CHAPTER II.Departure from Plymouth—Reflections on Leaving England—Cabin Attendants—Live Stock—Mr. Jenkins and “the Pure Element”—N.E. Trades—Red Atlantic Dust—Short Allowance of Water—Viewing the “Line”—The Southern Cross—A Lady Navigator—“Fire! Fire!”—The Maniac—Arrival at the Cape.
Departure from Plymouth—Reflections on Leaving England—Cabin Attendants—Live Stock—Mr. Jenkins and “the Pure Element”—N.E. Trades—Red Atlantic Dust—Short Allowance of Water—Viewing the “Line”—The Southern Cross—A Lady Navigator—“Fire! Fire!”—The Maniac—Arrival at the Cape.
It was a beautiful Sunday evening when we again embarked in the “Ireland.” The gale had been succeeded by a calm which lent enchantment to the view of the rich and varied scenery of Plymouth harbour. Evening was closing in, and anon from the shore might be heard the bells of the churches and chapels calling on man to praise his Maker.
The steam was up, the passengers were all embarked, the latest mail-bags had just arrived, so that the “Ireland” once more moved into theEnglish Channel. This time the “Channel of Old England” was as still as a mill-pond, and mirrored the bright stars of the firmament as the busy steamers glided about with their red and green lights, warning each other of danger.
Many an eye was cast on the receding shores of that loved island, never to gaze upon it more. Many sad hearts were sighing for homes never to be visited again.
Of the numerous passengers pacing that deck, and thinking of those who would miss them at the accustomed hearths, as the long winter evenings set in, how few were destined to return to the homes they loved so well!
Some of the brave men who talked so lightly then, and tried to cheer the drooping spirits of their fair companions, were to be sorely tried in a distant clime, and to fall gloriously struggling to retain India for the land of their birth.
Wives going to their longing husbands were destined never to meet them—or only in danger and in death.
Longing hearts were then on the way to be wedded to those whose plight had been trothedmany years before, and now, having earned independence, invited their young loves to share it.
Girls blooming into womanhood, bound for their unknown journey in the East, were soon to find rest in death.
The majority of the passengers were journeying to India, then on the eve of rebellion. Loving wife, gallant soldier, blooming maiden, and almost lisping childhood, were destined to take their part in that awful tragedy, the acts of which may never be told.
Not one-fourth part of the passengers in the “Ireland” on that voyage are now living; and even of the survivors, some have been sorely tried, as the pages of this book will reveal. But I must not anticipate.
I have travelled much, but I have never met with a party of ladies who had such a strong presentiment of coming evil. Many and many a time have some of those, who are now no more, expressed their dread, not only of proceeding in the vessel, but even of going to India; although they were then on the way to those they loved best on earth.
In a few days we had all shaken into our places, and, despite sundry inconveniences, we were determined to be happy, and that goes a long way in this world, both on shore and afloat, to render unhappy mortals as we are contented with our lot.
It is true that the stewardess, being too fond of the “cratur” in her coffee, the ladies dispensed with her services as much as possible; and that the servants being altogether inadequate in number for the work which they had to perform, the greater part of the attendance at table fell upon the gentlemen passengers, who, to stop the daily occurrence of the soup being poured over the ladies, kindly offered their services during dinner time.
These cabin assistants, or incumbrances, eventually drove the head steward out of his mind. On going to sea, the poor man found that the cabin-servants had never been in a vessel before, having shipped on board for the purpose of learning their duty, with which understanding they were paid accordingly, at the rate of ten shillings per month, and to pay for their own breakages.
The balance these men would have to receive on the pay-day would indeed be very trifling, for they were always breaking. One poor youth, who had not got his “sea legs,” fell down and broke thirteen dishes at once, and as for plates, they appeared to be broken by dozens.
The live stock placed on board at Dartmouth was the admiration of every one; and yet, from there not being one man expressly to look after the stock, fowls, ducks, and geese disappeared very quickly, literally dying in the coops from starvation and want of water. At last the gentlemen passengers, as a matter of precaution, made a point of examining the stock every morning, in order that they might see those thrown overboard which had died during the previous night.
On one occasion I recollect seeing eleven dead geese thrown overboard; and from this neglect a vessel that was most liberally found, on starting from England, for the entire voyage to India, ran short of everything before she arrived at the Cape of Good Hope.
The ladies were without a bath during the whole voyage, although there was a comfortablebath-room on board; owing to the pump not being properly fitted, the bath could only be filled once a day, during the time of washing the decks before breakfast. To overcome this difficulty, the stewardess very coolly proposed that a certain number of the ladies should bathe in the same water each day; a proposition which of course found no seconder in those most interested, and in consequence only one lady could enjoy the luxury of a bath per diem.
It was found that 2,000 gallons of fresh water had been destroyed, by letting the salt water run into the tank while washing decks. This water, being impossible to drink, was set aside for washing water, to be used in the cabins. Jenkins thought that pure salt water was equally as good for washing the body, and therefore supplied the cabins with the “pure element,” while he disposed of that which was brackish to those who were glad to pay him for the same.
Soon after we had entered the North East Trade Wind, and more especially when passing the Cape de Verde Islands, the atmosphere assumed that hazy appearance so remarkable during the blowingof the Harmattan winds on the west coast of Africa. But on the present occasion I did not experience that dryness of the air of which one is made so sensible during a Harmattan wind. When at the river Gambia, some years previous, the feeling caused by the dryness of the Harmattan wind was, although generally pleasant and very bracing, at times painful; the skin being dried up and wrinkled, and a general feeling, on the surface of the body, as if suffering from an attack of acute rheumatism. The teeth were affected as if one had been using some very strong acid in the mouth, and the bones of the head and face were slightly painful; and yet I am inclined to think that these were not rheumatic affections.
During the prevalence of these winds, I have frequently seen the furniture split, and articles which were veneered considerably damaged; the veneering in some cases being curled up like dried sheets of paper. Books left closed on the table at night would be found on the following morning completely opened, and each leaf standing up as if it had been highly stiffened withgum. At such times glass tumblers would break, apparently of their own accord; and I have known one slight tap given to a tumbler made of blown-glass, not only to break it, but, as if by sympathy, others remotely placed in different parts of the room.
When in the latitude of the Cape de Verde Islands on former occasions, at about this season of the year, and with the same hazy appearance, I have succeeded in obtaining some of the red Atlantic dust which is found to fall upon the rigging and decks of vessels. This dust was supposed for a long time to be carried by the north-east trade wind from the desert of Africa into the Atlantic; but it has been shown more recently, by Professor Ehrenberg, to consist, in great part, of infusoria with siliceous shields, and of the siliceous tissue of plants. Although many species of infusoria peculiar to Africa are known to Professor Ehrenberg, he has, I believe, found none of those in this Red Atlantic Dust examined by him. But, on the other hand, he has discovered in it two species hitherto known to him as living only in South America. At the season when this dust isso very plentiful in the air about the Cape de Verde Islands, the valley of the Orinoco is dry; and as the strong winds which sweep at that period of the year, over the valley of the Orinoco, are known to blow towards the Southern Andes, at the time when much vapour is condensed on that chain, and strong ascending currents of air are thereby created, it is held by writers on the Trade Winds, that this dust is carried to the eastward by an upper current of air, which again naturally falls to the earth, where the lower, or north-eastern, current commences.
In accordance with the above theory, Lieutenant Maury, of the United States Navy, concludes, with much apparent confidence, that this Red Atlantic Dust comes originally from South America; and it is even stated that it is carried by the south-west or upper current over Africa, and that some of this dust has even reached Germany and other parts of Europe.
It certainly is one of the most interesting phenomena of nature, throwing great light on the aërial currents, and one of which there are too many attesting witnesses to cause it to be doubted.This Red Atlantic Dust has often fallen on ship’s decks, when even one thousand miles distant from the African coast, and at points upwards of 1500 miles distant from each other in a north and south direction; showing over what an immense area of the Atlantic this phenomenon may be observed.
I can easily believe that vessels have run on shore, owing to the obscurity of the atmosphere, in this part of the ocean, for I have observed that large vessels were hardly visible at the distance of a mile from this cause; and navigators must have suffered great anxiety from the difficulty of making good observations at this, our winter season, in those latitudes.
After an experience of seven years on the West Coast of Africa, I have no hesitation in stating that the feeling of a Harmattan wind is very different from that of the north-east trade in the region just referred to.
On approaching the Equator, we were informed that some more of the drinking water was damaged, that the passengers were, in consequence, placed upon an allowance of one pint ofwater each per diem, and that we were to take charge of this allowance ourselves. The water was placed at the cabin-doors at six o’clock in the morning; and from the time we were put on short allowance of water, there was very little sleep on board of the ship after four o’clock in the morning; for every one was on the look-out, and, if one did not open the door of one’s cabin and seize the water the moment it was placed there, it disappeared immediately;—there was no redress, and no more water to be had until the next morning.
Under these circumstances the children, of course, asked for more water than before; and young Frank Indigo recommended his companions to eat ham, bacon, in fact anything salt, “because then, you know, they must give you water.”
The weather was getting warmer every hour, while we had the gratification of knowing that the liquids were decreasing rapidly; after the tenth day at sea, there was not a bottle of soda-water on board the “Ireland,” bound to Calcutta, in the hot season.
On crossing the Equator, there were greatinquiries for old Father Neptune, but the captain thought it was judicious to bribe him not to visit the “Ireland,” as the ceremony of shaving so many young ladies would have created quite a scene. So we found ourselves in another hemisphere without the occurrence of anything more amusing than the old trick of an aged tar exhibiting the “line” through a battered telescope; and the day was pretty well spent before the younger passengers discovered that the old wag had been inducing them to look at a thread of a spider’s web instead of the Equator. The first visit to the Ocean reveals such mysteries that the human mind is prepared to entertain great absurdities as sublime truths.
From the time of passing the Cape de Verde Islands, the younger ladies had taken considerable interest in the Southern Cross. It was really a beautiful sight, as we proceeded rapidly to the south, under the power of steam, to see some of these fair maidens, night after night, sitting on the deck, gazing in silent admiration on the glorious firmament, spangled with the starry hosts.
Some of these fair girls had not been out ofEngland before; and one, I remember well, had never seen the Ocean until she beheld it in its fury from the deck of the “Ireland,” when we made our first start from England. Those who have visited the Southern Hemisphere, and seen the emblem of Christianity standing alone in the heavens, pointing to the South Pole, may imagine the effect of this glorious panorama on the minds of these young girls.
The eye looks in vain for another constellation to rest upon; it is to the glorious revolving Cross that the Southern Hemisphere is indebted for its celestial beauty; and I have never been able to look upon it without thinking what must have been the feelings of Bartholomew Diaz, of Vasco de Gama, and their followers, who, as they bent their way to the dark pole, perceived this emblem of their faith dominant in the South:—
“Ja descoberto tinhamos dianteLa no novo hemispherio nova estrella,Não vista de outra gente.”“In this new hemisphere we first perceivedA constellation great and brilliant,By all, but Lusians, hitherto unseen.”J. Musgrave’stranslation of theLusiad.
“Ja descoberto tinhamos dianteLa no novo hemispherio nova estrella,Não vista de outra gente.”“In this new hemisphere we first perceivedA constellation great and brilliant,By all, but Lusians, hitherto unseen.”J. Musgrave’stranslation of theLusiad.
“Ja descoberto tinhamos dianteLa no novo hemispherio nova estrella,Não vista de outra gente.”
“Ja descoberto tinhamos diante
La no novo hemispherio nova estrella,
Não vista de outra gente.”
“In this new hemisphere we first perceivedA constellation great and brilliant,By all, but Lusians, hitherto unseen.”
“In this new hemisphere we first perceived
A constellation great and brilliant,
By all, but Lusians, hitherto unseen.”
J. Musgrave’stranslation of theLusiad.
J. Musgrave’stranslation of theLusiad.
The ladies never appeared tired of asking questions relative to the heavens; every book treating on astronomy, which could be discovered on board the vessel, was eagerly examined; and those gentlemen who were privileged to be present at the “star meetings” found both instruction and rational amusement, while some who had only studied the heavens before in a cursory manner, or even with scientific objects, were really surprised at the practical knowledge acquired by the young ladies in a few evenings.
One of these young ladies, and she was by no means a “blue stocking,” informed us that her brother, who was a naval officer, had explained to her how both the Great Bear, in the north, and the Southern Cross, in the south, might be used for correcting the variation of the compass. When called upon one evening, with the compass before her, she very clearly pointed out how, with the Pole Star in the northern hemisphere, the variation of the needle may be ascertained within tolerable limits.
A few evenings afterwards, on coming on deck, after tea, the Southern Cross was observed standing nearly upright, but inverted; that is to say,approaching its lower culmination. The same young lady held a plumb line, made of a bullet and silken thread, before her eye, until the two extreme stars of the Cross came to the meridian, nearly pointing out the true south, by which our fair navigator read off the variation of the needle very correctly.
After this, I happened to state that both the Great Bear and the Southern Cross were clocks in the heavens for the use of those inhabiting the torrid zone, and each of them served the same purpose for the inhabitants of their own hemispheres. I was immediately called upon to explain my statement, and induced to give the following account of the manner of telling the hour by the Southern Cross:—
There can be little difficulty in remembering that, at the southern winter solstice, on the 21st of June, the right ascension of the sun issix hours; at the northern autumnal equinox, on the 21st of September,twelve hours; at the southern summer solstice, on the 21st of December,eighteen hours; and at the northern vernal equinox, on the 21st of March,twenty-four hours, very nearly: consequentlywe may say that the daily increase of the right ascension of the sun, the whole year round, is, on an average,almost four minutes.
If, therefore, I wish to know the sun’s right ascension on the 1st of July, I recollect that at the last solstice, on the 21st of June, it wassix hours. From this date to the 1st of July, ten days will have elapsed, which, multiplied by the daily increase, four minutes, makes its accumulation forty minutes, which, added to the six hours of right ascension attained by the sun on the 21st of June, gives a right ascension of six hours, forty minutes, on the day proposed.
Having obtained the right ascension of the sun, I have only to subtract that from the mean right ascension of the two antarctic pointers, α and γ Crucis, which being twelve hours, nineteen minutes, may easily be remembered.
“Do I make myself understood, ladies?”
“Oh, yes!”
“On the present occasion we have to subtract six hours, forty minutes, from twelve hours, nineteen minutes: which will leave five hours, thirty-nine minutes.”
“Exactly so!”
“And that five hours, thirty-nine minutes, isP.M.time, when the Southern Cross will be upright on the meridian, on the day proposed, viz., the 1st of July.”
“Well! this is Christmas Eve; what time was the Southern Cross on the meridian?”
“At the southern solstice, on the 21st of December, the right ascension of the sun waseighteen hours; from that date to the present, three days have elapsed.”
“Yes—quite right.”
“That will make the right ascension of the sun to-day, eighteen hours, twelve minutes; but how can we subtract that from twelve hours, nineteen minutes?”
“A very correct question; you must increase the right ascension of the pointers, in this and similar cases, by twenty-four hours, making it thirty-six hours, nineteen minutes, from which subtracting the right ascension for to-day, will give eighteen hours, twelve minutes, the time of the upper culmination of the Cross, counting from yesterday at noon, as you added twenty-fourhours to the right ascension of the pointers; consequently the Cross was upright at twelve minutes past six o’clock this morning, and nearly twelve hours afterwards, it was at its lower culmination, when you saw our fair navigator correct the variation of the compass by it.”
In this way the Southern Cross became an object of great admiration to the ladies, and they were soon able to estimate the time from it in any position.
The passengers in general made themselves agreeable to each other, and therefore many of our discomforts were made light of. This was not the case in other vessels belonging to the W.S.L. Line, and hence the disagreeable scenes which took place on board of them.
The ladies formed themselves into singing classes, under the direction of one of the reverend gentlemen passengers. Some of the gentlemen gave us their experience as travellers. One medical man gave us a lecture on the eye, and other subjects. Another young friend favoured us with an account of his ascent of the Nile, as far as Kartun. In this manner the day was gotthrough, while in the evening, when tired of dancing, we gathered round the Captain on the poop, and there spent a pleasant hour or two in listening to some tale from him, or a song from the ladies.
The “Bill of Fare,” in consequence of the destruction of our poultry from sheer neglect, became beautifully less; and, indeed, after the first fortnight, no dish left the table with anything on it—a pretty clear proof that the table was not well supplied. About the same time puddings were discontinued, in consequence of the head steward having thrown a dish containing an uncooked pudding at the baker’s head. This placed the baker on the doctor’s list, and stopped fresh bread for the cabin. All these trials were very severe on the children, of whom there were an unusual number on board. Still we all had some delicacies for the voyage, and these were cheerfully divided among the little ones.
At last the drinking water got very bad, the pint allowed to us being really as thick as the coffee, and looking very much like a dose of rhubarb, from the immense quantity of iron rustwhich it contained. It became so bad that it was impossible to drink without filtering it through blotting paper, an interesting occupation, which engaged the gentlemen’s attention for some hours per diem. Here was another instance of neglect, the water-tanks having been filled without being cleaned. The officers of the ship said that they had never heard of white-washing the tanks inside with lime, to keep the water pure, and that the rust was always left in the tanks to purify their contents. I thought, after this, that a man might learn something new every day.
Our usual amusements began to tire us, and the increasing discomforts made us all long for the Cape of Good Hope, for we were becoming very discontented with the vessel, and began to give our feelings expression; when one day, while at lunch, where every one looked as if a little change of scene would do him good, there was a sudden cry of “Fire!—the ship’s on fire!”
“Oh, where?—where?”
For a moment there was a scene of confusion, easier to imagine than to describe—
“Then shrieked the timid, and stood still the brave.”
“Then shrieked the timid, and stood still the brave.”
“Then shrieked the timid, and stood still the brave.”
“Then shrieked the timid, and stood still the brave.”
The Captain was at his post immediately; and it was soon discovered that the head of the main-mast was on fire.
The ship was at the time under steam, and all the sails were furled, it being a dead calm. The funnel was too close to the main-mast; and, as the vessel steamed ahead, there not being a breath of air, of course the smoke and heat from the funnel struck the main-mast and set it on fire.
The energetic exertions and cool example of the commander were not lost upon his subordinates, who ably seconded him. The chief officer greatly distinguished himself; as, indeed, did all the officers. The spars and burning rigging falling on some hay placed on the main hatchway, caused a blaze and considerable smoke, which made us imagine at one time that the ship was on fire in the main hold; but fortunately this was not the case.
The steam being up, we soon had a good supply of water from the engine-room, by means of a small auxiliary engine, called a “donkey engine,” I suppose from the fact of its making a braying noise like that much-abused animal.
Water was got aloft, and poured over the sails, many of the men, as well as the chief officer, working on the hot-iron crosstrees at the mast-head, in the thick stifling smoke from the funnel, at the risk of their lives.
For some short time there was considerable fear that the fire would master us; but by the strenuous exertions of all, and the meritorious efforts of the crew, the fiery element was subdued. The only damage suffered was the loss of two sails, which were entirely burned, and the head of the main mast seriously charred.
In the middle of the fire, one of the gentlemen passengers, who had become deranged, and was in consequence confined to his cabin, finding his keeper absent, and alarmed by the confusion in the Saloon, rushed into it, among the ladies, with only one garment on him, and a large carving-knife in his hand. I need not say that the Saloon was instantly cleared.
At this moment the position of the ladies was anything but pleasant: a fire raging on deck, from which they did not know how soon they would be called upon to escape by the boats ofthe ship, which could not have held half the persons on board; and in the Saloon a raging maniac brandishing a large knife, by which he kept the cabin clear against all comers, and at the same time confined the ladies to their state-rooms.
As soon as the fire was got under, attention was turned to the disarming and securing of the poor maniac, when the “general” proposed getting his sword, and cutting the poor creature down; but younger heads and kinder hearts overruled this.
Some of the gentlemen promised to assist the doctor; and, having taken their stations, gradually closed on the poor sufferer; while the surgeon, conversing with his patient, and keeping him under the influence of his calm eye, approached and disarmed him. He was then easily secured, and confined in his cabin, until so much improved that, on approaching the Cape, he was allowed to roam about the decks, molesting no one. How different might have been his fate had violence been used to him during the temporary absence of reason!
Thankful, indeed, were we that the fire did not take place at night; in the consequent confusion, what accidents might not have happened? But He in whose “hands our times are” suited our trial to our means.
I observed that all were more contented with the ship after this exciting scene; but, nevertheless, we were exceedingly glad when, ten days after escaping from this great danger, we arrived in Table Bay, and anchored off Cape Town, the capital of the colony, grateful to that Merciful Providence who had led us so far safely on our journey.