,
for sixteen months, as the first bright spot. When the last
hide was stowed away, and the hatches calked down, the
tarpaulins battened on to them, the long-boat hoisted in
and secured, and the decks swept down for the night, —
the chief mate sprang upon the top of the long-boat, called
all hands into the waist, and giving us a signal by swinging
his cap over his head, — we gave three long, loud cheers,
which came from the bottom of our hearts, and made the
hills and valleys ring again. In a moment, we heard three,
in answer, from the California's crew, who had seen us tak-
ing in our long-boat, and — "the cry they heard — its
meam'ng knew."

The last week, we had been occupied in taking in a supply
of wood and water for the passage home, and in bringing
on board the spare spars, sails, etc. I was sent oflf with a
party of Indians to fill the water-casks, at a spring, about
three miles from the shipping, and near the town, and was
absent three days, living at the town, and spending the day-
time in filling the casks and transporting them on ox-carts
to the landing-place, whence they were taken on board by
the crew with boats. This being all done with, we gave one
to bending our sails; and at night, every sail, from the
courses to the skysails, was bent, and every studding-sail
ready for setting.

Before our sailing, an unsuccessful attempt was made
by one of the crew of the California to effect an exchange

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TWO, YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 297

with one of our number. It was a lad, between fifteen and
sixteen years of age, who went by the nanie of the "reefer,"
having been a midshipman in an East India Company's
ship. His singular character and story had excited our
interest ever since the ship came into the port. He was
a delicate, slender little fellow, with a beautifid pearly com-
plexion, regular features, forehead as white as marble, black
hair, curling beautifully round it, tapering, delicate fingers,
small feet, soft voice, gentle manners, and, in fact, every
sign of having been well bom and bred. At the same time,
there was something in his expression which showed a slight
deficiency of intellect. How great the deficiency was, or
what it resulted from ; whether he was bom so ; whether
it was the result of disease or accident ; or whether, as some
said, it was brought on by his distress of mind, during the
voyage, I cannot say. From his own account of himself,
and from many circumstances which were known in connec-
tion with his story, he must have been the son of a man of
wealth. His mother was an Italian woman. He was prob-
ably a natural son, for in scarcely any other way could the
incidents of his early life be accounted for. He said that
his parents did not live together, and he seemed to have been
ill treated by his father. Though he had been delicately
brought up, and indulged in every way (and he had then
with him trinkets which had been given him at home), yet
his education had been sadly neglected ; and when only
twelve years old, he was sent as midshipman in the Com-
pany's service. His own story was, that he afterwards ran
away from home, upon a difficulty which he had with his
father, and went to Liverpool, whence he sailed in the ship
Rialtbj Captain Holmes, for Boston. Captain Holmes en-
deavored to get him a passage back, but there being no
vessel to sail for some time, the boy left him, and went to
board at a common sailor's boarding-house, in Ann street,
where he supported himself for a few weeks by selling some
of his valuables. At length, according to his own accoimt,
being desirous of returning home, he went to a shipping-

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298 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

office, where the shipping articles of the California were
open. Upon asking where the ship was going, he was told
by the shipping-master that she was boimd to California.
Not knowing where that was, he told him that he wanted
to go to Europe, and asked if California was in Europe.
The shipping-master answered him in a way which the boy
did not imderstand, and advised him to ship. The boy
signed the articles, received his advance, laid out a little of
it in clothes, and spent the rest, and was ready to go on
board, when, upon the morning of sailing, he heard that the
ship was bound upon the North-west Coast, on a two or
three years' voyage, and was not going to Europe. Fright-
ened at this prospect, he slipped away when, the crew were
going aboard, wandered up into another part of the town,
and spent all the forenoon in straying about the common,
and the neighboring streets. Having no money, and all
his clothes and other things being in his chest, on board, and
being a stranger, he became tired and hungry, and ven-
tured down toward the shipping, to see if the vessel had
sailed. He was just turning the comer of a street, ji^hen the
shipping-master, who had been in search of him, popped
upon him, seized him, and carried him on board. He cried
and struggled, and said he did not wish to go in the ship,
but the topsails were at the mast-head, the fast just ready
to be cast off, and everything in the hurry and confusion of
departure, so that hewas hardly noticed ; and the few who did
inquire about the matter were told that it was merely a boy
who had spent his advance and tried to run away. Had the
owners of the vessel known anything of the matter, they
would have interfered at once ; but they either knew nothing
of it, or heard, like the rest, that it was only an unruly boy
who was sick of his bargain. As soon as the boy found him-
self actually at sea, and upon a voyage of two or three years
in length, his spirits failed him ; he refused to work, and
became so miserable, that Captain Arthur took him into
the cabin, where he assisted the steward, and occasionally
pulled and hauled about decks. He was in this capacity

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 299

when we saw him ; and though it was much better for him
than the life in a forecastle, and the hard work, watching,
and exposure, which his delicate frame could not have
borne, yet, to be joined with a black fellow in waiting upon
a man whom he probably looked upon as but little, in point
of education and manners, above one of his father's servants,
was almost too much for his spirit to bear. Had he entered
upon this situation of his own free will, he could have en-
dured it; but to have been deceived, and, in addition to
that, forced into it, was intolerable. He made every effort
to go home in our ship, but his captain refused to part with
him except in the way of exchange, and that he could not
effect. If this accoimt of the whole matter, which we had
from the boy, and which was confirmed by all the crew, be
correct, I cannot imderstand why Captain Arthur should
have refused to let him go, especially being a captain who
had the name, not only with that crew, but with all whom
he had ever commanded, of an imusually kind-hearted man.
The truth is, the unlimited j)ower which merchant captains
have, upon long voyages on strange coasts, takes away a
sense of responsibility, and too often, even in men other-
wise well-disposed, substitutes a disregard for the rights
and feelings of others. The lad was sent on shore to join
the gang at the hide-house ; from whence, I was afterwards
rejoiced to hear, he effected his escape, and went down to
Callao in a small Spanish schooner; and from Callao, he
probably returned to England.

Soon after the arrival of the California, I spoke to Captain
Arthur about Hope ; and as he had known him on the voy-
age before, and was very fond of him, he immediately went
to see him, gave him proper medicines, and, under such care,
he began rapidly to recover. The Saturday night before
our sailing, I spent an hour in the oven, and took leave of my
Kanaka friends ; and, really, this was the only thing con-
nected with leaving California which was in any way un-
pleasant. I felt an interest and affection for many of these
simple, true-hearted men, such as I never felt before but

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300 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

for a near relation. Hope shook me by the hand ; said he
should soon be well again, tod ready to work for me when
I came upon the coast, next voyage, as officer of the ship ;
and told me not to forget, when I became captain, how to
be kind to the sick. Old " Mr. Bingham " and " King Man-
nini" went down to the boat with me, shook me heartily
by the hand, wished us a good voyage, and went back to the
oven, chanting one of their deep monotonous songs, the
burden of which I gathered to be about us and our voyage.
Sunday, May Sth. This promised to be our last day in
California. Our forty thousand hides, thirty thousand
I horns, besides several barrels of otter and beaver skins,
\ were all stowed below, and the hatches calked down. All
' our spare spars were taken on board and lashed ; our water-
casks secured; and our live stock, consisting of four bul-
locks, a dozen sheep, a dozen or more pigs, and three or
four dozen of poultry, were all stowed away in their different
quarters : the bullocks in the long-boat, the sheep in a pen
on the fore hatch, and the pigs in a sty imder the bows of
the long-boat, and the poultry in their proper coop, and the
jolly-boat was full of hay for the sheep and bullocks. Our
unusually large cargo, together with the stores for a five
months' voyage, brought the ship channels down into the
water. In addition to this, she had been steeved so thor-
oughly, and was so bound by the compression of her cargo,
forced into her by so powerful machinery, that she was like
a man in a strait jacket, and would be but a dull sailer, until
she had worked herself loose.

The California had finished discharging her cargo, and
was to get under weigh at the same time with us. Hav-
ing washed down decks and got our breakfast, the two
vessels lay side by side, in complete readiness for sea, our
ensigns hanging from the f>eaks, and our tall spars reflected
from the glassy surface of the river, which, since sun-rise,
had been unbroken by a ripple. At length, a few whiffs
came across the water, and, by eleven o'clock, the regular
north-west wind set steadily in. There was no need of

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 301

calling all hands, for we had all been hanging about the
forecastle the whole forenoon, and were ready for a start
upon the first sign of a breeze. All eyes were aft upon the
captain, who was walking the deck, with, every now and
then, a look to windward. He made a sign to the mate,
who came forward, took his station deliberately between
the knight-heads, cast a glance aloft, and called out, "All
hands, lay aloft and loose the sails ! " We were half in the
rigging before the order came, and never since we left Boston
were the gaskets oflf the yards, and the rigging overhauled,
in a shorter time. "All ready forward, sir!" — "All
ready the main !'* — "Cross- jack yards all ready, sir !" —
"Lay down, all hands but one on each yard I " The yard-
arm and bunt gaskets were cast off ; and each sail hung by
the jigger, with one man standing by the tie to let it go. At
the same moment that we sprang aloft, a dozen hands
sprang into the rigging of the California, and in an instant
were all over her yards ; and her sails, too, were ready to
be dropped at the word. In the mean time our bow gun
had been loaded and run out, and its discharge was to be
the signal for dropping the sails. A cloud of smoke came
out of our bows ; the echoes of the gun rattled our farewell
among the hills of California; and the two ships were cov-
ered, from head to foot, with their white canvas. For a few
minutes, all was uproar and apparent confusion : men flying
about like monkeys in the rigging ; ropes and blocks flying ;
orders given and answered, and the confused noises of men
singing out at the ropes. The topsails came to the mast-
heads with "Cheerily, men !" and, in a few minutes, every
sail was set ; for the wind was light. The head sails were
backed, the windlass came round "slip — slap" to the cry
of the sailors ; — " Hove short, sir," said the mate ; — "Up
with him!" — "Aye, aye, sir." — A few hearty and long
heaves, and the anchor showed its head. "Hook cat!"
— The fall was stretched along the decks ; — all hands laid
hold; — "Hurrah, for the last time," said the mate; and
the anchor came to the cat-head to the tune of "Time for

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302 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

us to go," with a loud chorus. Everything was done quick,
as though it were for the last time. The head yards were
filled away, and our ship began to move through the water
on her homeward-bound course.

The California had got under weigh at the same moment ;
and we sailed down the narrow bay abreast, and were just oflF
the mouth, and finding oiurselves gradually shooting ahead
of her, were on the point of giving her three parting cheers,
when, suddenly, we found ourselves stopped short, and the
California ranging fast ahead of us. A bar stretches across
the mouth of the harbor, with water enough to float common
vessels, but, being low in the water, and having kept well
to leeward, as we were boimd to the southward, we had
stuck fast, while the California, being light, had floated
over"

We kept all sail on, in the hope of forcing over, but failing
in this, we hove aback, and lay waiting for the tide, which
was on the flood, to take us back into the channel. This
was somewhat of a damper to us, and the captain looked
not a little mortified and vexed. *'This is the same place
where the Rosa got ashore," observed our red-headed second
mate, most mal-a-propos. A malediction on the Rosa,
and him too, was all the answer he got, and he slunk oflf to
leeward. In a few minutes, the force of the wind and the
rising of the tide backed us into the stream, and we were
on our way to our old anchoring-place, the tide setting
swiftly up, and the ship barely manageable, in the light
breeze. We came-to, in our old berth, opposite the hide-
house, whose inmates were not a little surprised to see us
return. We felt as though we were tied to California ; and
some of the crew swore fiiat they never should get clear of
the bloody coast.

In about half an hour, which was near high water, the
order was given to man the windlass, and again the anchor
was catted ; but not a word was said about the last time.
The California had come back on finding that we had
returned, and was hove-to, waiting for us, off the point.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 303

This time we passed the bar safely, and were soon up with
the California, who filled away, and kept us company.
She seemed desirous of a trial of speed, and our captain
accepted the challenge, although we were loaded down to
the bolts of our chain plates, as deep as a sand-barge, and
bound so taught with our cargo that we were no more fit for
a race than a man in fetters ; — while our antagonist was
in her best trim. Being clear of the point, the breeze be-
came stiff, and the royal masts bent imder our sails, but we
would pot take them in imtil we saw three boys spring aloft
into the rigging of the California; when they were all furled
at once, but with orders to stay aloft at the top-gallant mast-
heads, and loose them again at the word. It was my duty
to furl the fore royal; and while standing by to loose it
again, I had a fine view of the scene. From where I stood,
the two vessels seemed nothing but spars and sails, while
their narrow decks, far below, slanting over by the force of
the wind aloft, appeared hardly capable of supporting the
great fabrics raised upon them. The California was to
windward of us, and had every advantage ; yet, while the
breeze was stiff, we held our own. As soon as it began to
slacken, she ranged a little ahead, and the order was given
to loose the royals. In an instant the gaskets were off and
the bimt dropped. " Sheet home the fore royal j — Weather
sheet's home!'' — "Lee sheet's home!" — ** Hoist away,
sir!" is bawled from aloft. "Overhaul your clewlines!"
shouts the mate. "Aye, aye, sir ! all clear !" — "Taught
leech ! belay ! Well the lee brace ; haul taught to wind-
ward" — and the royals are set. These brought us up
again; but the wind continuing light, the California set
hers, and it was soon evident that she was walking away
from us. Our captain then hailed, and said that he should
keep off to his course ; adding — " She isn't the Alert now.
If I had her in your trim, she would have been out of sight
by this time." This was good-naturedly answered from
the California, and she braced sharp up, and stood close
upon the wind up the coast; while we squared away our

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304 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

yards, and stood before the wind to the south-south-west.
The California's crew manned her weather rigging, waved
their hats in the air, and gave us three hearty cheers, which
we answered as heartily, and the customary single cheer
came back to us from over the water. She stood on her
way, doomed to eighteen months' or two years' hard service
upon that hated coast, while we were making our way to
our home, which every hour and every mile was bringing us
nearer to.

As soon as we parted company with the California^ all
hands were sent aloft to set the studding-sails. Booms were
rigged out, tacks and halyards rove, sail after sail packed
upon her, imtil every available inch of canvas was spread,
that we might not lose a breath of the fair wind. We could
now see how much she was cramped and deadened by her
cargo; for with a good breeze on her quarter, and every
stitch of canvas spread, we could not get more than six ,
knots out of her. She had no more life in her than if sfie^
were water-logged. The log was hove several times ; but
she was doing her best. We had hardly patience with her,
but the older sailors said — "Stand by ! you'll see her woA
herself loose in a week or two, and tiien she'll walk up to
Cape Horn like a race-horse."

When all sail had been set, and the decks cleared up, the
California was a speck in the horizon, and the coast lay
like a low cloud along the north-east. At sim-set they were
both out of sight, and we were once more upon the ocean,
where sky and water meet.

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CHAPTER XXX

At eight o'clock all hands were called aft, and the watches
set for the voyage. Some changes were made ; but I was
glad to find myself still in the larboard watch. Our crew
was somewhat diminished ; for a man and a boy had gone
in the Pilgrim; another was second mate of the Ayacucho;
and a third, the oldest man of the crew, had broken down
under the hard work and constant exposure on the coast,
and, having had a stroke of the palsy, was left behind at
the hide-house, under the charge of Captain Arthur. The
poor fellow wished very much to come home in the ship;
and he ought to have been brought home in her. But a
live dog is better than a dead lion, and a sick sailor belongs
to nobody's mess ; so he was sent ashore with the rest of
the lumber, which was only in the way. By these diminu-
tions, we were short-handed for a voyage roimd Cape Horn

in the dead of winter. Beside S and myseljf, there

were only five in the forecastle; who, together with four
boys in the steerage, the sailmaker, carpenter, etc., com-
posed the whole crew. In addition to this, we were only
three or four days out, when the sailmaker, who was the old-
est and best seaman on board, was taken with the palsy, and
was useless for the rest of the voyage. The constant wading
in the water, in all weathers, to take off hides, together with
the other labors, is too much for old men, and for any who
have not good constitutions. Beside these two men of ours,
the second officer of the Calif ornia and the carpenter of the
Pilgrim broke down imder tike work, and the latter died at
Santa Barbara. The young man, too, who came out with
us from Boston in the Pilgrim, had to be taken from his
X 30s

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3o6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

berth before the mast and made clerk, on account of a fit of
rheimiatism which attacked him soon after he came upon the
coast. By the loss of the sailmaker, our watch was reduced
to five, of 'vichom two were boys, who never steered but in
fine weather, so that the other two and myself had to stand
at the wheel four hours apiece out of every twenty-four;
a«d the other watch had only foiu: helmsmen. "Never
mind — we're homeward boimd ! " was the answer to every-
thing ; and we should not have minded this, were it not
for the thought that we should be off Cape Horn in the
very dead of winter. It was now the first part of May;
and two months would bring us off the Cape in July,
which is the worst month in the year there ; when the sun
rises at nine and sets at three, giving eighteen hours
m'ght, and there is snow and rain, gales and high seas, in
abundance.

The prospect of meeting this in a ship half manned, and
loaded so deep that every heavy sea must wash her fore and
aft, was by no means pleasant. The Alert^ in her passage
out, doubled the Cape in the month of February, which is
DMdsummer ; and we came roimd in the Pilgrim in the latter
part of October, which we thought was bad enough. There
was only one of our crew who had been off there in the
winter, and that was in a whaleship, much lighter and
higher than our ship; yet he said they had man-killing
weather for twenty days without intermission, and their
decks were swept twice, and they were all glad enough to
see the last of it. The Brandymne frigate, also, in her
passage round, had sixty days off the Cape, and lost several
boats by the heavy seas. AJl this was for our comfort ; yet
pass it we must ; and all hands agreed to make the best of it.

During our watches below we overhauled our clothes, and
made and mended everything for bad weather. Each of us
had made for himself a suit of oil-cloth or tarpaulin, and
these we got out, and gave thorough coatings of oil or tar,
and hung upon the stays to dry. Our stout boots, too, we
covered over with a thick mixture of melted grease and tar.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 307

and hung out to dry. Thtis we took advantage of the warm
siin and fine weather of the Pacific to prepare for its other
face. In the forenoon watches below, our forecastle looked
like the workshop of what a sailor is, — a Jack at all trades.
Thick stockings and drawers were darned and patched;
mittens dragged from the bottom of the chest and mended ;
comforters made for the neck and ears ; old flannel shirts cut
up to line monkey-jackets ; south-westers lined with flannel,
and a pot of paint smuggled forward to give them a coat on
the outside ; and everything turned to hand ; so that, al-
though two years had left us but a scanty wardrobe, yet
the economy and invention which necessity teaches a
sailor, soon put each of us in pretty good trim for bad
weather, even before we had seen the last of the fine. Even
the cobbler's art was not out of place. Several old shoes
were very decently repaired, and with waxed ends, an awl,
and the top of an old boot, I made me quite a respectable
sheath for my knife.

There was one difficulty, however, which nothing that
we could do would remedy ; and that was the leaking of
the forecastle, which made it very uncomfortable in bad
weather, and rendered half of the berths tenantless. The
tightest ships, in a long voyage, from the constant strain
which is upon the bowsprit, will leak, more or less, roimd
the heel of the bowsprit, and the bitts, which come down
into the forecastle; but, in addition to this, we had an
imaccountable leak on the starboard bow, near the cat-head,
which drove us from the forward berths on that side, and,
indeed, when she was on the starboard tack, from all the
forward berths. One of the after berths, too, leaked in very
bad weather ; so that in a ship which was in other respects
as tight as a bottle, and brought her cargo to Boston per-
fectly dry, we had, after every effort made to prevent it, in
the way of calking and leading, a forecastle with only three
dry berths for seven of us. However, as there is never but
one watch below at a time, by "turning in and out," we did
pretty well. And, there being, in our watch, but three of us

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3o8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

who lived forward, we generally had a dry berth apiece in
bad weather.^

All this, however, was but anticipation. We were still in
fine weather in the North Pacific, running down the north-
east trades, which we took on the second day after leaving
San Diego.

Sunday y May 15th, one week out, we were in latitude 14°
56' N., long. 116° 14' W., having gone, by reckoning, over
/thirteen hundred miles in seven days. In fact, ever since
leaving San Diego, we had had a fair wind, and as much as
we wanted of it. For seven days, our lower and topmast
studding-sails were set all the time, and our royals and top-
gallant studding-sails, whenever she could stagger imder
them. Indeed, the captain had shown, from the moment
we got to sea, that he was to have no boy's play, but that
the ship had got to carry all she could, and that he was going
to make up, by "cracking on" to her, what she wanted in
lightness. In this way, we frequently made three degrees
I of latitude, besides something in longitude, in the course of
twenty-four hours. — Our days were spent in the usual
ship's work. The rigging which had become slack from
being long in port was to be set up ; breast backstays got
up ; studding-sail booms rigged upon the main-yard ; and
royal studding-sails got ready for the light trades; ring-
tail set ; and new rigging fitted and sails got ready for Cape
Horn. For, with a ship's gear, as well as a sailor's wardrobe,
fine weather must be improved to get ready for the bad to
come. Our forenoon watch below, as I have said, was given
to our own work, and our night watches were spent in the
usual manner: — a trick at the wheel, a look-out on the
forecastle, a nap on a coil of rigging under the lee of the rail ;
a yam roimd the windlass-end; or, as was generally my
way, a solitary walk fore and aft, in the weather waist,

* On removing the cat-head, after the ship arrived at Boston, it was
found that there were two holes under it which had been bored for the pur-
pose of driving treenails, and which, accidentally, had not been plugged up
when the cat-head was placed over them. This was sufficient to account
for the leak, and for our not having been able to discover and stop it.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 309

between the windlass-end and the main tack. Every wave
that she threw aside brought us nearer home, and every
day's observation at noon showed a progress which, if it
continued, would, in less than five months, take us into
Boston Bay. This is the pleasure of life at sea, — fine
weather, day after day, without interruption, — fair wind,
and a plenty of it, — and homeward boimd. Every one
was in good humor; things went right; and all was done
with a will. At the dog watch, all hands came on deck,
and stood roimd the weather side of the forecastle, or sat
upon the windlass, and simg sea songs, and those ballads of
pirates and highwaymen, which sailors delight in. Home,
too, and what we should do when we got there, and when and
how we should arrive, was no infrequent topic. Every
night, after the kids and pots were put away, and we had
lighted our pipes and cigars at the galley, and gathered
about the windlass, the first question was, —

''Well, Tom, what was the latitude to-day?"

"Why, fourteen, north, and she has been going seven
knots ever since."

"Well, this will bring lis up to the line in five days."

"Yes, but these trades won't last twenty-four hours
longer," says an old salt, pointing with the sharp of his hand
to leeward, — "I know that by the look of the clouds."

Then came all manner of calculations and conjectures as
to the continuance of the wind, the weather under the line,
the south-east trades, etc., and rough guesses as to the time
the ship would be up with the Horn ; and some, more ven-
turous, gave her so many days to Boston light, and offered
to bet that she would not exceed it.

"You'd better wait till you get roimd Cape Horn," says
an old croaker.

"Yes," says another, "you may see Boston, but you've
got to * smell hell' before that good day."

Rumors also of what had been said in the cabin, as usual,
foimd their way forward. The steward had heard the cap-
tain say something about the straits of Magellan, and the man

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3IO TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

at the wheel fancied he had heard him tell the "passenger"
that, if he found the wind ahead and the weather very bad
off the Cape, he should stick her off for New Holland, and
come home roimd the Cape of Good Hope.

This passenger — the first and only one we had had,
except to go from port to port, on the coast, was no one else
than a gentleman whom I had known in my better days ;
and the last person I should have expected to have seen on

the coast of California — Professor N , of Cambridge.

I had left him quietly seated in the chair of Botany and
Ornithology, in Harvard University; and the next I saw
of him, was strolling about San Diego beach, in a sailor's
pea-jacket, with a wide straw hat, and barefooted, with his
trowsers rolled up to his knees, picking up stones and shells.
He had travelled over land to the North-west Coast, and
come down in a small vessel to Monterey. There he learned
that there was a ship at the leeward, about to sail for Bos-
ton ; and, taking passage in the Pilgrim, which was then at
Monterey, he came slowly down, visiting the intermediate
ports, and examining tlie trees, plants, earths, birds, etc.,
and joined us at San DiegO ^shortly before we sailed. The
second mate of the PUgrim tol^ me that they had got an old
gentleman on board who kne^ me, and came from the
college that I had been in. He cotjld not recollect his name,
but said he was a "sort of an oldish i?ian," with white hair,
and spent all his time in the bush, ^d along the beach,
picking up flowers and shells, and sucfo truck, and had a
dozen boxes and barrels, full of them\ I thought over
everybody who would be likely to be th^e, but could fix
upon no one ; when, the next day, just as ^ were about to
shove off from the beach, he came down to flbe boat, in the
rig I have described, with his shoes in his H(And, and his
pockets full of specimens. I knew him at onSp> though I
should not have been more surprised to have s«p^ ^^ Old
South steeple shoot up from the hide-house. Hf probably
had no less difficulty in recognizing me. As we\l®^^ home
about the same time, we had notlung to tell on^ another ;

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 311

and owing to our different situations on board, I saw but
little of him on the passage home. Sometimes, when I
was at the wheel of a calm night, and the steering required
no attention, and the officer of the watch was forward, he
would come aft and hold a short yarn with me; but this
was against the rules of the ship, as is, in fact, all intercourse
between passengers and the crew. I was often amused to
see the sailors puzzled to know what to make of him, and
to hear their conjectures about him and his business.
They were as much puzzled as our old sailmaker was with
the captain's instruments in the cabin. He said there were
three: — the cAr(7-nometer, the cAr^-nometer, and the the-
nometer. (Chronometer, barometer, and thermometer.)
The Pilgrim^ s crew christened Mr. N. "Old Curious,'* from
his zeal for curiosities, and some of them said that he was
crazy, and that his friends let him go about and amuse him-
self in this way. Why else a rich man (sailors call every
man rich who does not work with his hands, and wears a
long coat and cravat) should leave a Christian country, and
come to such a place as California, to pick up shells and
stones, they could not understand. One of them, however,
an old salt, who had seen something more of the world
ashore, set all to rights, as he thought, — ''Oh, Vast there !
— You don't know anything about them craft. IVe seen
them colleges, and know the ropes. They keep all such,
things for curiosities, and study 'em, and have men a' pur- i
pose to go and get 'em. This old chap knows what he's
about. He a'n't the child you take him for. He'll carry
all these things to the college, and if they are better than any
that they have had before, he'll be head of the college.
Then, by-and-by, somebody else will go after some more,
and if they beat him, he'll have to go again, or else give up
his berth. That's the way they do it. This old covey
knows the ropes. He has worked a traverse over 'em, and
come 'way out here, where nobody's ever been afore, and
where they'll never think of coming." This explanation
satisfied Jack ; and as it raised Mr. N.'s credit for capacity,

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312 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

and was near enough to the truth for conunon purposes, I
did not disturb it.

With the exception of Mr. N., we had no one on board
but the regular ship's company, and the live stock. Upon
this, we had made a considerable inroad. We killed one
of the bullocks everyjour days, so that they did not last
us up to the line. We, or rather, they, then began upon the
sheep and the poultry, for these never come into Jack's
mess.^ The pigs were left for the latter part of the voyage,
for they are sailors, and can stand all weathers. We had
an old sow on board, the mother of a niunerous progeny,
who had been twice round the Cape of Good Hope, and once
round Cape Horn. The last time going round, was very
nearly her death We heard her squealing and moaning
one dark night, after it had been snowing and hailing for
several hours, and, getting into the sty, we found her nearly
frozen to death. We got some straw, an old sail, and other
things, and wrapped her up in a comer of the sty, where she
staid^ntil we got into fine weather again.

Wednesday, May 18/A. Lat. 9*^ 54' N., long. 113° 17' W.
The north-east trades had now left us, and we had the usual
variable winds which prevail near the line, together with

* The customs as to the allowance of " grub " are very nearly the same
in all American merchantmen. Whenever a pig is killed, the sailors have
one mess from it The rest goes to the cabin. The smaller live stock,
poultry, etc., they never taste. And, indeed, they do not complain of this,
for it would take a great deal to supply them with a good meal, and without
the accompaniments (which could hardly be furnished to them), it would not
be much better than salt beef. But even as to the salt beef, they are scarcely
dealt fairly with ; for whenever a barrel is opened, before any of the beef is
put into the harness-cask, the steward comes up. and picks it all over, and
takes out the best pieces (those that have any fat in them) for the cabin.
This was done in both the vessels I was in, and the men said that it was
usual in other vessels. Indeed, it is made no secret, but some of the crew
are usually called to help in assorting and putting away the pieces. By
this arrangement, the hard, dry pieces, which the sailors call * old horse,*'
come to their share.

There is a singular piece of rhyme, traditional among sailors, which they
say over such pieces of beef. I do not know that it ever appeared in print
before. When seated round the kid, if a particularly bad piece is found,
one of them takes it up, and addressing it repeats these lines :

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 313

some rain. So long as we were in these latitudes, we had
but little rest in our watch on deck at night, for, as the winds
were light and variable, and we could not lose a breath, we
were all the watch bracing the yards, and taking in and
making sail, and "humbugging'' with our flying kites.
A little puff of wind on the larboard quarter, and then —
''larboard fore braces!'* and studding-booms were rigged
out, studding-sails set alow and aloft, the yards trimmed,
and jibs and spanker in ; when it would come as calm as a
duck-pond, and the man at the wheel stand with the palm
of his hand up, feeling for the wind. ''Keep her off a
little!" "All aback forward, sir!" cries a man from the
forecastle Down go the braces again ; in come the stud-
ding-saUs, all in a mess, which half an hour won't set right ;
yards braced sharp up ; and she's on the starboard tack,
close hauled. The studding-sails must now be cleared away,
and set up in the tops, and on the booms. By the time this
is done, and you are looking out for a soft plank for a nap, —
"Lay aft here, and square in the head yards!" and the
studding-saUs are all set again on the starboard side. So it
goes until it is eight bells, — call the watch, — heave the
log, — relieve the wheel, and go below the larboard watch.
Sunday, May 22J. Lat. s"" 14' N., long. 1^6° 45' W. We

' Old horse I old horse ! what brought you here? '

— * From Sacarap' to Portland pier

IVe carted stone this many a year :

Till, killed by blows and sore abuse,

They salted me down for sailors' use.

The sailors they do me despise :

They turn me over and damn my eyes ;

Cut oS my meat, and pick my bones,

And pitch the rest to Davy Jones.'

There is a story current among seamen, that a beef-dealer was convicted,
at Boston, of having sold old horse for ship*3 stores, instead of beef, and
had been sentenced to be confined in jail, until he should eat the whole of
it ; and that he is now lying in Boston jail. I have heard this story often,
on board other vessels beside those of our own nation. It is very generally
believed, and is always highly commended, as a fair instance of retaliatory
justice.

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314 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

were now a fortnight out, and within five degrees of the line,
to which two days of good breeze would take us ; but we
had, for the most part, what the sailors call "an Irishman's
hurricane, — right up and down.'* This day it rained
nearly all day, and being Simday, and nothing to do, we
stopped up the scuppers and filled the decks with rain
water, and bringing all our clothes on deck, had a grand
wash, fore and aft. When this was through, we stripped, to
our drawers, and taking pieces of soap, with strips of canvas
for towels, we turned-to and soaped, washed, and scrubbed
one another down, to get oflf, as we said, the California dust ;
for the common wash in salt water, which is all that Jack
can get, being on an allowance of fresh, had little efficacy,
and was more for taste than utility. The captain was be-
low all the afternoon, and we had something nearer to a
Saturnalia than anything we had yet seen; for the mate
came into the scuppers, with a couple of boys to scrub him,
and got into a battle with them in heaving water. By \m-
plugging the holes, we let the soap-suds off the decks, and
in a short time had a new supply of rain water, in which we
had a grand rinsing. It was surprising to see how much
soap and fresh water did for the complexions of many of us ;
how much of what we supposed to be tan and sea-blacking,
we got rid of. The next day, the sun rising clear, the ship
was covered, fore and aft, with clothes of all sorts, hanging
out to dry.

As we approached the line, the wind became more
easterly, and the weather clearer, and in twenty days from
San Diego, — ""'^

Saturday, May 28/A, at about three p.m., with a fine breeze
from the east-south-east, we crossed the equator. In
twenty-four hours after crossing the line, which was very
imusual, we took the regular south-east trades. These
winds come a little from the eastward of south-east, and,
with us, they blew directly from the east-south-east, which
was fortunate for us, for our course was south-by-west, and
we could thus go one point free. The yards were braced so

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3 TW SHIF

SeA WASHED Tl« SHIP PORli.AND AFT

•»*

:.-• b-i

..^ " 'i \ii il'V it r '• ■
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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 315

that every sail drew, from the spanker to the fl3dng-jib;
and the upper yards being squared in a little, the fore and
main top-gallant studding-sails were set, and just drew
handsomely. For twelve days this breeze blew steadily,
not varying a point, and just so fresh that we could carry
our royals ; and, during the whole time, we hardly started
a brace. Such progress did we make, that at the end of
seven days from the time we took the breeze, on

Sunday, June $th, we were in lat. 19*^ 29' S., and long.
iiS*' 01' W., having made twelve hundred miles in seven
da3rs, very nearly upon a taught bowline. Our good ship
was getting to be herself again, had increased her rate of
sailing more than one-third since leaving San Diego. The
crew ceased complaining of her, and the officers hove the
log every two hours with evident satisfaction. This was
glorious sailing. A steady breeze; the light trade-wind
clouds over oiu: heads; the incomparable temperature of
the Pacific, — neither hot nor cold ; a clear sun every day,
and clear moon and stars each night; and new constella-
tions rising in the south, and the familiar ones sinking in
the north, as we went on our course, — ''stemming nightly
toward the pole." Already we had sunk the north star and
the Great Bear in the northern horizon, and all hands looked
out sharp to the southward for the Magellan Clouds, which,
each succeeding night, we expected to make. "The next
time we see the north star," said one, "we shall be standing
to the northward, the other side of the Horn." This was
true enough, and no doubt it would be a welcome sight;
for sailors say that in coming home from round Cape Horn,
and the Cape of Good Hope, the north star is the first land
you make.

These trades were the same that, in the passage out in
the Pilgrim, lasted nearly all the way from Juan Fernandez
to the line ; blowing steadily on our starboard quarter for
three weeks, without our starting a brace, or even brailing
down the skysails. Though we had now the same wind,
and were in the same latitude with the Pilgrim on her

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3i6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

passage out, yet we were nearly twelve hundred miles to the
jyestward of her course ; for the captain, depending upon the
strong south-west winds which prevail in high southern lati-
tudes during the winter months, fbok the full advantage of
the trades, and stood well to the westward, so far that we
passed within about two hundred miles of Ducje's Island.

It was this weather and sailing that brougEt to my mind
a little incident that occurred on board the Pilgrim, while
we were in the same latitude. We were going along at a
great rate, dead before the wind, with studding-sails out on
both sides, alow and aloft, on a dark night, just after mid-
night, and everything as still as the grave, except the wash-
ing of the water by the vessel's side ; for, being before the
wind, with a smooth sea, the little brig, covered with can-
vas, was doing great business, with very little noise. The
other watch was below, and all our watch, except myself
and the man at the wheel, were asleep imder the lee of the
boat. The second mate, who came out before the mast, and
was always very thick with me, had been holding a yam
with me, and just gone aft to his place on the quarter-deck,
and I had resumed my usual walk to and from the windlass-
end, when, suddenly, we heard a loud scream coming from
ahead, apparently directly from imder the bows. The
darkness, and complete stillness of the night, and the soli-
tude of the ocean, gave to the sound a dreadful and almost
supernatural effect. I stood perfectly still, and my heart
beat quick. The sound woke up the rest of the watch,
who stood looking at one another. "What, in the name
of God, is that ? " said the second mate, coming slowly for-
ward. The first thought I had was, that it might be a
boat, with the crew of some wrecked vessel, or perhaps
the boat of some whale-ship, out over night, and we had
run them down in the darkness. Another scream ! but
less loud than the first. This started us, and we ran for-
ward, and looked over the bows, and over the sides, to
leeward, but nothing was to be seen or heard. What was
to be done? Call the captain, and then heave the ship

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 317

aback? Just at this moment, in crossing the forecastle,
one of the men saw a light below, and looking down the
scuttle, saw the watch all out of their berths, and afoul of
one poor fellow, dragging him out of his berth, and shaking
him, to wake him out of a nightmaje. They had been
waked out of their sleep, and as'mueKalanned at the scream
as we were, and were hesitating whether to come on deck,
when the second sound, coming directly from one of the
berths, revealed the cause of the alarm. The fellow got a
good shaking for the trouble he had given. We made a
joke of the matter ; and we could well laugh, for our minds
were not a little relieved by its ridiculous termination.

We were now close upon the southern tropical line, and,
with so fine a breeze, were daily leaving the sun behind us,
and drawing nearer to Cape Horn, for which it behooved us
to make every preparation. Our rigging was all examined
and overhauled, and mended, or replaced with new, where
it was necessary: new and strong bobstays fitted in the
place of the chain ones, which were worn out; the sprit-
sail yard and martingale guys and back-ropes set well
taught ; bran new fore and main braces rove ; top-gallant
sheets, and wheel-ropes, made of green hide, laid up in the
form of rope, were stretched and fitted; and new topsail
clewlines, etc., rove ; new fore topmast back-stays fitted ;
and other preparations made, in good season, that the ropes
might have time to stretch and become limber before we
got into cold weather.

Sunday, June 12/A. Lat. 26*^ 04' S., long. 116*^ 31' W.
We had now lost the regular trades, and had the winds
variable, principally from the westward, and kept on, in a
southerly course, sailing very nearly upon a meridian, and
at the end of the week, —

Sunday, June igth, were in lat. 34® 15' S., and long. 116*^
38' W.

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CHAPTER XXXI

There began now to be a decided change in the appear-
ance of things. The days became shorter and shorter ; the
sun running lower in its course each day, and giving less
and less heat; and the nights so cold as to prevent our
sleeping on deck ; the Magellan Clouds in sight, of a clear
night ; the skies looking cold and angry ; and, at times, a
long, heavy, ugly sea, setting in from the southward, told
us what we were coming to. Still, however, we had a fine,
strong breeze, and kept on our way, imder as much sail as
our ship would bear. Toward the middle of the week, the
wind hauled to the southward, which brought us upon a
taught bowline, made the ship meet, nearly head-on, the
heavy swell which rolled from tihat direction ; and there was
something not at all encouraging in the manner in which she
met it. Being so deep and heavy, she wanted the buoyancy
which should have carried her over the seas, and she dropped
heavily into them, the water washing over the decks ; and
every now and then, when an imusually large sea met her
fairly upon the bows, she struck it with a soimd as dead and
heavy as that with which a sledge-hammer falls upon the
pile, and took the whole of it in upon the forecastle, and
rising, carried it aft in the scuppers, washing the rigging oflf
the pins, and carrying along with it everything which was
loose on deck. She had been acting in this way all of our
forenoon watch below ; as we could tell by the washing of
the water over our heads, and the heavy breaking of the
seas against her bows (with a soimd as though she were
striking against a rock), only the thickness of the plank from
oiu: heads, as we lay in our berths, which were directly
against the bows. At eight bells, the watch was called, and
we came on deck, one hand going aft to take the wheel, and

318

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 319

another going to the galley to get the grub for dinner. I
stood on the forecastle, looking at the seas, which were
rolling high, as far as the eye could reach, their tops white
with foam, and the body of them of a deep indigo blue, re-
flecting the bright rays of the sun. Our ship rose slowly
over a few of the largest of them, until one inmiense fellow
came rolling on, threatening to cover her, and which I was
sailor enough to know, by " 5ie feeling of her " imder my feet,
she would not rise over. I sprang upon the knight-heads,
and seizing hold of the fore-stay with my hands, drew myself
up upon it. My feet were just off the stanchion, when she
struck fairly into the middle of the sea, and it washed her
fore and aft, burying her in the water. As soon as she rose
out of it, I looked aft, and everything forward of the main-
mast, except the long-boat, which was griped and double-
lashed down to the ring-bolts, was swept off clear. The
galley, the pig-sty, the hen-coop, and a large sheep-pen /
which had been built upon the fore-hatch, were all gone, in
the twinkling of an eye — leaving the deck as clean as a
chin new-reaped — and not a stick left, to show where they
had stood. In the scuppers lay the galley, bottom up, and
a few boards floating about, — the wreck of the sheep-pen,
— - and half a dozen miserablesheep floating among them,
wet through, and not a little frightened at the sudden change
that had come upon them. As soon as the sea bad washed
by, all hands spnmg up out of the forecastle to see what had
become of the ship ; and in a few moments the cook and Old
Bill crawled out from imder the galley, where they had been
lying in the water, nearly smothered, with the galley over
tiem. Fortimately, it rested against the bulwarks, or it
would have broken some of their bones. When the water
ran off, we picked the sheep up, and put them in the long-
boat, got the galley back in its place, and set things a little
to rights; but, had not our ship had uncommonly high
bulwarks and rail, everything must have been washed
overboard, not excepting Old Bill and the cook. Bill had
been standing at the galley-door, with the kid of beef in his

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320 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

hand for the forecastle mess, when, away he went, kid, beef,
and all. He held on to the kid till the last, like a good fel-
low, but the beef was gone, and when the water had run off,
we saw it lying high and dry, like a rock at low tide — noth-
ing could hurt that. We took the loss of our beef very easily,
consoling ourselves with the recollection that the cabin
had more to lose than we ; and chuckled not a little at seeing
the remains of the chicken-pie and pancakes floating in the
scuppers. "This will never do 1" was what some said, and
every one felt. Here we were, not yet within a thousand
miles of the latitude of Cape Horn, and our decks swept by
a sea, not one-half so high as we must expect to find there.
Some blamed the captain for loading his ship so deep, when
he knew what he must expect ; while others said that the
wind was always south-west, off the Cape, in the winter;
and that, nmning before it, we should not mind the seas
so much. When we got down into the forecastle. Old Bill,
who was somewhat of a croaker, — having met with a great
many accidents at sea, — said that if that was the way she
was going to act, we might as well make our wills, and bal-
ance the books at once, and put on a clean shirt. " 'Vast
there, you bloody old owl ! you're always hanging out blue
lights ! You're frightened by the ducking you got in the
scuppers, and can't take a joke ! What's the use in being
always on the look-out for Davy Jones?" "Stand by!"
says another, "and we'll get an afternoon watch below, by
this scrape;" but in this they were disappointed, for at
two bells, all hands were called and set to work, getting
lashings upon everything on deck ; and the captain talked of
sending down the long top-gallant-masts; but, as the sea
went down toward night, and the wind hauled abeam, we
left them standing, and set the studding-sails.

The next day, all hands were tumed-to upon imbending
the old sails, and getting up the new ones ; for a ship, unlike
people on shore, puts on her best suit in bad weather. The
old sails were sent down, and three new topsails, and new
fore and main courses, jib, and fore topmast stay-sail, which

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 321

were made on the coast, and never had been used, were bent,
with a complete set of new earings, robands, and reef-
points ; and reef-tackles were rove to the courses, and spill-
ing-lines to the topsails. These, with new braces and clew-
lines, fore and aft, gave us a good suit of running rigging.

The wind continued westerly, and the weather and sea
less rough since the day on which we shipped the heavy
sea, and we were making great progress under studding-
sails, with our light sails all set, keeping a little to the east-
ward of south; for the captain, depending upon westerly
winds off the Cape, had kept so far to the westward, that,
though we were within about five hundred miles of the
latitude of Cape Horn, we were nearly seventeen hundred
miles to the westward of it. Through the rest of the week,
we continued on with a fair wind, gradually, as we got more
to the southward, keeping a more easterly course, and bring-
ing the wind on our larboard quarter, until —

Sunday, June 26/A; when, having a fine, clear day, the
captain got a lunar observation, as well as his meridian
altitude, which made us in lat. 47*^ 50' S., long. 113° 49' W. ;
Cape Horn bearing, according to my calculation, E. S. E.
i E., and distant eighteen hundred miles.

Monday, June 26/A. During the first part of this day,
the wind continued fair, and, as we were going before it,
it did not feel very cold, so that we kept at work on deck,
in our conunon clothes and round jackets. Our watch had
an afternoon watch below, for the first time since leaving
San Diego, and having inquired of the third mate what the
latitude was at noon, and made our usual guesses as to the
time she would need, to be up with the Horn, we tumed-in,
for a nap. We were sleeping away "at the rate of knots,'*
when three knocks on the scuttle, and "All hands, ahoy !'*
started us from our berths. What could be the matter?
It did not appear to be blowing hard, and looking up through
the scuttle, we could see that it was a clear day, overhead ;
yet the watch were taking in sail. We thought there must
be a sail in sight, and that we were about to heave-to and

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322 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

speak her ; and were just congratulating ourselves upon it —
for we had seen neither sail nor land since we left port —
when we heard the mate's voice on deck (he tumed-in "all
standing," and was always on deck the moment he was
called), singing out to the men who were taking in the stud-
ding-sails, and asking where his watch were. We did not
wait for a second call, but tumbled up the ladder; and
there, on the starboard bow, was a bank 9f mist, covering
sea and sky, and driving directly for us? I had seen the
same before, in my passage roimd in the Pilgrim^ and knew
what it meant, and that there was no time to be lost. We
had nothing on but thin clothes, yet there was not a moment
to spare, and at it we went.

TTie bojrs of the other watch were in the tops, taking in
the top-gallant studding-sails, and the lower and top-mast
studding-sails were coming down by the run. It was noth-
ing but "haul down and clew up," imtil we got all the stud-
ding-sails in, and the royals, flying- jib, and mizen top-gallant
sail furled, and the ship kept off a little, to take the squall.
The fore and main top-gallant sails were still on her, for the
"old man" did not mean to be frightened in broad daylight,
and was determined to carry sail till the last minute. We
all stood waiting for its coming, when the first blast showed
us that it was not to be trifled with. Rain, sleet, snow,
and wind, enough to take our breath from us, and make the
toughest turn his back to windward ! The ship lay nearly
over upon her beam-ends ; the spars and rigging snapped
and cracked ; and her top-gallant masts bent like whip-
sticks. "Clew up the fore and main top-gallant sails!"
shouted the captain, and all hands sprang to the clewlines.
The decks were standing nearly at an angle of forty-five
degrees, and the ship going like a mad steed through the
water, the whole forward part of her in a smother of foam.
The halyards were let go and the yard clewed down, and the
sheets started, and in a few minutes the sails smothered and
kept in by clewUnes and bimtlines. — "Furl 'em, sir?"
asked the mate. — "Let go the topsail halyards, fore and

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 323

aft ! " shouted the captain, in answer, at the top of his voice.
Down came the topsail yards, the reef-tackles were manned
and hauled out, and we climbed up to windward, and
sprang into the weather rigging. The violence of the wind,
and the hail and sleet, driving nearly horizontally across
the ocean, seemed actually to pin us down to the rigging.
It was hard work making head against them. One after
another, we got out upon the yards. And here we had work
to do ; for our new sails, which had hardly been bent long
enough to get the starch out of them, were as stiff as boards,
and tiie new earings and reef-points, stiffened with the sleet,
knotted like pieces of iron wire. Having only our round
jackets and straw hats on, we were soon wet through, and
it was every moment growing colder. Our hands were soon
stiffened and numbed, which, added to the stiffness of every-
thing else, kept us a good while on the yard. After we had
got the sail hauled upon the yard, we had to wait a long time
for the weather earing to be passed ; but there was no fault
to be foimd, for French John was at the earing, and a better
sailor never laid out on a yard ; so we leaned over the yard,
and beat our hands upon the sail, to keep them from freez-
ing. At length the word came — "Haid out to leeward,"

— and we seized the reef-points and hauled the band taught
for the lee earing. "Taught band — Knot away," and we
got the first reef fast, and were just going to lay down, when

— "Two reefs — two reefs ! " shouted the mate, and we had
a second reef to take, in the same way. When this was fast,
we laid down on deck, manned the halyards to leeward,
nearly up to our knees in water, set the topsail, and then
laid aloft on the main topsail yard, and reefed that sail in
the same manner ; for, as I have before stated, we were a
good deal reduced in numbers, and, to make it worse, the
carpenter, only two days before, cut his leg with an axe, so
that he could not go aloft. This weakened us so that we
could not well manage more than one topsail at a time, in
such weather as this, and, of course, our labor was doubled.
From the main topsail yard, we went upon the main yard,

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324 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

and took a reef in the main-sail. No sooner had we got on
deck, than — "Lay aloft there, mizen-top-men, and close-
reef the mizen topsail!" This called me ; and being nearest
to the rigging, I got first aloft, and out to the weather earing.
English Ben was on the yard just after me, and took the lee
earing, and the rest of our gang were soon on the yard, and
began to fist the sail, when the mate considerately sent up
the cook and steward, to help us. I could now account for
the long time it took to pass the other earings, for, to do
my best, with a strong hand to help me at the dog's ear, I
could not get it passed until I heard them beginning to
complain in the bimt. One reef after another we took in,
until the sail was close-reefed, when we went down and
hoisted away at the halyards. In the mean time, the jib
had been furled and the stay-sail set, and the ship, under her
reduced sail, had got more upright and was xmder manage-
ment ; but the two top-gallant sails were still hanging in the
buntlines, and slatting and jerking as though they would
take the masts out of her. We gave a look aloft, and knew
that our work was not done yet ; and sure enough, no sooner
did the mate see that we were on deck, than — "Lay aloft
there, four of you, and furl the top-gallant sails!" This
called me again, and two of us went aloft, up the fore rig-
ging, and two more up the main, upon the top-gallant yarcb.
The shrouds were now iced over, the sleet having formed a
crust or cake round all the standing rigging, and on the
weather side of the masts and yards. When we got upon
the yard, my hands were so numb that I could not have
cast off the knot of the gasket to have saved my life. We
both lay over the yard for a few seconds, beating our hands
upon the sail, until we started the blood into our fingers'
ends, and at the next moment our hands were in a burning
heat. My companion on the yard was a lad, who came out
in the ship a weak, pimy boy, from one of the Boston schools,
— "no larger than a sprit-sail sheet knot," nor "heavier
than a paper of lamp-black," and "not strong enough to
haid a shad off a gridiron," but who was now "as long as a

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TWD YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 32S

spare top-mast, strong enough to knock down an ox, and
hearty enough to eat him." We fisted the sail together, and
after six or eight minutes of hard hauling and pulling and
beating down the sail, which was as stiff as sheet iron, we
managed to get it furled ; and snugly furled it must be, for
we knew the mate well enough to be certain that if it got
adrift again, we should be called up from our watch below,
at any hour of the night, to furl it.

I had been on the look-out for a moment to jump below
and clap on a thick jacket and south-wester ; but when we
got on deck we found that eight bells had been struck, and
the other watch gone below, so that there were two hours
of dog watch for us, and a plenty of work to do. It had
now set in for a steady gale from the south-west ; but we
were not yet far enough to the southward to make a fair
wind of it, for we must give Terra del Fuego a wide berth.
The decks were covered withjnow, and there was a constant
driving of sleet. In fact, Cape Horn had set in with good
earnest. In the midst of all this, and before it became dark,
we had all the studding-sails to make up and stow away,
and then to lay aloft and rig in all the booms, fore and aft,
and coil away the tacks, sheets, and halyards. This was
pretty tough work for four or five hands, in the face of a gale
which almost took us off the yards, and with ropes so stiff
with ice that it was almost impossible to bend them. I was
nearly half an hour out on the end of the fore yard, trying
to coil away and stop down the top-mast studding-sail tack
an(i lower halyards. It was after dark when we got through,
and we were not a little pleased to hear four bells struck,
which sent us below for two hours, and gave us each a pot
of hot tea with our cold beef and bread, and, what was
better yet, a suit of thick, dry clothing, fitted for the
weather, in place of our thin clothes, which were wet through
and now frozen stiff.

This sudden turn, for which we were so little prepared,
was as xmacceptable to me as to any of the rest ; for I had
been troubled for several days with a slight tooth-ache, and

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336 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

this cold weather, and wetting and freezing, were not the
best things in the world for it. I soon found that it was
getting strong hold, and running over all parts of my face;
and before the watch was out I went aft to the mate, who
had charge of the medidne-chest, to get something for it.
But the chest showed like the end of a long voyage, for there
was nothing that would answer but a few drops of laudanum,
which must be saved for any emergency; so I had only to
bear the pain as well as I could.

When we went on deck at eight bells, it had stopped
snowing, and there were a few stars out, but the clouds were
still black, and it was blowing a steady gale. Just before
midnight, I went aloft and sent down the mizen royal yard,
and had the good luck to do it to the satisfaction of the mate,
who said it was done "out of hand and ship-shape." The
next four hours below were but little relief to me, for I lay
awake in my berth, the whole time, from the pain in my
face, and heard every bell strike, and, at four o'clock, turned
out with the watch, feeling little spirit for the hard duties
of the day. Bad weather and hard work at sea can be
borne up against very weU, if one only has spirit and health ;
but there is nothing brings a man down, at such a time, like
bodily pain and want of sleep. There was, however, too
much to do to allow time to think ; for the gale of yester-
day, and the heavy seas we met with a few days before,
while we had yet ten degrees more southing to make, had
convinced the captain that we had something before us
which was not to be trifled with, and orders were given to
send down the long top-gallant masts. The top-gallant and
royal yards were accordingly struck, the flying jib-boom
rigged in, and the top-gallant masts sent down on deck,
and all lashed together by the side of the Jong-boat. The
rigging was then sent down and coiled away below, and
everyUiing made snug aloft. There was not a sailor in the
ship who was not rejoiced to see these sticks come down;
for, so long as the yards were aloft, on the least sign of a
lull, the top-gallant sails were loosed, and then we had to

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 327

furl them again in a snow-squall, and shin up and down
single ropes caked with ice, and send royal yards down in
the teeth of a gale coming right from the south pole. It was
an interesting sight, too, to see our noble ship, dismantled
of all her top-hamper of long tapering masts and yards and
boom pointed witii spear-head, which ornamented her in
port ; and all that canvas, which a few days before had
covered her like a cloud, from the truck to the water's edge,
spreading far out beyond her hull on either side, now gone ;
and she, stripped, like a wrestler for the fight. It corre-
sp>onded too, with the desolate character of her situation ; —
alone, as she was, battUng with storms, wind, and ice, at
this extremity of the globe, and in almost constant night.

Friday, July isL We were now nearly up to the latitude
of Cape Horn, and having over forty degrees of easting to
make, we squared away the yards before a strong westerly
gale, shook a reef out of the fore topsail, and stood on our
way, east-by-south, with the prospect of being up with the
Cape in a week or ten days. As for myself, I had had no
sleep for forty-eight hours ; and the want of rest, together
with constant wet and cold, had increased the swelling, so
that my face was nearly as large as two, and I foimd it
impossible to get my mouth open wide enough to eat. In
tk^ state, the steward applied to the captain for some rice
to boil for me, but he only got a — "No ! d — you ! Tell
him to eat salt junk and hard bread, like the rest of them."
For this, of course, I was much obh'ged to him, and*in truth
it was just what I expected. However, I did not starve,
for the mate, who was a man as well as a sailor, and had
alwa3rs been a good friend to me, smuggled a pan of rice into
the galley, and told the cook to boil it for me, and not let
the **old man " see it. Had it been fine weather, or in port,
I should have gone below and lain by imtil my face got well ;
but in such weather as this, and short-handed as we were,
it was not for me to desert my post ; so I kept on deck, and
stood my watch and did my duty as well as I could.

Saiurday^ July 2d. This day the sun rose fair, but it

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328 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

ran too low in the heavens to give any heat, or thaw out
our sails and rising ; yet the sight of it was pleasant ; and
we had a steady "reef-top-sail breeze" from the westward.
The atmosphere, which had previously been clear and cold,
for the last few hours grew damp, and had a disagreeable,
wet chilliness in it ; and the man who came from the wheel
said he heard the captain tell " the passenger" that the ther-
mometer had fallen several degrees since morning, which
he could not account for in any other way than by supposing
that there must be ice near us ; though such a thing had
never been heard of in this latitude, at this season of the
year. At twelve o'clock we went below, and had just got
through dinner, when the cook put his head down the scuttle
and told us to come on deck and see the finest sight that
we had ever seen. "Where away, cook?" asked the first
man who was up. " On the larboard bow." And there lay,
floating in the ocean, several miles off, an immense, irregular
mass, its top and points covered with snow, and its centre
of a deep indigo color. This was an iceberg, and of the
largest size, as one of our men said who had been in the
Northern ocean. ' As far as the eye could reach, the sea in
every direction was of a deep blue color, the waves nmning
high and fresh, and sparkling in the light, and in the midst
lay this immense moxmtain-island, its cavities and valleys
thrown into deep shade, and its points and pinnacles Ot-
tering in the sun. All hands were soon on deck, looking at
it, and admiring in various ways its beauty and grandeur.
But no description can give any idea of the strangeness,
splendor, and, really, the sublimity, of the sight. Its great
size ; — for it must have been from two to three miles in
circumference, and several hundred feet in height; its
slow motion, as its base rose and sank in the water, and its
high points nodded against the clouds ; the dashing of the
waves upon it, which, breaking high with foam, Uned its
base with a white crust ; and the thimdering sound of the
cracking of the mass, and the breaking and tumbling down
of huge pieces; together with its nearness and approach.

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AN IMMENSE IRREGULAR MASS

THE FItLD ICE COVERED TtfR OCEAN FOR
MILES AND MILES

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!-. .■: ■ .-..i'v ■ ■ 1 • • ...>:■■ :::ii,;, ' ■■'■ ■

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 329

which added a slight element of fear, — all combined to give
to it the character of true sublimity. The main body of
the mass was, as I have said, of an indigo color, its base
crusted with frozen foam ; and as it grew thin and trans-
parent toward the edges and top, its color shaded off from
a deep blue to the whiteness of snow. It seemed to be drift-
ing slowly toward the north, so that we kept away and
avoided it. It was in sight all the afternoon ; and when we
got to leeward of it, the wind died away, so that we lay-to
quite near it for a greater part of the night. Unfortunately,
there was no moon, but it was a clear night, and we could
plainly mark the long, regxilar heaving of the stupendous
mass, as its edges moved slowly against the stars. Several
times in our watch loud cracks were heard, which soimded
as though they must have nm through the whole length of
the iceberg, and several pieces fell down with a thimder^
ing crash, plimging heavily into the sea. Toward morning,
a strong breeze sprang up, and we filled away, and left it
astern, and at daylight it was out of sight The next day,
which was

Sunday^ July $d, the breeze continued strong, the air
exceedingly chUly, and the thermometer low. In the course
of the day we saw several icebergs, of different sizes, but
none so near as the one which we saw the day before. Some
of them, as well as we could judge, at the distance at which
we were, must have been as large as that, if not larger. At
noon we were in latitude 55® 12' south, and supposed longi-
tude 89° s' west. Toward night the wind hauled to ttie
southward, and headed us off our course a little, and blew
a tremendous gale ; but this we did not mind, as there was
no rain nor snow, and we were already under close sail.

Monday y July 4th. This was "independent day" in Bos-
ton. What firing of gims, and ringing of bells, and rejoicings
of all sorts, in every part of our country ! The ladies (who
have not gone down to Nahant, for a breath of cool air, and
sight of tie ocean) walking the streets with parasols over
their heads, and the dandies in their white pantaloons and

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330 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

silk stockings! What quantities of ice-cream have been
eaten, and what quantities of ice brought into the dty from
a distance, and sold out by the limip and the pound I The
smallest of the islands which we saw to-day would have
made the f ortime of poor Jack, if he had had it in Boston ;
and I dare say he woidd have had no objection to being there
with it. This, to be sure, was no place to keep the fourth of
July. To keep ourselves warm, and the ship out of the ice,
was as much as we could do. Yet no one forgot the day;
and many were the wishes, and conjectures, and compari-
sons, both serious and ludicrous, which were made among
all hands. The sun shone bright as long as it was up, only
that a scud of black clouds was ever and anon driving across
it. At noon we were in lat. 54° 27' S., and long. 85 5' W.,
having made a good deal of easting, but having lost in our
latitude by the heading of tHewind. Between daylight'and
dark — that is, between nine o'clock and three — we saw
thirty-four ice islands, of various sizes ; some no bigger than
the hull of our vessel, and others apparently nearly as large
as the one that we first saw ; though, as we went on, the
islands became smaller and more numerous ; and, at sun-
down of this day, a man at the mast-head saw large fields
of floating ice, called "field ice," at the south-east. This
kind of ice is much more dangerous than the large islands,
for those can be seen at a distance, and kept away from;
but the field-ice, floating in great quantities, and covering
the ocean for miles and miles, in pieces of every size — large,
flat, and broken cakes, with here and there an island rising
twenty and thirty feet, and as large as the ship's hull ; —
this, it is very difficult to steer dear of. A constant look-
out was necessary ; for any of these pieces, coming with the
heave of the sea, were large enough to have knocked a hole
in the ship, and that would have been the end of us ; for no
boat (even if we could have got one out) could have lived
in such a sea ; and no man could have lived in a boat in such
weather. To make our condition still worse, the wind came
out due east, just after sim-down, and it blew a gale dead

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 331

ahead, with hail and sleet, and a thick fog, so that we could
not see half the length of the ship. Our chief reliance, the
prevailing westerly gales, was thus cut off; and here we
were, nearly seven hundred miles to the westward of the
Cape, with a gale dead from the eastward, and the weather
so thick that we could not see the ice with which we were
surrounded, imtil it was directly under our bows. At four
P.M. (it was then quite dark) all hands were called, and sent
aloft in a violent squall of hail and rain, to take in sail. We
had now all got on our "Cape Horn rig'' — thick boots,
south-westers coming down over our nedt and ears, thick
trowsers and jackets, and some with oil-cloth suits over all.
Mittens, too, we wore on deck, but it would not do to go
aloft with them on, for it was impossible to work with them,
and, being wet and stiff, they might let a man slip overboard,
for all the hold he could get upon a rope ; so, we were obliged
to work with bare hands, which, as well as our faces, were
often cut with the hail-stones, which fell thick and large.
Our ship was now all cased with ice, — hull, spars, and
standing rigging ; — and the running rigging so stiff that we
could hardly bend it so as to belay it, or, still worse, take a
knot with it ; and the sails nearly as stiff as sheet iron. One
at a time (for it was a long piece of work and required many
hands), we furled the courses, mizen topsail, and fore top-
mast stay-sail, and close-reefed the fore and main topsails,
and hove the ship to under the fore, with the main hauled
up by the clewlines and btmtlines, and ready to be sheeted
home, if we found it necessary to make sail to get it to wind-
ward of an island. A regular look-out was then set, and
kept by each watch in turn, until the morning. It was a
tedious and anxious night. It blew hard the whole time,
and there was an almost constant driving of either rain, hail,
or snow. In addition to this, it was "as thick as muck,"
and the ice was all about us. The captain was on deck
nearly the whole night, and kept the cook in the galley, with
a roaring fire, to make coffee for him, which he took every
few hours, and once or twice gave a Uttie to his officers ; but

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332 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

not a drop of anything was there for the crew. The cap-
tain, who sleeps all the daytime, and comes and goes at night
as he chooses, can have his brandy-and-water in the cabin,
and his hot coflfee at the galley ; while Jack, who has to
stand through everything, and work in wet and cold, can
have nothing to wet his lips or warm his stomach. This was
a "temperance ship," and, like too many such ships, the
temperance was all in the forecastle. The sailor, who only
takes his one glass as it is^ealt out to him, is in danger of be-
ing drunk ; while the captain, who has all under his hand,
and can drink as much as he chooses, and upon whose self-
possession and cool judgment the lives of all depend, may
be trusted with any amount, to drink at his will. Sailors
will never be convinced that rum is a dangerous thing, by
taking it away from them, and giving it to the officers ; nor
that temperance is their friend, which takes from them what
they have always had, and gives them nothing in the place
of it. By seeing it allowed to their officers, they will not be
convinced that it is taken from them for their good ; and
by receiving nothing in its place, they will not believe that
it is done in kindness. On the contrary, many of them look
upon the change as a new instrument of tyranny. Not
that they prefer rum. I never knew a sailor, in my life,
who would not prefer a pot of hot coflfee or chocolate, in a
cold night, to all the rum afloat. They all say that rum only
warms them for a time ; yet, if they can get nothing better,
they will miss what they have lost. The momentary warmth
and glow from drinking it ; the break and change which is
made in a long, dreary watch by the mere calling all hands
aft and serving of it out ; and the simply having some event
to look forward to, and to talk about ; give it an importance
and a use which no one can appreciate who has not stood
his watch before the mast. On my passage roimd Cape Horn
before, the vessel that I was in was not under temperance
articles, and grog was served out every middle and morning
watch, and after every reefing of topsails; and though I
had never drank rum before, and never intend to again, I

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 333

took my allowance then at the capstan, as the rest did,
merely for the momentary warmth it gave the system, and ^
the change in our feelings and aspect of our duties on the
watch. At the same time, as I have stated, there was not
a man on board who would not have pitched the rum to the
dogs (I have heard them say so, a dozen times), for a pot of
coffee or chocolate ; or even for our common beverage —
** water bewitched, and tea begrudged," as it was.^ The
temperance reform is the best thing that ever was imder-
taken for the sailor ; but when the grog is taken from him,
he ought to have something in its place. As it is now, in
most vessels, it is a mere sa\dng to the owners; and this
accounts for the sudden increase of temperance ships, which
surprised even the best friends of the cause. If every
merchant, when he struck grog from the list of the expenses
of his ship, had been obliged to substitute as much coffee,
or chocolate, as would give each man a pot-full when he
came off the topsail yard, on a stormy night; — I fear
Jack might have gone to ruin on the old road.*

But this is not doubling Cape Horn. Eight hours of the
night, our watch was on deck, and during the whole of that
time we kept a bright look-out: one man on each bow,

^The proportions of the ingredients of the tea that was made for us
(and ours, as I have before stated, was a favorable specimen of American
merchantmen) were, a pint of tea, and a pint and a half of molasses, to
about three gallons of water. These are all boiled down together in the
" coppers,'' and before serving it out, the mess is stirred up with a stick, so
as to give each man his fair share of sweetening%uid tea-leaves. The tea
for the cabin is, of course, made in the usual way, in a tea-pot, and drank
with sugar.

' I do not wish these remarks, so far as they relate to the saving of ex-
pense in the outfit, to be applied to the owners of our ship, for she was
supplied with an abundance of stores, of the best kind that are given to
seamen ; though the dispensing of them is necessarily left to the captain.
Indeed, so high was the reputation of " the employ " among men and
officers, for the character and outfit of their vessels, and for their liberality
in conducting their voyages, that when it was known that they had a ship
fitting out for a long voyage, and that hands were to be shipped at a cer-
tain time, — a half hour before the time, as one of the crew told me, num-
bers of sailors were steering down the wharf, hopping over the barrels, like
flocks of sheep.

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334 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

another in the bunt of the fore yard, the third mate on the
scuttle, one on each quarter, and a man always standing by
the wheel. The chief mate was everywhere, and com-
manded the ship when the captain was below. When a
large piece of ice was seen in our way, or drifting near us,
the word was passed along, and the ship's head turned one
way and anofiier; and sometimes the yards squared or
braced up. There was little else to do than to look out;
and we had the sharpest eyes in the ship on the forecastle.
The only variety was the monotonous voice of the look-out
forward — ''Another island !" — "Ice ahead !'' — "Ice on
the lee bow !" — "Hard up the hehn !" — "Keep her oS^
Uttle!" — "Stead-yl''

In the mean time, the wet and cold had brought my face
into such a state that I could neither eat nor sleep; and
though I stood it out all night, yet, when it became light,
I was in such a state, that all hands told me I must go below,
and lie-by for a day or two, or I should be laid up for a long
time, and perhaps have the lock-jaw. When the watch
was changed I went into the steerage, and took oflf my hat
and comforter, and showed my face to the mate, who told
me to go below at once, and stay in my berth until the
swelling went down, and gave the cook orders to make a
poultice for me, and said he would speak to the captain.

I went below and tumed-in, covering myself over with
blankets and jackets, and lay in my berth nearly twenty-
four hours, half asleep and half awake, stupid, from the dull
-pain. I heard the watch called, and the men going up and
down, and sometimes a noise on deck, and a cry of "ice,"
but I gave little attention to anything. At the end of
twenty-four hours the pain went down, and I had a long
sleep, which brought me back to my proper state ; yet my
face was so swollen and tender, that I was obliged to keep
to my berth for two or three days longer. During the two
days I had been below, the weather was much the same that
it had been, head winds, and snow and rain ; or, if the wind
came fair, too foggy, and the ice too thick', to nm. At the

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 335

end of the third day the ice was very thick ; a complete fog-
bank covered the ship. It blew a tremendous gale from
the eastward, with sleet and snow, and there was every
promise of a dangerous and fatiguing night. At dark, the
captain called all hands aft, and told them that not a man
was to leave the deck that night ; that the ship was in the
greatest danger ; any cake of ice might knock a hole in her,
or she might nm on an island and go to pieces. No one
could tell whether she would be a ship the next morning.
The look-outs were then set, and every man was put in his
station. When I heard what was the state of things, I
•began to put on my clothes to stand it out with the rest of
them, when the mate came below, and looking at my face,
ordered me back to my berth, saying that if we went down,
we should all go down together, but if I went on deck I \^^
might lay myself up for life. This was the first word I
had heard from aft ; for the captain had done nothing, nor
inquired how I was, since I went below.

In obedience to the mate's orders, I went back to my
berth ; but a more miserable night I never wish to spend.
I never felt the curse of sickness so keenly in my life. If
I could have only been on deck with the rest, where some-
thing was to be done, and seen, and heard; where there
were fellow-beings for companions in duty and danger —
but to be cooped up alone in a black hole, in equal danger,
but without the power to do, was the hardest trial. Several
times, in the course of the night, I got up, determined to go
on deck ; but the silence which showed that there was noth-
ing doing, and the knowledge that I might make myself
seriously ill, for nothing, kept me back. It was not easy to
sleep, lying, as I did, with my head directly against the
bows, which might be dashed in by an island of ice, brought
down by the very next sea that struck her. This was the
only time I had been ill since I left Boston, and it was the
worst time it could have happened. I felt almost willing
to bear the plagues of Egypt for the rest of the voyage,
if I could but be well and strong for that one night. Yet

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336 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

it was a dreadful night for those on deck. A watch of eigh-
teen hours, with wet, and cold, and constant anxiety, nearly
wore them out ; and when they came below at nine o'clock
for breakfast, they almost dropped asleep on their chests,
and some of them were so stiff that they could with difficulty
sit down. Not a drop of anything had been given them
during the whole time (though the captain, as on the night
that I was on deck, had his coffee every four hours), except
that the mate stole a pot-full of coffee for two men to drink
behind the galley, while he kept a look-out for the captain.
Every man had his station, and was not allowed to leave it ;
and nothing happened to break the monotony of the night,
except once setting the main topsails to run clear of a
large island to leeward, which they were drifting fast upon.
Some of the boys got so sleepy and stupefied, that they
actually fell asleep at their posts; and the young third
mate, whose station was the exposed one of standing on
the fore scuttle, was so stiff, when he was relieved, that
he could not bend his knees to get down. By a constant
look-out, and a quick shifting of the helm, as the islands
and pieces came in sight, the ship went clear of everything
but a few small pieces, though daylight showed the ocean
covered for miles. At daybreak it fell a dead calm, and
with the sun, the fog cleared a little, and a breeze sprung
up from the westward, which soon grew into a gale. We
had now a fair wind, daylight, and comparatively clear
weather; yet, to the surprise of every one, the ship con-
tinued hove-to. Why does not he run? What is the
captain about ? was asked by every one ; and from ques-
tions, it soon grew into complaints and murmurings. When
the daylight was so short, it was too bad to lose it, and a
fair wind, too, which every one had been praying for. As
hour followed hour, and the captain showed no sign of mak-
ing sail, the crew became impatient, and there was a good
deal of talking and consultation together, on the forecastle.
They had been beaten out with the exposure and hard-
ship, and impatient to get out of it, and this unaccountable

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 337

delay was more than they could bear in quietness, in their
excited and restless state. Some said that the captain
was frightened, — completely cowed, by the dangers and
difficulties that surrounded us, and was afraid to make sail ;
while others said that in his anxiety and suspense he had
made a free use of brandy and opium, and was unfit for
his duty. The carpenter, who was an intelligent man,
and a thorough seaman, and had great influence with the
crew, came down into the forecastle, and tried to induce
the crew to go aft and ask the captain why he did not run,
or request him, in the name of all hands, to make sail.
This appeared to be a very reasonable request, and the
crew agreed that if he did not make sail before noon, they
would go aft. Noon came, and no sail was made. A
consultation was held again, and it was proposed to take
the ship from the captain and give the command of her to
the mate, who had been heard to say that, if he could have
his way, the ship would have been half the distance to the
Cape before night, — ice or no ice. And so irritated and
impatient had the crew become, that even this proposition,
which was open mutiny, punishable with state prison, was
entertained, and the carpenter went to his berth, leaving
it tacitly imderstood that something serious would be done,
if things remained as they were many hours longer. When
the carpenter left, we talked it all over, and I gave my
advice strongly against it. Another of the men, too, who
had known something of the kind attempted in another
ship by a crew who were dissatisfied with their captain,
and which was followed with serious consequences, was

opposed to it. S , who soon came down, joined us,

and we determined to have nothing to do with it. By
these means, they were soon induced to give it up, for the
present, though they said they would not lie where they
were much longer without knowing the reason.

The aflfair remained in this state until four o'clock, when
an order came forward for all hands to come aft upon the
quarter-deck. In about ten minutes they came forward

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338 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

again, and the whole aflfair had been blown. The car-
penter, very prematurely, and without any authority from
the crew, had sounded the mate as to whether he would
take command of the sWp, and intimated an intention to
displace the captain; and the mate, as in duty bound,
had told the whole to the captain, who immediately sent
for all hands aft. Instead of violent measures, or, at least,
an outbreak of quarter-deck bravado, threats, and abuse,
which they had every reason to expect, a sense of common
danger and common suffering seemed to have tamed his
spirit, and begotten something like a humane fellow-feel-
ing ; for he received the crew in a manner quiet, and even
almost kind. He told them what he had heard, and said
that he did not believe that they would try to do any such
thing as was intimated; that they had always been good
men, — obedient, and knew their duty, and he had no fault
to find with them ; and asked them what they had to com-
plain of — said that no one could say that he was slow to
carry sail (which was true enough) ; and that, as soon as
he thought it was safe and proper, he should make sail.
He added a few words about their duty in their present
situation, and sent them forward, saying that he should
take no further notice of the matter ; but, at the same time,
told the carpenter to recollect whose power he was in,
and that if he heard another word from him he would have
cause to remember him to the day of his death.

This language of the captain had a very good effect upon
the crew, and they returned quietly to their duty.

For two days more the wind blew from the southward
and eastward; or in the short intervals when it was fair,
the ice was too thick to run ; yet the weather was not so
dreadfully bad, and the crew had watch and watch. I
still remained in my berth, fast recovering, yet still not well
enough to go safely on deck. And I should have been
perfectly useless ; for, from having eaten nothing for nearly
a week, except a little rice which I forced into my mouth
the last day or two, I was as weak as an infant. To be

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 339

sick in a forecastle is miserable indeed. It is the worst
part of a dog's life ; especially in bad weather. The fore-
castle, shut up tight to keep out the water and cold air ; —
the watch either on deck, or asleep in their berths ; — no
one to speak to ; — the pale light of the single lamp, swing-
ing to and fro from the beam, so dim that one can scarcely
see, much less read by it ; — the water dropping from the
beams and carlines, and running down the sides; and
the forecastle so wet, and dark, and cheerless, and so
lumbered up with chests and wet clothes, that sitting up
is worse than lying in the berth ! These are some of the
evils. Fortunately, I needed no help from any one, and
no medicine ; and if I had needed help, I don't know where
I should have found it. Sailors are willing enough, but it
is true, as is often said — No one ships for nurse on board
a vessel. Our merchant ships are always under-manned,
and if one man is lost by sickness, they cannot spare another
to take care of him. A sailor is always presumed to be well,
and if he's sick, he's a poor dog. One has to stand his
wheel, and another his look-out, and the sooner he gets
on deck again, the better.

Accordingly, as soon as I could possibly go back to my
duty, I put on my thick clothes and boots and south-wester,
and made my appearance on deck. Though I had been
but a few days below, yet everything looked strangely
enough. The ship was cased in ice, — decks, sides, masts,
yards, and rigging. Two close-reefed topsails were all the
sails she had on, and every sail and rope was frozen so
Stiff in its place, that it seemed as though it would be im-
possible to start anything. Reduced, too, to her top-masts,
she had altogether a most forlorn and crippled appearance.
The sun had come up brightly ; the snow was swept off
the decks, and ashes thrown upon them, so that we could
walk, for they had been as slippery as glass. It was, of
course, too cold to carry on any ship's work, and we had
only to walk the deck and keep ourselves warm. The wind
was still ahead, and the whole ocean, to the eastward,

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340 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

covered with islands and field-ice. At four bells the order
was given to square away the yards ; and the man who came
from the helm said that the captain had kept her off to
N. N. E. What could this mean? Some said that he
was going to put into Valparaiso, and winter, and others
that he was going to run out of the ice and cross the Pacific,
and go home round the Cape of Good Hope. Soon, how-
ever, it leaked out, and we found that we were running for
the straits of Magellan. The news soon spread through
the ship, and all tongues were at work, talking about it.
No one on board had been through the straits, but I had
in my chest an account of the passage of the ship A. J.
Donelson, of New York, through those straits, a few years be-
fore. The account was given by the captain, and the repre-
sentation was as favorable as possible. It was soon read
by every one on board, and various opinions pronounced.
The determination of our captain had at least this good
effect ; it gave every one something to think and talk about,
made a break in our life, and diverted our minds from the
monotonous dreariness of the prospect before us. Having
made a fair wind of it, we were going off at a good rate,
and leaving the thickest of the ice behind us. This, at least,
was something.

Having been long enough below to get my hands well
warmed and softened, the first handling of the ropes was
rather tough ; but a few days hardened them, and as soon
as I got my mouth open wide enough to take in a piece of
salt beef and hard bread, I was all right again.

Sunday, July loth. Lat. 54° 10', long. 79° 07'. This was
our position at noon. The sun was out bright; the ice
was all left behind, and things had quite a cheering api)ear-
ance. We brought our wet pea-jackets and trowsers on
deck, and hung them up in the rigging, that the breeze
and the few hours of sun might dry them a little; and,
by the permission of the cook, the galley was nearly filled
with stockings and mittens, hung round to be dried. Boots,
too, were brought up; and having got a little tar and

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 341

slush from below, we gave them a thick coat. After dinner,
all hands were tumed-to, to get the anchors over the bows,
bend on the chains, etc. The fish-tackle was got up. fish-
davit rigged out, and after two or three hours of hard and
cold work, both the anchors were ready for instant use,
a couple of kedges got up, a hawser coiled away upon the
fore-hatch, and the deep-sea-lead-line overhauled and got
ready. Our spirits returned with having something to do ;
and when the tackle was manned to bowse the anchor
home, notwithstanding the desolation of the scene, we struck
up ** Cheerily ho !" in full chorus. This pleased the mate,
who rubbed his hands and cried out — "That's right, my
boys; never say die! That soimds like the old crew!''
and the captain came up, on hearing the song, and said to
the passenger, within hearing of the man at the wheel, —
"That sounds like a lively crew. They'll have their song
so long as there're enough left for a chorus !"

This preparation of the cable and anchors was for the
passage of the straits; for, being very crooked, and with
a variety of currents, it is necessary to come frequently
to anchor. This was not, by any means, a pleasant pros-
pect, for, of all the work that a sailor is called upon to do in
cold weather, there is none so bad as working the ground-
t^tckle. The heavy chain cables to be hauled and pulled
^bout decks with bare hands ; wet hawsers, slip-ropes, and
buoy-ropes to be hauled aboard, dripping in water, which
is running up your sleeves, and freezing; clearing hawse
under the bows; getting under weigh and coming-to, at
all hours of the night and day, and a constant look-out for
rocks and sands and turns of tides ; — these are some of the
disagreeables of such a navigation to a common sailor. Fair
or foul, he wants to have nothing to do with the ground-
tackle between port and port. One of our hands, too, had
unluckily fallen upon a half of an old newspaper which con-
tained an account of the passage, through the straits, of a
Boston brig, called, I think, the Peruvian, in which she lost
every cable and anchor she had, got aground twice, and

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342 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

arrived at Valparaiso in distress. This was set off against
the account of the -4. /. Dondson, and led us to look forward
with less confidence to the passage, especially as no one on
board had ever been through, and the captain had no very
perfect charts. However, we were spared any further ex-
perience on the point ; for the next day, when we must have
been near the Cape of Pillars, which is the south-west point
of the mouth of Uie straits, a gale set in from the eastward,
with a heavy fog, so that we could not see half of the ship's
length ahead. This, of course, put an end to the project,
for the present; for a thick fog and a gale blowing dead
ahead are not the most favorable circumstances for the
passage of difficult and dangerous straits. This weather,
too, seemed likely to last for some time, and we could not
think of beating about the mouth of the straits for a week
or two, waiting for a favorable opporttmity ; so we braced
up on the larboard tack, put the ship's head due south, and
stuck her off for Cape Horn again.

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CHAPTER XXXn

In our first attempt to double the Cape, when we came
up to the latitude of it, we were nearly seventeen hundred /
miles to the westward, but, in nmning for the straits of
Magellan, we stood so far to the eastward, that we made our
second attempt at a distance of not more than four or
five hundred miles ; and we had great hopes, by this means,
to nm clear of the ice; thinking that the easterly gales,
which had prevailed for a long time, would have driven it
to the westward. With the wind about two points free,
the yards braced in a little, and two close-reefed topsails and
a reefed fore-sail on the ship, we made great way toward
the southward; and, almost every watch, when we came
on deck, the air seemed to grow colder, and the sea to run
higher. Still, we saw no ice, and had great hopes of going
clear of it altogether, when, one afternoon, about three
o'clock, while we were taking a siesta during our watch
below "All hands !" was called in a loud and fearful voice.
"Tumble up here, men! — tmnble up! — don't stop for
your clothes — before we're upon it !" We sprang out of
our berths and hurried upon deck. The loud, sharp voice
of the captain was heard giving orders, as though for life
or death, and we ran aft to the braces, not waiting to look
ahead, for not a moment was to be lost. The helm was hard
up, the after yards shaking, and the ship in the act of wear-
ing. Slowly, with the stilBf ropes and iced rigging, we swimg
the yards round, everything coming hard and with a creak-
ing and rending sound, like pulling up a plank which has
been frozen into the ice. The ship wore roimd fairly, the
yaxds were steadied, and we stood oflF on the other tack,
leaving behind us, directly under our larboard quarter, a
large ice island, peering our of the mist, and readiing high

343

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344 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

above our tops, while astern, and on either side of the island,
large tracts of field-ice were dimly seen, heaving and rolling
in the sea. We were now safe, and standing to the north-
ward ; but, in a few minutes more, had it not been for the
sharp look-out of the watch, we should have been fairly upon
the ice, and left our ship's old bones adrift in the Southern
ocean. After standing to the northward a few hours, we
wore ship, and, the wind having hauled, we stood to the
southward and eastward. All night long, a bright look-out
was kept from every part of the deck ; and whenever ice
was seen on the one bow or the other, the helm was shifted
and the yards braced, and by quick working of the ship
she was kept clear. The accustomed cry of "Ice ahead !'*
— "Ice on the lee bow!" — "Another island!" in the
same tones, and with the same orders following them,
seemed to bring us directly back to our old position of the
week before. During our watch on deck, which was frona
twelve to four, the wind came out ahead, with a pelting
storm of hail and sleet, and we lay hove-to, imder a close-
reefed main topsail, the whole watch. During the next
watch it fell calm, with a drenching rain, imtil daybreak,
when the wind came out to the westward, and the weather
cleared up, and showed us the whole ocean, in the course
which we should have steered, had it not been for the head
wind and calm, completely blocked up with ice. Here
then our progress was stopped, and we wore ship, and once
more stood to the northward and eastward; not for the
straits of Magellan, but to make another attempt to double
the Cape, still farther to the eastward ; for the captain was
determined to get round if perseverance could do it, and
the third time, he said, never failed.

With a fair wind we soon ran clear of the field-ice, and
by noon had only the stray islands floating far and near
upon the ocean. The sun was out bright, the sea of a deep
blue, fringed with the white foam of the waves which ran
high before a strong south-wester; our solitary ship tore
on through the water as though glad to be out of her con-

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 345

finement ; and the ice islands lay scattered upon the ocean
here and there, of various sizes and shapes, reflecting the
bright rays of the sun, and drifting slowly northward before
the gale. It was a contrast to much that we had lately
seen, and a spectacle not only of beauty, but of life; for
it required but little fancy to imagine tihese islands to be
animate masses which had broken loose from the "thrilling
regions of thick-ribbed ice," and were working their way,
by wind and current, some alone, and some in fleets, to
milder climes. No pencil has ever yet given anything
like the true effect of an iceberg. In a pictiure, they are
huge, uncouth masses, stuck in the sea, while their chief
beauty and grandeiu:, — their slow, stately motion; the
whirling of the snow about their summits, and the fearful
groaning and cracking of their parts, — the picture cannot
give. This is the large iceberg; while the small and dis-
tant islands, floating on the smooth sea, in the light of a
dear day, look like little floating fairy isles of sappUre.

From a nbrtlx-easf coufse-^wf graduaiiy tauledto the
eastward, and after sailing about two himdred miles, which
brought us as near to the western coast of Terra del Fuego
as was safe, and having lost sight of the ice altogether, —
for the third time we put the ship's head to the southward,
to try the passage of the Cape. The weather continued
clear and cold, with a strong gale from the westward, and
we were fast getting up with the latitude of the Cape, with
a prospect of soon being roimd. One fine afternoon, a
man who had gone into the fore-top to shift the rolling
tackles, sung out, at the top of his voice, and with evident
glee, — "SaU ho!*' Neither land nor sail had we seen
since leaving San Diego; and any one who has traversed
the length of a whole ocean alone, can imagine what an
excitement such an announcement produced on board.
**Sail ho!" shouted the cook, jumping out of his galley;
*'Sail ho !" shouted a man, throwing back the slide of the
scuttle, to the watch below, who were soon out of their
berths and on deck; and "Sail ho!" shouted the captain

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346 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

down the companion-way to the passenger in the cabin.
Beside the pleasure of seeing a ship and human beings in
so desolate a place, it was important for us to speak a
vessel, to learn whether there was ice to the eastward, and
to ascertain the longitude; for we had no^hronometer
and had been drifting about so long that wThad nearly
lost our reckoning, and opportimities for Itmar observations
are not frequent or sure in such a place as Cape Horn.
For these various reasons, the excitement in our little
community was numing high, and conjectures were made,
and everything thought of for which the captain would
hail, when the man aloft simg out — "Another sail, large
on the weather bow !" This was a little odd, but so mudi
the better, and did not shake our faith in their being sails.
At length the man in the top hailed, and said he believed
it was land, after all. ''Land in your eye !" said the mate,
who was looking through the telescope; "they are ice
islands, if I can see a hole through a ladder;" and a few
moments showed the mate to be right ; and all our expecta-
tions fled ; and instead of what we most wished to see, we
had what we most dreaded, and what we hoped we had
seen the last of. We soon, however, left these astern,
having passed within about two miles of them; and at
sun-down the horizon was clear in all directions.

Having a fine wind, we were soon up with and passed
the latitude of the Cape, and having stood far enough to
the southward to give it a wide berth, we began to stand
to the eastward, with a good prospect of being roimd and
steering to the northward on the other side, in a very few
days. But ill luck seemed to have lighted upon us. Not
four hours had we been standing on in this course, before
it fell dead calm ; and in half an hour it clouded up ; a
few straggling blasts, with spits of snow and sleet, came from
the eastward ; and in an hour more, we lay hove-to under a
close-reefed main topsail, drifting bodily oflf to leeward
before the fiercest storm that we had yet felt, blowing dead
ahead, from the eastward. It seemed as though the genius

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 347

of the place had been roused at finding that we had nearly
slipped through his fingers, and had come down upon us
with tenfold fury. The sailors said that every blast, as it
shook the shrouds, and whistled through the rigging, said
to the old ship, "No, you don't !" — "No^ you don't !''

For eight days we lay drifting about in this manner.
Sometimes, — generally towards noon, — it fell calm ;
once or twice a round copper ball showed itself for a few
moments in the place where the sun ought to have been ;
and a puff or two came from the westward, giving some hope
that a fair wind had come at last. During the first two
days, we made sail for these puffs, shaking the reefs out of
the topsails and boarding the tacks of the courses; but
finding that it only made work for us when the gale set in
again, it was soon given up, and we lay-to imder our close-
reefs. We had less snow and hail than when we were
farther to the westward, but we had an abundance of what
is worse to a sailor in cold weather — drenching rain.
Snow is blinding, and very bad when coming upon a coast,
but, for genuine discomfort, give me rain with freezing
weather. A snow-storm is exciting, and it does not wet
through the clothes (which is important to a sailor) ; but
a constant rain there is. no escaping from. It wets to the
skin, and makes all protection vain. We had long ago
run through all our dry clothes, and as sailors have no other
way of drying them than by the sun, we had nothing to
do but to put on those which were the least wet. At the
end of each watch, when we came below, we took off our
clothes and wnmg them out; two taking hold of a pair
of trowsers, — one at each end, — and jackets in the same
way. Stockings, mittens, and all, were wrung out also,
and then hung up to drain and chafe dry against the bulk-
heads. Then, feeling of all our clothes, we picked out those
which were the least wet, and put them on, so as to be
ready for a call, and tumed-in, covered ourselves up with
blankets, and slept until three knocks on the scuttle and
the disnaal sound of "All starbowlines ahoy ! Eight bells,

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348 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

there bdow I Do you hear the news?" drawled out from
on deck, and the sulky answer of "Aye, aye I" from below,
sent us up again.

On dedL, all was as dark as a pocket, and either a dead
calm, with the rain pouring steadily down, or, more gen-
erally, a violent gale dead ahead, with rain pelting horizon-
tally, and occasional variations of hail and sleet ; — decks
afloat with water swashing from side to side, and constantly
wet feet; for boots could not be wrung out like drawers,
and no composition cpuld stand the constant soaking. In
fact, wet and cold feet are inevitable in such weather, and
are not the least of those little items which go to make up
the grand total of the discomforts of a winter passage round
the Cape. Few words were spoken between the watches
as they shifted, the wheel was relieved, the mate took his
place on the quarter-deck, the look-outs in the bows ; and
each man had his narrow space to walk fore and aft in,
or, rather, to swing himself forward and back in, from
one bela5dng pin to another, — for the decks were too
slippery with ice and water to allow of much walking.
To make a walk, which is absolutely necessary to pass away
the time, one of us hit upon the expedient of sanding the
deck ; and afterwards, whenever the rain was not so violent
as to wash it oflf, the weather-side of the quarter-deck, and
a part of the waist and forecastle were sprinkled with the
sand which we had on board for holystoning; and thus
we made a good promenade, where we walked fore and aft,
two and two, hour after hour, in our long, dull, and com-
fortless watches. The bells seemed to be an hour or two
apart, instead of half an hour, and an age to elapse before
the welcome sound of eight bells. The sole object was to
make the time pass on. Any change was sought for, which
would break the monotony of the time ; and even the two
hours' trick at the wheel, which came round to each of us
in turn, once in every other watch, was looked upon as a
relief. Even the never-failing resource of long yams,
which eke out many a watch, seemed to have failed us now ;

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 349

for we had been so long together that we had heard each
other's stories told over and over agam, till we had them by
heart; each one knew the whole history of each of the
others, and we were fairly and literally talked out. Sing-
ing and joking, we were in no humor for, and, in fact, any
sound of mirth or laughter would have struck strangely
upon our ears, and would not have been tolerated, any more
than whistling, or a wind instrument. The last resort,
that of speculating upon the future, seemed now to fail us,
for our discouraging situation, and the danger we were
really in (as we expected every day to find ourselves drifted
back among the ice), ''clapped a stopper'* upon all that.
From saying — ^^when we get home" — we began insensibly
to alter it to — "//" we get home'' — and at last the subject
was dropped by a tacit consent.

In this state of things, a new light was struck out, and
a new field opened, by a change in the watch. One of our
watch was laid up for two ot three days by a bad hand
(for in cold weather the least cut or bruise ripens into a sore),
and his place was supplied by the carpenter. This was
a windfall, and there was quite a contest, who should have
the carpenter to walk with him. As " Chips" was a man of
some little education, and he and I had had a good deal
of intercourse with each other, he fell in with me in my
walk. He was a Fin, but spoke English very well, and gave
me long accounts of his country ; — the customs, the trade,
the towns, what little he knew of the government (I found
he was no friend of Russia), his voyages, his first arrival
in America, his marriage and courtship ; — he had married
a countrywoman of his, a dress-maker, whom he met with
in Boston. I had very little. to tell him of my quiet, sed-
entary life at home ; and in spite of our best efforts, which
had protracted these yams through five or six watches,
we fairly talked one another out, and I turned him over
to another man in the watch, and put myself upon my own
resources.
I I commenced a deliberate S3rstem of time-killing, which

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3SO TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

united some profit with a cheering up of the heavy hours.
As soon as I came on deck, and took my place and regular
walk, I began with repeating over to myself a string of
matters which I had in my memory, in regular order. First,
/the multiplication table and the tables of weights and
measures ; then the states of the Union, with their capitals ;
the counties of England, with their shire towns ; the kings
of England in their order ; and a large part of the peerage,
which I committed from an almanac that we had on board;
and then the Kanaka numerals. This carried me through
my facts, and being repeated deliberately, with long in-
tervals, often eked out the two first bells. Then came the
ten commandments; the thirty-ninth chapter of Job, and
a few other passages from Scripture. The next in the order,
that I never varied from, came Cowper's Castaway, which
was a great favorite with me; the solemn measure and
gloomy character of which, as well as the incident that
it was founded upon, made it well suited to a lonely watch
at sea. Then his lines to Mary, his address to the jack-
daw, and a short extract from Table Talk (I abounded
in Cowper, for I happened to have a volume of his ix>ems
in my chest) ; "Die et nefasto'* from Horace, and Goethe's
Erl King. After I had got through these, I allowed myself
a more general range among everything that I could re-
member, both in prose and verse. In this way, with an
occasional break by relieving the wheel, heaving the log,
and going to the scuttle-butt for a drink of water, the
longest watch was passed away; and I was so regular in
my silent recitations, that if there was no interruption by
ship's duty, I could tell very nearly the number of bells by
my progress.

Our watches below were no more varied than the watch
on deck. All washing, sewing, and reading was given up ;
and we did nothing but eat, sleep, and stand our watch,
leading what might be called a Cape Horn life. The fore-
castle was too imcomf ortable to sit up in ; and whenever
we were below, we were in our berths. To prevent the rain,

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 351

and the sea-water which broke over the bows, from washing
down, we were obliged to keep the scuttle closed, so that
the forecastle was nearly air-tight. In this little, wet,
leaky hole, we were all quartered, in an atmosphere so bad
that our lamp, which swung in the middle from the beams,
sometimes actually burned blue, with a large circle of foul
air about it. Still, I was never in better health than after
three weeks of this life. I gained a great deal of flesh,
and we all ate like horses. At every watch, when we came
below, before tuming-in, the bread barge and beef kid were
overhauled. Each man drank his quart of hot tea night
and morning; and glad enough we were to get it, for no
nectar and ambrosia were sweeter to the lazy immortals,
than was a pot of hot tea, a hard biscuit, and a slice of cold
salt beef, to us after a watch on deck. To be sure, we were
mere animals, and had this life lasted a year instead of a
month, we should have been little better than trie ropes
in the ship. Not a razor, nor a brush, nor a dri^p of water,>
except the rain and the spray, had come near us all the time ;
for we were on an allowance of fresh water; and who
would strip and wash himself in salt water on deck, in the
snow and ice, with the thermometer at zero ?

After about eight days of constant easterly gales, the
wind hauled occasionally a little to the southward, and
blew hard, which, as we were well to the southward, allowed
us to brace in a little and stand on, imder all the sail we
could carry. These turns lasted but a short while, and
sooner or later it set in again from the old quarter ; yet at
each time we made something, and were gradually edging
along to the eastward. One night, after one of these shifts
of the wind, and when all hands had been up a great part
of the time, our watch was left on deck, with the main-sail
hanging in the buntlines, ready to be set if necessary. It
came on to blow worse and worse, with hail and snow beat-
ing like so many furies upon the ship, it being as dark and
thick as night could make it. The main-sail was blowing
and slatting with a noise like thunder, when the captain

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SS2 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

came on deck, and ordered it to be furled. The mate was
about to call all hands, when the captam stopped him, and
said that the men would be beaten out if they were called
up so often ; that as our watch must stay on deck, it might
as well be doing that as anything else. Accordingly, we
went upon the yard; and never shall I forget that piece
of work. Our watch had been so reduced by sickness, and
by some having been left in California, that, with one man
at the wheel, we had only the third mate and three beside
m)rself to go aloft ; so that, at most, we could only attempt
to furl one yard-arm at a time. We manned the weather
yard-arm, and set to work to make a furl of it. Our lower
masts being short, and our yards very square, the sail had
a head of nearly fifty feet, and a short leach, made still
shorter by the deep reef which was in it, which brought
the clew away out on the quarters of the yard, and made
a bunt nearly as square as the mizen royal-yard. Beside
this difficulty, the yard over which we lay was cased with
ice, the gaskets and rope of the foot and leach of the sail
as stiff and hard as a piece of suction-hose, and the sail
itself about as pliable as though it had been made of sheets
of sheathing copper. It blew a perfect hurricane, with
alternate blasts of snow, hail, and rain. We had to fisi
the sail with bare hands. No one could trust himself to
mittens, for if he slipped, he was a gone man. All the boats
were hoisted in on deck, and there was nothing to be lowered
for him. We had need of every finger God had given us.
Several times we got the sail upon the yard, but it blew
away again before we could secure it. It required men to
lie over the yard to pass each turn of the gaskets, and when
they were passed, it was almost impossible to knot them so
that they would hold. Frequently we were obliged to leave
off altogether and take to beating our hands upon the sail,
to keep them from freezing. After some time, — which
seemed forever, — we got the weather side stowed after
a fashion, and went over to leeward for another trial. This
was still worse, for the body of the sail had been blown over

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 353

to leeward, and as the yard was a-cock-bill by the lying oyer
of the vessel, we had to h'ght it all up to windward. When
the yard-arms were furled, the bunt was all adrift again,
which made more work for us. We got all secure at last,
but we had been nearly an hour and a half upon the yard,
and it seemed an age. It had just struck five bells when
we went up, and eight were struck soon after we came down.
This may seem slow work; but considering the state of
everything, and that we had only five men to a sail with
just half as many square yards of canvas in it as the main-
sail of the Independence, sixty-gun ship, which musters
seven himdred men at her quarters, it is not wonderful
that we were no quicker about it. We were glad enough
to get on deck, and still more, to go below. The oldest
sailor in the watch said, as he went down, — "I shall never
forget that main yard ; — it beats all my going a fishing.
Fun is fun, but furling one yard-arm of a course, at a time,
off Cape Horn, is no better than man-killing.'*

During the greater part of the next two days, the wind
was pretty steady from the southward. We had evidently
made great progress, and had good hope of being soon up
with the Cape, if we were not there already. We could
put but little confidence in our reckoning, as there had been
no opportimities for an observation, and we had drifted
too much to allow of our dead reckoning being anywhere
near the mark. If it would clear off enough to give a chance
for an observation, or if we could make land, we should know
where we were ; and upon these, and the chances of falling
in with a sail from the eastward, we depended almost
entirely.

Friday, July 22d. This day we had a steady gale from
the southward, and stood on under close sail, with the yards
eased a little by the weather braces, the clouds lifting a
little, and showing signs of breaking away. In the after-
noon, I was below with Mr. H , the third mate, and two

others, filling the bread locker in the steerage from the casks,
when a bright gleam of simshine broke out and shone down

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354 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

the companion-way and through the sky-light, lighting
up everything below, and sending a warriTglow through
the heart of every one. It was a sight we had not seen
for weeks, — an omen, a god-send. Even the roughest
and hardest face acknowledged its influence. Just at that
moment we heard a loud shout from all parts of the deck,
and the mate called out down the companion-way to the
captain, who was sitting in the cabin. What he said, we
could not distinguish, but the captain kicked over his
chair, and was on deck at one jump. We could not tell
what it was ; and, anxious as we were to know, the discipline
of the ship would not allow of our leaving our places. Yet,
as we were not called, we knew there was no danger. We
hurried to get through with our job, when, seeing the stew-
ard's black face peering out of the pantry, Mr. H

hailed him, to know what was the matter. "Lan'o, to be
sure, sir ! No you hear *em sing out, 'Lan* o ? ' De cap'em
say 'im Cape Horn !*'

This gave us a new start, and we were soon through our
work, and on deck ; and there lay the land, fair upon the
larboard beam, and slowly edging away upon the quarter.
All hands were busy looking at it, — the captain and mates
from the quarter-deck, the cook from his galley, and the
sailors from the forecastle ; and even Mr. N., the passenger,
who had kept in his shell for nearly a month, and hardly
been seen by anybody, and who we had almost forgotten
was on board, came out like a butterfly, and was hopping
roimd as bright as a bird.

The land was the island of Staten Land, just to the east-"^
ward of Cape Horn; and a more desolate-looking spot I
never wish to set eyes upon ; — bare, broken, and girt with
rocks and ice, with here and there, between the rocks and
broken hillocks, a little stunted vegetation of shrubs. It
was a place well suited to stand at the junction of the two
oceans, beyond the reach of human cultivation, and en-
counter the blasts and snows of a perpetual winter. Yet,
dismal as it was, it was a pleasant sight to us; not only

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 355

as being the first land we had seen, but because it told us
that we had passed the Cape, — were in the Atlantic, —
and that, with twenty-four hours of this breeze, might bid
defiance to the Southern ocean. It told us, too, our latitude
and longitude better than any observation ; and the captain
now knew where we were, as well as if we were ofiF the end
of Long wharf.

In the general joy, Mr. N. said he should like to go ashore
upon the island and examine a spot which probably no
himian being had ever set foot upon; but the captain
intimated that he would see the island — specimens and
all, — in — another place, before he would get out a boat
or delay the ship one moment for him.

We left the land gradually astern ; and at sim-down had
the Atlantic ocean clear before us.

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CHAPTER XXXra

It is usual, in voyages round the Cape from the Pacific,
to keep to the eastward of the Falkland Islands ; but as it
had now set in a strong, steady, and clear south-wester,
with every prospect of its lasting, and we had had enough
of high latitudes, the captain determined to stand im-
mediately to the northward, running inside the Falkland
Islands. Accordingly, when the wheel was relieved at
eight o'clock, the order was given to keep her due north,
and all hands were turned up to square away the yards
and make sail. In a moment, the news ran through the
ship that the captain was keeping her off, with her nose
straight for Boston, and Cape Horn over her taffrail. It
was a moment of enthusiasm. Every one was on the alert,
and even the two sick men turned out to lend a hand at
the halyards. The wind was now due south-west, and
blowing a gale to which a vessel close hauled could have
shown no more than a single close-reefed sail; but as we
were going before it, we could carry on. Accordingly,
hands were sent aloft, and a reef shaken out of the topsails,
and the reefed fore-sail set. When we came to mast-head
the topsail yards, with all hands at the halyards, we struck
up "Cheerily, men," with a chorus which might have been
heard half way to Staten Land. Under her increased
sail, the ship drove on through the water. Yet she could
bear it well; and the captain sang out from the quarter-
deck — ''Another reef out of that fore topsail, and give
it to her ! " Two hands sprang aloft ; the frozen reef-points
and earings were cast adrift, the halyards manned, and
the sail gave out her increased canvas to the gale. All
hands were kept on deck to watch the effect of the change.
It was as much as she could well carry, and with a heavy

3S6

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 357

sea astern, it took two men at the wheel to steer her. She
flung the foam from her bows ; the spray breaking aft as
far as the gangway. She was going at a prodigious rate.
Still, everything held. Preventer braces were reeved
and hauled taught ; tackles got upon the backstays ; and
each thing done to keep all snug and strong. The captain
walked the deck at a rapid stride, looked aloft at the sails,
and then to windward; the mate stood in the gangway,
rubbing his hands, and talking aloud to the ship — "Hur-
rah, old bucket ! the Boston girls have got hold of the tow-
rope !'' and the like; and we were on the forecastle, look-
ing to see how the spars stood it, and guessing the rate at
which she was going, — when the captain called out —
"Mr. Brown, get up the top-mast studding-sail! What
she can't carry she may drag !" The mate looked a mo-
ment ; but he would let no one be before him in daring. He
sprang forward, — "Hurrah, men! rig out the top-mast
studding-sail boom ! Lay aloft, and Fll send the rigging
up to you!" — We sprang aloft into the top; lowered a
girt-line down, by which we hauled up the rigging; rove
the tacks and halyards; ran out the boom and lashed it
fast, and sent down the lower halyards, as a preventer.
It was a clear starlight night, cold and blowing ; but every-
body worked with a will. Some, indeed, looked as though
they thought the "old man" was mad, but no one said a
word. We had had a new top-mast studding-sail made with
a reef in it, — a thing hardly ever heard of, and which the /
sailors had ridiculed a good deal, saying that when it was
time to reef a studding-sail, it was time to take it in. But
we found a use for it now ; for, there being a reef in the
topsail, the studding-sail could not be set without one in
it also. To be sure, a studding-sail with reefed topsails
was rather a new thing; yet there was some reason in it,
for if we carried that away, we should lose only a sail and
a boom; but a whole topsail might have caft.^ away
the mast and all. ^

While we were aloft, the sail had been got out, bent to

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3S8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

the yard, reefed, and ready for hoisting. Waiting for a
good opportunity, the hal}rards were manned and the yard
hoisted fairly up to the block ; but when the mate came to
shake the catspaw out of the downhaul, and we began to
boom-end the sail, it shook the ship to her centre. The
boom buckled up and bent like a whip-stick, and we looked
every moment to see something go ; but, being of the short,
tough upland spruce, it bent like whalebone, and nothing
could break it. The carpenter said it was the best stick
he had ever seen. The strength of all hands soon brought
the tack to the boom-end, and the sheet was trimmed down,
and the preventer and the weather brace hauled taught to
take oflF the strain. Every rope-yarn seemed stretched to
the utmost, and every thread of canvas; and with this
sail added to her, the ship sprang through the water like
a thing possessed. The sail being nearly all forward, it
lifted her out of the water, and she seemed actually to
jump from sea to sea. From the time her keel was laid,
she had never been so driven ; and had it been life or death
with every one of us, she could not have borne another stitch
of canvas.

Finding that she would bear the sail, the hands were
sent below, and our watch remained on deck. Two men
at the wheel had as much as they could do to keep her
within three points of her course, for she steered as wild as
a young colt. The mate walked the deck, looking at the
sails, and then over the side to see the foam fly by her, —
slapping his hands upon his thighs and talking to the ship
— "Hurrah, you jade, youVe got the scent ! — you know
where you're going !" And when she leaped over the seas,
and almost out of the water, and trembled to her very keel,
the spars and masts snapping and creaking, — "There she
goes ! — There she goes, — handsomely ! — As long as
she cracks^she holds !" — while we stood with the rigging
laid '.'xii fr.dir for letting go, and ready to take in sail and
cleai ^ ay, if anything went. At four bells we hove the
log, and she was going eleven knots fairly ; and had it not

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 359

been for the sea from aft which sent the chip home, and
threw her continually off her course, the log would have
shown her to have been going much faster. I went to the
wheel with a young fellow from the Kennebec, who was a
good helmsman ; and for two hours we had our hands full.
A few minutes showed us that our monkey-jackets must
come off ; and cold as it was, we stood in our shirt-sleeves,
in a perspiration ; and were glad enough to have it eight
bells, and the wheel relieved. We tumed-in and slept as
well as we could, though the sea made a constant roar
under her bows, and washed over the forecastle like a small
cataract.

At four o'clock, we were called again. The same sail
was still on the vessel, and the gale, if there was any change,
had increased a little. No attempt was made to take ^e
studding-sail in ; and, indeed, it was too late now. K we
had started anything toward taking it in, either tack or
halyards, it would have blown to pieces, and carried some-
thing away with it. The only way now was to let every-
thing stand, and if the gale went down, well and good ; if
not, something must go — the weakest stick or rope first —
and then we could get it in. For more than an hour she
was driven on at such a rate that she seemed actually to
crowd the sea into a heap before her ; and the water poured
over the sprit-sail yard as it would over a dam. Toward
daybreak ihe gale abated a little, and she was just beginning
to go more easily along, relieved of the pressure, when Mr.
Brown, determined to give her no respite, and depending
upon the wind's subsiding as the sim rose, told us to get
along the lower studding-sail. This was an immense sail,
and held wind enough to last a Dutchman a week, —
hove-to. It was soon ready, the boom topped up, pre-
venter guys rove, and the icUers called up to man the hal-
yards ; yet such was still the force of the gale, that we were
nearly an hour setting the sail ; carried away theje^g^nl
in doing it, and came very near snapping off the sv^fclyoig;
boom. No sooner was it set than the ship tore on again

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36o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

like one that was mad, and began to steer as wild as a ha^.
The men at the wheel were puffing and blowing at their
work, and the helm was going hard up and hard down, con-
stancy. Add to this, the gale did not lessen as the day
came on, but the sun rose in clouds. A sudden lurch threw
the man from the weather wheel across the deck and against
the side. The mate sprang to the wheel, and the man,
regaining his feet, seized the spokes, and they hove the
wheel up just in time to save her from broaching to ; though
nearly half the studding-sail went under water ; and as she
came to, the boom stood up at an angle of forty-five de-
grees. She had evidently more on her than she could bear ;
yet it was in vain to try to take it in — the clewline was not
strong enough; and they were thinking of cutting away,
when another wide yaw and a come-to, snapped the guys,
and the swinging boom came in, with i^ash, against the
lower rigging. The outhaul block gave way, and the top-
mast studding-sail boom bent in a manner which I never
before supposed a stick could bend. I had my eye on it
when the guys parted, and it made one spring and buckled
up so as to form nearly a half circle, and sprang out again
to its shape. The clewline gave way at the first pull ; the
cleat to which the halyards were belayed was wrenched off,
and the sail blew round the sprit-sail yard and head guys,
which gave us a bad job to get it in. A half hour served to
clear all away, and she was suffered to drive on with her
top-mast studding-sail set, it being as much as she could
stagger under.

During all this day and the next night, we went on under
the same sail, the gale blowing with undiminished force ; two
men at the wheel all the time ; watch and watch, and noth-
ing to do but to steer and look out for the ship, and be blown
along ; — until the noon of the next day —

Sunday, July 24/A, when we were in latitude 50® 27' S.,
longitude 62*^ 13' W., having made four degrees of latitude
in the last twenty-four hours. Being now to the northward
of the Falkland Islands, the ship was kept off, nortJi-east,

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 361

for the equator; and with her head for the equator, and
Cape Horn over her taflfrail, she went gloriously on ; every
heave of the sea leaving the Cape astern, and every hour
bringing us nearer to home, and to warm weather. Many
a time, when blocked up in the ice, with everything dismal
and discouraging about us, had we said, — if we were only
fairly round, and standing north on the other side, we should
ask for no more : — and now we had it all, with a clear sea,
and as much wind as a sailor could pray for. If the best
part of a voyage is the last part, surely we had all now that
we could wish. Every one was in the highest spirits, and
the ship seemed as glad as any of us at getting out of her
confinement. At each change of the watch, those coming
on deck asked those going below — "How does she go
along?" and got for answer, the rate, and the customary
addition — "Aye! and the Boston girls have had hold of
the tow-rope all the watch, and can't haul half the slack in ! "
Each day the sun rose higher in the horizon, and the nights
grew shorter ; and at coming on deck each morning, there
was a sensible change in the temperature. The ice, too,
began to melt from off the rigging and spars, and, except
a little which remained in the tops and rotmd the hounds
of the lower masts, was soon gone. As we left the gale
behind us, the reefs were shaken out of the topsails, and sail
made as fast as she could bear it ; and every time all hands
were sent to the halyards, a song was called for, and we
hoisted away with a will.

Sail after sail was added, as we drew into fine weather ;
and in one week after leaving Cape Horn, the long top-gal-
lant masts were got up, top-gallant and royal yards crossed,
and the ship restored to her fair proportions.

The Southern Cross we saw no more after the first night ;
the Magellan Clouds settled lower and lower in the horizon ;
and so great was our change of latitude each succeeding
night, that we sank some constellation in the south, and
raised another in the northern horizon.

Sunday^ Jidy $isL At noon we were in lat. 36° 41' S.,

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362 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

long. 38*^ 08' W. ; having traversed the distance of two
thousand miles, allowing for changes of course, in nine
days. A thousand miles in four days and a half ! — This
is equal to steam.

Soon after eight o'clock, the appearance of the ship gave
evidence that tJiis was the first Sunday we had yet had id
fine weather. As the sun came up clear, with the promise
of a fair, warm day, and, as usual on Sunday, there was no
work gomg on, all hands turned-to upon clearing out the
forecastle. The wet and soiled clothes which had accumu-
lated there during the past month, were brought up on deck ;
the chests moved; brooms, buckets of water, swabs,
scrubbing-brushes, and scrapers carried down, and applied,
until the forecastle floor was as white as chaDc, and every-
thing neat and in order. The bedding from the berths
was then spread on deck, and dried, and aired ; the deck-tub
filled with water; and a grand washing begun of all the
clothes which were brought up. Shirts, frocks, drawers,
trowsers, jackets, stockings, of every shape and color, wet
and dirty — many of them mouldy from having been lying
a long time wet in a foul comer — these were all washed and
scrubbed out, and finally towed overboard for half an hour;
and then made fast in the rigging to dry. Wet boots and
shoes were spread out to dry in sunny places on decks ; and
the whole ship looked like a back yard on a washing day.
After we had done with our clothes, we began upon our
own persons. A little fresh water, which we had saved
from our allowance, was put in buckets, and, with soap and
towels, we had what the sailors Call a fresh-water wash.
The same bucket, to be sure, had to go through several
hands, and was spoken for by one after another, but as we
rinsed off in salt water, pure from the ocean, and the fresh
was used only to start the accumulated grime and blackness
of five weeks, it was held of little consequence. We soaped
down and scrubbed one another with towels and pieces of
canvas, stripping to it; and then, getting into the head,
threw buckets of water upon each other. After this, came

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 363

shaving, and combing, and brushing; and when, having
spent file first part of the day in this way, we sat down on
the forecastle, in the afternoon, with clean duck trowsers,
and shirts on, washed, shaved, and combed, and looking a
dozen shades lighter for it, reading, sewing, and talking at
our ease, with a clear sky and warm sun over our heads, a
steady breeze over the larboard quarter, studding-sails out
alow and aloft, and all the flying kites abroad ; — we felt
that we had got back into the pleasantest part of a sailor's
life. At sun-down the clothes were all taken down from
the rigging — clean and dry — and stowed neatly away in
our chests; and our south-westers, thick boots, guernsey
frocks, and other accompaniments of bad weather, put out
of the way, we hoped, for the rest of the voyage, as we ex-
pected to come upon the coast early in the autumn.

Notwithstanding all that has been said about the beauty
of a ship under full sail, there are very few who have ever
seen a ship, literally, under all her sail. A ship coming in
or going out of port, with her ordinary sails, and perhaps
two or three studding-sails, is conmionly said to be imder
full sail ; but a ship never has all her sail upon her, except
when she has a light, steady breeze, very nearly, but not
quite, dead aft, and so regular that it can be trusted, and is
likely to last for some time. Then, with all her sails, light
and heavy, and studding-sails, on each side, alow and aloft,
she is the most glorious moving object in the world. Such a
sight, very few, even some who have been at sea a good deal,
have ever beheld ; for from the deck of your own vessel you
cannot see her, as you would a separate object.

One night, while we were in these tropics, I went out to
the end of the flying- jib-boom, upon some duty, and, having
finished it, turned round, and lay over the boom for a long
time, admiring the beauty of the sight before me. Being so
far out from the deck, I could look at the ship, as at a
separate vessel ; — and, there, rose up from the water, sup-
ported only by the small black hull, a pyramid of canvas,
spreading out far beyond the hull, and towering up almost.

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364 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

as it seemed in the indistinct night air, to the clouds. The
sea was as still as an inland lake ; the light trade-wind was
gently and steadily breathing from astern; the dark blue
sky was studded with the tropical stars ; there was no sound
but the rippling of the water undsr the stem ; and the sails
were spread out, wide and high ; — the two lower studding-
sails stretching, on each side, far beyond the deck ; the top-
mast studding-sails, like wings to the topsails; the top-
gallant studding-sails spreading fearlessly out above them ;
still higher, the two royal studding-sails, looking like two
kites flying from the same string ; and, highest of all, the
little skysail, the apex of the pyramid, seeming actually to
touch the stars, and to be out of reach of human hand. So
quiet, too, was the sea, and so steady the breeze, that if
these sails had been sculptured marble, they could not have
been more motionless. Not a ripple upon the surface of
the canvas ; not even a quivering of the extreme edges of
the sail — so perfectly were they distended by the breeze.
I was so lost in the sight, that I forgot the presence of the
man who came out with me, until he said (for he, too, rough
old man-of-war's-man as he was, had been gazing at the
show), half to himself, still looking at the marble sails —
"How quietly they do their work !"

The fine weather brought work with it, as the ship was
to be put in order for coming into port. This may give a
landsman some notion of what is done on board ship. —
All the first part of a passage is spent in getting a ship
ready for sea, and the last part in getting her ready for port.
She is, as sailors say, like a lady's watch, always out of
repair. The new, strong sails, which we had up off Cape
Horn, were to be sent down, and the old set, which were still
serviceable in fine weather, to be bent in their place ; all
the rigging to be set up, fore-and aft ; the masts stayed ; the
standing rigging to be tarred down; lower and top-mast
rigging rattled down, fore and aft ; the ship scraped, inside
and out, and painted; decks varnished; new and neat
knots, seizings and coverings to be fitted ; and every part

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 365

put in order, to look well to the owner's eye, on coming
into Boston. This, of course, was a long matter; and all
hands were kept on deck at work for the whole of each day,
during the rest of the voyage. Sailors call this hard usage ;
but the ship must be in crack order, and "we're homeward
bound" was the answer to everything.

We went on for several days, employed in this way,
nothing remarkable occurring; and, at the latter part of
the week, fell in with the south-east trades, blowing about
east-south-east, which brought them nearly two points
abaft our beam. These blew strong and steady, so that
we hardly started a rope, until we were beyond their lati-
tude. The first day of **all hands," one of those little inci-
dents occurred, which are nothing in themselves, but are
great matters in the eyes of a ship's company, as they serve
to break the monotony of a voyage, and afford conversation
to the crew for days afterwards. These small matters, too,
are often interesting, as they show the customs and state
of feeling on shipboard.

In merchant vessels, the captain gives his orders, as to
the ship's work, to the mate, in a general way, and leaves the
execution of them, with the particular ordering, to him.
This has become so fixed a custom, that it is like a law, and
is never infringed upon by a wise master, unless his mate is
no seaman ; in which case, the captain must often oversee
things for himself. This, however, could not be said of our
chief mate ; and he was very jealous of any encroachment
upon the borders of his authority.

On Monday morning, the captain told him to stay the fore
top-mast plumb. He accordingly came forward, turned all
hands to, with tackles on the stays and backstays, coming
up with the seizings, hauling here, belaying there, and full
of business, standing between the knight-heads to sight the
mast, — when the captain came forward, and also began to
give orders. This made confusion, and the mate, finding
that he was all aback, left his place and went aft, saying to
the captain —

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.'366 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

"If you come forward, sir, I'll go aft. One is enough on
the forecastle."

This produced a reply, and another fierce answer; and
the words flew, fists were doubled up, and things looked
threateningly.

"I'm master of this ship."

"Yes, sir, and I'm mate of her, and know my place!
My place is forward, and yours is aft !"

"My place is where I choose ! I command the whole
ship ; and you are mate only so long as I choose !"

"Say the word, Capt. T., and I'm done! I can do a
man's work aboard ! I didn't come through the cabin win-
dows ! If I'm not mate, I can be man," etc.

This was all fun for us, who stood by, winking at each
other, and enjoying the contest between the higher powers.
The captain took the mate aft ; and they had a long talk,
which ended in the mate's returning to h^ duty. The cap-
tain had broken through a custom, which is a part of the
common law of a ship, and without reason; for he knew
that his mate was a sailor, and needed no help from him ;
and the mate was excusable for being angry. Yet he was
^wrong, and the captain right. Whatever the captain does
is right, ipso facto, and any opposition to it is wrong, on
board ship ; and every officer and man knows this when he
signs the ship's articles. It is a part of the contract. Yet
there has grown up in merchant vessels a series of customs,
which have become a well understood system, and have
almost the force of prescriptive law. To be sure, all power
is in the captain, and the officers hold their authority only
during his will ; and the men are liable to be called upon
for any service; yet, by breaking in upon these usages,
many difficulties have occurred on board ship, and even
come into courts of justice, which are perfectly unintelli-
gible to any one not acquainted with the imiversal nature
and force of these customs. Many a provocation has been
offered, and a system of petty oppression pursued towards
men, the force and meaning of which would appear as noth-

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 367^

ing to strangers, and doubtless do appear so to many '' 'long-
shore" juries and judges.

The next little diversion, was a battle on the forecastle,
one afternoon, between the mate and the steward. They
had been on bad terms the whole voyage ; and had threat-
ened a rupture several times. This afternoon, the mate
asked him for a tumbler of water, and he refused to get it
for him, saying that he waited upon nobody but the captain :
and here he had the custom on his side. But in answering,
he left oflF "the handle to the mate's name." This enraged
the mate, who called him a "black soger" ; and at it they
went, clenching, striking, and rolling over and over ; while
we stood by, looking on, and enjoying the fim. The darkey
tried to butt him, but the mate got him down, and held him,
the steward singing out, "Let me go, Mr. Brown, or there'll
be blood spilt I " In the midst of this, the captain came
on deck, separated them, took the steward aft, and gave him
a half a dozen with a rope's end. The steward tried to
justify himself ; but he had been heard to talk of spilling
blood, and that was enough to earn him his flogging ; and
the captain did not choose to inquire any further.

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CHAPTER XXXIV

The same day, I met with one of those narrow escapes,
which are so often happening in a sailor's life. I had been
aloft nearly all the afternoon, at work, standing for as much
as an hour on the fore top-gallant yard, which was hoisted
up, and hung only by the tie ; when, having got through my
work, I balled up my yams, took my serving-board in my
hand, laid hold deUberately of the top-gallant rigging,
took one foot from the yard, and was just lifting the other,
when the tie parted, and down the yard fell. I was safe,
by my hold upon the rigging, but it made my heart beat
quick. Had the tie parted one instant sooner, or had I
stood an instant longer on the yard, I should inevitably
have been thrown violently from the height of ninety or an
hundred feet, overboard ; or, what is worse, upon the deck.
However, "a miss is as good as a mile;" a saying which
sailors very often have occasion to use. An escape is
always a joke on board ship. A man would be ridictded
who should make a serious matter of it. A sailor knows too
well that his life hangs upon a thread, to wish to be always
reminded of it ; so, if a man has an escape, he keeps it to
himself, or makes a joke of it. I have often known a man's
life to be saved by an instant of time, or by the merest
chance, — the swinging of a rope, — and no notice taken
of it. One of our boys, when oflf Cape Horn, reefing top-
sails of a dark night, and when there were no boats to be
lowered away, and where, if a man fell overboard, he must
be left behind, — lost his hold of the reef-point, slipped
from the foot-rope, and would have been in the water in a
moment, when the man who was next to him on the yard
caught him by the collar of his jacket, and hauled him up
upon the yard, with — "Hold on, another time, you young

368

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 369

monkey, and be d d to you !" — and that was all that

was heard about it.

Sunday y August ph. Lat. 25"^ 59' S., long. 2f o' W.
Spoke the English bark Mary-Cathenne, from Bahia, bound
to Calcutta. This was the first sail we had fallen in with,
and the first time we had seen a human form or heard the
human voice, except of our own nvunber, for nearly an
hundred days. The very yo-ho-ing of the sailors at the
ropes sounded sociably upon the ear. She was an old,
damaged-looking craft, with a high poop and top-gallant
forecastle, and sawed off square, stem and stem, like a true
English "tea-wagon," and with a nm like a sugar-box.
She had studding-sails out alow and aloft, with a light but
steady breeze, and her captain said he could not get more
than four knots out of her; and thought he should have
a long passage. We were going six on an easy bowline.

The next day, about three p.m., passed a large corvette-
built ship, close upon the wind, with royals and skysails
set fore and aft, under English colors. She was standing
south-by-east, probably bound roimd Cape Horn. She
had men in her tops, and black mast-heads ; heavily sparred,
with sails cut to a T, and other marks of a man-of-war. She
sailed well, and presented a fine appearance; the proud,
aristocratic-looking banner of St. George, the cross in a
blood-red field, waving from the mizen. We probably were
as fine a sight, with our studding-sails spread far out beyond
the ship on either side, and rising in a pyramid to royal
studding-sails and skysails, bur^dng the hull in canvas,
and looking like what the whalemen on the Banks, under
their stump top-gallant masts, call "a Cape Hom-er imder
a cloud of sail."

Friday, August 12/A. At daylight made the island of

_Iiinidad, situated m lat. 20° 28' S., long. 29° 08' W. At

Itwelve, M., it bore N.W.^N., distant twenty-seven miles.

It was a beautiful day, the sea hardly ruffled by the light

trades, and the island looking like a small blue mound

rising from a field of glass. Such a fair and peaceful-look-

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370 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

ing spot is said to have been, for a long time, the resort of
a band of pirates, who ravaged the tropical seas.

Thursday^ August 18/A. At three, p.m., made the island
of Fernando Naronha, l)dng in lat. 3° 55' S., long. 32® 35'
W. ; and between twelve o'clock Friday night and one
o'clock Saturday morning, crossed the equator, for the
fourth time since leaving Boston, in long. 35*^ W. ; having
been twenty-seven days from Staten Land — a distance,
by the courses we had made, of more than four thousand
miles.

We were now to the northward of the line, and every
day added to our latitude. The Magellan Clouds, the last
sign of south latitude, were simk in the horizon, and the
north star, the Great Bear, and the familiar signs of northern
latitudes, were rising in the heavens. Next to seeing land,
there is no sight which makes one realize more that he is
drawing near home, than to see the same heavens, imder
which he was born, shining at night over his head. The
weather was extremely hot, with the usual tropical alterna-
tions of a scorching sun and squalls of rain ; yet not a word
was said in complaint of the heat, for we all remembered
that only three or four weeks before we would have given
nearly our all to have been where we now were. We had
a plenty of water, too, which we caught by spreading an
awning, with shot thrown in to make hollows. These rain
squalls came up in the manner usual between the tropics. —
A clear sky ; burning, vertical sun ; work going lazily on,
and men about decks with nothing but duck trowsers,
checked shirts, and straw hats; the ship moving as lazily
through the water; the man at the helm resting against
the wheel, with his hat drawn over his eyes ; the captain
below, taking an afternoon nap ; the passenger leaning over
the taflfrail, watching a dolph n following slowly in our
wake ; the sailmaker mending an old topsail on the lee side
of the quarter-deck; the carpenter working at his bench,
in the waist ; the boys making sinnet ; the spim-yam winch
whizzing round and roimd, and the men walking slowly fore

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iiNOTHER TIME. YOU YOUNG
MONKKY

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'' 'V\ :d sens.

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V . '^ r :^., long. 32^ ^^.

' '.' ' ' •. y uif^'it and oT^.e

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i'l ^''..r ;,; ' W. ; havii: >

■ .• . \:tt^ LjmI - a distan>\

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- .^ i.-'V to V' ^ ' I :;:' he line, and evn v

t '- "' lut'i.. • . .^Ir;^ 'l.ri Clou^is, the liisi

'■ ' 'A lat^' if'O, w-v - . ■'■ !'ir horizon, and the

r •'. t':t' Gr( :*t IV' r. r.' 'I •■/■' I. li '.H -^''jfnsof northern

'. \*>. \t ic w>i:-:, Jr I'-c ft\. - l:*^. N'rvt 10 seeing land

• '. :!0 si'iit V, >"r'^ :tv...^'^ u-,^^ roa:':'e .more that he is

••- =i ^ '•• '. ^ !..n-ii, b'^-:;V'3>tt10ift:h' (,-vr liis head. The
' '^r*. ;\' ^Iv hoL v^'i:.^ t'^v^ '3.su:il tropical alterna-
. - ■"' ':": ^ sa:: aii : ^ ...- i."- < : r 'r ; yet not a wor'i
' J '. "-:;:. iiiit of *.v r.c'L f(.r \7i- all remember: •
tL.i' '.ri- / t . c "^ i jr vvrk'.- t'-I -le wu would have gi\ tu*
7', '.'.!;.' ou'* <..■ :m r,M\'i- Jjfvn vvi'cj'e we nr^w werr. We ha.
.* p!v^ 'J, "' v:.'^ i\ 'Kt, wo. h v.v cau[;ht by spreading -<■ ,
ov^i'n;^. w^h ^''' •' ;jir.»v n l'^ to I'lako hollow :>. These r./l;
s ji 1:^ '.anvv, up in tli* m.. uicr jsu:.! I jet Wv en the trtpics. -
A />e ,r ;ky; ])ua;in:?-, \e: i':'al su:t : \,ork going la>/iiy ; :,
a v^' men a.jout (ie-:{:^ wiiii not!a::g but duck tro',v^ci>,
^••.."J;-(i thirty, a* d .st'^i>v h.:;:-; the snip n^ioving as rt/,i:\
li-i' .u:.li thf v'at.T; ^".0 man at th'^ he^r^. re.- ting againsi
t'.v ;vh-,.'l, '^ith fv"'- }\.' <iravv'i o^^er his eys; the captiin
i.'v.Mvv t\k\ij: ni cf'^^^-P") mt n.'p; the r.as-cn;\r leaning ove
i''^ - f' ';"i;\ vv.c' >■-._'. a <''f'pr,"n f<»no\vini:i; ^^lowly in oi.'
V- ■! <-/: the N-vj.raker n;<.ndi.iL a.i old 1oi>sau on the lee sitl'
'.I the qij;irter-dc(k ; the cr'pentrr working at his beTK'l .
.n i\irt vvai-i ; the boys ma'^.i:-;: <nnict ; the -oun-yarn wb' ■':
whi/^ii.tr ^i'Und and re vi.-h and rf'ie oun walking &lowS' f )rt^

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 371

and aft with the yams. — A cloud rises to windward, look-
ing a little black; the skysails are brailed down; the
captain puts his head out of the companion-way, looks at
the cloud, comes up, and begins to walk the deck. — The
cloud spreads and comes on ; — the tub of yams, the sail,
and other matters, are thrown below, and the sky-light and
booby-hatch put on, and the slide drawn over the fore-
castle. — "Stand by the royal halyards;" — the man at
the wheel keeps a good weather helm, so as not to be taken
aback. — The squall strikes her. If it is light, the royal
yards are clewed down, and the ship keeps on her way;
but if the squall takes strong hold, the royals are clewed up,
fore and aft ; light hands lay aloft and furl them ; top-gal-
lant yards clewed down, flying- jib hauled down, and the ship
kept off before it, — the man at the helm laying out his
strength to heave the wheel up to windward. At the same
time a drenching rain, which soaks one through in an in-
stant. Yet no one puts on a jacket or cap ; for if it is only
warm, a sailor does not mind a ducking ; and the sim will
soon be out again. As soon as the force of the squall has
passed, though to a common eye the ship would seem to be
in the midst of it, — " Keep her up to her course, again ! '* —
**Keep her up, sir" (answer); — ** Hoist away the top-
gallant yards !" — "Run up the flying-jib !" — "Lay aloft,
you boys, and loose the royals !" — and all sail is on her
again before she is fairly out of the squall ; and she is going
on in her course. The sim comes out once more, hotter
than ever, dries up the decks and the sailors' clothes ; the
hatches are taken off; the sail got up and spread on the
quarter-deck ; spim-yam winch set a whirling again ; rig-
ging coiled up ; captain goes below ; and every sign of an
intemiption is removed.

These scenes, with occasional dead calms, lasting for
hours, and sometimes for days, are fair specimens of the
Atlantic tropics. The nights were fine ; and as we had all
hands all day, the watch were allowed to sleep on deck at
night, except the man at the wheel, and one look-out on the

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372 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

forecastle. This was not so much expressly allowed, as
winked at. We could do it if we did not ask leave. If the
look-out was caught napping, the whole watch was kept
awake. We made the most of this permission, and stowed
ourselves away upon the rigging, under the weather rail,
on the spars, under the windlass, and in all the snug comers ;
and frequently slept out the watch, xmless we had a wheel
or a look-out. And we were glad enough to get this rest ;
for under the "all hands" system, out of every other
thirty-six hours, we had only four below; and even an
hour's sleep was a gain not to be neglected. One would have
thought so, to have seen our watch, some nights, sleeping
through a heavy rain. And often have we come on deck,
and finding a dead calm and a light, steady rain, and de-
termined not to lose our sleep, have laid a coil of rigging
down so as to keep us out of the water which was washing
about decks, and stowed ourselves away upon it, covering a
jacket over us, and slept as soimdly as a Dutchman between
two feather beds.

For a week or ten days after crossing the line, we had
the usual variety of calms, squalls, head winds, and fair
winds ; — at one time braced sharp upon the wind, with a
taught bowline, and in an hour after, slipping quietly along,
with a light breeze over the taflfrail, and studding-sails out
on both sides ; — until we fell in with the north-east trade-
winds ; which we did on the afternoon of

Sunday y August 28/A, in lat. 12*^ N. The trade-wind
clouds had been in sight for a day or two previously, and we
expected to take them every hour. The light southerly
breeze, which had been blowing languidly during the first
part of the day, died away toward noon, and in its place
came puffs from the north-east, which caused us to take
our studding-sails in and brace up ; and, in a couple of hours
more, we were bowling gloriously along, dashing the spray
far ahead and to leeward, with the cool, steady north-east
trades, freshening up the sCa, and giving us as much as we
could carry our royals to. These winds blew strong and

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 373

steady, keeping us generally upon a bowline, as our course
was about north-north-west; and sometimes, as they
veered a little to the eastward, giving us a chance at a main
top-gallant studding-sail ; and sending us well to the north-
ward, until —

Sunday, Sept. 4/A, when they left us, in lat. 22^ N., long.
51° W., directly under the tropic of Cancer.

For several days we lay "humbugging about" in the
Horse latitudes, with all sorts of winds and weather, and
occasionally, as we were in the latitude of the West Indies,
— a thunder storm. It was hurricane month, too, and we
were just in the track of the tremendous hurricane of 1830,
which swept the North Atlantic, destroying almost every-
thing before it. The first night after the trade-winds left
us, while we were in the latitude of the island of Cuba, we
had a specimen of a true tropical thimder storm. A light
breeze had been blowing directly from aft during the first
part of the night, which gradually died away, and before
midnight it was dead calm, and a heavy black cloud had
shrouded the whole sky. When our watch came on aeck
at twelve o'clock, it was as black as Erebus, the studding-
sails were all taken in, and the royals furled ; not a breath
was stirring; the sails hxrng heavy and motionless from
the yards ; and the perfect stillness, and the darkness, which
was almost palpable, were truly appalling. Not a word
was spoken, but every one stood as though waiting for
something to happen. In a few minutes the mate came
forward, and in a low tone, which was almost a whisper,
told us to hatd down the jib. The fore and mizen top-
gallant sails were taken in, in the same silent manner ; and
we lay motionless upon the water, with an imeasy expec-
tation, which, from the long suspense, became actually
painfid. We could hear the captain walking the deck,
but it was too dark to see anything more than one's hand
before the face. Soon the mate came forward again, and
gave an order, in a low fone, to clew up the main top-gallant
sail; and so infectious was the awe and silence, that the

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374 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

clewlines and buntlines were hauled up without any of
the customary singing out at the ropes. An Engh'sh lad
and myself went up to furl it ; and we had just got the bunt
up, when the mate called out to us, something, we did not
hear what, — but supposing it to be an order to bear-a-
hand, we hurried, and made all fast, and came down, feeling
our way among the rigging. When we got down we found
all hands looking aloft, and there, directly over where we
had been standing, upon the main top-gallant-mast-head,
was a baU^ of light, which the sailors name a c orpos ant ^
(corpus sancti), and which the mate had called out to us to
look at. They were all watching it carefully, for sailors have
a notion that if the corposant rises in the rigging, it is a
sign of fair weather, but if it comes lower down, 3iere will
be a storm. Unfortimately, as an omen, it came down,
and showed itself on the top-gallant yard-arm. We were
off the yard in good season, for it is held a fatal sign to have
the pale light of the corposant thrown upon one's face. As
it was, the English lad^3 not feel comfortably at having
had it so near him, and directly over his head. In a few
minutes it disappeared, and showed itself again on the fore
top-gallant yard; and after playing about for some time,
disappeared again ; when the man on the forecastle pointed
to it upon tie flying-jib-boom-end. But our attention
was drawn from watching this, by the falling of some drops
of rain, and by a perceptible increase of the darkness, which
seemed suddenly to add a new shade of blackness to the
night. In a few minutes, low, grumbling thimder was
heard, and some random flashes of lightning came from the
south-west. Every sail was taken in but the topsails;
still, no squall appeared to be coming. A few puffs lifted
the topsails, but they fell again to the mast, and all was as
still as ever. A moment more, and a terrific flash and peal
broke simultaneously upon us, and a cloud appeared to
open directly over our heads and let down the water in one
body, like a falling ocean. We stood motionless, and almost
stupefied; yet nothing had been struck. Peal after peal

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 375

rattled over our heads, with a sound which seemed actually
to stop the breath in the body, and the "speedy gleams"
kept the whole ocean in a glare of light. The violent fall
of rain lasted but a few minutes, and was succeeded by
occasional drops and showers ; but the lightning continued
incessant for several hours, breaking the midnight darkness
with irregular and blinding flashes. During all which time
there was not a breath stirring, and we lay motionless,
like a mark to be shot at, probably the only object on the
surface of the ocean for miles and miles. We stood hour
, after hour, xmtil our watch was out, and we were relieved,
at four o'clock. During all this time, hardly a word was
spoken; no bells were struck, and the wheel was silently
relieved. The rain fell at intervals in heavy showers, and
we stood drenched through and blinded by the flashes,
which broke the Eg3^tian darkness with a brightness which
seemed almost malignant ; while the thimder rolled in peals,
the concussion of which appeared to shake the very ocean.
A ship is not often injured by lightning, for the electricity
is separated by the great number of points she presents, and
the quantity of iron which she has scattered in various parts.
The electric fliud ran over our anchors, topsail sheets and
ties ; yet no harm was done to us. We went below at four
o'clock leaving things in the same state. It is not easy to
sleep, when the very next flash may tear the ship in two,
or set her on fire; or where the deathlike calm may be
broken by the blast of a hurricane, taking the masts out of
the ship. But a man is no sailor if he cannot sleep when he
tums-in, and turn out when he's called. And when, at
seven bells, the customary "All the larboard watch, ahoy !"
brought us on deck, it was a fine, clear, simny morning, the
ship going leisurely along, with a good breeze and bJI sail
set

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CHAPTER XXXV

From the latitude of the West Indies, until we got inside
the Bermudas, where we took the westerly and south-
westerly winds, which blow steadily off the coast of the
United States early in the autunm, we had every variety
of weather, and two or three moderate gales, or, as sailors
call them, double-reef-topsail breezes, which came on in
the usual manner, and of which one is a specimen of all.
— A fine afternoon; all hands at work, some in the rig-
ging, and others on deck; a stiff breeze, and ship close
upon the wind, and skysails brailed down. — Latter part
of the afternoon, breeze increases, ship lies over to it, and
clouds look windy. Spray begins to fly over the forecastle,
and wets the yams the boys are knotting ; — ball them up
and put them below. — Mate knocks off work and clears
up decks earlier than usual, and orders a man who has been
employed aloft to send the royal halyards over to windward,
as he comes down. Breast backstays hauled taught, and
tackle got upon the martingale back-rope. — One of the
boys furls the mizen royal. — Cook thinks there is going to
be "nasty work,'' and has supper ready early. — Mate gives
orders to get supper by the watch, instead of all hands, as
usual. — While eating supper, hear the watch on deck
taking in the royals. — Coming on d^ck, find it is blowing
harder, and an ugly head sea is running. — Instead of having
all hands on the forecastle in the dog watch, smoking,
singing, and telling yams, one watch goes below and turos-
in, saying that it's going to be an ugly night, and two hours'
sleep is not to be lost. Clouds look black and wild ; wind
rising, and ship working hard against a heavy head sea,
which breaks over the forecastle, and washes aft through
the scuppers. Still, no more sail is taken in, for the captain

376

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 377

is a driver, and, like all drivers, very partial to his top-
gallant sails. The top-gallant sail, too, makes the difference
between a breeze and a gale. When a top-gallant sail is
on a ship, it is only a breeze, though I have seen ours set
over a reefed topsail, when half the bowsprit was under
water, and it was up to a man's knees in the lee scuppers.
At eight bells, nothing is said about reefing the topsails,
and the watch go below;, with orders to ''stand by for a call.'*
We turn-in, growling at the *'old man'* for not reefing the
topsails when the watch was changed, but putting it off so as
to call all hands, and break up a whole watch below. Turn-
in "all standing," and keep ourselves awake, saying there is
no use in going to sleep to be waked up again. — Wind
whistles on deck, and ship works hard, groaning and creak-
ing, and pitching into a heavy head sea, which strikes against
the bows, with a noise like knocking upon a rock. — The
dim lamp in the forecasUe swings to and fro, and things
"fetch away" and go over to leeward. — "Doesn't that
booby of a second mate ever mean to take in his top-gallant
sails ? — He'll have the sticks out of her soon," says old Bill,
who was always growling, and, like most old sailors, did not
like to see a ship abused. — By-and-by, an order is given ;
— "Aye, aye, sir ! " from the forecastle ; — rigging is heaved
down on deck ; — the noise of a sail is heard fluttering aloft,
and the short, quick cry which sailors make when hauling
upon clewlines. — "Here comes his fore top-gallant sail
in !" — We are wide awake, and know all that's going on
as well as if we were on deck. — A well-known voice is heard
from the mast-head singing out to the officer of the watch
to haul taught the weatiier brace. — "Hallo! There's

S aloft to furl the sail!" — Next thing, rigging is

heaved down directly over our heads, and a long-drawn
cry and a rattling of hanks announce that the fl)dng-jib has
come in. — The second mate holds on to the main top-
gallant sail xmtil a heavy fiea is shipped, and washes over the
forecasUe as though the whole ocean had come aboard;
when a noise fxurther aft shows that that sail, too, is taking

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378 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

in. After this, the ship is more easy for a time; two bells
are struck, and we try to get a little sleep. By-and-by, —
bang, bang, bang, on the scuttle — "All ha-a-ands, a ho-
o-y !" — We spring out of our berths, clap on a monkey-
jacket and south-wester, and tumble up the ladder. — Mate
up before us, and on the forecastle, singing out like a roar-
ing bull; the captain singing out on the quarter-deck,
and the second mate yelling, like a hyena, in the waist
The ship is lying over half upon her beam-ends ; lee scuppers
\mder water, and forecastle all in a smother of foam. —
Rigging all let go, and washing about decks; topsail
yards down upon the caps, and sails flapping and beating
against the mast; and starboard watch hauling out the
reef-tackles of the main topsail. Our watch haul out
the fore, and lay aloft and put two reefs into it, and reef the
foresail, and race with the starboard watch, to see which
will mast-head its topsail first. All hands tally-on to the
main tack, and while some are furling the jib, and hoisting
the stay-sail, we mizen-top-men double-reef the mizen
topsail and hoist it up. All being made fast — "Go below,
the watch ! " and we turn-in to sleep out the rest of the time,
which is perhaps an hour and a half. During all the middle,
and for the first part of the morning watch, it blows as
hard as ever, but toward day-break it moderates consider-
ably, and we shake a reef out of each topsail, and set the
top-gallant sails over them ; and when the watch come up,
at seven bells, for breakfast, shake the other reefs out, turn
all hands to upon the halyards, get the watch-tackle upK>n
the top-gallant sheets and halyards, set the flying-jib, and
crack on to her again.

Our captain had been married only a few weeks before
he left Boston; and, after an absence of over two years,
it may be supposed he was not slow in carrying sail. The
mate, too, was not to be beaten by anybody ; and the second
mate, though he was afraid to press sail, was afraid as death
of the captain, and being between two fears, sometimes
carried on longer than any of them. We snapped oflf three

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 379

flying-jib booms in twenty-four hours, as fast as they could
be fitted and rigged out; sprung the sprit-sail yard; and
made nothing of studding-sail booms. Beside the natural
desire to get home, we had another reason for urging the
ship on. The scurvv had begun to show itself on board.
One man had it^sooadly as to be disabled and off duty,
and the English lad, Ben, was in a dreadful state, and was
daily growing worse. His 1^ swelled and pained him so
that he could not walk ; his flesh lost its elasticity, so that
if it was pressed in, it would not return to its shape ; and
his gums swelled imtil he could not open his mouth. His
breath, too, became very offensive ; he lost all strength and
spirit ; could eat nothing ; grew worse every day ; and, in
fact, imless something was done for him, would be a dead
man in a week, at the rate at which he was sinking. The
medicines were all, or nearly all, gone ; and if we had had a
chest-full, they would have been of no use ; for nothing but
fresh provisions and terra firma has any effect upon the
scurvy. This disease is not so common now as formerly ;
and is attributed generally to salt provisions, want of clean-
liness, the free use of grease and fat (which is the reason of
its prevalence among whalemen), and, last of all, to laziness.
It never could have been from llie latter cause on board our
ship ; nor from the second, for we were a very cleanly crew,
kept our forecastle in neat order, and were more particular
about washing and changing clothes than many better-
dressed people on shore. It was probably from having none
but salt provisions, and possibly from our having run very\
rapidly into hot weather, after having been so long in the
extremest cold.

Depending upon the westerly winds, which prevail off
the coast in the autumn, the captain stood well to the
westward, to run inside of the Bermudas, and in the hope of
falling in with some vessel boimd to the West Indies or the
Southern States. The scurvy had spread no farther among
the crew, but there was danger that it might; and these
cases were bad ones.

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38o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Sunday, Sept. nth. Lat 30'' 04' N., long. 6f 23' W.;
the Bermudas bearing north-north-west, distant one hun-
dred and fifty miles. The next morning, about ten o'clock,
"Sail ho !" was cried on deck; and all hands turned up to
see the stranger. As she drew nearer, she proved to be
an ordinary-looking hermaphrodite brig, standing south-
south-east; and probably bound out, from the Northern
States, to the West Indies ; and was just the thing we wished
to see. She hove-to for us, seeing tiiat we wished to speak
her ; and we ran down to her ; boom-ended our studding-
sails; backed our main topsail, and hailed her — "Brig,
ahoy!" — "Hallo!'' — "Where are you from, pray?" —
"From New York, bound to Curagoa." — "Have j^ou any
fresh provisions to spare ? " — "Aye, aye ! plenty of them ! "
We lowered away the quarter-boat, instantly; and the
captain and four hands sprang in, and were soon dancing
over the water, and alongside the brig. In about half an
hour, they returned with half a boat-load of potatoes and
onions, and each vessel filled away, and kept on her course.
She proved to be the brig Solon, of Plsnnoufli, from the Con-
necticut river, and last from New York, boimd to the Span-
ish Main, with a cargo of fresh pro\dsions, mules, tin bake-
pans, and other notions. The onions were genuine and
fresh ; and the mate of the brig told the men in the boat,
as he passed the bimches over the side, that the girls
had stnmg them on purpose for us the day he sailed. We
had supposed, on board, that a new president had been
chosen, the last winter, and, just as we filled away, the cap>-
tain hailed and asked who was president of tiie United
States. They answered, Andrew Jackson; but thinking
that the old General could not have been elected for a third
time, we hailed again, and they answered — Jack Downing ;
and left us to correct the mistake at our leisure.

It was just dinner-time when we filled away ; and the
steward, taking a few bimches of onions for the cabin, gave
the rest to us, with a bottle of vinegar. We carried tihem
forward, stowed them away in the forecastle, refusing to

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 381

have them cooked, and ate them raw, with our beef and
bread. And a glorious treat they were. The freshness
and crispness of the raw onion, with the earthy taste, give
it a great relish to one who has been a long time on salt
provisions. We were perfectly ravenous after them. It
was like a scent of blood to a hound. We ate them at every
meal, by the dozen ; and filled our pockets with them, to
eat in our watch on deck ; and the bimches, rising in the
form of a cone, from the largest at the bottom, to the small-
est, no larger than a strawberry, at the top, soon disap-
peared. The chief use, however, of the fresh provisions, was
for the men with the scuryy. One of them was able to eat,
and he soon brought himself to, by gnawing upon raw pota-
toes ; but the other, by this time, was hardly able to open
his mouth ; and the cook took the potato^raw, poimded
them in a mortar, and gave him the juice foonnk. This he
swallowed, by the tea-spoonful at a time, and rinsed it about
his gums and throat. The strong earthy taste and smell of
this extract of the raw potato at first produced a shuddering
through his whole frame, and after drinking it, an acute
pain, which ran through all parts of his body ; but knowing,
by this, that it was taking strong hold, he persevered, drink-
ing a spoonful every hour or so, and holding it a long time in
his mouth ; \mtil, by the effect of this drink, and of his own
restored hope (for he had nearly given up, in despair), he be-
came so well as to be able to move about, and open his mouth
enough to eat the raw potatoes and onions poimded into a soft
pulp. This course soon restored his appetite and strength;
and in ten days after we spoke the SoloUy so rapid was
his recovery, that, from lying helpless and almost hopeless
in his berth, he was at the mast-head, furling a royal.
With a fine south-west wind, we passed inside of the Ber-
mudas; and notwithstanding the old couplet, which was
quoted again and again by Siose who thought we should
have one more touch of a storm before our voyage was up, —

" If the Bermudas let you pass,
You must beware of Hatteras — "

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382 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

we were to the northward of Hatteras, with good weather,
and beginning to count, not the days, but the hoxirs, to the
time when we should be at anchor in Boston harbor.

Our ship was in fine order, all hands having been hard at
work upon her from daylight to dark, every day but Sun-
day, from the time we got into warm weather on this side
the Cape.

It is a common notion with landsmen that a ship is in her
finest condition when she leaves port to enter upon her
voyage ; and that she comes home, after a long absence,

''With over-weathered ribs and ragged sails;
Lean, rent and beggared by the strumpet wind."

But so far from that, imless a ship meets with some acddent,
or comes upon the coast in the dead of winter, when work
cannot be done upon the rigging, she is in her finest order at
the end of the voyage. When she sails from port, her rig-
ging is generally slack ; the masts need staying ; the decks
and sides are black and dirty from taking in cargo ; riggers'
seizings and overhand knots in place of nice seamanlike
work ; and everything, to a sailor's eye, adrift. But on the
passage home, the fine weather between the tropics is spent
in putting the ship into the neatest order. No merchant
vessel looks better than an Indiaman, or a Cape Hom-er,
after a long voyage; and many captains and mates will
stake their reputation for seamanship upon the appearance
of their ship when she haids into the dock. All our standing
rigging, fore and aft, was set up and tarred; the masts
stayed; the lower and top-mast rigging rattled down (or
up, as the fashion now is) ; and so careful were our officers
to keep the rattlins taught and straight, that we were
obliged to go aloft upon the ropes and shearpoles with which
the rigging was swifted in; and these were used as jury
rattlins until we got close upon the coast. After this, the
ship was scraped, inside and out, decks, masts, booms and
aU ; a stage being rigged outside, upon which we scraped

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EMPTY TAR BARRELS WERE SET ON FIRE AND
THROWN OVERBOARD

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•t J-^.j w.mvj: v.-t',her on this ^It^

. : ' •:! wr.l ]aiL'>T:\n ti'it a ship is in h-i^

■ t -^i.e -'^liv-. h-)ii\c, afi. r a long absence

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t. . L .tj' ' * .';. IT'-:/. .''.! ;MU cargo; rigg^i-*
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a :.: r I'-r^ v(v .^^e: :v(\ iiMay (r'.*t\MriS and ;riatcs svi.l
St..:.: !'rr rc;' .at'or for .-v.ani.inrf -o jpon the appcnr.ir.f
1 f I'l. ;r -hip w' >:r. "-be r^^Kil; iv'^. t'-.e -^ - i^ Ai! our ^tap.f': .*
:,'.•; .u. fore ard alt, wms .-.c1 up ;.:.(! tairod: the hm.m-
b-:iccd; tl^e lower ivA t^»p-]:ur-,t -irc^na pictled down ;■ r
^•p a:- ttu^ i:i-''i?/a :^.' '■' I;' * and so »' mdul A't^:e our '-fticer-
X') i.^'cp I'le r-'tWins t.:,..'it and .,lr I'.f^.^d-. '.hat >e w^'"v
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: ■', a *'- I, t l\:i'C :}U'"^-i on* "dr, in"»p ••hicK V/C scr

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• - o : -c' ". "

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 383

her down to the water-lme; pounding the rust off the
chains, bolts, and fastenings. Then, taking two days of
calm under the line, we painted her on the outside, giving
her open ports in her streak, and finishing ofif the nice work
upon the stem, where sat Neptime in his car, holding his
trident, drawn by sea horses; and re-touched the gilding
and coloring of the cornucopia which ornamented her billet-
head. The inside was then painted, from the skysail truck
to the waterways — the yards black ; mast-heads and tops,
white; monkey-rail, black, white, and yellow; bulwarks,
green; plank-shear, white, waterways, lead color, etc.
The anchors and ring-bolts, and other iron work, were black-
ened with coal-tar ; and the steward kept at work, poUsh-
ing the brass of the wheel, bell, capstan, etc. The cabin,
too, was scraped, varnished, and painted ; and the forecastle
scraped and scrubbed ; there being no need of paint and
varnish for Jack's quarters. The decks were then scraped
and varnished, and everything useless thrown overboard;
among which, the empty tar barrels were set on fire and
thrown overboard, of a dark night, and left blazing astern,
lighting up the ocean for miles. Add to all this labor, the
neat work upon the rigging; — the knots, flemish-eyes,
spKces, seizings, coverings, pointings, and graflSngs, which
show a ship in crack order. The last preparation, and
which looked still more like coming into port, was getting
the anchors over the bows, bending the cables, rowsing the
hawsers up from between decks, and overhauling the deep-
sea-lead-line.

Thursday y September 15th. This morning the tempera-
ture and peculiar appearance of the water, the quantities
of gulf-weed floating about, and a bank of clouds lying
directly before us, showed that we were on the border of the
Gulf Stream. This remarkable current, running north-east,
nearly across the ocean, is almost constantly shrouded in
clouds, and is the region of storms and heavy seas. Vessels
often run from a clear sky and light wind, with all sail, at
once into a heavy sea and cloudy sky, with double-reefed

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384 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

topsails. A sailor told me that on a passage from Gibraltar
to Boston, his vessel neared the Gulf Stream with a light
breeze, dear sky, and studding-sails out, alow and aloft;
while, before it, was a long line of heavy, black clouds,
l3ang like a bank upon the water, and a vessel coming out of
it, imder double-reefed topsails, and with royal yards sent
down. As they drew near, they began to take in sail after
sail, imtil they were reduced to the same condition; and,
after twelve or fourteen hours of rolling and pitching in a
heavy sea, before a smart gale, they ran out of the baok on
the other side, and were in fine weather again, and under
their royals and skysails. As we drew into it, the sky
became cloudy, the sea high, and everything had the ap-
pearance of the going off, or the coming on, of a storm.
It was blowing no more than a stiff breeze ; yet the wind,
being north-east, which is directly against the course of the
current, made an ugly, chopping sea, which heaved and
pitched the vessel about, so tihat we were obliged to send
down the royal yards, and to take in our light sails. At
noon, the thermometer, which had been repeatedly lowered
into the water, showed the temperature to be seventy;
which was considerably above tiiat of the air, — as is
always the case in the centre of the Stream. A lad who
had been at work at the royal mast-head, came down upon
deck, and took a turn roimd the long-boat ; and looking very
pale, said he was so sick that he could stay aloft no longer,
but was ashamed to acknowledge it to the officer. He went
up again, but soon gave out and came down, and leaned
over the rail, '* as sick as a lady passenger." He had been to
sea several years, and had, he said, never been sick before.
He was made so by the irregular, pitching motion of the
vessel, increased by the height to which he had been above
the hull, which is like the fulcrum of the lever An old
sailor, who was at work on the top-gallant yard, said he
felt disagreeably all the time, and was glad, when his job
was done, to get down into the top, or upon deck. Another
hand was sent to the royal mast-head, who staid nearly an

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 385

hour, but gave up. The work must be done, and the mate
sent me. I did very well for some tune, but began at length
to feel very impleasantly, though I had never been sick
since the first two days from Boston, and had been in all
sorts of weather and situations. Still, I kept my place,
and did not come down, until I had got through my work,
which was more than two hours. The ship certainly never
acted so badly before. She was pitched and jerked about in
all manner of wajrs ; the sails seeming to have no steadying
power over her. The tapering points of the masts made
various ctirves and angles against the sky overhead, and
sometimes, in one sweep of an instant, described an arc of
more than forty-five degrees, bringing up with a sudden
jerk which made it necessary to hold on with both hands,
and then sweeping oflF, in another long, irregular curve. I
was not positively sick, and came down with a look of in-
difference, yet was not unwilling to get upon the comparative
terra firma of the deck. A few hours more carried us
through, and when we saw the sim go down, upon our lar-
board beam, in the direction of the continent of North Amer-
ica, we had left the bank of dark, stormy clouds astern, in
the twilight

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CHAPTER XXXVI

Fmday, Sept. i6th. Lat. 38"* N., long. 69"* 00' W.
A fine south-west wind ; every hour carrying us nearer in
toward the land. All hands on deck at the dog watch,
and nothing talked about, but our getting in; where we
should make the land; whether we should arrive before
Sunday; going to chiurch; how Boston would look;
friends ; wages paid ; — and the like. Every one was in
the best spirits ; and, the voyage being nearly at an end, the
strictness of discipline was relaxed ; for it was not necessary
to order in a cross tone, what every one was ready to do with
a will. The little differences and quarrels which a long
voyage breeds on board a ship, were forgotten, and every
one was friendly ; and two men, who had been on the eve
of a battle half the voyage, were la3ang out a plan together
for the cruise on shore. When the mate came forward, he
talked to the men, and said we should be on George's Banks
before to-morrow noon ; and joked with the boys, promising
to go and see them, and to take them down to Marblehead
in a coach.

Saturday J 17/A. The wind was light all day, which kept
us back somewhat ; but a fine breeze springing up at night-
fall, we were nmning fast in toward the land. At six o'clock
we expected to have the ship hove-to for soimdings, as a
thick fog, coming up, showed we were near them ; but no
order was given, and we kept on our way. Eight o'clock
came, and the watch went below, and, for the whole of the
first hour, the ship was tearing on, with studding-sails out,
alow and aloft, and the night as dark as a pocket. At two
bells the captain came on deck, and said a word to the mate,
when the studding-sails were hauled into the tops, or boom-
ended, the after yards backed, the deep-sea-lead carried

386

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 387

forward, and everything got ready for sounding. A man
on the sprit-sail yard with the lead, another on the cat-
head with a handful of the line coiled up, another in the
fore chains, another in the waist, and another in the main
chains, each with a quantity of the line coiled away in his
hand. "All ready there, forward?" — '*Aye, aye, sir!"
— "He-e-ave!" — " Watch! ho! watch!" sings out the
man on the sprit-sail yard, and the heavy lead drops into
the water. "Watch ! ho ! watch !" bawls the man on the
cat-head, as the last fake of the coil drops from his hand,
and "Watch ! ho ! watch !" is shouted by each one as the
line falls from his hold; imtil it comes to the mate, who
tends the lead, and has the line in coils on the quarter-
deck. Eighty fathoms, and no bottom ! A depth as great
as the height of St. Peters ! The line is snatched in a block
upon the swifter, and three or four men haul it in and coil
it away. The after yards are braced full, the studding-sails
hauled out again, and in a few minutes more lKe"ship had
her whole way upon her. At four bells, backed again, hove
the lead, and — soimdings ! at sixty fathoms ! Hurrah for
Yankee land! Hand over hand, we hauled the lead in,
and the captain, taking it to the light, foimd black mud on
the bottom. Studding-sails taken in ; after yards filled, and
ship kept on imder easy sail all night ; the wind dying away.

The soimdings on the American coast are so regular that a
navigator knows as well where he has made land, by the
soimdings, as he would by seeing the land. Black mud is
the soimdings of Block Island. As you go toward Nan-
tucket, it changes to a dark sand; then, sand and white
shells; and on George's Banks, white sand; and so on.
Being oflF Block Island, our course was due east, to Nan-
tucket Shoals, and the South Channel ; but the wind died
away and left us becalmed in a thick fog, in which we lay
the whole of Sunday. At noon of

Sunday, 18th. Block Island bore, by calculation, N. W.
J W. fifteen miles ; but the fog was so thick all day that we
could see nothing.

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388 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Having got through the ship's duty, and washed and
shaved, we went below, and had a fine time overhauling
our chests, laying aside the clothes we meant to go ashore
in, and throwing overboard all that were worn out and good
for nothing. Away went the woollen caps in which we had
carried hides upon our heads, for sixteen months, on the
coast of California; the duck frocks, for tarring down
rigging ; and the worn-out and darned mittens and patched
woollen trowsers which had stood the tug of Cape Horn.
We hove them overboard with a good will; for there is
nothing like being quit of the very last appendages and
remnants of our evil fortune. We got our chests all ready
for going ashore; ate the last "duff'' we expected to have
on board the ship Alert; and talked as confidently about
matters on shore as though our anchor were on the bottom.

"Who'll go to church with me a week from to-day?"

"I will," says Jack; who said aye to everything.

"Go away, salt water !" says Tom. "As soon as I get
both legs ashore, I'm going to shoe my heels, and button my
ears behind me, and start off into the bush, a straight course,
and not stop till I'm out of the sight of salt water !"

"Oh ! belay that ! Spin that yarn where nobody knows
your filling ! If you get once moored, stem and stem, in

old B 's grog-shop, with a coal fire ahead and the bar

under your lee, you won't see daylight for three weeks !"

"No !" says Tom, "I'm going to knock off grog, and go
and board at the Home, and see if they won't ship me for a
deacon ! "

"And I," says Bill, "am going to buy a quadrant and
ship for navigator of a Hingham packet !"

These and the like jokes served to pass the time while
we were lying waiting for a breeze to clear up the fog and
send us on our way.

Toward night a moderate breeze sprang up; the fog
however continuing as thick as before ; and we kept on to
the eastward. About the middle of the first watch, a man
on the forecastle sang out, in a tone which showed that there

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 389

was not a moment to be lost, — "Hard up the helm !" and
a great ship loomed up out of the fog, coming directly down
upon us. She luffed at the same moment, and we just
passed one another; our spanker boom grazing over her
quarter. The officer of the deck had only time to hail,
and she answered, as she went into the fog again, something
about Bristol — probably, a whaleman from Bristol,
Rhode Island, boimd out. The fog continued through the
night, with a very light breeze, before which we ran to the
eastward, Uterally feeling our way along. The lead was
heaved every two hours and the gradual change from black
mud to sand showed that we were approaching Nantucket
South Shoals. On Monday morning, the increased depth jj
and deep blue color of the water, and the mixture of shells
and white sand which we brought up, upon soimding,
showed that we were in the channel, and nearing Greorge's ;
accordingly, the ship's head was put directly to the north-
ward, and we stood on, with perfect confidence in the soimd-
ings, though we had not taken an observation for two days,
nor seen land ; and the difference of an eighth of a mile out
of the way might put us ashore. Throughout the day a
provokingly light wind prevailed, and at eight o'clock, a
small fishing schooner, which we passed, told us we were
nearly abreast of Chatham lights. Just before midm'ght,
a Ught land-breeze sprang up, which carried us well along ;
and at four o'clock, thiiJcing ourselves to the northward
of Race Point, we hauled upon the. wind and stood into the
bay, north-north-west, for Boston light, and commenced
firing guns for a pilot. Our watch went below at four
o'clock, but could not sleep, for the watch on deck were
banging away at the gims every few minutes. And, indeed,
we cared very little about it, for we were in Boston Bay ;
and if fortime favored us, we could all "sleep in" the next
night, with nobody to call the watch every four hours.

We turned out, of our own will, at daybreak, to get a ;
sight of land. In the grey of the morning, one or two small
fishing smacks peered out of the mist ; and when the broad

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390 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

day broke upon us, there lay the low sand-hills of Cape Cod,
over oiu: larboard quarter, and before us, the wide waters
of Massachusetts Bay, with here and there a sail gliding over
its smooth surface. As we drew in toward the mouth of the
harbor, as toward a focus, the vessels began to multiply,
imtil the bay seemed actually alive with sails gliding about
in every direction ; some on the wind, and others before it,
as they were bound to or from the emporiimi of trade and
centre of the bay. It was a stirring sight for us, who had
been months on the ocean without seeing anything but two
solitary sails ; and over two years without seeing more than
the three or four trader^bn an almost desolate coast. There
were the little coasters, boimd to and from the various towns
along the south shore, down in the bight of the bay, and to
the eastward ; here and there a square-rigged vessel stand-
ing out to seaward ; and, far in the distance, beyond Cape
Ann, was the smoke of a steamer, stretching along in a nar-
row, black cloud upon the water. Every sight was full of
beauty and interest. We were coming back to our homes ;
and the signs of civilization, and prosperity, and happiness,
from whi(£ we had been so long banished, were multiplsdng
about us. The high land of Cape Ann and the rocks and
shore of Cohasset were fuU in sight, the light-houses, stand-
ing like sentries in white before the harbors, and even the
smoke from the chimneys on the plains of Hingham was seen
rising slowly in the morning air. One of our boys was the
son of a budket-maker ; and his face lighted up as he saw the
tops of the well-known hills which surroimd his native place.
About ten o'clock a little boat came bobbing over the water,
and put a pilot on board, and sheered off in pursuit of other
vessels boimd in. Being now within the scope of the tele-
graph stations, our signals were run up at the fore, and in
half an hour afterwards, the owner on 'change, or in his
coimting-room, knew that his ship was below ; and the land-
lords, runners, and sharks in Ann street learned that there
was a rich prize for them down in the bay : a ship from round
the Horn, with a crew to be paid off with two years' wages.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 391

The wind continuing very light ; all hands were sent aloft
to strip ofif the chafing gear; and battens, parcellings,
roiindings, hoops, mats, and leathers, came flying from aloft,
and left the rigging neat and clean, stripped of all its sea
bandaging* The last touch was put to the vessel by paint-
ing the skysail poles; and I was sent up to the fore, with
a bucket of white paint and a brush, and touched her off,
from the truck to the eyes of the royal rigging. At noon,
we lay becalmed off the lower light-house; and it being
about slack water, we made little progress. A firing was
heard in the direction of Hingham, and the pilot said there
was a review there. The Hingham boy got wind of this,
and said if the ship had been twelve hours sooner, he should
have been down among the soldiers, and in the booths, and
having a grand time. As it was, we had little prospect of
getting in before night. About two o'clock a breeze sprang
up ahead, from the westward, and we began beating up
against it. A full-rigged brig was beating in at the same
time, and we passed one another, in our tacks, sometimes
one and sometimes the other, working to windward, as the
wind and tide favored or opposed. It was my trick at the
wheel from two till four ; and I stood my last helm, making
between nine himdred and a thousand hours which I had
spent at the helms of our two vessels. The tide beginning
to set against us, we made slow work ; and the afternoon
was nearly spent, before we got abreast of the inner light.
In the mean time, several vessels were coming down, out-
ward bound; among which, a fine, large ship, with yards
squared, fair wind and fair tide, passed us like a race-horse,
the men running out upon her yards to rig out the studding-
sail booms. Towards simdown the wind came off in flaws,
sometimes blowing very stiff, so that the pilot took in the
royals, and then it died away ; when, in order to get us in
before the tide became too strong, the royals were set again.
As this kept us nmning up and down the rigging all the time,
one hand was sent aloft at each mast-head, to stand-by to
loose and furl the sails, at the moment of the order. I took

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392 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

my place at the fore, and loosed and furled the ro}raI five
times between Rainsford Island and the Castle. At one
tack we ran so near to Rainsford Island, that, looking
down from the royal yard, the island, with its hospital
buildings, nice gravelled walks, and green plats, seemed
to lie directly under our yard-arms. So close is the channel
to some of these islands, that we ran the end of our flying-
jib-boom over one of the out-works of the fortifications on
George's Island ; and had an opportimity of seeing the ad-
vantages of that point as a fortified place ; for, in working
up the channel, we presented a fair stem and stem, for
raking, from the batteries, three or four times. One gun
might have knocked us to pieces.

We had all set oiu: hearts upon getting up to town before
night and going ashore, but the tide beginning to nm strong
against us, and the wind, what there was of it, being ahead,
we made but little by weather-bowing the tide, and 5ie pilot
gave orders to cock-bill the anchor and overhaul the chain.
Making two long stretches, which brought us into the roads,
imder the lee of the Castle, he clewed up the topsails, and
let go the anchor ; and for the first time since leaving San
' Diego — one hundred and thirty-five days — our anchor
was upon bottom. In half an hour more, we were lying
snugly, with all sails furled, safe in Boston harbor ; our long
voyage ended ; the well-known scene about us ; the dome
of the State House fading in the western sky ; the lights of
the city starting into sight, as the darkness came on ; and
at nine o'clock the clangor of the bells, ringing their accus-
tomed peals; among which the Boston boys tried to dis-
tinguish the well-known tone of the Old South.

We had just done furling the sails, when a beautiful little
pleasure-boat luffed up into the wind, under oiu: quarter,
and the junior partner of the firm to which our ship be-
longed, jumped on board. I saw him from the mizen top-
sail yard, and knew him well. He shook the captain by
the hand, and went down into the cabin, and in a few mo-
ments came up and inquired of the mate for me. The last

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 393

time I had seen him, I was ia the imiform of an imder-gradu-
ate of Harvard College, and now, to his astonishment,
there came down from aloft a ''rough alley" looking fellow,
with duck trowsers and red shirt, long hair, and face burnt
as black as an Indian's. He shook me by the hand, con-
gratulated me upon my return and my appearance of health
and strength, and said my friends were all well. I thanked
him for telling me what I should not have dared to ask ; and
if —

" the first bringer of unwelcome news

Hath but a losing office; and his tongue
Sounds ever after like a sullen bell — "

certainly I shall ever remember this man and his words with
pleasure.

The captain went up to town in the boat with Mr. H ,

and left us to pass another night on board ship, and to come
up with the morning's tide imder command of the pilot.

So much did we feel ourselves to be already at home, in
anticipation, that our plain supper of hard bread and salt
beef was barely touched; and many on board, to whom
this was the first voyage, could scarcely sleep. As for my-
self, by one of those anomalous changes of feeling of which
we are all the subjects, I foimd that I was in a state of in-
difference, for which I could by no means accoimt. A
year before, while carrying hides on the coast, the assurance
that in a twelvemonth we should see Boston, made me half
wild; but now that I was actually there, and in sight of
home, the emotions which I had so long anticipated feeling,
I did not find, and in their place was a state of very nearly
entire apathy. Something of the same experience was
related to me by a sailor whose first voyage was one of five
years upon the North-west Coast. He had left home, a lad,
and after several years of very hard and trying experience-
found himself homeward bound ; and such was the excite-
ment of his feelings that, during the whole passage, he could
talk and think of nothing else but his arrival, and how and

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394 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

when he should jump from the vessel and take his way
directly home. Yet when the vessel was made fast to the
wharf and the crew dismissed, he seemed suddenly to lose
all feeling about the matter. He told me that he went
below and changed his dress; took some water from the
scuttle-butt and washed himself leisurely; overhauled his
chest, and put his clothes all in order ; took his pipe from
its place, fiUed it, and sitting down upon his chest, smoked
it slowly for the last time. *^Here he looked round upon the
forecasde in which he had spent so many years, anci being
alone and his shipmates scattered, he began to fed actually
unhappy. Home became almost a dream; and it was not
until his brother (who had heard of the ship's arrival) came
down into the forecastle and told him of things at home,
and who were waiting there to see him, that he could realize
where he was, and feel interest enough to put him in motion
toward that place for which he had longed, and of which he
had dreamed, for years. There is probably so much of
excitement in prolonged expectation, that the quiet realizing
of it produces a momentary stagnation of feeling as well as
of effort. It was a good deal so with me. The activity of
preparation, the rapid progress of the ship, the first making
land, the coming up the harbor, and old scenes breaking
upon the view, produced a mental as well as bodily activity,
from which the change to a perfect stillness, when both
expectation and the necessity of labor failed, left a calmness,
almost of indifference, from which I must be roused by some
new excitement. And the next morning, when all hands
were called, and we were busily at work, clearing the decks,
and getting everything in readiness for going up to the
wharves, — loading the guns for a salute, loosing the sails,
and manning the windlass, — mind and body seemed to
wake together.

About ten o'clock, a sea-breeze sprang up, and the pilot
gave orders to get the ship under weigh. AU hands manned
the windlass, and the long-drawn "Yo, heave, ho !" which
we had last heard dying away among the desolate hills of

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 395

San Diego, soon brought the anchor to the bows ; and, with
a fair wind and tide, a bright sunny morning, royals and sky-
sails set, ensign, streamer, signals, and pennant, flying, and
with our guns fixing, we came swiftly and handsomely up to
the city. Off the end of the wharf, we rounded-to and let
go our anchor ; and no sooner was it on the bottom, than
the decks were filled with peopk: custom-house officers;
Topliff's agent, to inquire for news; others, inquiring for
f riends^on board, or left upon the coast ; dealers in grease,
besieging the galley to make a bargain with the cook for
his slush; ''loafers" in general; and last and chief , board-
ing-house runners^ to secure their men. Nothing can exceed
the obliging disposition of these runners, and the interest
they take in a sailor returned from a long voyage with a
plenty of money. Two or three of them, at different times,
took me by the hand; remembered me perfectly; were
quite sure I had boarded with them before I sailed ; were
delighted to see me back ; gave me their cards ; had a hand-
cart waiting on the wharf, on purpose to take my things up ;
would lend me a hand to get my chest ashore ; bring a bottle
of grog on board if we did not haul in inmiediately, — and
the like. In fact, we could hardly get dear of them, to go
aloft and furl the sails. SaU after sail, for the hundredth
time, in fair weather and in foul, we furled now for the last
time together, and came down and took the warp ashore,
manned the capstan, and with a chorus which waked up
half the North End, and rang among the buildings in the
dock, we hauled her in to the wharf. Here, too, the land-
lords and runners were active and ready, taking a bar to
the capstan, lending a hand at the ropes, laughing and
talking and telling news. The city bells were just ringing
one when the last turn was made fast, and the crew dis-
missed ; and in five minutes more, not a soul was left on
board the good ship Alert, but the old ship-keeper, who had
come down from the counting-house to take charge of her.

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CONCLUDING CHAPTER

I TRUST that they who have followed me to the end of my
narrative, will not refuse to carry their attention a little
farther, to the concluding remarks which I here present to
them.

This chapter is written after the lapse of a considerable
time since the end of my voyage, and after a return to my
former pursuits ; and in it I design to offer those views of
what may be done for seamen, and of what is already doing,
which I have deduced from my experiences, and from the
attention which I have since gladly given to the subject.

The romantic interest which many take in the sea, and
in those who live upon it, may be of use in exciting their
attention to this subject, though I cannot but feel sure that
all who have followed me in my narrative must be con-
vinced that the sailor has no romance in his every-day life to
sustain him, but that it is very much the same plain, matter-
of-fact drudgery and hardship, which would be experienced
on shore. If I have not produced this conviction, I have
failed in persuading others of what my own experience has
most fully impressed upon m)rself .

There is a witchery in the sea, its songs and stories, and
in the mere sight of a ship, and the sailor's dress, especially
to a young mind, which has done more to man navies, and
fill merchantmen, than all the pressgangs of Europe. I
have known a young man with such a passion for the sea,
that the verj'' creaking of a block stirred up his imagination
so that he could hardly keep his feet on dry ground ; and
many are the boys, in every seaport, who are drawn away,
as by an almost irresistible attraction, from their work and
schools, and hang about the decks and yards of vessels, with
a fondness which, it is plain, will have its way. No sooner,

396

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 397

however, has the yoxmg saflor begun his new life in earnest,
than all this fine drapery falls off, and he learns that it is
but work and hardship, after all. This is the true light in
which a sailor's life is to be viewed ; and if in our books,
and anniversary speeches, we would leave out much that
is said about "blue water," ''blue jackets," "open hearts,"
** seeing God's hand on the deep," and so forth, and take this
up like any other practical subject, I am quite sure we should
do full as much for those we wish to benefit. The question
is, what can be done for sailors, as they are, — men to be fed,
and clothed, and lodged, for whom laws must be made and
executed, and who are to be instructed in useful knowledge,
and, above all, to be brought under religious influence and
restraint ? It is upon these topics that I wish to make a
few observations.

In the first place, I have no fancies about equality on
board ship. It is a thing out of the question, and certainly,
in the present state of mankind, not to be desired. I never
knew a sailor who foimd fault with the orders and ranks
of the service ; and if I expected to pass the rest of my life
before the mast, I would not wish to have the power of the
captain diminished an iota. It is absolutely necessary that
there should be one head and one voice to control every-
thing, and be responsible for everything. There are emer-
gencies which require the instant exercise of extreme power.
These emergencies do not allow of consultation ; and they
who would be the captain's constituted advisers might be
the very men over whom he would be called upon to exert
his authority. It has been found necessary to vest in every
government, even the most democratic, some extraordinary,
and, at first sight, alarming powers; trusting in public
opinion, and subsequent accountability, to modify the ex-
ercise of them. These are provided to meet exigencies,
which all hope may never occur, but which yet by possi-
bility may occur, and if they should, and there were no
power to meet them instantly, there would be an end put
to the government at once. So it is with the authority of

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398 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

the shipmaster. It will not answer to say that he shall
never do this and that thing, because it does not seem
alwa3rs necessary and advisable that it should be done.
He has great cares and responsibilities; is answerable for
everything; and is subject to emergencies which perhs^
no other man exercising authority among civilized people
is su{)ject to. Let him, then, have powers commensurate
with his utmost possible need ; only let him be held strictly
responsible for the exercise of them. Any other course
would be injustice, as well as bad policy.

In the treatment of those under his authority, the captain
is amenable to the common law, like any other person.
He is liable at common law for murder, assault and battery,
and other offences ; and in addition to this, there is a special
statute of the United States which makes a captain or other
officer liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five
years, and to a fine not exceeding a thousand dollars, for
inflicting any cruel pxmishment upon, withholding food
from, or in any other way maltreating a seaman. This
is the state of the law on the subject; while the relation
in which the parties stand, and the peculiar necessities,
excuses, and provocations arising from that relation, are
merely circumstances to be considered in each case. As
to the restraints upon the master's exercise of power, the
laws themselves seem, on the whole, to be sufficient. I do
not see that we are in need, at present, of more legislation
on the subject. The difficulty lies rather in the adminis-
tration of the laws; and this is certainly a matter that
deserves great consideration, and one of no little embarrass-
ment.

In the first place, the courts have said that public policy
requires that the power of the master and officers should be
sustained. Many lives and a great amount of property are
constantly in their hands, for which they are strictly respon-
sible. To preserve these, and to deal justly by the captain,
and not lay upon him a really fearful responsibility, and then
tie up his hands, it is essential that discipline should be

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 399

supported. In the second place, there is alwa3rs great
allowance to be made for false swearing and exaggeration by
seamen, and for combinations among them against their
officers ; and it is to be remembered that the latter have
often no one to testify on their side. These are weighty
and true statements, and should not be lost sight of by the
friends of seamen. On the other hand, sailors make many
complaints, some of which are well founded.

On the subject of testimony, seamen labor under a diffi-
culty full as great as that of the captain. It is a well-known
fact, that they are usually much better treated when there
are passengers on board. The presence of passengers is a
restraint upon the captain, not only from his regard to their
feelings and to the estimation in which they may hold him,
but because he knows they will be influential witnesses
against him if he is brought to trial. Though officers may
sometimes be inclined to show themselves off before pas-
sengers, by freaks of office and authority, yet cruelty they
woidd hardly dare to be guilty of. It is on long and distant
voyages, where there is no restraint upon the captain,
and none but the crew to testify against him, that sailors
need most the protection of the law. On such voyages as
these, there are many cases of outrageous cruelty on record,
enough to make one heart-sick, and almost disgusted with
the sight of man ; and many, many more, which have never
come to light, and never will be known, imtil the sea shall
give up its dead. Many of these have led to mutiny and
piracy, — stripe for stripe, and blood for blood. If on
voyages of this description the testimony of seamen is not
to be received in favor of one another, or too great a deduc-
tion is made on account of their being seamen, their case
is without remedy ; and the captain, knowing this, will be
strengthened in that disposition to tyrannize which the
possession of absolute power, without the restraints of
friends and public opinion, is too apt to engender.

It is to be considered, also, that the sailor comes into court
under very different circumstances from the master. He is

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400 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

thrown among landlords, and sharks of all descriptions;
is often led to drink freely; and comes upon the stand
unaided, and under a certain cloud of suspicion as to his
character and veracity. The captain, on the other hand,
is backed by the owners and insurers, and has an air of
greater respectability ; though, after all, he may have but
a little better education than the sailor, and sometimes
(especially among those engaged in certain voyages that I
could mention), a very hackneyed conscience.

These are the considerations most commonly brought up
on the subject of seamen's evidence ; and I think it cannot
but be obvious to every one that here, positive legislation
would be of no manner of use. There can be no rule of law
regulating the weight to be given to seamen's evidaice.
It must rest in the mind of the judge and jury ; and no enact-
ment or positive rule of court could vary tlie result a hair,
in any one case. The effect of a sailor's testimony in de-
ciding a case must depend altogether upon the reputation
of the class to which he belongs, and upon the impression
he himself produces in court by his deportment, and by
those infallible marks of character which always tcil upon a
jury. In fine, after all the well-meant and specious projects
that have been brought forward, we seem driven bade to
the belief, that the best means of securing a fair admin-
istration of the laws made for the protection of seamen,
and certainly the only means which can create any impor-
tant change for the better, is the gradual one of raising the
intellectual and religious character of the sailor, so that as
an individual, and as one of a class, he may, in the first
instance, command the respect of his officers, and if any
difficulty should happen, may upon the stand carry that
weight which an intelligent and respectable man of the
lower class almost always does with a jury. I know there
are many men who, when a few cases of great hardship
occur, and it is evident that there is an evil somewhere,
think that some arrangement must be made, some law
passed^ or some society got up, to set all right at once. On

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 401

this subject there can be no call for any such movement;
on the contrary, I fully believe that any public and strong
action would do harm, and that we must be satisfied to
labor m the less easy and less exciting task of gradual im-
provement, and abide the issue of things working slowly
together for good.

Equally injudicious would be any interference with the
economy of the ship. The lodging, food, hours of sleep, etc.,
are all matters which, though capable of many changes for
the better, must yet be left to regulate themselves. And
I am confident that there will be, and that there is now a
gradual improvement in all such particulars. The fore-
castles of most of our ships are small, black, and wet holes,
which few landsmen would believe held a crew of ten or
twelve men on a voyage of months or years; and often,
indeed in most cases, the provisions are not good enough to
make a meal anything more than a necessary part of a
day's duty ;^ and on the score of sleep, I fully believe that
the lives of merchant seamen are shortened by the want of
it. I do not refer to those occasions when it is necessarily
broken in upon ; but, for months, during fine weather, in

^I am not sure that I have stated, in the course of my narrative, the
manner in which sailors eat, on board ship. There are neither tables,
knives, forks, nor plates, in a forecastle ; but the Idd (a wooden tub, with |
iron hoops) is placed on the floor, and the crew sit round It, and each man ^
cuts for himself with the common jack-knife or sheath-knife, that he car-
ries about him. They drink their tea out of tin pots, holding little less
than a quart each.

These particulars are not looked upon as hardships, and, indeed, may be
considered matters of choice. Sailors, in our merchantmen, furnish their
own eating utensils, as they do many of the instruments which they use in
the ship's work, such as knives, palms and needles, marline-spikes, rubbers,
etc And considering their mode of life in other respects, the little time
th^ would have for laying and clearing away a table with its apparatus,
and the room it would take up in a forecastle, as well as the simple char-
acter of their meals, consisting generally of only one piece of meat, — it is
certainly a convenient method, and, as the kid and pans are usually kept
perfectly clean, a neat and simple one. I had supposed these things to oe
generally known, imtil I heard, a few months ago, a lawyer of repute, who
has had a good deal to do with marine cases, ask a sailor upon the stand
whether the crew had '' got up from table " when a certain thing happened.

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4oa TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

many merchantmen, all hands are kept, throughout the
day, and, then, there are eight hours on deck for one watch
each night. Thus it is usually the case that at the end of a
voyage, where there has been the finest weather, and no
disaster, the crew have a wearied and worn-out appearance.
They never sleep longer than four hours at a time, and are
seldom called without being really in need of more rest
There is no one thing that a sailor thinks more of as a luxury
of life on shore, than a whole night's sleep. Still, all these
things must be left to be gradually modified by circum-
stances. Whenever hard cases occur, they should be made
known, and masters and owners should be held answerable,
and will, no doubt, in time, be influenced in their arrange-
ments and discipline by the increased consideration in which
sailors are held by the public. It is perfectly proper that
the men should live in a different part of the vessel from
the officers; and if the forecastle is made large and com-
fortable, there is no reason why the crew should not Uve
there as well as in any other part. In fact, sailors prefer
the forecastle. It is their accustomed place, and in it they
are out of the sight and hearing of their officers.

As to their food and sleep, there are laws, with heavy
penalties, requiring a certain amount of stores to be on
board, and safely stowed ; and, for depriving the crew xm-
necessarily of food or sleep, the captain is liable at common
law, as well as under the statute before referred to. Farther
than this, it would not be safe to go. The captain must be
the judge when it is necessary to keep his crew from their
sleep ; and sometimes a retrenching, not of the necessaries,
but of some of the little niceties of their meals, as, for in-
stance, duff on Sunday, may be a mode of pimishment,
though I think generally an injudicious one.

I could not do justice to this subject without noticing
one part of the discipline of a ship, which has been very
much discussed of late, and has brought out strong expres-
sions of indignation from many, — I mean the infliction of
corporal punishment. Those who have followed me in

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 403

my narrative will remember that I was witness to an act of
great cruelty inflicted upon my own shipmates ; and indeed
I can sincerely say that the simple mention of the word
flogging, brings up in me feelings which I can hardly control.
Yet, when the proposition is made to abolish it entirely and
at once; to prohibit the captain from ever, under any
circumstances, inflicting corporal punishment ; I am obliged
to pause, and, I must say, to doubt exceedingly the expe-
diency of making any positive enactment which shall have
that effect. K the design of those who are writing on this
subject is merely to draw public attention to it, and to dis-
courage the practice of flogging, and bring it into disrepute,
it is well ; and, indeed, whatever may be the end they have
in view, the mere agitation of the question will have tnat
effect, and, so far, must do good. Yet I should not wish
to take the command of a ship to-morrow, running my
chance of a crew, as most masters must, and know, and have
my crew know, that I could not, under any circumstances,
inflict even moderate chastisement. I should trust that I
might never have to resort to it; and, indeed, I scarcely
know what risk I would not run, and to what inconvenience
I would not subject myself, rather than do so. Yet not to
have the power of holding it up in terroremy and indeed of
protecting myself, and all under my charge, by it, if some
extreme case should arise, would be a situation I should not
wish to be placed in myself, or to take the responsibility
of placing another in.

Indeed, the diflSculties into which masters and ofllcers
are liable to be thrown, are not sufllciently considered by
many whose sympathies are easily excited by stories, fre-
quent enough, and true enough, of outrageous abuse of this
power. It is to be remembered that more than three fourths
of the seamen in our merchant vessels are foreigners. They
are from all parts of the world. A great many from the
north of Europe, beside Frenchmen, Spaniards, Portuguese,
Italians, men from all parts of the Mediterranean, together
with Lascars, Negroes, and, perhaps worst of all, the off-

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404 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

casts of British men-of-war, and men from our own coimtry
who have gone to sea because they could not be permitted
to live on land.

As things now are, many masters are obliged to sail with-
out knowing anything of their crews, until they get out at
sea. There may be pirates or mutineers among them;
and one bad man will often infect all the rest; and it is
almost certain that some of them will be ignorant foreigners,
hardly understanding a word of our language, accustomed
all their lives to no influence but force, and perhaps nearly
as familiar with the use of the knife as with that of the mar-
line-spike. No prudent master, however peaceably in-
clined, would go to sea without his pistols and handcuffs.
Even with such a crew as I have supposed, kindness and
moderation would be the best policy, and the duty of every
conscientious man ; and the administering of corporal pun-
ishment might be dangerous, and of doubtful use. But the
question is not, what a captain ought generally to do,
but whether it shall be put out of the power of every captain,
under any circumstances, to make use of, even moderate,
chastisement. As the law now stands, a parent may correct
moderately his child, and the master his apprentice; and
the case of the shipmaster has been placed upon the same
principle. The statutes, and the common law as expoimded
in the decisions of courts, and in the books of commentators,
are express and unanimous to this point, that the captain
may inflict moderate corporal chastisement, for a reasonable
cause. If the pimishment is excessive, or the cause not sufli-
cient to justify it, he is answerable; and the jury are to
determine, by their verdict in each case, whether, under all
the circumstances, the pimishment was moderate, and for
a justifiable cause.

This seems to me to be as good a position as the whole
subject can be left in. I mean to say, that no positive enact-
ment, going beyond this, is needed, or would be a benefit
either to masters or men, in the present state of things.
This again would seem to be a case which should be left to

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 405

the gradual working of its own cure. As seamen improve,
punishment will become less necessary ; and as the character
of officers is raised, they will be less ready to inflict it ; and,
still more, the infliction of it upon intelligent and respect-
able men, will be an enormity which will not be tolerated by
public opinion, and by juries, who are the pulse of the body
politic. No one can have a greater abhorrence of the in-
fliction of such punishment than I have, and a stronger con-
viction that severity is bad policy with a crew ; yet I would
ask every reasonable man whether he had not better trust
to the practice becoming imnecessary and disreputable;
to the measure of moderate chastisement and a justifiable
cause being better understood, and thus, the act becoming
dangerous, and in course of time to be regarded as an un-
heard-of barbarity — than to take the responsibility of
prohibiting it, at once, in all cases, and in whatever degree,
by positive enactment ?

There is, however, one point connected with the adminis-
tration of justice to seamen, to which I wish seriously to
call the attention of those interested in their behalf, and, if
possible, also of some of those concerned in that administra-
tion. This is, the practice which prevails of making strong
appeals to the jury in mitigation of damages, or to the judge,
after a verdict has been rendered against a captain or
officer, for a lenient sentence, on the groxmds of their pre-
vious good character, and of their being poor, and having
friends and families depending upon them for support.
These appeals have been allowed a weight which is almost
incredible, and which, I think, works a greater hardship
upon seamen than any one other thing in the laws, or the
execution of them. Notwithstanding every advantage the
captain has over the seaman in point of evidence, friends,
money, and able coxmsel, it becomes apparent that he must
fail in his defence. An appeal is then made to the jury, if
it is a dvil action, or to the judge for a mitigated sentence,
if it is a criminal prosecution, on the two grounds I have men-
tioned. The same form is usually gone through in every

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4o6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

case. In the first place, as to the previous good character
of the party. Witnesses are brought from the town in
which he resides, to testify to his good character, and to his
unexceptionable conduct when on shore. They say that he
is a good father, or husband, or son, or neighbor, and that
they never saw in him any signs of a cruel or tyrannical dis-
position. I have even known evidence admitted to show
the character he bore when a boy at school. The owners
of the vessel, and other merchants, and perhaps the presi-
dent of the insurance company, are then introduced ; and
they testify to his correct deportment, express their confi-
dence in his honesty, and say that they have never seen
anything in his conduct to justify a suspicion of his being
capable of cruelty or tyranny. This evidence is then put
together, and great stress is laid upon the extreme respecta-
bility of those who give it. They are the companions and
neighbors of the captain, it is said, — men who know him in
his business and domestic relations, and who knew him in
his early youth. They are also men of the highest standing
in the community, and who, as the captain's employers,
must be supposed to know his character. This testimony
is then contrasted with that of some half dozen obscure
sailors, who, the counsel will not forget to add, are exas-
perated against the captain because he has found it neces-
sary to punish them moderately, and who have combined
against him, and if they have not fabricated a story entirely,
have at least so exaggerated it, that little confidence can
be placed in it.

The next thing to be done is to show to the court and
jury that the captain is a poor man, and has a wife and
family, or other friends, depending upon him for support ;
that if he is fined, it will only be taking bread from the
mouths of the innocent and helpless, and laying a burden
upon them which their whole lives will not be able to work
off ; and that if he is imprisoned, the confinement, to be sure,
he will have to bear, but the distress consequent upon the
cutting him off from his labor and means of earning his

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 407

wages, will fall upon a poor wife and helpless children,
or upon an inj&rm parent. These two topics, well put, and
urged home earnestly, seldom fail of their effect.

In deprecation of this mode of proceeding, and in behalf
of men who I believe are every day wronged by it, I would
urge a few considerations which seem to me to be con-
clusive.

First, as to the evidence of the good character the captain
sustains on shore. It is to be remembered that masters of
vessels have usually been brou^t up in a forecastle ; and
upon all men, and especially upon those taken from lower
situations, the conferring of absolute power is too apt to
work a great change. There are many captains whom I
know to be cruel and tyrannical men at sea, who yet, among
their friends, and in their families, have never lost the repu-
tation they bore in childhood. In fact, the sea-captain is
seldom at home, and when he is, his stay is short, and during
the continuance of it he is surroimded by friends who treat
him with kindness and consideration, and he has everything
to please, and at the same time to restrain him. He would
be a brute indeed, if, after an absence of months or years,
during his short stay, so short that the novelty and excite-
ment of it has hardly time to wear oflf, and the attentions
he receives as a visitor and stranger hardly time to slacken,
— if, under such circumstances, a townsman or neighbor
would be justified in testifying against his correct and
peaceable deportment. With the owners of the vessel,
also, to which he is attached, and among merchants and
insurers generally, he is a very diflferent man from what he
may be at sea, when his own master, and the master of
everybody and everything about him. He knows that upon
such men, and their good opinion of him, he depends for his
bread. So far from their testimony being of any value in
determining what his conduct would be at sea, one would
expect that the master who would abuse and impose upon a
man under his power, would be the most compliant and
deferential to his employers at home.

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4o8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

As to the appeal made in the captain's behalf on the
ground of his being poor and having persons depending upon
his labor for support, the main and fatal objection to it is,
that it will cover every case of the kind, and exempt nearly
the whole body of masters and officers from the punishment
the law has provided for them. There are very few, if any,
masters or other officers of merchantmen in our country,
who are not poor men, and having either parents, wives,
children, or other relatives, depending mainly or wholly
upon their exertions for support in Ufe. Few others follow
the sea for subsistence. Now if this appeal is to have
weight with courts in diminishing the penalty the law would
otherwise inflict, is not the whole class under a privilege
which will, in a degree, protect it in wrong-doing? It is
not a thing that happens now and then. It is the invariable
appeal, the last resort, of counsel, when everything else has
failed. I have known cases of the most flagrant nature,
where, after every effort has been made for the captain,
and yet a verdict rendered against him, and all other hope
failed, this appeal has been urged, and with such success
that the pum'shment has been reduced to something little
more than nominal ; the court not seeming to consider that
it might be made in almost every such case that could come
before them. It is a little singular -too, that it seems to be
confined to cases of shipmasters and officers. No one ever
heard of a sentence, for an offence committed on shore, being
reduced by the court on the ground of the prisoner's poverty,
and the relation in which he may stand to third persons.
Oh the contrary, it has been thought that the certainty
that disgrace and suffering will be brought upon others
as well as himself, is one of the chief restraints upon the
criminally disposed. Besides, this course works a peculiar
hardship in the case of the sailor. For if poverty is the point
in question, the sailor is the poorer of the two ; and if there
is a man on earth who depends upon whole limbs and an
unbroken spirit for support, it is the sailor. He, too, has
friends to whom his hard earnings maybe a relief, and whose

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 409

hearts will bleed at any cruelty or indignity practised upon
him. Yet I never knew this side of the case to be once
adverted to in these arguments addressed to the leniency
of the court, which are now so much in vogue ; and certainly
they are never allowed a moment's consideration when a
sailor is on trial for revolt, or for an injury done to an officer.
Notwithstanding the many difficulties which lie in a sea-
man's way in a court of justice, presuming that they will
be modified in time, there would be Uttle to complain of,
were it not for these two appeals.

It is no cause of complaint that the testimony of seamen
against their officers is viewed with suspicion, and that great
allowance is made for combinations and exaggeration.
On the contrary, it is the judge's duty to charge the jury
on these points, strongly. But there is reason for objection^^^
when, after a strict cross examination of witnesses, after th^
arguments of counsel, and the judge's charge, a verdict is
foimd against the master, that the court should allow the
practice of hearing appeals to its lenity, supported solely
by evidence of the captain's good conduct when on shore
(especially where the case is one in which no evidence but
that of sailors could have been brought against the accused),
and then, on this ground, and on the invariable claims of
the wife and family, be induced to cut down essentially the
penalty imposed by a statute made expressly for masters
and officers of merchantmen, and for no one else.

There are many particulars connected with the manning
of vessels, the provisions given to crews, and the treatment
of them while at sea, upon which there might be a good
deal said ; but as I have, for the most part, remarked upon
them as they came up in the course of my narrative, I will
offer nothing further now, except on the single point of the
manner of shipping men. This, it is well known, is usually
left entirely to shipping-masters, and is a cause of a great
deal of difficulty, which might be remedied by the captain,
or owner, if he has any knowledge of seamen, attending to it
personally. One of the members of the firm to which our

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4IO TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

ship belonged, Mr. S , had been himself a master of a

vessel, and generally selected the crew from a number sent
down to him from the shipping-office. In this way he
almost always had healthy, serviceable, and respectable
men; for any one who ha!s seen much of sailors can tell
pretty well at first sight, by a man's dress, countenance, and
deportment, what he would be on board ship. This same
gentleman was also in the habit of seeing the crew together,
and speaking to them previously to their sailing. On the
day before our ship sailed, while the crew were getting their
chests and clothes on board, he went down into the fore-
castle and spoke to them about the voyage, the clothing
they would need, the provision he had made for them, and
saw that they had a lamp and a few other conveniences.
If owners or masters woiUd more generally take the same
pains, they would often save their crews a good deal of in-
convenience, beside creating a sense of satisfaction and
gratitude, which mades a voyage begin imder good auspices,
and goes far toward keeping up a better state of feeling
throughout its continuance.

It only remains for me now to speak of the associated
public efforts which have been making of late years for the
good of seamen : a far more agreeable task than that of find-
ing fault, even where fault there is. The exertions of the
general association, called the American Seamen's Friend
Society, and of the other smaller societies throughout the
Union, have been a true blessing to the seaman; and bid
fair, in course of time, to change the whole nature of the
circumstances in which he is placed, and give him a new
name, as well as a new character. These associations have
taken hold in the right way, and aimed both at making the
sailor's life more comfortable and creditable, and at giving
him spiritual instruction. Connected with these efforts,
the spread of temperance among seamen, by means of
societies, called, in their own nautical language, Windward-
Anchor Societies, and the disJ;ribution of books; the es-
tablishment of Sailors' Homes, where they can be com-

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 4"

fortably and cheaply boarded, live quietly and decently,
and be in the way of religious services, reading and con-
versation; also the institution of Savings Banks for Sea-
men ; the distribution of tracts and Bibles ; — are all means
which are silently doing a great work for this class of men.
These societies make the religious instruction of seamen
their prominent object. If this is gained, there is no fear
but that all other things necessary will be added unto them.
A sailor never becomes interested in religion, without im-
mediately learning to read, if he did not know how before ;
and regular habits, forehandedness (if I may use the word)
in worldly affairs, and hours reclaimed from indolence and
vice, which follow in the wake of the converted man, make
it sure that he will instruct himself in the knowledge neces-
sary and suitable to his calling. The religious change is
the great object. If this is secured, there is no fear but that
knowledge of things of the world will come in fast enough.
With the sailor, as with all other men in fact, the cultivation
of the intellect, and the spread of what is commonly called
useful knowledge, while religious instruction is neglected,
is little else than changing an ignorant sinner into an
intelligent and powerful one. That sailor upon whom, of
all others, the preaching of the Cross is least likely to have
effect, is the one whose understanding has been cultivated,
while his heart has been left to its own devices. I fully
believe that those efforts which have their end in the intel-
lectual cultivation of the sailor; in giving him scientific
knowledge; putting it in his power to read everything,
without securing, first of all, a right heart which shall guide
him in judgment ; in giving him political information, and
interesting him in newspapers ; — an end in the furtherance
of which he is exhibited at ladies' fairs and public meetings,
and complimented for his gallantry and generosity, — are
all doing a harm which the labors of many faithful men
cannot undo.

The establishment of Bethels in most of our own seaports,
and in many foreign ports frequented by our vessels, where

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412 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

the gospel is regularly preached ; and the opening of " Sailors
Homes," whidt I have before mentioned, where there are
usually religious services and other good influences, are
doing a vast deal in this cause. But it is to be remembered
that the sailor's home is on the deep. Nearly all his life
must be spent on board ship ; and to secure a religious in-
fluence there, should be the great object. The distribution
of Bibles and tracts into cabins and forecastles, will do much
toward this. There is nothing which will gain a sailor's
attention sooner, and interest him more deeply, than a
tract, especially one which contains a story. It is diflScult
to engage their attention in mere essays and arguments,
but the simplest and shortest story, in which home is spoken
of, kind friends, a praying mother or sister, a sudden death,
and the like, often touches the hearts of the roughest and
most abandoned. The Bible is to the sailor a sacred book.
It may lie in the bottom of his chest voyage after voyage ;
but he never treats it with positive disrespect. I never
knew but one sailor who doubted its being the inspired
word of God ; and he was one who had received an uncom-
monly good education, except that he had been brought up
without any early religious influence. The most abandoned
man of our crew, one Sunday morning, asked one of the boys
to lend him his Bible. The boy said he would, but was
afraid he would make sport of it. "No !" said the man,
"I don't make sport of God Almighty." This is a feeling
general among sailors, and is a good foundation for religious
influence.

A still greater gain is made whenever, by means of a
captain who is interested in the eternal welfare of those im-
der his command, there can be secured the performance of
regular religious exercises, and the exertion, on the side of
religion, of that mighty influence which a captain possesses
for good, or for evil. There are occurrences at sea which he
may turn to great account, — a sudden death, the appre-
hension of danger, or the escape from it, and the like ; and
all the calls for gratitude and faith. Besides, this state of

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 413

things alters the whole current of feeling between the crew
and their commander. His authority assumes more of the
parental character; and kinder feelings exist. Godwin,
though an infidel, in one of his novels, describing the rela-
tion in which a tutor stood to his pupil, says that the con-
viction the tutor was under, that he and his ward were both
alike awaiting a state of eternal happiness or misery, and
that they must appear together before the same judg-
ment-seat, operated so. upon his naturally morose disposi-
tion, as to produce a feeling of kindness and tenderness
toward his ward, which nothing else could have caused.
Such must be the effect upon the relation of master and
common seaman.

There are now many vessels sailing imder such auspices,
in which great good is done. Yet I never happened to fall
in with one of them. I did not hear a prayer made, a chap-
ter read in public, nor see anything approaching to a reli-
gious service, for two years and a quarter. There were, in
the course of the voyage, many incidents which made, for
the time, serious impressions upon our minds, and which
might have been turned to our good ; but there being no one
to use the opportunity, and no services, the regular return
of which might have kept something of the feeling alive in
us, the advantage of them was lost, to some, perhaps,
forever.

The good which a single religious captain may do can
hardly be calculated. In the first place, as I have said, a
kinder state of feeling exists on board the ship. There is no
profanity allowed ; and the men are not called by any op-
probrious names, which is a great thing with sailors. The
Sabbath is observed. This gives the men a day of rest,
even if they pass it in no other way. Such a captain, too,
will not allow a sailor on board his ship to remain imable
to read his Bible and the books given to him; and will
usually instruct those who need it, in writing, arithmetic,
and navigation ; since he has a good deal of time on his
hands, which he can easily employ in such a manner. He

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414 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

will also have regular religious services ; and, in fact, by the
power of his example, and, where it can judiciously be done,
by the exercise of his authority, will give a character to the
ship, and all on board. In foreign ports, a ship is known by
her captain ; for, there being no general rules in the mer-
chant service, each master may adopt a plan of his own.
It is to be remembered, too, that there are, in most ships,
boys of a tender age, whose characters for life are forming,
as well as old men, whose lives must be drawing toward a
close. The greater part of sailors die at sea ; and when they
find their end approaching, if it does not, as is often the case,
come without warning, they cannot, as on shore, send for a
clergyman, or some religious friend, to speak to them of
that hope in a Saviour, which they have neglected, if not
despised, through life ; but if the little hull does not contain
such an one within its compass, they must be left without
human aid in their great extremity. When such command-
ers and such ships, as I have just described, shall become
more numerous, the hope of the friends of seamen will be
greatly strengthened; and it is encouraging to remember
that the efforts among common sailors will soon raise up
such a class ; for those of them who are brought imder these
influences will inevitably be the ones to succeed to the places
of trust and authority. If there is on earth an instance
where a little leaven may leaven the whole lump, it is that
of the reKgious ship-master.

It is to the progress of this work among seamen that we
must look with the greatest confidence for the remed)dng
of those numerous minor evils and abuses that we so often
hear of. It will raise the character of sailors, both as
individuals and as a class. It will give weight to their
testimony in courts of justice, secure better usage to them
on board ship, and add comforts to their lives on shore and
at sea. There are some laws that can be passed to remove
temptation from their way and to help them in their prog-
ress; and some changes in the jurisdiction of the lower
courts, to prevent delays, may, and probably will be made.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 415

But generally speaking, more especially in things which
concern the discipline of ships, we had better labor in this
great work, and view with caution the proposal of new laws
and arbitrary regulations, remembering that most of those
concerned in the making of them must necessarily be little
qualified to judge of their operation.

Without any formal dedication of my narrative to that
body of men, of whose common life it is intended to be a
picture, I have yet borne them constantly in mind during
its preparation. I cannot but trust that those of them, into
whose hands it may chance to fall, will find in it that which
shall render any professions of sympathy and good wishes
on my part unnecessary. And I will take the liberty, on
parting with my reader, who has gone down with us to the
ocean, and '*laid his hand upon its mane," to commend to
his kind wishes, and to the benefit of his efforts, that class
of men with whom, for a time, my lot was cast. I wish the
rather to do this, since I feel that whatever attention this
book may gain, and whatever favor it may find, I shall owe
almost entirely to that interest in the sea, and those who
follow it, which is so easily excited in us all.

. ..... <.s f- <-■ ■■■'

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HTHE following pages contain advertisements of a
few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects

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Stories from American History

Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors

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STORIES FROM AMERICAN HISTORY — Cbn«/we<f

Southern Soldier Stories

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Tales of the Enchanted Isles of the Atlantic

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STORIES FROM AMERICAN HBTGRY - Cbntmaed

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