George Pugh

“ We left the port at sunrise. The weather was fine, one of those lovely tropical days when the sky blends its prismatic hues and the easterly breeze, as it whistles through the shrouds, brings new life and energy into one’s veins. The sea all around was covered with silver-crested waves and as the little “Pelew” cut her way through the sparkling waters she sent them like showers of jewels along her painted sides. What a joy it was to me to be once more on the ocean, to feel once more the motion of the vessel beneath my feet, and to quaff the salt breeze that was like the wine of life. ”

“ Captain Crosbie seemed very pleased, and when they had gone he turned to me saying with a smile:
“You seem to have had a good time, boys.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied, “a time I shall never forget, or Jones either.”
“That’s right, enjoy life while your hearts are young, it will help you to do your work better, and give you pleasant things to think of when you are old. Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, drink it in with all your eyes; it is a charmed draught, a cup of blessing. ”

“ Like most of the girls reared in the bush, she was a fearless horse-woman, a strong swimmer, a first-class shot with a revolver, as cool as a cucumber at all times, and, to crown all, one of the prettiest girls in those parts, at least I thought so, and many a young fellow beside, but Jennie would have none of us, but would laugh and shake her head at our attempts to oust each other in our efforts to win her favour, but it was all to no purpose, Jennie remained heart-whole, and we sighed in vain. ”

“ Then we saw the huge tail of a sperm whale rise out of the water and thrash the surface. As we drew nearer, we could see that the disturbance was caused by an encounter between a sperm whale, sword fish, and a thrasher. We now saw what looked like the vanes of a windmill revolving in the foam, and a wet black arm rose and fell out of the white seething water, like the blades of a propeller rotating under the counter of a light steamer.
“See that,” shouted the chief mate, who was on the poop, “there’s a fight that you don’t often see, a fight between a whale, a thrasher, and a swordfish.” ”

“ In a moment every man aboard was on deck, the helm put down, the top-gallant halliards let go, starboard braces slacked away, the yards flew forward, and, as the ship came up with the wind, she heeled over and a heavy sea struck her amidships, shaking her from stem to stern, and filling the decks with water. Then came a crash aloft, and we found the fore and main top-gallant masts had been carried away and fallen alongside. A dozen hands were soon cutting away the wreckage, and looking to leeward, we were horrified to see the terrible fate we had just escaped. ”

“ When daylight came again our case seemed worse than ever, the real state of the damage became more apparent. Old bronzed sailors, who had spent their whole lives at sea battling with the ocean in all her moods, turned fairly white when they looked around, and heard the despairing cry of the women and children huddled together aft. Strong men, and we had some strong men amongst the crew, flung themselves down on the deck, utterly exhausted, rolling about as the ship laboured in the heavy seas, even the ship herself seemed to give up struggling. ”

“ Looking at it, and thinking of the centuries that have passed since the days of Pizarro and his robber crew, it was not difficult, as the old chief sat beside me telling me their legends, to picture them in their pride and glory when Peru was a great nation, and to see once more that chamber filled with proud chiefs, met to do homage to their ruler, sitting so calm and stately in the great chair, as they passed before him to their seats and to assist him by their counsel in the government of their country. ”

“ Many people went to Sydney, and from thence to Brisbane, and then tramped the rest of the way, many lost their lives in the attempt, some were killed by the blacks, some got drowned in crossing the rushing swollen rivers, many died of hunger and thirst crossing the waterless tracks beneath the terrible fiery sun that shone down so pitilessly from a cloudless sky, for in that arid track there was no shelter, no shadow of a great rock, no trees to give a moment’s respite to the travellers in that weary land. ”

“ Now Captain Glasson was a bluff, hard, hearty, red-faced man in the prime of life, proud of himself, and of his ship, and always, as I found out afterwards, said the same thing each voyage to the crew after the watches had been picked. Walking the quarter deck, and dropping his words out between puffs of smoke from his pipe:
“Now men, if we get along well and work together we shall have a comfortable time, if not, there will be trouble, and you’ll be in the thick of it. All you’ve got to do is to obey your orders, and do your duty like men. ”

“ I have since watched an English crew gamble day by day and night by night for weeks together, and never an angry word from the loser, but not so with these men, they were like perfect demons while playing, their eyes gleamed with the gambling fever, fairly starting out of their heads, one hand meanwhile played with the sheath knife in their belt, and the moment a man began to lose he at once accused the others of cheating, and the end was a fight. They cannot stand a losing game. ”

“ In no place in the world have I seen such mountainous waves as are met with off Cape Horn, the rigging was glazed with ice, the decks full of water, to let go of a rope, or obey an order, was to do so at the risk of life and limb. At one minute the vessel was on a level keel in the trough, in a valley, with moving walls of water on either side of her, then for a brief moment there would be a lull, and you heard nothing but58 the howl of it on high, and the savage hissing of the foam. ”

“ The exiles rarely left the deck, but would pace to and fro for hours, so anxious and fearful were they of recapture. All day long they would scan the horizon, their lips muttering the thoughts that would not be kept back, thoughts of home and loved ones. Surely fate would not be so hard as to let them be captured again, and be taken back to that living death. No, they would never be captured alive, no never again. ”

“ On all sides are the peaks covered with snow, rising to about two-thousand feet above your head. Here you see a remarkable feature of the terraced cultivation of the old Incas’ days, before Pizarro and his crew robbed them of their glory and power. Up the steep mountain side, from base to summit, is a perfect network of small embankments or terraces, running this way and that way, until the mountain looks like one great chessboard. ”

“ Well, as we drew up towards the head of the bay we suddenly grounded on a reef, and while we were rushing about backing and filling the sails, the natives swam off in hundreds and boarded the vessel on all sides. We let go the ropes and seized whatever we could lay our hands on to defend ourselves, but in a minute three of our men were beaten to death with clubs. The captain was aft by the wheel, and as soon as I saw the natives climbing over the rail I drew my knife and sprang aft near him, and together we fought like demons. ”

“ With an anxious look on his face he came out of the galley with the leg of pork smoking on the dish, the cook coming to the door to see its safe transit, when, as if in protest against such a comfortable meal being enjoyed by our much harrassed captain, a huge sea broke over the ship, down went Tommy and the dish, and the tasty leg of pork went slithering along the deck and through the main deck port, and was lost to view before one of us could make an attempt to stop it, leaving Tommy still clinging to the dish. ”

“ We were too far off to distinguish any human beings. God alone knew their sufferings and heard their prayers, He alone saw that fight with death, and while we looked, our hearts wrung with a sense of our helplessness, without a moment’s warning, the ill-fated vessel disappeared, and the night was black as before. ”

“ The barque was at once reduced to lower topsails and foresail. The captain had been steering to pass through the Straits of Le Maire, but the wind chopping into the south-west, made him alter his mind and pass to the eastward of Staten Island.
So far we had been sheltered while to leeward of the island, but as soon as we opened out into the Pacific we got a most terrible dressing down. The sea rolled down like mountains. In no part of the world do you meet with such gigantic rollers as off Cape Horn, and it looked as though every sea that came along must engulf the “Stormy Petrel.” ”

“ It was well that the men had secured themselves to the rail by the bow-lines, or the waves would surely have washed them off the ship to a watery grave. The cook had a terrible time, for the men had to have meals, even if the storm still raged, and he was at his wits end how to prepare them, and more than once his big pot of soup that we were all looking anxiously for, was sent flying into the lee scuppers by a wave bursting into the galley, and the getting of the captain’s dinner into the cabin was a gymnastic display, at the conclusion of which we all breathed freely. ”

“ The Almighty never sends a storm without first warning his children of its coming—look at that,” he continued, pointing to the sunset, it was a showering of gold under the raven black wing of a cloud, and the rolling sea was black and golden underneath that rain of splendour. ”

“ The captain came on deck with a broad smile on his face, even his cross eye seemed to twinkle merrily, he was happy now. The breeze freshened rapidly and the sea rose to a fearful height.
The following day it was blowing with the force of a hurricane; the royals were made fast and all the upper fore and aft sails taken in and secured. Everything about the deck was doubly lashed, the booby hatch aft was secured with wire lashing, and all the passengers fastened below. By noon the next day the ship had run three hundred and eighty-two miles in twenty-four hours. ”

“ Then another thing, the voyage being nearly over, everybody is in the best of spirits, the strictness of discipline is relaxed, for everything is done with a cheery goodwill, the little differences and quarrels that crop up during a voyage are forgotten, everybody seems friendly, even Mr. Ross, the second mate, who had been like a bear with a sore head since we left Liverpool, unbent and smiled at the little jokes that passed round amongst the men.107 From each and all the strain was lifted as we dropped anchor in the Bay of Callao, after a passage of one hundred and thirty-five days. ”

“ When a chief mate looks at a man’s discharges and sees each one has a different ship’s name on it, he never thinks much of him because he feels he is only coming to suit his own convenience. No, I say stick to your ship, if she is a good one.”
I made no answer to this and said good-bye, neither did I mention the subject at home, as I wanted to be free in this matter.
I had now been at home a month. The “Bertie” had not come to Liverpool, but had sailed from London, but I had decided not to make another voyage in her. The roving, restless spirit was urging me towards the sea again. ”

“ The river was teeming with life—there were barges and wherries, dark-sailed colliers, swarming along under full sail, ships in tow like ourselves, bound either up or down, huge metal ships gliding to their homes in the docks after days of strenuous passage through the great ocean or floating majestically past us to the far west or east. ”

“ The old man looked up into my face and smiled a strange mystical smile, after a while he said:
“You white men have a God, but you do not worship Him. You tell other men they must worship your God, but you do not worship Him yourself. You white men call on your God if you want anything, but you only worship this,” and he held up an old gin bottle. “You send men to tell us about your God, and you send men with this too. This is a very bad god,” he said, and shaking his head, he flung the bottle as far away as he could. ”

“ Nothing troubled us, we scarcely knew what it was to be tired, and as for a kick or a blow, or any unkindness from any of the men, we never experienced any such thing during the whole of the voyage.
One night in the first watch, the night being calm, with a cloudless sky, the second mate called me aft, and, pointing to the beautiful constellation of the southern cross, said:
“By the look of the cross, it must be close to four bells.” (10 p.m.) . “Go and look if I am right,” he added. ”

“ They defied the master and mates, and walked into the forecastle, and hauling out some rot-gut they called whiskey, soon had every sailor on board in a state of stupidity, and actually took them out of the ship by force, even against the men’s own free will. Every one of the touts and crimps carried a six chambered revolver and would not have hesitated to use it if interfered with. There was no law to appeal to, might was right for the time being, and so before the anchor had been down an hour every man forrard was cleared out of the ship. ”

“ They were out on parole and were in business in Noumea, but for Henri Rochefort, Oliver Pain and Pascal Grousett, on the Ducos Peninsular, it was a difficult and dangerous undertaking. But these men were quite accustomed to dangerous undertakings, their very lives had been spent among risks and perils, and they were prepared to do or die. Better far better to die in a struggle for freedom than to live a hopeless, lingering life, desolate and alone in their sun-scorched island prison. ”

“ Seeing no one stirring about the deck, and the squall rising fast, the mate sang out to the man at the wheel, “Keep her off, hard up!” and then, rushing along the deck into the forecastle he seized the Spaniards by their throats, and fairly flung them out on the deck. Just at that moment the squall struck the ship with all sail set, and she heeled over until the lee rail was under water. I thought the masts would have gone over the side, but the helm being up the vessel rushed through the water like a frightened deer. But thank God there was no sea running, or it would have been disastrous. ”

“ The peaks are generally overhung with clouds, and the valleys are very fertile, the grass growing to a height of six and eight feet. The most delicious fruits grow in abundance, and in their season the trees are loaded with figs, peaches, and cherries, the valleys and hillside being crowded with trees. An immense number of goats run wild on the island, and an abundance of fish is taken on every coast, while the water is obtained from the never failing rivulets that trickle down the rugged rocks like threads of silver from the cloud-capped mountains. ”

“ At first there was a stifling heat in the atmosphere, then the clouds spread over the sky, shutting out the stars, mysterious changes seemed to be taking place in nature around, noiselessly for a time, then the war of the elements began with a burst of heaven’s own artillery. ”