Class Book. COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT THE SHIPS AND SAILORS OF OLD SALEM The Panay, one of the last of the Salem fleet bound out from Boston to Manila twenty-five years ago THE SHIPS AND SAILORS OF OLD SALEM THE RECORD OF A BRILLIANT ERA OF AMERICAN ACHIEVEMENT BY RALPH D. PAINE Author of " TJie Greater America," " The Romance of an Old-Time Shipmaster" etc. ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK THE OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY MCMIX PREFACE THIS book has to do with the deeds of a race of red-blooded Americans who brought honor to their flag and renown to their nation during the era of its struggle for very existence. They tell their own stories, how they sailed and fought and traded in seas the whole world round, where no other American ships had been. From log books, sea journals and other manuscripts hitherto unpublished (most of them written during the years between the Revolution and the War of 1812), are herein gathered such narratives as those of the first American voyages to Japan, India, the Philippines, Guam, the Cape of Good Hope, Sumatra, Arabia and the South Seas. These and other records, as written by the seamen who made Salem the most famous port of the New World a century ago, are much more than local annals. They comprise a unique and brilliant chapter of American history and they speak for themselves. This vanished era, this closed chapter of American achieve- ment which reached its zenith a full century ago, belongs not alone to Salem, but also to the nation. East and west, north and south, runs the love of the Stars and Stripes and the desire to do honor to those who have helped win for this flag prestige and respect among other peoples in other climes. The seamen of this old port were traders, it is true, but they lent to commerce an epic quality, and because they steered so many brave ships to ports where no other x\merican topsails had ever gleamed, they deserve to be remembered among those whose work left its imprint far beyond the limits of the town or coast they called home. vii CONTENTS I A Port of Vanished Fleets .... 3 II Philip English and his Era. (1680-1750.) . . 21 III Some Early Eighteenth Century Pirates. (1670- 1725.) 41 IV The Privateersmen of '76 , . . . .GO V Jonathan Haraden, Privateersman. (177G-1782.) 80 VI Captain Luther Little's Own Story. (1771-1799.) 100 VII Yankee Seamen in British Prisons. (1776-1783). 119 VIII The Journal of William Russell. (1779-1783.) . 138 IX The Journal of William Russell (concluded). (1779- 1783.) 160 X Richard Derby and his Son John. (1774-1792.) . 175 XI Elias Hasket Derby and his Times. (1770-1800.) 201 XII Pioneers in Distant Seas. (1775-1817.) . . 225 XIII The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders. (1792.) . 252 XIV The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders (concluded). 267 XV The Building of the Essex. (1799.) . . . 288 XVI The Day's Work on Blue Water. (1790-1802.) . 310 XVII The First American Voyagers to Japan. (1799- 1801.) 330 X^^II Japan as William Cleveland Saw It. (1800.) . 351 XIX The First Yankee Ship at Guam. (1801.) . . 376 XX Nathaniel Bowditch and his "Practical Navi- gator." (1802.) 394 XXI Logs from the Mysterious East. (1792-1819.) . 417 XXII The Voyages of Nathaniel SiLSBEE. (1792-1800.) 440 XXIII The Voyages of Richard Cleveland. (1791- 1820.) 459 xi Contents CHAPTER PAGE XXIV The Privateers of 1812 483 XXV The Tragedy of the Friendship. (1831.) . . 508 XXVI Early South Sea Voyages. (1832.) . . .536 XXVII The Log of the Emerald. (1834-1835.) . . 561 XXVIII The Last Pirates of the Spanish Main. (1832.) 581 XXIX General Frederick Townsend Ward. (1859- 1862.) 601 XXX China's Tribute to the Memory of Ward. . 619 XXXI The Ebbing of the Tide 637 Appendices ........ 653 Index ......... 687 xu ILLUSTRATIONS The Panay, one of the last of the Salem fleet bound out from Boston to Manila twenty-five years ago Frontispiece y Custom House document with signature of Nathaniel Hawthorne as surveyor ....... Page from the illustrated log of the Eolns . A corner in the Marine Room of the Peabody Museum The Marine Room, Peabody Museum Certificate of Membership in the Salem Marine Society Title page of the log of Capt. Nathaniel Hathorne The Roger Williams house ..... The Philip English "Great House" A bill of lading of the time of Philip English, dated 1716 The log of a Salem whaler ..... A page from Falconer's Marine Dictionary (18th Century) Agreement by which a Revolutionary privateer seaman sold his share of the booty in advance of his cruise Proclamation posted in Salem during the Revolution calling for volunteers aboard Paul Jones' Ranger Schooner Baltic ....... Derby Wharf, Salem, Mass., as it appears to-day Captain Luther Little ...... The East India Marine Society's hall, now the home of the Pea- body Museum ...... Page from the records of the East India Marine Society The Salem Custom House, built in 1818 . Richard Derby ....... "Leslie's Retreat" 6-^ 6 U^ 14 18 18 24^ 30^ 38^ 38 46 66 72 , 78 ^ 88^ 110- 124 ' 124 164^ 178^ 184 • xui Illustrations Built about 1750 after the news was received The Grand Turk, first American ship to pass the Cape of Good Hope 204 Nathaniel West William Gray Elias Hasket Derby The Ship Mount Vernon Elias Hasket Derby mansion (1790-1816) Prince House. Home of Richard Derby. Joseph Peabody Hon. Jacob Crowninshield Benjamin Crowninshield Ship Ulysses . Yacht Cleopatra's Barge Log of the good ship Rubicon The frigate Essex . Broadside ballad published in Salem of the loss of the Essex Page from the log of the Margaret The good ship Franklin View of Nagasaki before Japan was opened to commerce . Salem Harbor as it is to-day ....... The old-time sailors used to have their vessels painted on pitchers and punch bowls ........ 380 Title page from the journal of the Lydia ..... 380 Nathaniel Bowditch, author of "The Practical Navigator" . 400 '' Nathaniel Bowditch's chart of Salem harbor .... 410 — Captain Benjamin Carpenter of the Hercides, 1792 . . . 420 ' From the log of the Hercules ....... 428 .- Pages from the log of the ship Hercides, 1792 .... 436 . Captain Nathaniel Silsbee ....... 448 _ Captain Richard Cleveland Captain James W. Chever The privateer America under full sail Captain Holten J. Breed The privateer Grand Turk xiv 208 '^ 216. 216 220- 222-- 232 236 240^ 240 244/ 290, 308" 330' 330 340^ 360^ 464 488.,. 488 500 - 500 Illustrations FACING PAGE An old broadside, relating the incidents of the battle of Qualah Battoo .......... 510 -- Captain Driver ......... 538 ■ Letter to Captain Driver from the "Bounty" Colonists . . 538 The Glide .......... 520^ The Friendship . . . . , . . , . 520 Captain Thomas Fuller ........ 582 -" The brig Mexican attacked by pirates, 1832 .... 582 Frederick T. Ward 604 -- Captain John Bertram ........ 642 -^ Ship Sooloo .......... 650 XV Cfje ^fjipsf antr ^ailorss of #lb talent CHAPTER I A PORT OF VANISHED FLEETS A MERICAN ships and sailors have almost vanished from /-\ the seas that lie beyond their own coasts. The twen- tieth century has forgotten the era when Yankee top- sails, like flying clouds, flecked every ocean, when tall spars forested every Atlantic port from Portland to Charleston, and when the American spirit of adventurous enterprise and rivalry was in its finest flower on the decks of our merchant squadrons. The last great chapter of the nation's life on blue water was written in the days of the matchless clippers which swept round the Horn to San Francisco or fled homeward from the Orient in the van of the tea fleets. The Cape Horn clipper was able to survive the coming of the Age of Steam a few years longer than the Atlantic packet ships, such as the Dreadnought, but her glory departed with the Civil War and thereafter the story of the American merchant marine is one of swift and sorrowful decay. The boys of the Atlantic coast, whose fathers had followed the sea in legions, turned inland to find their careers, and the sterling qualities which had been bred in the bone by generations of salty ances- try now helped to conquer the western wilderness. 3 The Ships and Sailors oj Old Salem It is all in the past, this noble and thrilling history of Amer- ican achievement on the deep sea, and a country with thousands of miles of seacoast has turned its back toward the spray- swept scenes of its ancient greatness to seek the fulfillment of its destiny in peopling the prairie, reclaiming the desert and feeding its mills and factories with the resources of forest, mine and farm. For more than two centuries, however, we Americans were a maritime race, in peace and war, and the most significant deeds and spectacular triumphs of our seafaring annals were wrought long before the era of the clipper ship. The fastest and most beautiful fabric ever driven by the winds, the sky- sail clipper, was handled with a superb quality of seamanship which made the mariners of other nations doff their caps to the ruddy Yankee masters of the Sovereign of the Seas, the Flying Cloud, the Comet, the Westward Ho, or the Swordfish. Her routes were well traveled, however, and her voyages hardly more eventful than those of the liner of to-day. Islands were charted, headlands lighted, and the instruments and science of navigation so far perfected as to make ocean pathfinding no longer a matter of blind reckoning and guesswork. Pirates and privateers had ceased to harry the merchantmen and to make every voyage a hazard of life and death from the Bahama Banks to the South Seas. Through the vista of fifty years the Yankee clipper has a glamour of singularly picturesque romance, but it is often for- gotten that two hundred years of battling against desperate odds and seven generations of seafaring stock had been required to evolve her type and to breed the men who sailed her in the nineteenth century. It is to this much older race of American seamen and the stout ships they built and manned that we of to-day should be grateful for many of the finest pages in the history of our country's progress. The most adventurous age 4 A Port of Vajiished Fleets of our merchant mariners had reached its cHmax at the time of the War of 1812, and its glory was waning almost a hundred years ago. For the most part its records are buried in sea- stained log books and in the annals and traditions of certain ancient New England coastwise towns,* of which Salem was the most illustrious. This port of Salem is chiefly known beyond New England as the scene of a wicked witchcraft delusion which caused the death of a score of poor innocents in 1692, and in later days as the birthplace of Nathaniel IlaAvthorne. It is not so com- monly known that this old town of Salem, nestled in a bight of the Massachusetts coast, was once the most important seat of maritime enterprise in the New World. Nor when its popu- lation of a century ago is taken into consideration can any foreign port surpass for adventure, romance and daring the history of Salem during the era of its astonishing activity. Even as recently as 1854, when the fleets of Salem were fast dwindling, the London Daily News, in a belated eulogy of our American ships and sailors, was moved to compare the spirit of this port with that of Venice and the old Hanse towns and to say: "We owe a cordial admiration of the spirit of Ameri- can commerce in its adventurous aspects. To watch it is to witness some of the finest romance of our time." * In 1810 Newburyport merchants owned forty-one ships, forty-nine brigs and fifty schooners, and was the seat of extensive commerce with the East Indies and other ports of the Orient. Twenty-one deep-water sailing ships for foreign trade were built on the Merriraac River in that one year. The fame of Newburyport as a shipbuilding and shipowning port was carried far into the last century and culminated in the building of the Atlantic packet Dread- nought, the fastest and most celebrated sailing ship that ever flew tlie American flag. She made a passage from New York to Queenstown in nine days and thirteen hours in 1860. Her famous commander, the late Captain Samuel Samuels, wrote of the Dreadnought : " She was never passed in anything over a four-knot breeze. She was what might be termed a semi-dij^per and possessed the merit of being able to bear driving as long as her sails and spars would stand. By the sailors she was called the ' Wild Boat of the Atlantic, ' while others called her ' The Flying Dutchman.' " The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem Nathaniel Hawthorne was Surveyor in the Custom House of Salem in 1848-49, after the prestige of the port had been well-nigh lost. He was descended from a race of Salem ship- masters and he saw daily in the streets of his native town the survivors of the generations of incomparable seamen who had first carried the American flag to Hindoostan, Java, Sumatra, and Japan, who were first to trade with the Fiji Islands and with Madagascar, who had led the way to the west coast of Africa and to St. Petersburg, who had been pioneers in opening the commerce of South America and China to Yankee ships. They had "sailed where no other ships dared to go, they had anchored where no one else dreamed of looking for trade." They had fought pirates and the privateers of a dozen races around the world, stamping themselves as the Drakes and the Raleighs and Gilberts of American commercial daring. In the Salem of his time, however, Hawthorne perceived little more than a melancholy process of decay, and a dusky background for romances of a century more remote. It would seem as if he found no compelling charm in the thickly clustered memories that linked the port with its former greatness on the sea. Some of the old shipmasters were in the Custom House service with him and he wrote of them as derelicts " who after being tost on every sea and standing sturdily against life's tempestuous blast had finally drifted into this cjuiet nook where with little to disturb them except the periodical terrors of a Presi- dential election, they one and all acquired a new lease of life." They were simple, brave, elemental men, hiding no tortuous problems of conscience, very easy to analyze and catalogue, and perhaps not apt, for this reason, to make a strong appeal to the genius of the author of "The Scarlet Letter." " They spent a good deal of time asleep in their accustomed corners," he also wrote of them, "with their chairs tilted back against the wall; awaking, however, once or twice in a forenoon 6 ^i^tvitt of SnUn; K asrlicvJv. To the iot^ectors o;' the Port of ^n^em.: _,-^T /^ -^i' / Z^t ecrtifP, Chat ^^^/"^"^ /^.,.Zc<^/ ^ Ouiic5 ca Mcitiiandizo cuuiAiuol ia ibc luBovvinj ii.v,.i>j;ei, i'/ :hirec!"of t!:ii J.iu-. which in-^rchrMv-.- v.- i~i-vrr'H hi ;ii" 'v ^ ^ ) .^rU., -^ur' r i •Ja^ A ?;\w/'^' sf^t<^ yto'-rr . c'!w looked upoa i^be o^ ot t'.t i>cil Crtjizcrs i;i Av3*j will be dwajrs able to Fight her Guni u:..'i-!' g^^nft Fctccr it Cnvcr ; _ji;J no \t(k'i ■»?aS e^cr calculated tor iaijing tai*.;:.'-, awiinaWng go. ■ o r? N - .^J A N C O CK, i'tt^f-IStzyi-ri i . t I Jl' : ;hc . " '; ii ^^^ :^ rroclamatiuii posted in Salem durin<,^ the Revolution calling for volunteers aboard Paul Jones' Ranger The Privateersmen of '76 "Any Gentlemen Volunteers who have a Mind to take an agreable Voyage in this pleasant Season of the Year may, by entering on board the above Ship Ranger meet with every CiviHty they can possibly expect, and for a further Encourage- ment depend on the first Opportunity being embraced to reward each one Agreable to his Merit. All reasonable Travelling Expences will be allowed, and the Advance Money be paid on their Appearance on Board. "In Congress, March 29, 1777. " Resolved, "That the Marine Committee be authorized to advance to every able Seaman that enters into the Continental Service, any Sum not exceeding Forty Dollars, and to every ordinary Seaman or Landsman any Sum not exceeding Twenty Dol- lars, to be deducted from their future Prize Money. "By Order of Congress, "John Hancock, President." It was of this cruise that Yankee seamen the world over were singing in later years the song of "Paul Jones and the Ranger" which describes her escape from a British battleship and four consorts : " 'Tis of the gallant Yankee ship That flew the Stripes and Stars, And the whistling wind from the west nor west Blew through her pitch pine spars. With her starboard tacks aboard, my boys. She hung upon the gale. On an autumn night we raised the light On the old Head of Kinsale. * * * "Up spake our noble captain then, As a shot ahead of us past; 'Haul snug your flowing courses, Lay your topsail to the mast.' 73 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem Those Englishmen gave three loud hurrahs From the deck of their covered ark, And we answered back by a solid broadside From the decks of our patriot bark. *Out booms, out booms,' our skipper cried, *Out booms and give her sheet,' And the swiftest keel that ever was launched Shot ahead of the British fleet. And amidst a thundering shower of shot. With stern sails hoisted away, Down the North Channel Paul Jones did steer Just at the break of day." The privateersmen were as ready to fight, if needs be, as were these seamen that chose to sail with Paul Jones in the Continental service. All British merchantmen carried guns and heavy crews to man them, and while many of them thought it wisdom to strike their colors to a heavily armed privateer without a show of resistance, the " packet ships " and Indiamen were capable of desperate actions. The American privateers ran the gauntlet also of the king's ships which swarmed in our waters, and they met and engaged both these and British priva- teers as formidable as themselves. The notable sea fights of this kind are sometimes best told in the words of the men who fought them. Captain David Ropes, of an old Salem seafaring family, was killed in a privateer action which was described in the following letter written by his lieutenant, later Captain William Gray. Their vessel was the private armed ship Jack of Salem, carrying twelve guns and sixty men. "Salem, June 12, 1782. "On the 28th of May, cruising near Halifax, saw a brig standing in for the land; at 7 P.M. discovered her to have a copper bottom, sixteen guns and full of men; at half-past nine o'clock she came alongside when a close action commenced. 74 The Privaieersmen of '76 "It was our misfortune to have our worthy commander, Captain Ropes, mortally wounded at the first broadside. I was slightly wounded at the same time in my right hand and head, but not so as to disable me from duty. The action was maintained on both sides close, severe, and without intermission for upwards of two hours, in which time we had seven killed, several wounded and several abandoned their quarters. Our rigging was so destroyed that not having command of our yards, the Jack fell with her larboard bow foul of the brig-'s starboard quarter, when the enemy made an attempt to board us, but they were repulsed by a very small number compared with them. We were engaged in this position about a quarter of an hour, in which time I received a wound by a bayonet fixed on a musket which was hove with such force, as entering my thigh close to the bone, entered the carriage of a bow gun where I was fastened, and it was out of my power to get clear until assisted by one of the prize masters. "We then fell round and came without broadsides to each other, when we resumed the action with powder and balls; but our match rope, excepting some which was unfit for use, being all expended, and being to leeward, we bore away making a running fight. The brig being far superior to us in number of men, was able to get soon repaired, and completely ready to renew the action. She had constantly kept up a chasing fire, for we had not been out of reach of her musketry. She was close alongside of us again, with fifty picked men for boarding. "I therefore called Mr. Glover and the rest together and found we had but ten men on deck. I had been repeatedly desired to strike, but I mentioned the suffering of the prison ship, and made use of every other argument in my power for continuing the engagement. All the foreigners, however, deserted their quarters at every opportunity. At 2 o'clock P.M. I had the inexpressible mortification to deliver up the vessel. 75 The Shijos and Sailors of Old Salem "I was told, on enquiry, that we were taken by the Observer, a sloop of war belonging to the navy, commanded by Captain Grymes. She was formerly the Amsterdam, and owned in Boston; that she was calculated for sixteen guns, but then had but twelve on board; that the Blonde frigate, being cast away on Seal Island, the captain, officers, and men had been taken off by Captain Adams, in a sloop belonging to Salem, and Captain Stoddart in a schooner belonging to Boston, and by them landed on the main. Most of the officers and men having reached Halifax were by the Governor sent on board the brig in order to come out and convoy in the captain of a frigate who was, with some of his men, coming to Halifax in a shallop, and that the afternoon before the action, he and some others were taken on board the brig, Avhich increased his number to one hundred and seventy-five men. " Captain Ropes died at 4 o'clock P.M. on the day we were taken, after making his will with the greatest calmness and composure." The Nova Scotia Gazette of June 4, 1782, contained this letter as a sequel of an incident mentioned by Lieutenant Gray in the foregoing account of the action : "To the Printer, Sir: In justice to humanity, I and all my officers and Ship's company of His Majesty's late Ship Blonde by the commanders of the American Private Ships of War, the Lively and the Scammel (Captains Adams and Stoddart), have the pleasure to inform the Public that they not only readily received us on board their Vessels and carried us to Cape Race, but cheerfully Supplied us with Provisions till we landed at Yarmouth, when on my releasing all my Prisoners, sixty-four in number, and giving them a Passport to secure them from our Cruisers in Boston Bay, they generously gave me the Same 76 The Privateersmen of '76 to prevent our being made Prisoners or plundered by any of their Privateers we might chance to meet on our Passage to HaHfax. "For the reUef and comfort they so kindly affoarded us in our common Sufferings and Distress, we must arduantly hope that if any of their Privateers should happen to fall into the hands of our Ships of War, that they will treat them with the utmost lenity, and give them every endulgance in their Power and not look upon them (Promiscuously) in the Light of Ameri- can Prisoners, Captain Adams especially, to whom I am in- debted more particularly obliged, as will be seen by his letters herewith published. My warmest thanks are also due to Cap- tain Tuck of the Blonde's Prize Ship Lion (Letter of Marque of Beverly) and to all his officers and men for their generous and indefatigable endeavors to keep the Ship from Sinking (night and day at the Pumps) till all but one got off her and by the blessing of God saved our Lives. " You will please to publish this in your next Paper, . . . which will oblige your humble Servant, "Edward Thornbrough, "Commander of H. M. late Ship Blonde.** A very human side of warfare is shown in this correspondence, coupled with the brutal inconsistency of war, for after their rescue the officers and men of the Blonde, who felt such sincere friendship and gratitude toward the crews of two Yankee privateers, had helped to spread death and destruction aboard the luckless Jack. The log books of the Revolutionary privateersmen out of Salem are so many fragments of history, as it was written day by day, and flavored with the strong and vivid personalities of the men who sailed and fought and sweated and swore without thought of romance in their adventurous calling. There is the 77 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem log of the privateer schooner Scorpion, for example, during a cruise made in 1778. Her master has so far sailed a bootless voyage when he penned this quaint entry: " This Book was Maid in the Lattd. of 24 : 30 North and in the Longtd. of 54 : 00 West at the Saim time having Contryary Winds for Several Days which Makes me fret a 'most Wicked. Daly I praye there Maye be Change such as I Want. This Book I Maid to Keep the Accounts of my Voyage but God Knoes beste When that Will be, for I am at this Time very Empasente* but I hope there soon be a Change to Ease my trobled Mind. Which is my Earneste Desire and of my people. ************* (illegible) is this day taken with the palsy, but I hope will soon gete beter. On this Day I was Chaced by two Ships of War which I tuck to be Enemies, but comeing in thick Weather I have Lost Site of them and so conclude myself Escapt which is a small Good Fortune in the Midste of my Discourage- mentes." A note of Homeric mirth echoes from the past of a hundred and forty years ago in the " Journal of a Cruising Voyage in the Letter of Marque Schooner Success, commanded by Captain Philip Thrash, Commencing 4th Oct. 1778." Captain Thrash, a lusty and formidable name by the way, filled one page after another of his log with rather humdrum routine entries; how he took in and made sail and gave chase and drilled his crew at the guns, etc. At length the reader comes to the following remarks. They stand without other comment or explanation, and leave one with a desire to know more: "At 1-2 past 8 discovered a Sail ahead, tacked ship. At 9 tacked ship and past just to Leeward of the sail which appeared to be a damn'd Comical Boat, by G — d." What was it about this strange sail overhauled in midocean * (impatient) 78 Pi d p a? The Privateersmen of '76 by Captain Philip Thrash that should have so stirred his rude sense of humor? Why did she strike him as so "damn'd Comical"? They met and went their way and the "Comical" craft dropped hull down and vanished in a waste of blue water and so passed forever from our ken. But I for one would give much to know why she aroused a burst of gusty laughter along the low rail of the letter-of-marque schooner Success. 79 CHAPTER V JONATHAN HARADEN, PRIVATE ERSM AN (1776-1782) THE United States navy, with its wealth of splendid tradition, has few more commanding figures than Captain Jonathan Haraden, the foremost fighting privateersman of Salem during the Revolution, and one of the ablest men that fought in that war, afloat or ashore. His deeds are well-nigh forgotten by his countrymen, yet he captured one thousand cannon in British ships and counted his prizes by the score. Jonathan Haraden was born in Gloucester, but as a boy was employed by George Cabot of Salem and made his home there for the remainder of his life. He followed the sea from his early youth, and had risen to a command in the merchant service when the Revolution began. The Massachusetts Colony placed two small vessels in commission as State vessels of war, and aboard one of these, the Tyrannicide, Jonathan Haraden was appointed lieutenant. On her first cruise, very early in the war, she fought a king's cutter from Halifax for New York. The British craft carried a much heavier crew than the Tyrannicide, but the Yankee seamen took her after a brisk engagement in which their gunnery was notably destructive. Soon after this, Haraden was promoted to the command of this audacious sloop of the formidable name, but he desired greater freedom of action. A Salem merchant ship, the General Pickering, of 180 tons, was fitting out as a letter of marque, and 80 Jonafhcm Haraclen, Privateersman Haraden was offered the command. With a cargo of sugar, fourteen six-pounders and forty-five men and boys he sailed for Bilboa in the spring of 1780. This port of Spain was a popular rendezvous for American privateers, where they were close to the British trade routes. During the voyage across, before his crew had been hammered into shape, Haraden was attacked by a British cutter of twenty guns, but managed to beat her off and proceeded on his way after a two hours' running fight. He was a man of superb coolness and audacity and he showed these qualities to advantage while tacking into the Bay of Biscay. At nightfall he sighted a British privateer, the Golden Eagle, considerably larger than the Pickering, and carrying at least eight more guns. Instead of crowding on sail and shifting his course to avoid her, he set after her in the darkness and steered alongside. Before the enemy could decide whether to fight or run away Haraden was roaring through his speaking trumpet : "What ship is this? An American frigate, Sir. Strike, or I'll sink you with a broadside." The British privateer skipper was bewildered by this startling summons and surrendered without firing a shot. A prize- master was put on board and at daylight both vessels laid their course for Bilboa. As they drew near the harbor, a sail was sighted making out from the land. All strange sails were under suspicion in that era of sea life, and Captain Haraden made ready to clear his ship for action even before the English cap- tain, taken out of the prize, cheerfully carried him word that he knew the stranger to be the Achilles, a powerful and success- ful privateer hailing from London, carrying more than forty guns and at least a hundred and fifty men. The description might have been that of a formidable sloop of war rather than a privateer, and the British skipper was at no pains to hide his satisfaction at the plight of the Yankee with her fourteen six- pounders and her handful of men. 81 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem At the sight of an enemy thrice his fighting strength, Captain Haraden told the EngHsh captain: " Be that as it may, and you seem sure of your information, I shan't run away from her." The wind so held that the Achilles first bore down upon the prize of the Pickering and was able to recapture and put a prize crew aboard before Captain Haraden could fetch with gunshot. With a British lieutenant from the Achilles in com- mand, the prize was ordered to follow her captor. It was evident to the waiting Americans aboard the Pickering that the Achilles intended forcing an engagement, but night was falling and the English privateer bore off as if purposing to convoy her prize beyond harm's way and postpone pursuit until morning. The hostile ships had been sighted from Bilboa harbor, where the Achilles was well known, and the word swiftly passed through the city that the bold American was holding pluckily to her landfall as if preparing for an attempt to recapture her prize. The wind had died during the late afternoon and by sunset thousands of Spaniards and seamen from the vessels in the harbor had swarmed to crowd the headlands and the water's edge where they could see the towering Achilles and her smaller foe " like ships upon a painted ocean." An eye witness, Robert Cowan, said that "the General Pickering in comparison to her antagonist looked like a long boat by the side of a ship." Because of lack of wind and the maneuvers of the Achilles, Captain Haraden thought there was no danger of an attack during the night, and he turned in to sleep without more ado, after ordering the officer of the watch to have him called if the Achilles drew nearer. His serene composure had its bracing effect upon the spirits of the men. At dawn the captain was awakened from a sound slumber by the news that the Achilles was bearing down upon them with her crew at quarters. " He 82 Jonathan Haraden, Privateersman calmly rose, went on deck as if it had been some ordinary occa- sion," and ordered his ship made ready for action. We know that he was a man of commanding appearance and an unruffled demeanor; the kind of fighting sailor who liked to have things done handsomely and with due regard for the effect of such matters upon his seamen. Several of his crew had been transferred to the prize, and were now prisoners to the Achilles. The forty-five defenders being reduced to thirty-odd, Captain Haraden, in an eloquent and persuasive address to the sixty prisoners he had captured in the Golden Eagle, offered large rewards to volunteers who would enlist with the crew of the Pickering. A boatswain and ten men, whose ties of loyalty to the British flag must have been tenuous in the extreme, stepped forward and were assigned to stations with the American crew. Her strength was thus increased to forty-seven men and boys. The captain then made a final tour of the decks, assuring his men that although the Achilles appeared to be superior in force, " he had no doubt they would beat her if they were firm and steady, and did not throw away their fire." One of his orders to the men with small arms was : " Take particular aim at their white boot tops. " The kind of sea fighting that won imperishable prestige for American seamen belongs with a vanished era of history. As the gun crews of the General Pickering clustered behind their open ports, they saw to it that water tubs were in place, matches lighted, the crowbars, handspikes and "spung staves" and "rope spunges" placed in order by the guns. Then as they made ready to deliver the first broadside, the orders ran down the crowded low-beamed deck: "Cast, off the tackles and breechings." "Seize the breechings." "Unstop the touch-hole." " Ram home wad and cartridge." 83 Tlie Ships and Sailors of Old Salem "Shot the gun-wad." "Run out the gun." "Lay down handspikes and crows." "Pomt your gun." "Fire." The Yankee crew could hear the huzzas of the Enghsh gunners as the Achilles sought to gain the advantage of position. Cap- tain Haraden had so placed his ship between the land and a line of shoals, that in closing with him the Achilles must receive a raking broadside fire. He knew that if it came to boarding, his little band must be overwhelmed by weight of numbers and he showed superb seamanship in choosing and maintaining a long range engagement. The PicJiCrlng was still deep laden with sugar, and this, together with her small size, made her a difficult target to hull, while the Achilles towered above water like a small frigate. The Americans fired low, while the English broadsides flew high across the decks of the Pickering. This rain of fire killed the British volunteer boatswain aboard the Pickering and wounded eight of the crew early in the fight. Captain Haraden was exposed to these showers of case and round shot, but one of his crew reported that "all the time he was as calm and steady as amid a shower of snowflakes." Meanwhile a multitude of spectators, estimated to number at least a hundred thousand, had assembled on shore. The city of Bilboa had turned out eii masse to enjoy the rare spectacle of a dashing sea duel fought in the blue amphitheater of the harbor mouth. They crowded into fishing boats, pinnaces, cutters and row boats until from within a short distance of the smoke-shrouded Pickering the gay flotilla stretched to the shore so closely packed that an onlooker described it as a solid bridge of boats, across which a man might have made his way by leaping from one gunwale to another. 84 JonatJian Haraden, Privateersman Captain Haraden was on the defensive. The stake for which he fought was to gain entrance to the port of Bilboa with his cargo and retake his prize, nor did he need to capture the Achilles to win a most signal victory. For two hours the two privateers were at it hammer and tongs, the British ship unable to outmaneuver the Yankee and the latter holding her vantage ground. At length the commander of the Achilles was forced to decide that he must either run away or be sunk where he was. He had been hulled through and through and his rigging was so cut up that it was with steadily increasing difficulty that he was able to avoid a raking from every broadside of his indomi- table foe. It is related that he decided to run immediately after a flight of crowbars, with which the guns of the Pickering had been crammed to the muzzles, made hash of his decks and drove his gunners from their stations. Captain Haraden made sail in chase. He offered his gunners a cash reward if they should be able to carry away a spar and disable the Achilles so that he might draw up alongside the enemy and renew the engagement. His fighting blood was at boiling heat and he no longer thought of making for Bilboa and thanking his lucky stars that he had gotten clear of so ugly a foe. But the Achilles was light, while her mainsail "was large as a ship of the line," and after a chase of three hours, the General Pickering had been distanced. Captain Haraden sorrowfully put about for Bilboa, and took some small satisfaction in his disappointment by overhauling and retaking the Golden Eagle, the prize which had been the original bone of contention. The prize had been in sight of the action, during which the captured American prizemaster, master John Carnes, enjoyed an interesting conversation with the British" prizemaster from the Achilles who had been placed in charge of the vessel. Mr. Carnes informed his captor of the fighting sti'ength of 85 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem the General Pickering. The British prizemaster rubbed his eyes when he saw the httle Yankee vessel engage the Achilles and roundly swore that Carnes had lied to him. The latter stuck to his guns, however, and added by way of confirmation : "If you knew Captain Jonathan Haraden as well as I do, you would not be surprised at this. It is just what I expected, and I think it not impossible, notwithstanding the disparity of force, that the Achilles will at least be beaten off, and I shall have the command of this prize again before night." The Spanish populace welcomed Captain Haraden ashore as if he had been the hero of a bull fight. He was carried through the streets at the head of a triumphant procession and later compelled to face veritable broadsides of dinners and public receptions. His battle with the Achilles had been rarely spec- tacular and theatrical, and at sight of one of his elaborately embroidered waistcoats to-day, displayed in the Essex Institute, one fancies that he may have had the fondness for doing fine things in a fine way which made Nelson pin his medals on his coat before he went into action at Trafalgar. In a narrative compiled from the stories of those who knew and sailed with this fine figure of a privateersman we are told that "in his person he was tall and comely; his countenance was placid, and his manners and deportment mild. His discipline on board ship was excellent, especially in time of action. Yet in the common concerns of life he was easy almost to a fault. So great was the confidence he inspired that if he but looked at a sail through his glass, and then told the helms- man to steer for her, the observation went round, ' If she is an enemy, she is ours.' His great characteristic was the most consummate self-possession on all occasions and in midst of perils, in which if any man equalled, none ever excelled him. His officers and men insisted he was more calm and cool amid the din of battle than at any other time; and the more deadly 86 Jonathan Haraden, Privateersman the strife, the more imminent the peril, the more terrific the scene, the more perfect his self-command and serene intrepidity. In a word he was a hero." Large and resonant words of tribute these, written in the long ago, and yet they are no fulsome eulogy of Jonathan Haraden of Salem. During another voyage from Salem to France as a letter of marque, the Pickering discovered, one morning at daylight, a great English ship of the line looming within cannon shot. The enemy bore down in chase, but did not open fire, expecting to capture the Yankee cockleshell without having to injure her. He was fast overhauling the quarry, and Captain Haraden manned his sweeps. The wind was light and although one ball fired from a bowchaser sheared off three of his sweeps, or heavy oars, he succeeded in rowing away from his pursuer and made his escape. It was not a fight, but the incident goes to show how small by modern standards was the ship in which Jonathan Haraden made his dauntless way, when he could succeed in rowing her out of danger of certain capture. In his early voyages in the Pickering she was commissioned as a letter of marque, carrying cargoes across the Atlantic, and fetching home provisions and munitions needed in the Colonies, but ready to fight "at the drop of the hat." She was later equipped with a slightly heavier armament and commissioned as a full-fledged privateer. With his sixteen guns Captain Haraden fought and took in one action no less than three British ships carrying a total number of forty-two guns. He made the briefest possible mention in his log of a victory which in its way was as remarkable as the triumph of the Constiiuiion over the Cyane and the Levant in the second war with England, It was while cruising as a privateer that the Pickering came in sight of three armed vessels sailing in company from Halifax to New York. This little squadron comprised a brig of four- 87 The Shi'ps and Sailors of Old Salem teen guns, a ship of sixteen guns and a sloop of twelve guns. They presented a formidable array of force, the ship alone appearing to be a match for the Pickering in guns and men as they exchanged signals with each other, formed a line and made ready for action. " Great as was the confidence of the ofl&cers and crew in the bravery and judgment of Captain Hara- den, they evinced, by their looks, that they thought on this occasion he was going to hazard too much; upon which he told them he had no doubt whatever that if they would do their duty, he would quickly capture the three vessels, and this he did with great ease by going alongside of each of them, one after another." This unique feat in the history of privateering actions was largely due to Captain Haraden's seamanship in that he was able so to handle the Pickering that he fought three successive single ship actions instead of permitting the enemy to concen- trate or combine their attack. Somewhat similar to these tactics was the manner in which he took two privateer sloops while he was cruising off Bermuda. They were uncommonly fast and agile vessels and they annoyed the Yankee skipper by retaking several of his prizes before he could send them free of this molestation. The sloops had no mind to risk an action with Haraden whose vessel they had recognized. So after nightfall he sent down his fore topgallant yard and mast, otherwise disguised the Pickering, and vanished from that part of the seas. A day later he put about and jogged back after the two privateers, putting out drags astern to check his speed. The Pickering appeared to be a plodding merchant- man lumbering along a West India course. As soon as he was sighted by his pestiferous and deluded foes, they set out in chase of him as easy booty. Letting the first sloop come with easy range, Jonathan Haraden stripped the Pickering of the painted canvas screens that had covered 88 a; 3 9j "S ffi •?= Jo7iathan Haraden, Privateersma7i her gun ports, let go a murderous broadside and captured the sloop almost as soon as it takes to tell it. Then showing English colors above the Stars and Stripes aboard the Pickering, as if she had been captured, he went after the consort and look her as neatly as he had gathered the other. Captain Haraden knew how to play the gentleman in this bloody game of war on the ocean. An attractive light is thrown upon his character by an incident which happened during a cruise in the Pickering. He fell in with a humble Yankee trading schooner which had been to the West Indies with lumber and was jogging home with the beggarly proceeds of the voyage. Her skipper signaled Captain Haraden, put out a boat and went aboard the privateer to tell a tale of woe. A little while before he had been overhauled by a British letter of marque schooner which had robbed him of his quadrant, compass and provisions, stripped his craft of much of her rig- gings, and with a curse and a kick from her captain, left him to drift and starve. Captain Haraden was very indignant at such wanton and impolite conduct and at once sent his men aboard the schooner to re-rig her, provisioned her cabin and forecastle, loaned the skipper instruments with which to work his passage home and sent him on his way rejoicing. Then having inquired the course of the plundering letter of marque when last seen, he made sail to look for her. He was lucky enough to fall in and capture the offender next day. Captain Haraden dressed him- self in his best and, to add dignity to the occasion, summoned the erring British skipper to his cabin and there roundly rebuked and denounced him for his piratical conduct toward a worthless little lumber schooner. He gave his own crew permission to make reprisals, which probably means that they helped them- selves to whatever pleased their fancy and kicked and cuffed the offending seamen the length of their deck. Captain Hara- 89 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem den then allowed the letter of marque to resume her voyage. " He would not, even under these circumstances, sink or destroy a ship worthless as a prize and thus ruin a brother sailor." Off the Capes of the Delaware, Captain Haraden once cap- tured an English brig of war, although the odds were against him, by "the mere terror of his name." He afterward told friends ashore how this extraordinary affair occurred. There was a boy on the Pickering, one of the captain's inost ardent adorers, a young hero worshiper, who believed the Pickering capable of taking anything short of a line-of-battle ship. He had been put aboard a prize oft' the Capes, which prize had been captured, while making port, by the British brig-of-war. The lad was transferred to the brig with his comrades of the prize crew, and was delighted a little later to see the Pickering standing toward them. Being asked why he sang and danced with joy, the boy explained with the most implicit assurance: "That is my master in that ship, and I shall soon be with him." "Your master," cried, the British bos'n, "and who in the devil is he?" " Why, Captain Haraden. You can't tell me you never heard of him.'' He takes everything he goes alongside of, and he will soon have you." This unseemly jubilation on an enemy's deck was reported to the captain of the brig. He summoned the boy aft, and was told the same story with even more emphasis. Presently the Pickering ran close down, and approached the brig to leeward. There was a strong wind and the listed deck of the brig lay exposed to the fire of the privateer. Captain Haraden shouted through his trumpet: "Haul down your colors, or I will fire into you." The captain of the brig-of-war had wasted precious moments, and his vessel was so situated at that moment that her guns could 90 Jo7iathan Haraden, Privateersman not be worked to leeward because of the seas that swept along her ports. After a futile fire from deck swivels and small arms, she surrendered and next day was anchored off Philadelphia. One or two more stories and we must needs have done with the exploits of Jonathan Haraden. One of them admirably illustrates the sublime assurance of the man and in an extreme degree that dramatic quality which adorned his deeds. During one of his last voyages in the Pickering he attacked a heavily armed "king's mail packet," bound to England from the West Indies. These packets were of the largest type of merchant vessels of that day, usually carrying from fifteen to twenty guns, and complements of from sixty to eighty men. Such a ship was expected to fight hard and was more than a match for most privateers. The king's packet was a foe to test Captain Haraden 's mettle and he found her a tough antagonist. They fought four full hours, "or four glasses," as the log records it, after which Captain Haraden found that he must haul out of the action and repair damages to rigging and hull. He discovered also, that he had used all the powder on board except one charge. It would have been a creditable conclusion of the matter if he had called the action a drawn battle and gone on his way. It was in his mind, however, to try an immensely audacious plan which could succeed only by means of the most cold- blooded courage on his part. Ramming home his last charge of powder and double shotting the gun, he again ranged along- side his plucky enemy, who was terribly cut up, but still uncon- quered, and hailed her: "I will give you five minutes to haul down your colors. If they are not down at the end of that time, I will fire into and sink you, so help me God." It was a test of mind, not of armament. The British com- mander was a brave man who had fought his ship like a hero. 91 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem But the sight of this infernally indomitable figure on the quarter- deck of the shot-rent Pickering, the thought of being exposed to another broadside at pistol range, the aspect of the blood- stained, half-naked privateersmen grouped at their guns with matches lighted, was too much for him. Captain Haraden stood, watch in hand, calling off the minutes so that his voice could be heard aboard the packet : "One—" "Two—" "Three." But he had not said " Four," when the British colors fluttered down from the yard and the packet ship was his. When a boat from the Pickering went alongside the prize, the crew " found the blood running from her scuppers, while the deck appeared more like the floor of a slaughter house than the deck of a ship. On the quarterdeck, in an armchair, sat an old gentleman, the Governor of the island from which the packet came. During the whole action he had loaded and fired a heavy blunderbuss, and in the course of the battle had received" a ball in his cheek, which, in consequence of the loss of teeth, had passed out through the other cheek without giving a mortal wound." A truly splendid "old gentleman" and a hero of the first water ! In the latter part of the war Captain Haraden commanded the Julius Coesar, and a letter written by an American in Mar- tinique in 1782 to a friend in Salem is evidence that his activities had not diminished: " Captain Jonathan Haraden, in the letter of marque ship, Jidius Coesar, forty men and fourteen guns, off Bermuda, in sight of two English brigs, one of twenty and the other of sixteen guns, took a schooner which was a prize to one of them, but they both declined to attack him. On the 5th ult., he fell in with two British vessels, being a ship of eighteen guns and a brig of six- 92 Jo7iathan Haraden, Privateersman teen, both of which he fought five hours and got clear of them. The enemy's ship was much shattered and so was the Ccesar, but the latter 's men were unharmed. Captain Haraden was subsequently presented with a silver plate by the owners of his ship, as commemorative of his bravery and skill. Before he reached Martinico he had a severe battle with another English vessel which he carried thither with him as a prize." Captain Haraden, the man who took a thousand cannon from the British on the high seas, died in Salem in 1803 in his fifty- ninth year. His descendants treasure the massive pieces of plate given him by the ov»^ners of the Pickering and the Julius Coosar, as memorials of one who achieved far more to win the independence of his nation than many a landsman whose military records won him the recognition of his government and a conspicuous place in history. While the important ports of Boston, New York, and others to the southward were blockaded by squadrons of British war vessels, the Salem privateers managed to slip to sea and spread destruction. It happened on a day of March, in 1781, that two bold English privateers were cruising off Cape Cod, menacing the coastwise trading sloops and schooners bound in and out of Salem and nearby ports. The news was carried ashore by incoming vessels which had been compelled to run for it, and through the streets and along the wharves of Salem went the call for volunteers. The ships Brutus and Neptune were lying in the stream and with astonishing expedition they were armed and made ready for sea as privateers. One of the enemy's vessels was taken and brought into Salem only two days after the alarm had been given. Tradition relates that while the two Salem privateers were sailing home in com- pany with their prize, the Brutus was hailed by an English sloop which had been loitering the coast on mischief bent. The Yankee skippers seeking to get their prize into port without 93 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem risk of losing her in battle, had hoisted English colors. Dusk had deepened into darkness when from the quarterdeck of the British sloop sounded the husky challenge : " Ship ahoy. What ship is that?" "The English armed ship Terror," answered the Salem cap- tain. "Where are you bound?" "Just inside the Cape for safety." "Safety from what?" asked the guileless Englishman. "A whole fleet of damned Yankee privateers." "Where are they?" "They bear from the pitch of the Cape, about sou 'east by East, four leagues distant." "Aye, aye, we'll look out for them and steer clear," returned John Bull, and thereupon with a free wind he stood out to sea leaving the Brutus to lay her course without more trouble. Not all the Salem privateers were successful. In fairness to the foe it should be recorded that one in three, or fifty-four in a total of one hundred and fifty-eight privateers and letter of marque ships were lost by capture during the war. Many of these, however, were scarcely more than decked rowboats armed with one gun and a few muskets. But of the four hun- dred and forty-five prizes taken by Salem ships, nine-tenths of them reached American ports in safety. There was a lad who had been captured in a Salem privateer, and forced to enlist in the English navy. He was not of that heroic mold which preferred death to surrender and the hard- ships of prison life appear to have frightened him into changing his colors. He wrote home to Salem in 1781 : "Honoured Father and Mother: " I send you these few lines to let you know that I am in good health on board the Hyeane Frigate which I was taken by and 94 Jonathan Haraden, Privateersman I hope I shall be at home in a few months' time. When I was taken by the Hyeane I was carried to England, where I left the ship and went on board a brig going to New York. There I was prest out of her into the Phoenix, forty-eight gun ship. I remained in her four months and was then taken on board the Hyeane again, where I am still kept. We are lying in Carlisle Bay in Barbadoes. We are now going on an expedition, but will soon be back again when the captain says he will let me come home." Alas, the boy who had weakened when it came to the test of his loyalty was not so well pleased with his choice when peace came. In August, 1783, we find him writing to his mother: "I cannot think of returning home till the people of New England are more reconciled, for I hear they are so inveterate against all who have ever been in the English navy that I can't tell but their rage may extend to hang me as they do others." Another letter of that time, while it does not deal wholly with privateering, views the war from the interesting standpoint of a Loyalist or Tory of Salem who was writing to friends of like sympathies who had also taken refuge in England. It is to be inferred from his somewhat caustic comments about certain nouveaux riche families of the town that the fortunes of privateer- ing had suddenly prospered some, while it had beggared the estate of others. "Bristol, England, February 10, 1780. "Perhaps it may amuse you to be made acquainted with a few particulars of our own country and town, that may not have come to your knowledge. . . . It is a melancholy truth that while some are wallowing in undeserved wealth that plunder and Rapine has thrown into their hands, the wisest and most peacable, and most deserving, such as you and I know, are now suffering for want, accompanied by many indignities that a 95 The Shijjs and Sailors of Old Salem licencious and lawless people can pour forth upon them. Those who a few years ago were the meaner people are now by a Strange Revolution become almost the only men in Power, riches and influences; those who on the contrary were leaders in the highest line of life are very glad at this time to be unknown and unno- ticed, to escape insult and plunder and the wretched condition of all who are not Violent Adopters of Republican Principles. The Cabots of Beverly, who you know had but five years ago a very moderate share of property are now said to be by far the most wealthy in New England. . . . Nathan Goodale by an agency concern in Privateers and buying up Shares, counts almost as many pounds as most of his neighbors." What may be called the day's work of the Revolutionary privateers is compactly outlined in the following series of reports from Salem annals. In an unfinished manuscript deal- ing with privateering the late James Kimball of Salem made this note: " June 26, 1857. This day saw John W. Osgood, son of John Osgood, who stated that during the war of the Revolution his father was first Lieutenant of the Brig Fame commanded by Samuel Hobbs of Salem, from whence they sailed. When three days out they fell in with a British man-of-war which gave chase to the Privateer which outsailed the man-of-war, who, finding that she was getting away from him, fired a round shot which came on board and killed Captain Hobbs, which was the only injury sustained during the chase. "Upon the death of Captain Hobbs the crew mutinied, saying the captain was dead, and the cruise was up, refused further duty and insisted upon returning to Salem. Lieutenant Osgood now becoming the captain, persisted in continuing the Cruise, yet with so small a number as remained on his side, found great difficulty in working the Ship. The mutineers stood in fear, 96 Jonatha7i Haraden, Privateersman but part of the officers stood by Captain Osgood. No one feeling willing to appear at their head, they one day Sent him a Round Robin requiring the return of the Privateer. Captain Osgood still persisted in continuing the cruise. "When an English Vessell hove in sight he told them that there was a Prize, that they had only to take her and he would soon find others. One of the Crew, to the leader to whom they all looked, replied that he would return to his duty. All the rest followed him, sail was made and they soon came up with the Prize. She proved to be a man-of-war in disguise, with drags out. As soon as this was discovered the Privateer at- tempted to escape, but she could not and was captured and carried to Halifax." Selecting other typical incidents almost at random as they were condensed in newspaper records, these seem to be worthy of notice: "June 31, 1778. Much interest is made here for the release of Resolved Smith from his captivity. On his way from the West Indies to North Carolina he was taken, and confined on board the prison ship Judith at New York. Describing his situation, he said that he and other sufferers were shut in indiscriminately with the sick, dead and dying. 'I am now closing the eyes of the last two out of five healthy men that came about three weeks ago with me on board this ship. "July, 1779. The Brig Wild Cat, Captain Daniel Ropes, seventy-five men, fourteen guns, is reported as having taken a schooner belonging to the British navy. The next day, how- ever, he was captured by a frigate and for his activity against the enemy was confined in irons at Halifax. On hearing of his severe treatment, our General Court ordered that an English officer of equal rank be put in close confinement until Captain Ropes is liberated and exchanged." "Feb. 13, 1781. Ship Pilgrim, Captain Robinson, reported 97 The Ships and Sailors of Ohl Salem that on Christmas Day he had a battle with a Spanish Frigate and forced her to retire, and on January 5th engaged a privateer of thirty-three men, twenty-two guns, for three hours and took her. He had nine men killed and two wounded while his opponent had her captain and four more killed and thirteen wounded." "March 13, 1781. It is reported that the Brig Montgomery, Captain John Carnes, had engaged a large British cutter, lost his lieutenant and had five wounded. From another account we learn that after a hard fight he succeeded in beating his opponent off." " It is reported on the 19th of the same month that the ship Franklin, Captain John Turner, had taken a ship after a fight of forty minutes, having had one killed and one wounded. The prize had two killed and eight wounded." "August 26, 1781. The ship Marquis de Lafayette, seventy- five men and sixteen guns, reported as having attacked a brig of thirty-two guns, upwards of two hours, but was obliged to draw off, much damaged, with eight killed and fourteen wounded and leaving the enemy with seventeen killed besides others wounded." Privateering was destined to have a powerful influence upon the seafaring fortunes of Salem. Elias Hasket Derby, for example, the first great American shipping merchant and the wealthiest man in the Colonies, found his trading activities ruined by the Revolution. He swung his masterly energy and large resources into equipping privateers. It was his standing offer that after as many shares as possible had been subscribed for in financing any Salem privateer, he would take up the remainder, if more funds were needed. It is claimed that Mr. Derby was interested in sending to sea more than one-half of the one hundred and fifty-eight privateers which hailed from Salem during the Revolution. After the first two years of war Jonathan Haraden, Privateersman he discerned the importance of speed, and that many of the small privateers of his town had been lost or captured because they were unfit for their business. He established his own shipyards, studied naval architecture, and began to build a class of vessels vastly superior in size, model and speed to any pre- viously launched in the Colonies. They were designed to be able to meet a British sloop of war on even terms. These ships took a large number of prizes, but Elias Hasket Derby gradually converted them from privateers to letters of marque, so that they could carry cargoes to distant ports and at the same time defend themselves against the largest class of British privateers. At the beginning of the war he owned seven sloops and schooners. When peace came he had four ships of from three hundred to three hundred and fifty tons, which were very imposing merchant vessels for that time. It was with these ships, created by the needs of war, that the commerce of Salem began to reach out for ports on the other side of the world. They were the vanguard of the great fleet which through the two generations to follow were to carry the Stars and Stripes around the Seven Seas. Ready to man them was the bold company of privateersmen, schooled in a life of the most hazardous adventure, braced to face all risks in the peaceful war for trade where none of their countrymen had ever dared to seek trade before. While they had been dealing shrewd blows for their country's cause in war, they had been also in preparation for the dawning age of Salem supremacy on the seas in the rivalries of commerce, pioneers in a brilliant and romantic era which was destined to win unique fame for their port. 99 CHAPTER VI CAPTAIN LUTHER LITTLE 's OWN STORY (1771-1799) CAPTAIN LUTHER LITTLE made no great figure in the history of his times, but he left in his own words the story of his hfe at sea which ancient manuscript con- tributes a full length portrait of the kind of men who lived in the coastwise towns of New England in the eighteenth century. He was not of Salem birth, but he commanded a letter of marque ship out of Salem during the Revolution, which makes it fitting that the manuscript of his narrative should have come into the hands of his grandson, Philip Little, of Salem. This old time seaman's memoir, as he dictates it in his old age, reflects and makes alive again the day's work of many a stout-hearted ship's company of forgotten American heroes. Born in Marshfield, Massachusetts, in 1756, Luther Little was a sturdy man grown at the beginning of the Revolution and had already spent five years at sea. At the age of fifteen he forsook his father's farm and shipped on board a coasting sloop plying between Maine and the South Carolina ports. On one of these voyages he was taken ill with a fever and was left ashore in a settlement on the Pimlico River, North Carolina. The planter's family who cared for the lad through his long and helpless illness were big-hearted and cheery folk, and his description of a "reaping bee," as enjoyed a hundred and forty years ago, is quaintly diverting. 100 Captain Luther Little's Own Story "When the evening amusements began our host performed on the vioHn and the young people commenced dancing. I was brought down stairs by one of the daughters and placed on a chair in one corner of the room to witness their sports. They got so merry in the dance that I was unheeded, and they whirled so hard against me as to knock me from my chair. One of the young women caught me in her arms, and carried me to the chamber and laid me on the mat. They held their frolic until midnight and eight or ten of the girls tarried till morning. My mat lay in one corner of the garret, and they were to occupy another on the opposite side. When they came upstairs they commenced performing a jumping match after making prepara- tions for the same by taking off some of their clothes. They performed with much agility, when one of the stranger girls observing me in one corner of the garret exclaimed with much surprise: 'Who is that?* The answer was: 'It's only a young man belonging to the North that is here sick, and won't live three days. Never mind him.' " His sloop having returned, this sixteen -year-old sailor sur- prised his kind host by gaining sufficient strength to go on board and soon after set sail for Martinique in the West Indies. The Revolutionary Committee of North Carolina had ordered the captain to fetch back a supply of powder and shot. He took aboard this cargo after driving overboard and threatening to blow out the brains of an English lieutenant who had it in mind to make a prize of the sloop while she lay at Martinique. It was out of the frying pan into the fire, for when the vessel reached the Carolina coast, " the news of our unexpected arrival had been noised abroad," relates Luther Little, "and the King's tender lay within a few miles of the bar in wait for us. Twelve pilot boats from Ocrakoke came off to us and informed us that the tender was coming out to take us. We loaded the pilot boats with powder, and the balls, which were in kegs, we 101 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem hove overboard. By this time the tender made her appearance and ordered us all on board, made a prize of the sloop and ordered her for Norfolk where lay the English jfleet. When our pilot and his crew went to take their boat I mingled with them and walked quietly on board without being observed, and set hard at rowing with one of the oars. The captain and the rest of the crew were made prisoners." The pilot boat landed young Little at Ocrakoke, where he found that the other pilots who had taken the pov/der ashore had stolen ten casks of it, scurvy patriots that they were. So the stout-hearted lad of sixteen borrowed an old musket and stood guard all night over the powder kegs. " The next morn- ing," he tells us, "the pilots finding they could plunder no more of the powder, agreed to carry it up the Pimlico River to the several County Committees for whom it was destined." Luther Little went with them and saw to it that the powder reached its owners. One Colonel Simpson offered him a small schooner laden with com to be delivered down the Pongo River. She had a crew of slaves which the boy skipper loftily rejected and took his little schooner single-handed downstream, making port after a two days' voyage. While at anchor there came a hurri- cane which had a most surprising effect on his fortunes. "I shut myself down in the cabin," said he, "and in the course of the night found the vessel adrift. Not daring to go on deck I waited the result and soon felt the vessel strike. After thumping a while she keeled to one side and remained still. At daylight next morning I ventured on deck and found myself safe on terra firma, in the woods, one half mile from the water, the tide having left me safe among the trees." Making his way on foot to the home of the consignee, he reported his arrival, explained the situation and wrote his employer that he had delivered his cargo safe, and that he 102 Captain Luther Little's Own Story would find his schooner half a mile in the woods anchored safely among the trees. The marooned seaman had not to wait long for another berth. On the same day of his escape he saw a sloop beating out of the river and hailed her skipper. A foremast hand was wanted and Little shipped aboard for the West Indies. During the passage they were chased by an English frigate, and ran in under the guns of the Dutch fort at St. Eustacia. Cargo and vessel were sold, and Luther Little transferred himself to another sloop bound for Rhode Island. "Arriving safe after a passage of eleven days," he writes, " I took my pack and travelled to Little Compton where I had an uncle. Here I stayed one week^and then marched home on foot, the distance of seventy mile^vwithout one cent in my pocket. I had been absent eleven months." A few months later Luther Little shipped on board a letter of marque brig bound to Cadiz. Off Cape Finnesterre a storm piled the vessel on the rocks where she went to pieces. Little was washed over the bows, but caught a trailing rope and hauled himself aboard with a broken leg. While he was in this plight the brig broke in two, and somehow, with the help of his fellow seamen, he was conveyed ashore to a Spanish coast fortification. Thence they were taken by boat to Bellisle. The infant Uncle Sam was not wholly neglectful of his subjects, even though he was in the death-grip of a Revolution, for to the inn at Bellisle there came " a coach with four white horses and Mr. John Baptiste, an officer in the employ of the United States government, to enquire if there were any from off that wreck who needed assistance and wished to go to the hospital." Luther Little lay in a hospital at Lisbon from autumn into spring where, he relates: "I was treated with great kindness and attention and although in my midnight dreams the spirits of a kind mother and beloved sisters would often hover around 103 The Shij)s and Sailors of Old Salem my pillow, still on waking, the thought that I had escaped an early death was ever present to the mind, and I felt that although far from home and friends, I had every reason to be thankful." The canny youngster had a shoe with a hollow heel, which hiding place he had prepared before leaving home, and in which he had tucked eight gold dollars with this sagacious reflection : "Previous to this I had been left among strangers perfectly destitute without money either to assist myself, or to remunerate them for kindness received. I was now leaving home again, the future was covered with a veil which a wise Providence had never permitted human knowledge to rend. I knew not with what this voyage might be fraught — evil or good. I therefore resolved if possible to have something laid up as the old adage expresses, 'for a wet day.'" When Luther was discharged from the Spanish hospital eleven other luckless American seamen who had been cast on their beam ends were set adrift with him. The shoe with the hollow heel held the only cash in the party who undertook an overland journey of three hundred miles to the nearest seaport whence they might expect to find passage home. While spend- ing the night at a port called St. Ubes there came ashore the captain and lieutenant of an English privateer. These were very courteous foemen, for the captain told how he had been made prisoner by a Yankee crew, carried into Salem, and treated so exceedingly well that he was very grateful. There- upon he ordered his lieutenant to go off to the privateer and fetch a dozen of pickled neats' tongues which he gave the stranded pilgrims to put in their packs. He also turned over to them a Portuguese pilot to escort them through the desolate and hostile country in which their journey lay. With the Portuguese, the neats' tongues, and wine in leather bottles, paid for from the hollow heel, the American tars trudged along, 104. Captain Luther Little's Own Story sleeping on the ground and in shepherds' sheds until they reached the boundary between Spain and Portugal. "The Spanish and English were at war," relates Luther Little, "and the stable in which we slept was surrounded by Spaniards who swore we were English and they would take us prisoners. In vain the landlord of the nearl^y tavern expostu- lated with them, saying we were Americans in distress traveling to Faro. They still persisted in forcing the door. The pilot told them that we were desperate men armed to the teeth and at length they disappeared." They were among a set of accomplished thieves, for next day they bought some mackerel and stowed it in their packs from which it was artfully stolen by the very lad who had sold it to them. The pilot cheered them with tales of highway robbery and murder as they fared on, indicating with eloquent gestures sundry stones which marked the burial places of slain travelers. They were once attacked by a gang of brigands who stole their mule and slender store of baggage, but the seamen rallied with such headlong energy that the robbers took to the bushes. Reaching the port of Faro, they found a good-hearted mate of a Portuguese brig who gave them a ham, four dozen biscuit and a part of a cheese. The French Consul also befriended them, and supplied a boat to take them to a port called lammont. Although the ingenuous Luther Little explains their next adven- ture as pacific, it is not unfair to presume that his company committed a mild-mannered kind of piracy. However, he tells the tale in this fashion: " We reached the mouth of the lammont River next morning. Here we met a Spanish shallop coming out, bound to Cadiz, loaded with small fish and manned with six men. The Captain was very old. We shifted on board this shallop and sailed toward Cadiz with a fair wind. When night approached the 105 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem Spanish captain having no compass, steered by a star; at ten the clouds came over and the stars were shut in, the wind blow- ing fresh. The Spaniards fell on their knees, imploring the aid of their saints. Directly the captain concluded to go on shore, and took his cask of oil to break the surf, and bore away toward the shore. We being the strongest party (eleven to six), hauled the shallop onto her course and obliged the old Spaniard to take the helm, it still continuing very thick. At one that morning we struck on the Porpoise Rocks at the mouth of Cadiz Bay; we shipped two seas which filled the boat. With our hats we bailed out water, fish and all, directly made Cadiz light, and ran in near the wall of the city. The sentry from the wall told us to come no nearer, whereupon the old cap- tain hauled down sails and let go his anchor. At daylight I paid one Spanish dollar apiece passage money and we left the boat. " We went to the gate of the city and sat down on some ship timber. One of our men was then two days sick with a fever. When the gate was opened we marched in, two of us carrying the sick man. A little way inside we met a Spaniard who spoke English. He invited us to his house, and gave us a breakfast of coffee and fish, and told us we were welcome to remain there until we could find a passage home." Next day Luther Little as spokesman waited upon John Jay, United States Minister to the Court of Madrid, who had come to Cadiz with his wife in the Confederacy frigate. Minister Jay put the sick man in a hospital while the others sought chances to work their way home. They found in the harbor an English brig which had captured an American ship and was then in her turn retaken by the Yankee crew who had risen upon the prize crew. According to Luther Little this Yankee mate, Morgan by name, was a first-class fighting man, for he had sailed the brig into Cadiz, flying the Stars and Stripes, with only a boy or 106 Captain Luther Little's Oum Story two to help him. She carried twelve guns and needed a heavy crew to risk the passage home to Cape Ann. Reinforced by the captain and crew of another American vessel which had been taken by an English frigate, Luther Little's party sought Minister Jay and explained the situation. They could work their passage in the brig, but they had no provisions. Would he help them.'' Mr. Jay made this singular compact, that he would give them provisions if they would sign a document promising to pay for the stores at the Navy Yard in Boston, or to serve aboard a Continental ship until the debt was worked out. All hands signed this paper by which they put themselves in pawn to serve their country's flag, and the brig sailed from Cadiz. After thirty days they were on George's Bank where they lay becalmed while an English privateer swept down toward them with sweeps out. A commander was chosen by vote, decks cleared for action, and two guns shifted over to the side toward the privateer. "The captain ordered his crew to quarters. When the privateer came up to us we gave her a broadside ; she fired upon us, then dropped astern and came up on the larboard side," so Little describes it. "As soon as the guns would bear upon her we gave her another broadside. They returned the same. The privateer schooner giving up the contest, dropped astern and made off, we giving her three cheers." Without mishap the brig arrived off Cape Ann, and con- tinued on to Boston. There Luther Little obtained money from friends and paid off his share of the debt to the Navy Board. He was the only one of the eleven of his party who redeemed themselves, however, the others going aboard Con- tinental cruisers as stipulated by the shrewd Minister Jay who, in this fashion, secured almost a dozen lusty seamen for the navy. "Once more I reached home entirely destitute," comments 107 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem Luther Little, who tarried on his father's farm a few weeks, and then once more "bade home and those dear to me, adieu." This was in the year 1780. He entered on board the United States ship Protector, of twenty-six guns and 230 men, as mid- shipman and prizemaster. Her commander was John Foster WiUiams, and her first heutenant, George Little, was a brother of our hero. Their names deserve remembrance, for the Pro- tector fought one of the most heroic and desperate engagements of the Revolution of which Midshipman Little shall tell you in his own words: "We lay off in Nantasket Roads making ready for a six months' cruise, and put to sea early in April of 1780. Our course was directed eastward, keeping along the coast till we got off Mount Desert, most of the time in a dense fog, without encountering friend or foe. On the morning of June ninth, the fog began to clear away, and the man at the masthead gave notice that he discovered a ship to the windward of us. We perceived her to be a large ship under English colors, stand- ing down before the wind for us. We were on the leeward side. " As she came down upon us she appeared to be as large as a seventy-four. The captain and lieutenant were looking at her through their glasses, and after consulting decided that she was not an English frigate but a large king's packet ship, and the sooner we got alongside of her the better. The boatswain was ordered to pipe all hands to quarters, and clear the ship for action. Hammocks were brought up and stuffed into the nettings, decks wet and sanded, matches lighted and burning, bulkheads hooked up. "We were not deceived respecting her size. It afterwards proved she was of eleven hundred tons burden, a Company ship which had cruised in the West Indies for some time and then took a cargo of sugar and tobacco at St. Kitts bound to 108 Captain Luther Little's Own Story London. She carried thirty-six twelve-pounders upon the gun deck, and was furnished with two hundred and fifty men, and was called the Admiral Duff, Richard Strange, master. We were to the lecAvard of her and standing to the northward under cruising sail. She came down near us, and aimed to pass us and go ahead. After passing by to the leeward she hove to under fighting colors. We were all this time under English colors and observed her preparing for action. Very soon I heard the sailing master call for his trumpet : "'Let fall the foresail, sheet home the main topgallant sail.' " We steered down across her stern, and hauled up under her lee quarter. At the same time we were breeching our guns aft to bring her to bear. Our first lieutenant possessed a very powerful voice; he hailed the ship from the gang-board and enquired : "'What ship is that?' "He was answered 'The Admiral Dujf.* "'Where are you from and where bound?' '"From a cruise bound to London,' they answered, and then enquired: 'What ship is that?' "We gave no answer. The captain ordered a broadside given, and colors changed at the first flash of a gun, and as the thirteen stripes took the place of the English ensign they gave us three cheers and fired a broadside. They partly shot over us, their ship being so much higher than ours, cutting away some of our rigging. The action commenced within pistol shot and now began a regular battle, broadside to broadside. " After we had engaged one half hour there came in a cannon ball through the side and killed Mr. Scollay, one of our mid- shipmen. He commanded the fourth twelve-pounder from the stem, I commanded the third. The ball took him in the head. His brains flew upon my gun and into my face. The man at my gun who rammed down the charge was a stout Irishman. 109 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem Immediately on the death of Mr. Scolley he stripped himself of his shirt and exclaimed : "'An' faith, if they kill me they shall tuck no rags into my insides.' "The action continued about an hour when all the topmen on board the enemy's ship were killed by our marines, who were seventy in number, all Americans. Our marines also killed the man at the wheel, caused the ship to come down upon us, and her cat-head stove in our quarter-gallery. "We lashed their jib-boom to our main-shrouds, and our marines from the quarterdeck firing into their port holes kept them from charging. We were ordered from our quarters to board, but before we were able the lashings broke. We were ordered back to quarters to charge our guns when the other ship shooting alongside of us, the yards nearly locked. We gave her a broadside which cut away her mizzen mast and made great havoc among them. We perceived her sinking, at the same time saw that her main topgallant sail was on fire, which ran down the rigging and caught a hogshead of cartridges under the quarterdeck and blew it up. " At this time from one of their forward guns there came into the port where I commanded a charge of grape shot. With three of them I was wounded, one between my neck bone and wind- pipe, one through my jaw lodging in the roof of my mouth, and taking off a piece of my tongue, the third through the upper lip, taking away part of the lip and all of my upper teeth. I was immediately taken to the cockpit, to the surgeon. My gun was fired only once afterward; I had fired nineteen times. I lay unattended to, being considered mortally wounded and was past by that the wounds of those more likely to live might be dressed. I was perfectly sensible and heard the surgeon's remark : "'Let Little lay. Attend to the others first. He will die.' 110 Captain Luther Little (The scars and disfigurement left by wounds received in the action with the Admiral Duff have been faithfully reproduced by the painter/ Captain Luther Little's Oum Story "Perceiving me motion to him he came to me and began to wash off the blood, and dress my wound. After dressing the hp and jaw he was turning from me. I put my hand to my neck, and he returned and examined my neck, pronouncing it the deepest wound of the three. I bled profusely, the surgeon said two gallons. "By this time the enemy's ship was sunk and nothing was to be seen of her. She went down on fire with colours flying. Our boats were injured by the shots and our carpenters were repairing them in order to pull out and pick up the men of the English that were afloat. They succeeded in getting fifty-five, one half wounded and scalded. " The first lieutenant told me that such was their pride when on the brink of a watery grave, that they fought like demons, preferring death with the rest of their comrades rather than captivity, and that it was with much difliculty that many of them were forced into the boats. Our surgeon amputated limbs from five of the prisoners, and attended them as if they had been of our own crew. One of the fifty-five was then sick with the West Indies fever and had floated out of his ham- mock between decks. The weather was excessively warm and in less than ten days sixty of our men had taken the epidemic. "The Admiral Dujf had two American captains, with their crews, on board as prisoners. These (the captains) were among the fifty-five saved by our boats. One of them told Captain Williams that he was with Captain Strange when our vessel hove in sight, that he asked him what he thought of her, and told him he thought her one of the Continental frigates. Cap- tain Strange thought not, but he wished she might be; at any rate were she only a Salem privateer she would be a clever little prize to take home with him. During the battle while Captain Williams was walking the quarterdeck a shot from the enemy 111 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem took his speaking trumpet from his hand, but he picked it up and with great calmness continued his orders.* "We sailed for the coast of Nova Scotia near to Halifax. After cruising there about a week we discovered a large ship steering for us, and soon discovered her to be an English frigate. We hove about and ran from her, our men being sick, we did not dare to engage her. This was at four o'clock in the after- noon. The frigate gained on us fast. When she came up near us we fired four stern chasers, and kept firing. When she got near our stern she luffed and gave us a broadside which did no other damage save lodging one shot in the mainmast and cutting away some rigging. We made a running fight until dark, the enemy choosing not to come alongside. In the evening she left us and hauled her wind to the southward and we for the north." The captain of the Protector needed wood and water and so set sail for the Maine coast where he landed his invalids, con- verting a farmer's bam into a temporary hospital with the *In the log book of the Protector Captain Williams described the engage- ment as follows: "June 9th, 1780. At 7 a.m. saw a ship to the Westward, we stood for her under English colours, the ship standing athaught us, under Eng- lish colours, appeared to be a large ship. At 1 1 came alongside of her, hailed her, she answered from Jamaica. I shifted my colours and gave her a broad- side; she soon returned us another. The action was very heavy for near three Glasses, when she took fire and blew up. Got out the Boats to save the men, took 55 of them, the greatest part of them wounded with our shot and burnt when the ship blew up. She was called the Admiral Duff of 32 guns, Com- man'd by Richard Strang from St. Kitts and Eustatia, ladened with Sugar and Tobacco, bound to London. We lost in the action one man, Mr. Benja. Scollay and 5 wounded. Rec'd several shot in our Hull and several of our shrouds and stays shot away." Ebenezer Fox who was a seaman aboard the Protector related: "We ascer- tained that the loss of the enemy was prodigious, compared with ours. This disparity, however, will not appear so remarkable when it is considered that, although their ship was larger than ours, it was not so well supplied with men; having no marines to use the musket, they fought with their guns alone, and as their ship lay much higher ovit of the water than ours, the greater part of their shot went over us, cutting our rigging and sails without injuring our men. We had about seventy marines who did great execution with their muskets, pick- ing off the officers and men with a sure and deliberate aim." 112 Captaiii Luther Little's Oivn Story surgeon's mate in charge. While the cruiser lay in harbor Luther Little's sense of humor would not permit this incident to go unforgotten: "iVmong our crew ^vas a fellow half Indian and half negro who coveted a fatted calf belonging to a farmer on the shore. His evil genius persuaded him to pilfer the same, but he could find only one man willing to assist him. Cramps, which was the negro's name, took a boat one evening and went on shore to commit the depredation. He secured the victim and returned to the ship without discovery. He arrived under the ship's bows and called for his partner in crime to lower the rope to hoist the booty on board, but his fellow conspirator had dodged below and it so happened that the first lieutenant was on deck. Cramps, thinking it was his co-worker in iniquity, hailed him in a low voice, asking him to do as he had agreed and that damned quick. " The lieutenant, thinking that something out of the way was going on, obeyed the summons. Cramps fixed the noose around the calf's neck, and cried: '"Pull away, blast your eyes. My back is almost broke carrying the crittur so far on the land. Give us your strength on the water.' "The lieutenant obeyed, and Cramps, boosting in the rear, the victim was soon brought on deck. Cramps jumped on board and found both himself and the calf in possession of the lieutenant. Next morning the thief was ordered to shoulder the calf and march to the farmer and ask forgiveness, and take the reward of his sins which was fifty lashes." So seriously had Midshipman I>ittle been raked with the three grape shot that he was sent home to recover his strength, and he did not rejoin the Protector until her second cruise five months later. After taking several prizes between the New England coast and the West Indies, she sailed for Charleston. 113 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem One afternoon a sail was sighted to the leeward. "We wore around," says the narrative, "and made sail in chase, found we gained fast upon her and at sunset we could see her hull. When night shut in we lost sight of her. There came over us a heavy cloud with squalls of thunder and lightning and by the flashes we discovered the ship which had altered her course. We hauled our wind in chase and were soon alongside. The next flash of lightning convinced us she was of English colours. We hailed her. She answered 'from Charleston bound to Jamaica,' and inquired where we were from. The first lieutenant shouted back: "'The Alliance, United States frigate.' " Our men were all at quarters and lanterns burning at every port. Our captain told him to haul down his colours, and heave to. There was no answer. We fired three twxlve pounders. He called out and said he had struck. Captain Williams asked why he did not shorten sail and heave to. He replied that his men had gone below and would not come up. Our barge was lowered, a prize crew and master put on board and we took possession of the ship. She proved to be of eight hundred tons burden, with three decks fore and aft carrying twenty-four nine-pounders and manned v^^ith eighty men. We ordered her for Boston where she arrived safe." This handsome capture was achieved by an audacious "bluff," but this cruise of the Protector was fated to have a less fortunate ending. A few days later another prize was taken and, lucky for Luther Little, he was put aboard as prizemaster. While he was waiting in company with the Protector for his orders to proceed, the cruiser sighted another sail and made off in chase. Prizemaster Little tried to follow her until night shut down, and then as she showed no lights he gave up the pursuit and shaped his course for Nantucket. At daylight next morning, the mate who was standing his watch on deck, 114 Captain Luther Little's Own Story went below to inform Skipper Little that two large ships w^ere to the leeward. The latter climbed aloft with his glass and made them out to be British frigates in chase of the Protector. They took no notice of the prize a mile to windward of them but pelted hard after the Yankee war ship and when last seen she was in the gravest danger of capture. Luther Little cracked on sail for Boston with his prize and upon arriving called upon Governor John Hancock and told him in what a perilous situation he had left the Protector. Ten days later the news came that the cruiser had been taken by the Roebuck and Mayday frigates and carried into New York. Luther Little, having escaped with the skin of his teeth, forsook the service of the United States and like many another stout seaman decided to try his fortune privateering. Captain William Orme, a Salem merchant, offered him the berth of lieutenant aboard the letter of marque brig Jupiter. She was a formidable vessel, carrying twenty guns and a hundred and fifty men. From Salem, that wasp's nest of Revolutionary privateersmen, the Jupiter sailed for the West Indies. Captain Orme went in his ship, but while he was a successful shipping merchant, he was not quite a dashing enough comrade for so seasoned a sea-dog as this young Luther Little. To the wind- ward of Turk's Island they sighted a large schooner which showed no colors. " Our boatswain and gunner had been prisoners a short time before in Jamaica," says Lieutenant Little, "and they told Captain Orme that she was the Lyo7i schooner, bearing eighteen guns. Our boatswain piped all hands to quarters and we pre- pared for action. Captain Orme, not being acquainted with a warlike ship, told me I must take the command, advising me to run from her. I told him in thus doing we should surely be taken. I ordered the men in the tops to take in the studding- sails. We then ran down close to her, luffed, and gave her a 115 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem broadside, which shot away both of her topmasts. She then bore away and made sail and ran from us, we in chase. We continued thus for three hours, then came alongside. I hailed and told them to shorten sail or I'd sink them on the spot. Our barge was lowered and I boarded her; all this time she had no colours set. I hailed our ship and told Captain Orme I thought her a clear prize, and bade the men prepare to board her. But the captain hailed for the boat to return. I obeyed and told him she had a good many men and several guns. The captain said he would have nothing to do with her, as he feared they might rise upon us. Much to my reluctance we left her." After having thirty men of the crew violently ill at one time in the fever-stricken harbor of Port au Prince, the letter of marque Jupiter was freighted with sugar and coilee and set out for Salem. Dodging two English frigates cruising for prizes in the Crooked Island passage, she passed a small island upon which some kind of signal appeared to be hoisted. "I was in my hammock quite unwell," relates Lieutenant Little of the Jupiter. "The captain sent for me on deck and asked me if I thought a vessel had been cast away on the island. After spying attentively with my glasses, I told him it was no doubt a wreck, and that I could discover men on the island, that probably they were in distress. I advised him to send a boat and take them off. He said the boat should not go unless I went in her. I told him I was too sick, to send Mr. Leach, our mate. He would not listen to me. I went. We landed at the leeward of the island, and walked toward the wreck, when ten men came towards us. They were the captain and crew of the unfortunate vessel. They were much moved at seeing us, said they were driven ashore on the island and had been there ten days without a drop of water. By this time Captain Orme had hove a signal for our return, there being a frigate in chase. Going to the ship the wrecked captain, who 116 Captain Luther Little's Own Story was an old man named Peter Trott, asked me where our vessel was from. I told him we were bound to Salem, and he was quite relieved, fearing we were an English man-of-war. We came alongside and the boat was hoisted up and every sail set, the frigate in chase. She gained upon us and at dark was about a league astern. The clouds were thick and I told the captain we were nearly in their power, our only chance being to square away and run to the leeward across the Passage, it being so thick that they could not discover us with their night glasses. We lay to until we thought the frigate had passed, made sail toward morning, and fetched through the Passage." After this voyage Luther Little became captain of a large brig which had a roundhouse and was steered by a wheel which was uncommon for merchantmen in those days. He had one terrific winter passage home from the West Indies, fetched up off the Massachusetts coast with every man of his crew but one helplessly frozen, and his vessel half full of water. With his one lone seaman he was blown off to sea, and at length ran his water-logged craft ashore on the Maine coast. Nothing daunted, he worked her down to Boston, after being frozen up and adrift in ice, and sending ashore for men to help him pump out his hold. "Here at this era of my life, the wheel of fortune turned," he makes comment. "The last seventeen years had been spent mostly on the wide waters. I had passed through scenes at which the heart shrinks as memory recalls them; l5ut now the scene changed. Ill luck was ended." Thereafter Captain Luther Little continued in the West India trade until he had made twenty-four successful voyages, "always bringing back every man, even to cook and boy." After this he shifted to the commerce with Russia, making six yearly voyages to St. Petersburg at a time when the American flag was almost unknown in that port. 117 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem "During one of these voyages," he recounts, "when off Nor- way in a cold snow storm lying to, a man on the main yard handling the mainsail fell overboard, went under the vessel, and came up on the lee side. I was then on tlie quarterdeck, caught a hen coop, and threw it into the ocean. He succeeded in getting hold of it. I then ordered topsails hove aback, and to cut away the lashings of the yawl. The man not being in sight I ordered the boat to pull to windward. They succeeded in taking him and brought him on board. He was alive though unable to speak or stand. I had him taken into the cabin, and by rubbing and giving him something hot, he was soon restored to duty. I asked him what he thought his fate would be when overboard. He said that he tried the hen coop lying to and found that would not answer. Then he thought he would try it scudding, and ' sir,' he answered, ' if you had not sent your boat just as you did, I should have borne away for the coast of Norway.'" When his sea life ended at the age of forty-one. Captain Luther Little could say with a very worthy pride : "In all my West India and Russian voyaging I never lost a man, never carried away a spar, nor lost a boat or anchor." In 1799, before the opening of the nineteenth century, this sturdy Yankee seaman, Luther Little, was ready to retire to his ancestral farm in Marshfield Avhere his great-grandfather had hewn a home in the wilderness. In the prime of his vigor and capacity, having lived a do/en lives afloat, he was content to spend forty-odd years more as a New England farmer. And in his eighty-fifth year this old-fashioned American sailor and patriot still sunny and resolute, was able to sit down and describe the hazards through which he had passed just as they are here told. 118 CHAPTER VII JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RUSSELL (1776-1782) A N attempt to portray the seafaring life of our forefathers /-% would be signally incomplete without some account of the misfortunes endured when the American priva- teersman or man-of-war 's-man was the loser in an encounter on blue water. During the Revolution, when privateers were swarming from every port from Maine to the Carolinas, scores of them were captured by superior force and their crews carried off to be laid by the heels, often for two and three years, in British prisons of war. Brilliant as was the record of the private armed ships of Salem, her seamen, in large numbers, became acquainted with the grim walls of Old Mill Prison at Plymouth and Forton Prison near Portsmouth. They were given shorter rations than the French, Spanish and Dutch prisoners of war with whom they were confined, and they were treated as rebels and traitors and committed as such. Manuscript narratives of their bitter experiences as pre- served in Salem show that these luckless seamen managed to maintain hope, courage and loyalty to a most inspiring degree, although theirs was the hardest part to play that can be imagined. Many of them shipped again in privateer or Continental cruiser as soon as they were released and served their country until the end of the war. As recalling this prison life in a personal and intimate way, the subjoined journal of William Russell is quoted at consider- 119 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem able length although he was not a native of Salem. He sailed and was captured in a ship commanded by Captain John Manley, of Marblehead; however, he met many masters and seamen of Salem vessels during his years of confinement in Old Mill Prison, and his journal came at length into the hands of his grandson, James Kimball of Salem. And in more detail than it has anywhere else been related, does he describe what Salem sailors endured in British prisons. Worthy of prefacing his story are the following letters written by Caleb Foote, a privateersman of Salem who was captured in the sloop Gates in 1778 and confined for two years in Forton Prison. These letters were addressed to his wife. " Forton Prison, near Portsmouth, in Great Britain, "August 21, 1780. "I take this opportunity to write you a few lines to let you know that I am in good health at present, and I trust that by the blessing of God these lines will find you and all whom it may concern enjoying the same blessing. I have nothing very remarkable to write about at present ; but I am sorry to inform you that I have no prospect of getting my liberty until the wars are over, if we do then, for everything appears very dark and gloomy on our side at present. There are one hundred and ninety of my dear countrymen in this prison and about ninety or a hundred in Mill Prison at Plymouth. And here we must lie inclosed within these bars of iron and guarded by bloody tyrants; forsaken by our country and despised and insulted by the inhabitants of this place. But what can I say or what can I do to get my liberty? It is impossible without the help of some friends. It is almost impossible for a man to make his escape from this without the help of money to take him off the Island; and if he is taken up again sometimes they keep him on board their ships of war, and if we are brought back to the 120 Journal of William Russell prison again we must lie forty days in the Black Hole and upon half allowance, which is only two pounds of beef and one pint of peas for a week to live upon; and likewise put upon the back of the list and will not be exchanged until the last if there should ever be any exchanged. " This is the eighth letter that I have wrote to you and never have I had the comfort to hear of your welfare which is a little surprising when there are so many letters come to this prison from Salem and Marblehead. There have ships come from Salem and the neighboring ports to France and Holland, which brought letters to the prison. This makes me think you have certainly forgot me, or perhaps you may blame me for being so long absent. But I do assure you that it is not my will to be so long absent from you. It is out of my power to escape what hard fortune has allotted to me. " I conclude at present by Subscribing myself "Your most obliged and most affectionate Husband, "Caleb Foot." "P. S. I would inform you that Captain Haraden* was so kind as to send a gentleman whom he captured of late to redeem me, and I am under great obligations for his kindness. Mr. Scott came to the prison on the twenty-fifth of July but he gave me no assistance nor have I heard from him since. Had he but helped me to the value of five guineas it would have done more toward my liberty than to send five hundred men, for the English will not let any of us go upon that condition, for their hearts are very bloody towards what few of us they have got under their command." "February 24th, 1780. "Most Affectionate Friend: " I take this opportunity to write you a few lines to acquaint you of my welfare which is very poor at present for here we lie * Captain Jonathan Haraden of Salem. See Chapter V. 121 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem in prison in a languishing condition, and upon short allowance, surrounded by tyrants and with no expectation of being re- deemed at present, for we seem to be cast out and forsaken by our countrymen, and no one to grant us any relief in our distress; and many of our noble countrymen are sick and languishing for the want of things to support Nature in their low estate of health, and many of them have gone to the shades of darkness. "We seem to have very poor accounts of the noble Doctor Franklin, who has neglected the great and important business of our redemption; the neglect of which, we are told, is his fault altogether. By what we learn we might have been ex- changed long ago had he sent the Agent's name with the pass- ports. Many of my countrymen that had money have made their escape, and I should have done the same if I had money or friends." One hundred and thirty years ago William Russell was earning a humdrum livelihood as an usher in a " public school " of Boston taught by one Master Griffith. Whatever else he may have drilled into the laggard minds of his scholars, it is certain that the young usher did not try, by ferrule or precept, to inspire loyalty for their gracious sovereign, King George and his flag. It is recorded that " he was of an ardent temperament and entered with great zeal into the political movement of the Colonies," and was early enrolled among the "Sons of Liberty," which organization preached rebellion and resistance to England long before the first clash of arms. At the age of twenty-three this undignified school teacher was one of the band of lawless patriots who, painted and garbed as red Indians, dumped a certain famous cargo of tea into Boston Harbor. When a British fleet and army took possession of seething Boston, Master Griffith had to look for another usher, for William Russell had "made himself obnoxious to the 'authori- 122 Journal of William Russell ties,'" and found it advisable to betake himself with his family to places not so populous with red coats. His active service in the cause of the Revolution did not begin until June of 1777, when the Massachusetts State's Train of Artillery for the defense of Boston was reorganized, and the first entry in the regimental orderly book was in the hand- writing of Sergeant Major William Russell; a roll of the officers which included the name of " Paul Revere, Lieutenant Colonel." Sergeant Major Russell was later appointed adjutant of this regiment and served in the Rhode Island campaign until the end of the year 1778. Thereafter that "ardent temperament" in his country's cause led him to seek the sea, and the artillery officer entered the naval service as a captain's clerk on board the Continental ship Jason under the famous Captain John Manley of Marblehead. They were sure of hard fighting who sailed with John Manley. While in command of the frigate Hancock he had taken the British twenty-eight-gun frigate Fox after a severe and bloody action. Later, in the privateer Cumberland, he had suffered the misfortune of being carried into Barbados by the British frigate Pomona, but breakmg out of jail with his men at night he seized a British government vessel, put her crew in irons, and sailed her to the United States. Reaching Boston, Captain Manley was given the fine Conti- nental cruiser Jason, of twenty guns and a hundred and twenty men. i • i i i It was this vessel and its dashing commander which lured young William Russell from his military service. But the Jason was captured during Captain Manley 's first cruise in her by the swift British frigate Surprise after a hammer and tongs engagement in which the American loss was thirty killed and wounded. Carried as prisoners to England, the officers and some of the men of the Jason were thrown into Old Mill Prison at Plymouth where William Russell kept the journal which is 123 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem by far the most complete and entertaining account of the ex- perience of the Revolutionary privateersmen and naval seamen who suffered capture that has been preserved. After two and a half years' confinement in a British prison, William Russell, having left a wife and children at home, was exchanged and sent to Boston in a cartel, or vessel under a flag of truce. He enjoyed his homecoming no more than a few days when he re-entered the service of his country as a privateersman and was again captured during his first cruise, and sent to the notorious prison ship Jersey in New York harbor. He was not paroled until the spring of 1783, when with health shattered by reason of his years of hardship as a prisoner of war he returned to Cambridge and endeavored to resume his old occupation of teaching. He mustered a few scholars at his home in the "Light House Tavern," but con- sumption had gripped him and he died in the following year, on March 7, 1784, at the age of thirty-five. He had given the best years of his life to his country and he died for its cause with as much indomitable heroism and self-sacrificing devotion as though musket ball or boarding pike had slain him. The Journal of William Russell's long captivity in Mill Prison begins as follows:* " Dec. 19, 1779. This morning the Boatswain told us to get ready to go on shore to be examined. Went to the Fountain Inn Dock. Examined by two Justices and committed to Mill Prison in Plymouth for Piracy, Treason and Rebellion against His Majesty on the High Sea.t This evening came to the * From manuscripts in the possession of the Essex Institute, Salem. t The commitment proceedings in the case of William Russell were conducted by two justices, and their findings read in part as follows: "For as much as ajipears unto James Young and Ralph IVIitchell, two of the Justices of our Lord the King, assigned to keej) the Peace within the said county (of Devon) on the examination of William Russell, Mariner late of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay in North America, a Prisoner brought before us, charged with being found in Arms and Rebellion on the High Seas on board the 124 ^- s^- M -:; ^ ^^ Journal of William Russell Prison, finding 168 Americans among whom was Captain Manley and some more of my acquaintances. Our diet is short, only I pound of beef, 1 lb. of bread, 1 qt. of beer per day per man." Much of this vivacious journal is occupied with the stories of attempted escapes from the prison. The punishment was severe, but nothing could daunt the high spirits of these Yankee seamen who were continually burrowing through the walls, gnawing their way to liberty like so many beavers, and now and then scoring a success. This appears to have been their chief diversion, a warfare of wits waged against their guards, with considerable good humor on both sides. Less than two weeks after his commitment William Russell records, January 1, 1780: "Made a breach in the wall of the Prison, with the design of escaping, but it was discovered by the Sentinel on the other side. The masons were sent to mend it but it being dinner time they left for dinner and two Sentinels were placed to prevent our escape. Eight of our men put on frocks and took mortar and daubed their clothing, going through the hole as workmen. One of them came back into the yard undis- covered, but the rest were taken or gave themselves up. "Jan. 7th. Began another hole at the south end of the prison. The dirt was put in our bread sacks which was the occasion of our being found out. The masons were sent for and the hole stopped again. Richard Goss, Jacob Yickary, Samuel Goss and John Stacey were put upon one lialf diet and confined to the Black Hole for forty days. Jason ship American Privateer, sailed out of Boston in North America, and commissioned by the North American Congress, which was taken by the Sur- prise, Enghsh Frigate; "That the said William Russell was taken at Sea in the High Treason Act committed on the High Seas, out of the Realm on the 29th day of September last, being then and there found in Arms le\'j'ing War, in Rebellion and aiding the King's Enemies, and was landed in Dartmouth in the County of Devon, and the said William Russell now brought before in the Parish of Stock Dem- ereall aforesaid, charged with and to be committed for the said offense to the Old Mill Prison in the Borough of Pl;yiuouth." 125 The SJiips and Sailoi^s of Old Salem " Jan. 28th. Began upon the same again and tho' the two Sentinels were kept with us all night, and two lamps burning, we went on with it with great success. The weather being very rainy and frost in the ground which thawed just as wc were going through, the Sentinel marching on his post broke into the hole that ran across the road. Immediately the guard was alarmed and came into the prison, some with guns, some with cutlasses. However we got to our hammocks and laughed at them. One of the prisoners threw a bag of stones down stairs and hked to have killed a drummer. The hole was mended next day and all hopes of our escape is at an end. Very bad weather and very dark times." The attention of these energetic prisoners was diverted from more attempts to break through the walls by the tidings of the arrival of a cartel or vessel sent to take home exchanged Ameri- cans. The Hst of "Pardons," as the journal calls them, did not include Captain Manley and the men of the Jason, and on March 5tli it is related : " One hundred embarked to-day in the cartel for France, we remained in good spirits. I wrote a petition to the Honourable Commissioners for taking care of Sick and Hurt Seamen at London, in Captain Manley 's name, to obtain His Majesty's pardon for nineteen Americans that came after the 168 that were pardoned, that we might be ready to go in the next draft. The cartel sailed and we are awaiting her return with great expectation of being released from this disagreeable confine- ment." The story of their bitter disappointment is told in a letter written by William Russell to his wife in Boston at this time. This true-hearted patriot was much concerned about the for- tunes of his fighting countrymen, news of whom was filtering into Mill Prison in the form of belated and distorted rumors. He wrote: 126 Journal of William Russell "My dear: " I transmit these few lines to you with my best love, hoping by the blessing of God they will find you and my children, with our Mother, Brother and Sisters, and all relations in as good state of health as they leave me, but more composed in mind. I desire to bless Almighty God for the measure of health I have enjoyed since this year came in, as I have not had but one twenty-four hours' illness, tho' confined in this disagreeable prison, forgotten as it seems by my Countrymen. " My dear, in my last letter sent by Mr, Daniel Lane, I men- tioned my expectation of being at home this summer (but how soon are the hopes of vain man disappointed), and indeed everything promised fair for it till the return of the Cartel from France which was the 20th of last month. We expected then to be exchanged, but to our sorrow found that she brought no prisoners back. She lay some weeks in Stone Pool waiting for orders, till at last orders came from the Board at London that she was suspended until such time as they knew why the pris- oners were not sent. Then all hope of our being exchanged was and still is at an end, except kind Providence interposes. " It is very evident that the People here are in no wise blame- able, for they were ready and willing to exchange us, had there been anybody sent from France. We have been informed by one of our friends that saw a letter from Doctor Franklin which mentioned that the reason of our not being exchanged was owing to the neglect of Monsieur Le Sardine, Minister at France. If so I shall never love a Frenchman. However, God only knows! "I understand Mr. John Adams has superseded Doctor Franklin at France, to whom I am going to write if he can't get us exchanged this Fall. If he don't I think many in the yard will enter into the King's service. And I should myself, was it not that (by so doing) / must sell my Country, and that 127 Tlie SJdps and Sailors of Old Salem which is much more dearer to me, yourself and my children, but I rely wholly on God, knowing He will deliver me in His own good time. " I am extremely sorry to hear that Charleston is taken. Had our people beat them there the War would have been over, for that was all their dependence. They would have readily granted us our Independence for they are sick of the War. It is not too late yet if the people in America would turn out in good spirit, as they might soon drive them off the Earth." The foregoing letter was written in April, 1780, and Charles- ton was not captured by General Clinton's army until May 12th. It was a false report, therefore, which brought grief to the heart of William Russell and his comrades, and must have been born of the fact that Clinton was preparing to make an overland march against Charleston from his base at Savannah. The history of two and a half years of the Revolution as it was conveyed to the Americans in Mill Prison in piecemeal and hearsay rumors was a singularly grotesque bundle of fiction and facts. No sooner was the hope of exchange shattered than the industrious Americans were again absorbed in the game of playing hide-and-seek with the prison guard. On April 11th, William Russell goes on to say in his matter-of-fact fashion : "This evening Captain Manley and six others got over the sink dill wall and went across the yard into the long prison sink and got over tlie wall, except Mr. Patten who seeing somebody in the garden he was to cross was afraid to go down the wall by the rope. He came back and burst into the prison by the window, frightening the Sentinel who was placed to prevent escapes. He in turn alarmed the guard, but by this time the rest had got into Plymouth, and being late at night they took shelter in Guildhall. The guard finding a rope over the wall knew that somebody had made their escape. They surrounded 128 Journal of William Russell Plymouth, made a search and found Captain Manley, Mr. Drummond, Knight, Neagle and Pike, and put them into the Black Hole that night." A more cheering item of news found its way into the journal under date of June 27th: "Somerset Militia mounted guard. Have just heard from a friend that Captain Paul Jones had taken two Frigates, one Brig and a Cutter." There is something fine and inspiriting in the following paragraph which speaks for itself: "July 4, 1780. To-day being the Anniversary of American Independence, the American prisoners wore the thirteen Stars and Stripes drawn on pieces of paper on their hats with the motto, Tndejyendence, Liberty or Death. Just before one o'clock we drew up in line in the yard and gave Thirteen Cheers for the Thirteen United States of America and were answered by the French prisoners. The whole was conducted in a decent manner and the day spent in mirth." It is the more to be regretted that Mr. Patten and one John Adams should have chosen this day to turn traitor and enlist on board the British sixty-four gun ship Dunkirk " after abusing Captain Manley in a shameful manner." To atone for their desertion of their flag, however, there is the shining instance of one Pike as told on July 26th: "When we were turning in at sunset some high words arose between the soldiers and our people. An officer and two men came to the window and asked if we were English, and began to use uncivil language. Upon which Pike said he was an Englishman and was taken by the Americans in the first of the war, and would fight for them as long as they had a vessel afloat. They called him a rascal and threatened to put him in the Black Hole. We laughed at them and told them there were more rascals outside than in. They went out of the yard and 129 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem soon returned with six or seven more soldiers to put Pike into the Black Hole, but not knowing him they seized on several and let them go. They searched the prison, and we told them that if they confined one they should confine all. Whereupon they went out again and we clapped our hands at them and gave them three Cheers." Late in July the master, mate and crew of the American Letter of Marque Aurora were brought into the prison, increas- ing the number of American prisoners to an even hundred. That England was fighting the world at large during this period appears in the muster roll of Mill Prison which included also 287 French and 400 Spanish seamen. The capture of Henry Laurens, formerly President of the Congress of the United States and recently appointed Minister to Holland, was a matter of great interest to the Yankee seamen in Mill Prison, and the diarist has this to say about it in his journal for September, 1780: " 10th. A frigate arrived last Friday at Dartmouth from New Foundland and brought three Americans as prisoners. One was Henry Laurens, Esq., of South Carolina who was taken in a tobacco-laden vessel which sailed with a fleet of twelve from Virginia. "Mr. Laurens, Esq., late President of the Congress of the United States but now Ambassador to Holland, and his clerk, were committed to the Tower after a spirited speech." "Sept. 30, 1780. To-day I am twelve Months a Prisoner and fourteen Months since I left Home." Thus ends the chronicle of the first year of William Russell's wearing exile in Old Mill Prison, the story of a brave and patient man who showed far more concern for the cause of his fellow patriots at home than for his own hapless plight and separation from his loved ones. Crew after crew of American privateering vessels had been brought into the prison, and 130 Jounial of William Russell most of this unfortunate company seem to have been of a dauntless and cheerful temper. They had tried one hazard of escape after another, only to be flung into the " Black Hole " with the greatest regularity. And whereas in other British jails and in their prison ships there were scenes of barbarous oppression and suffering, these sea-dogs behind the gray walls at Plymouth appear to have been on terms of considerable friendliness with their guards, except for the frequent and painful excursions to the "Black Hole." The Ajnericans, however, took their punishment as a necessary evil following on the heels of their audacious excursions over and through the prison walls. Christmastide of 1780 brought a large addition to the prison company, eighty-six Frenchmen from Quebec and nine Ameri- cans belonging to the privateerships Harlequin and Jach of Salem and the Terrible of Marblehead. All hands found cause for rejoicing that war was declared between Holland and Eng- land, and the journal makes mention on December 25th: " To-day being Christmas and the happy news of the Dutch War, I drew up the Americans in the yard at one o'clock to Huzza in the following manner: Three times for France; three times for Spain; and seven times for the seven states of Holland. The French in the other yard answered us and the whole was performed in a decent manner. "28tli. Captain Samuel Gerrish made his escape over the wall into the French prison. He remained in the French prison all night and went off about eight o'clock this morning. We were informed that Captain Gerrish got the French barber to dress his hair this morning in the prison. A little while after, Mr. Cowdry with some French officers came into the yard, and when they retired Captain Gerrish placed himself among them, and went out bowing to the Agent who did not know him. He has not been heard of since. The Agent ordered all the 131 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem prisoners shut up at noon. After dinner we were all called over, but no Captain Gerrish. The Agent is pretty good-natured. Mr. Saurey brought us our money, and says he has enough for us all winter. "Dec. 31st. We have now 122 Dutch prisoners. The year closes at twelve o'clock midnight; and we still in prison. "1781. Jany. 1st. A Sentinel infonned Captain Manley to-day that a Minister in Cornwall had been in a trance and when he came out said that England would be reduced and lose two Capital places or Cities, and that in the run of a year there would be Peace. "3d. To-day eighteen or twenty of the Americans innocu- lated themselves for the Small Pox. Mr. Saurey came to-day and brought our money which is augmented to a Shilling a week and to be continued during our confinement. Such as are necessitated for clothes Captain Connyngham is to make a list of and Mr. Saurey* will send it to Mr. Diggsf at London in order to obtain them. "Feb. 4th (Sunday). This morning Captain Manley com- municated to me that he had received a great deal of abuse from Captain Daniel Brown and was determined to have satis- faction by giving him a challenge to fight a duel with pistols, * In his "History of Prisons," published in 1792, John Howard, the philan- thropist, mentions in an account of a visit to Forton Prison near Portsmouth duringf the Revolution: "The American prisoners there had an allowance from the States paid by order of Dr. Franklin." The small payments of cash doled out to the American seamen in Mill Prison were entrusted to this Miles Saurey, of London, by Benjamin Franklin, at that time in France as INIinister. t Under date of " Passy, 25 June, 1782," Franklin wrote his friend Robert R. Livinnjston: " I have long suffered with these poor brave men who with so much public virtue have endured four or five years' hard imprisonment rather than ser\'e against their country. I have done all I could toward making their situation more comfortable but their numbers were so great that I could do little for each, and that very great villain, Digges, defrauded them of between three and four hundred pounds, which he drew from me on their account." 132 Journal of William Russell and desired me to load them. Accordingly Captain Manley* went into the chamber and took his pistols with ammunition and put them on the table and told Captain Brown that he had been ill-treated and desired him to fight like a Gentleman or ask his pardon. Brown said he would not ask his pardon and refused to accept the challenge, upon which Captain Manley told him he was no Gentleman but a great Coward, and bid him have a caution how he made use of his name again. "28th. Read the speech of Sir P. Clark in the House of Commons, reported in the Sherbounie Gazette, who said that the American refugees, instead of a Prison ought to have a Halter. "An Agent from Congress with proposals is undoubtedly in London at this time and it is whispered that his terms will be agreed to by the English Cabinet. "March 4th. Wrote a letter to my wife and mother." The letter referred to has been preserved and reads in part : "Mill Prison, March 4, 1781. "Notwithstanding my long confinement, I bless God that I have not experienced the want of any of the necessaries of life in this prison, for with my industry f and what I am allowed, I live comfortably for a prisoner. " The usage we receive, if I am any judge, is very good, for we are allowed the liberty of the yard all day and an open market at the gate to buy or sell, from nine o'clock in the morn- * The diarist, oddly enough, fails to explain how Captain Manley secured "his pistols with ammunition" while in prison. t William Russell had organized a school among the prisoners soon after his arrival at Plymouth. This school he taught during the two years of his captivity and the small store of pence received as "tuition fees" enabled him to buy many extras in the way of food and clothing. There were many youngsters in the prison who had been taken out of privateers as cabin-boys, powder-boys, etc., and lads of twelve and thirteen were then shipping as full-fledged seamen to "fight the British." The prison schoolmaster helped keep these small fire- brands out of mischief. 133 The Ships and Sailois of Old Salem ing to two in the afternoon, besides we have comfortable lodg- ings. I have never been in the Black Hole once, for I have made it my study to behave as a prisoner ought and I am treated accordingly. Last year before this time we had the pleasing prospect of an Exchange and one hundred went, but to my inexpressible grief I see but little hope of being exchanged now till the war is at an end. Where to lay the blame I'm at a loss, tho' I think our People might do more than they do. However, I keep up good spirits and still live in hopes as we are informed that something is doing for us tho' very slowly." In a letter written a week later and addressed also to his wife in Boston, William Russell said: "You can't imagine the anxiety I have to hear from home, for my spirits are depressed and I grow melancholy to think in what situation you must be, with three young children to maintain. But I hope you will be carried through all your trouble and remember that there is a God that never suffers such as put their trust in Him to want." "May 4, 1781. Samuel Owens informed the Agent of the people's innoculating themselves for the Small Pox, upon which the Agent and Doctor of the Royal Hospital came into the yard and searched the arms of such as had been innoculated and took the names of the others to report to the Board of Commissioners. "May 5th. Samuel Owens, Informer, was cut down* last night upon which he told the Agent that Mayo and Chase were the persons and that they had threatened his life. The Agent threatened to put Mayo in irons. However, upon Mayo's shaking hands with Owens the matter was settled. "9th. An account from New York says that Connecticut and Massachusetts are in the greatest disorder and almost starved, that their Treasuries are exhausted and their Taxes * Meaning that the lashings of his hammock were cut. 134 Journal of William Russell so high that the People refuse to pay them ; that George Wash- ington has advertised his Estate for Sale. Thus jar for you, ye Lying Gazette! "Yesterday Captain Manley dressed himself with an intent to go out at the Gate behind the Doctor. Just as he got past through the Gate, the Turnkey looked him in the face, which prevented his escape. In the afternoon Joseph Adams was dressed for the same purpose, which would have been effected had not Captain Connyngham prevented. To-day a lugger's crew was brought to Prison, forty in number, mostly Americans. Nothing more remarkable except the digging of a hole being discovered. "May 18th. Lieutenant Joshua Barney made his escape over the gate at noon, and has not been missed yet. Mr. James Adams got over the paling into the little yard in order to escape but making too great a noise, was discovered by the guard and was obliged to get back. " 19th. A tailor brought a suit of clothes to the prison for Lieutenant Barney by which means his escape was discovered and we were mustered. The Agent says he saw him at 12 o'clock this day, and has ordered us to be locked in the yard all day, dinner time excepted. The way we concealed his escape was when we were counted into the prison we put a young boy out through the window and he was counted twice. So much for one of our Mill Prison capers!" This Lieutenant Joshua Barney, after whom one of the torpedo craft of the modem American navy is named, made a brilliant sea record, both as an officer of the naval service and as a fighting privateersman. His escape from Mill Prison was perhaps the most picturesque incident of his career. Although the story of his flight came back to William Russell and his comrades only as a scanty report that he had made way to sea, it is known from other sources that after leaving the prison 135 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem Lieutenant Barney found refuge in the home of a venerable clergyman of Plymouth who sympathized with the American cause. There he was so fortunate as to find two friends from New Jersey, Colonel William Richardson, and Doctor Hind- man, who had been captured as passengers in a merchant vessel and were seeking an opportunity to return home. They had bought a fishing smack in which they proposed sailing to France as the first stage of their voyage. Barney disguised himself as a fisherman and safely joined the smack as pilot and seaman. They put to sea past the fleet of British war vessels oft* Plymouth, and stood for the French coast. Alas, a Guernsey privateer overhauled them in the Channel and insisted upon searching the smack. Barney played a desperate game by throwing off his fisherman's great coat and revealing the imiform of a British officer. He declared that he was bound for France on a secret and urgent business of an official nature and demanded that he be suffered to proceed on his course. The skipper of the privateer was suspicious and stubborn, however, and the upshot of it was that the smack was ordered back to Plymouth. Making the best of the perilous situation, Barney insisted that he be taken aboard the flagship of Admiral Digby, where "his captor would find cause to repent of his rash enterprise." Once in Plymouth harbor, however, the American officer escaped to shore and after wandering far and wide amid hair- breadth escapes from recapture found a haven in the heavily wooded grounds of Lord Edgecomb's estate. From this hiding place he managed to return to the home of the clergyman whence he had set out. Three days later, in another kind of disguise he took a post chaise to Exeter, and from there fled by stage to Bristol, and so to London, France and Holland. In Holland Lieutenant Barney secured passage in the private armed ship South Carolina, bound to Bilboa. In his diary, 136 Journal of William Russell John Trumbull, the famous American painter, pays a fine trib- ute to the seamanship of Joshua Barney. The South Carolina was caught in a terrific storm which strewed the English Chan- nel with shattered shipping. The vessel was driving onto the coast of Heligoland, and almost helpless. "The ship became unmanageable," writes Trumbull, "the officers lost their self- possession, and the crew all confidence in them, while for a few moments all was confusion and dismay. Happily for us Commodore Barney was among the passengers— he had just escaped from Mill Prison. Hearing the increased tumult aloft, and feeling the ungoverned motion of the ship, he flew upon deck, saw the danger, assumed command, the men obeyed, and he soon had her again under control." Shortly after reaching America, Lieutenant Barney was offered command of the liyder Ally, a ship commissioned by the Pennsylvania Legislature, mounting sixteen six-pounders and carrying one hundred and twenty men. In this converted merchantman, hastily manned and equipped, Barney won one of the most brilliant naval victories of the Revolution against the General Monk off the Capes of the Delaware. 137 CHAPTER VIII THE JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RUSSELL (continued) (1779-1783) WHILE the ship's clerk and diarist, William Russell, made almost no complaint during the first year and a half of his captivity, and while there seems to have been an astonishing amount of good humor in the relations between the prisoners and their jailors, certain griev- ances suffered with a brave and dogged hardihood were brought at length to the attention of the English Government. Singularly enough, as it appears from our far distant view-point, the initiative in the effort to make the situation of the American prisoners more endurable was undertaken by an English noble- man, the Duke of Richmond, a leader in the councils of the Whig party, who favored granting absolute independence to the American Colonies. Early in June of 1781 William Russell wrote in his journal: " Received a letter from the Duke of Richmond in an answer to the one we sent. He says we had best petition for Cloathing and more victuals, and more Prison room, and omit mentioning Committee, War, Exchange and our being Committed, as it would cause debate in the House* and take their attention from the other parts of the Petition." The Parliamentary records show that the petitions drawn up in Mill Prison as the result of this advice were made the subject of debate in the latter part of June. The Duke of Richmond * Whether they were rebels or prisoners of war, 138 The Journal of William Russell laid a memorial before the House of Lords, together with the prisoners' petitions, of which action the British Parliamentary Record for 1781 records: " Several motions were grounded on these petitions, but those proposed by the Lords and gentlemen in the Opposition were determined in the negative, and others, to exculpate the Govern- ment in this business, were resolved in the affirmative. It appeared upon inquiry that the American prisoners were allowed half a pound of bread less per day than the French and Spanish prisoners. But the petitions of the Americans produced no alterations in their favor, and the conduct of the Administra- tion was equally impolitic and illiberal." In the House of Commons the pleas of the Americans in Mill Prison were first debated on June 20, 1781, their petitions representing that they were "debarred of the many benefits which are usually and generally shown to all other prisoners and captives, almost naked and barefooted, and in their being allowed and supplied with only two-thirds the quantity of bread usually and daily allowed the prisoners of France, Spain and Holland, etc." The petitions were ordered to be considered on June 29th, on which date a physician from the Sick and Hurt Office of the Old Mill Prison was called to the Bar of the House as a witness. "He informed the House that the prisoners had an allowance per day per man of 1 lb. of bread, f of a lb. of meat, 1 pot of beer, ^ an oz. of butter or cheese, together with about ^ pint of peas or greens. This was not so much as the French, Spanish or Dutch Prisoners, but this allowance was made for the Ameri- cans before the War with France." The British navy ration during this period was as follows: Sunday, 1 lb. of biscuit, 1 gallon of Small Beer, one (1) lb. of pork and half a pint of pease. Monday, one Pound of Biscuit, one Gallon of Small Beer, one 139 The Ships and Sailoi^s of Old Salem Pint of Oatmeal, two Ounces of Butter, and four Ounces of Cheese. Tuesday, one Pound of Biscuit, one Gallon of Small Beer, and two pounds of Beef. Wednesday, One pound of Biscuit, one Gallon of Small Beer, half a Pint of Pease, a pint of Oatmeal, two Ounces of Butter and four Ounces of Cheese. Thursday, same as Sunday. Friday, same as Wednesday. Saturday, same as Tuesday. The difference between the allowances of the American prisoners and the British sailor may be tabulated as follows: Full Weekly Allowance Rations per man Americans English Na\'y Biscuit or Bread 7 pounds 7 pounds Beer If gallons 7 gallons Pork I «l..„„^= i 2 pounds Beef f otpounds ^ ^ ^^^^^^ Pease 3 J pints 1 quart Oatmeal 3 pints 5;;tter ) 31 ^^^^^3 I 6 ounces Cheese [ - (12 ounces Or to compare the total weight of rations, exclusive of beer, the Americans received fifteen pounds and four ounces of food per week per man, and the British sailors sixteen and one-half pounds, two ounces. The prisoners were compelled to follow a confined and sedentary habit of life, while the British tar was hard at work in the out-of-doors. Bearing this fact in mind, it would appear that the seamen in Old Mill Prison fared as well as the sailors and marines behind Britain's walls of oak. This apparent fairness of treatment in the matter of rations, however, needs qualification. It is known that the allowances 140 The Journal of William Russell were often below the scheduled weight and amount. John Howard in his History of Prisons states of his visit to Forton Prison, Portsmouth: "At my visit Nov. 6, 1782, I found there was no separation of the Americans from other prisoners of war, and they had the same allowances of bread, viz., one pound and a half each. . . . The wards were not cleaned. No regulations hung up. I weighed several of the 6 lb. loaves, and they all wanted some ounces of weight." William Russell's journal goes on to relate: ****** "June 18th. I was abused by Benj. Stetson, and am very sorry to say that my Countrymen are void of the feelings of humanity (after serving them at all times as I have done, to suffer me to be ill-treated by so absurd a fellow), or they would have resented my abuse; however, being fully determined during my Confinement, whether longer or shorter, upon any occasion whatsoever, never more to have anything to do with the affairs of the prison, either directly or indirectly; and am sorry to find a set of Men, who call themselves Americans so void of virtue. "This afternoon Mr. Silas Talbot* got into the cookroom, * Silas Talbot went to sea as a cabin boy in his thirteenth year, and won his way to the merchant quarterdeck while in his teens. At twenty-one he had built himself a home in Providence, in 1772. He was commissioned a captain in a Rhode Island regiment in 1775, and after the operations around Boston he was ordered to New York. While on the way he joined the squadron of Captain Ezek Hopkins at New London as a volunteer, helped the snips reach Providence and then proceeded to New York. There he was given command of a fireship, several of which had been equipped to be sent against the British fleet. Captain Talbot launched his inflammable craft against the sixty-four- gun ship of the line Asia, and was so badly burned that he was blind for some time. For his gallantry Congress made him a major. He was wounded in the attack on Fort Mifflin in November, 1777, and went home to recuperate. In the campaign of the next year he wa^ assigned to build and assemble a fleet of boats for transferring General Sullivan's army to Rhode Island as part of a plan to drive the British from that region. A little later this versatile officer fitted out a coasting schooner, the Hawk, with sixty men, and attacked and captured the brig Pigot against heax'y odds, cutting her out from under the guns of a Rhode Island fort. For this exploit Captam Talbot was 141 The Shifs and Sailors of Old Salem and went out at the Gate, and set out for Plymouth, but was discovered, brought back and confined in the Black Hole. " July 4, 1781. This being the fifth anniversary of American Independence the American prisoners in this Prison wore Cockades in their Hats with thirteen Stripes and Stars, and at 12 o'clock at noon drew up in the yard and gave thirteen cheers and hoisted an ensign with thirteen Stripes at large. We were answered by the French and Spanish with display of colours to the great mortification of our enemy. The whole was conducted in a decent manner and the day spent in mirth. "5th. Captain Talbot came into our prison in order to escape through a hole to be opened to-night. Captain Manley wanted the same favor but was denied. We thought the hole was discovered, but it was not. " 6th. This morning our people at about two o'clock opened promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel (for he was still a nominal soldier), and Rhode Island gave him a sword. Late in 1778 he tried to destroy the fifty-gun ship Renown by attacking her with a fireship of fairly infernal design, but both vessels became frozen in for the winter before he could fetch alongside. In the Spring of 1779 Captain Talbot took the little sloop Argo to sea as an army privateer manned by volun- teer soldiers, and captured three British privateers in rapid succession. Next he went after the stout privateer King George, which was manned by Tories, and took her into New London. As an " army privateersman," Captain Talbot had taken five vessels and now showed his men hard sea fighting by laying alongside the formidable English privateer Dragon of three hundred tons and eighty men. He fought her until most of his men on deck were killed or wounded but made her strike. Before there was time to repair damages he met, fought and captured the brig Hannah, of tAvice his size and force. Congress now saw fit to give this successful soldier-seaman a commission as captain in the navy. In the Argo he made prize after prize, and fought her as if she had ])een a frigate. In fact he did not have a craft worth calling a war vessel until the private cruiser General Washington was given him in 1780. She mounted twenty six-pounders and carried 120 men. In his first cruise in her Captain Talbot took a large merchantman from Charleston to London, but soon after this he had the misfortune to be overhauled and captured by the fleet of Admiral Arbuthnot off Sandy Hook. He was first confined in the prison ship Jersey, but toward the end of 1780 was taken to ^lill Prison, Eng- land. In October, 1781, he was released and made his way home by way of France. After the Revolution Captain Silas Talbot was on the regular nsxy list, and commanded the Constitution in 1799. One of the new torpedo craft has been named in his honor. 142 The Journal of William Russell the hole through the wall into a pasture on the southeast side of the prison. It not being large enough at the farther end by reason of a rock, few could get out without stripping. Mr. Thomas Farless of Salem, Samuel Hubbell, Samuel Simons, Zachariah Bassett, W. B. Fogg, and Isaac Chauncey got out. The Relief going to the hole saw one of the men, and the Sen- tinel fired, which alarmed the Guard. They were pursued, and Farless, Bassett, Hubbell and Simons were retaken and con- fined in the Black Hole. Fogg and Chauncey escaped without Coats or jackets and are not heard of yet. " 12th. We heard a flying report that we are to be exchanged for the Snake Packet's crew taken by the American Privateer Pilgrivi. This morning we were locked out in the yard owing to boys begging at holes in the prison. The Agent called Captain Manley into the Office and informed him that there was a probability of some of us being exchanged for those men set at liberty by the Pilgrim and advised him to write to his friends about it. Mr. Turner informed Captain Henfield that fifty-seven of us would be exchanged if no more, and they expected to hear on Tuesday next. He did not doubt that the whole would go soon for he understood there were prisoners enough in France and Spain to exchange all the Americans in England. "20th. Francis Henry de la Motte was tried at the Old Bailey last week for Treason and found guilty. He was sen- tenced to be hanged by the neck, not dead, his bowels to be taken out, and burnt before his face, his head severed from his body, his body cut in four quarters and them with his head to be at the King's disposal. The above La Motte was a Spy and had furnished the French with intelligence. "This morning fourteen men belonging to the ship Essex and Brig Phenix of Boston were committed here and two brought in by the Galatia from Carolina. Received the agree- 143 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem able news by Mr. Stratton of Boston or Cambridge of my Wife and family's health, that Brother Moses (Richardson) was married to Miss Sally Clark, that Elias (Richardson) was out of the Army and that Hard Money and Provisions was plentiful in Boston. " 24th. This morning James Bryant of Philadelphia entered on board of a Man of War. This P.M. twenty Americans were brought to the Justices and committed. Ten of them said they were not taken in arms. These were ordered on board different (British) ships of war, the remaining ten belonging to various ships were committed, viz., more of ship Essex, Brig Eagle and sloop Hunter (taken at Eustacia). "25th. This afternoon eight Americans entered the British service, viz., Noah Power, Benj. Go win, James Hickey, M. McGraw, Jno. Ennis, Jas. Johnstone, George Roshford. This P.M. the whole Prison was brought to an allowance of Water, one quart per man, and that took from a Ditch, very thick and dirty, resembling Water from our Frog Ponds. Be astonished. Heavens, and tremble, oh Earth, when thou comest to hear of People on an allowance of Water in an Inhabited Land. May the All Wise God whose Omnipotence and Omnipresence is Universal quickly extricate us from the cruel and tryannical Power of Britain who wantonly sports with our Calamity and like Pharoah of old will not let us go. However, we hope to have some rain to flow in the Springs. "25th. We have the agreeable news of Lord Cornwallis being defeated and himself and Army being made Prisoners, but don't give much credit to it.* "30th. Thomas Campbell of Virginia, William Leach of Maryland, and John Williams, an Englishman, entered on board a Man of War, Williams had been transported some * Cornwcallis did not surrender his army at Yorktowii until October 19, 1781, or three months later than the date of this rumor. 144 The Journal of William Russell time gone for stealing. Whilst here he stole sixteen dollars from one of his fellow prisoners which occasioned him to quit our Company. The Soldiers found a hole we had begun to dig under the stairs and took away our trowel and digging instru- ments. The Agent was huffy and threatened us very much. "August 1, 1781. This morning all hands were turned out into the yard and the Prison locked. Cowdry has ordered no Beer to come to the Gate and is as full of spite as an Infernal Fiend could be. A letter from Captain Connyngham at France says that no blame is to be laid to Doctor Franklin concerning our Exchange; that the French had tried to persuade the British Minister to exchange us for Englishmen taken by them. But they return for answer that they'll exchange for none but such as are taken under the American flag. He further states that provision is made and Prisons provided for the Americans to confine their prisoners in France, so we hope that something will be done for us. He says also that we had been allowed a Shilling per week per man, Officers one and six, which we have not received. " 2d. Mr. Cowdry gave orders that such as drew Cloathing some time gone to produce the same. We went through an Examination and the newcomers were put down for Cloathes. The Prison was opened all day and Strong Beer allowed to come to the Gate. "5th. Captain Edward Chase, Officer of the Guard (East Devon Militia), ordered his Sentinels to use us with the greatest civility, and gave permission for each man to have a pint of Strong Beer and ordered the Soldiers to fetch us Water, the Waiters not supplying us as they ought to. The Captain will report both them and the Agent to the General. "6th. This morning before the old guard marched off, I returned the thanks of our Ward to the Captain of the Guard for his civilities whilst on Guard, viz: 145 The Ships aiid Sailors of Old Salem "Mill Prison, Monday Morning, 6th August, 1781. " (Ward, Letter B.) "Honor'd Sir: " We return you our warmest thanks for the many favors we have experienced from you whilst on Guard, especially in ordering and seeing that we was supplied with Water, and the Indulgence, in permitting us to refresh ourselves by purchasing a Drink of Strong Beer, which is not allowed us on Sunday, for which kind favors we shall ever retain a grateful acknowl- edgment. "Signed) American Prisoners. " To Capt. of Guard. " 8th. Adoniram Hidden of Rowley died with the Small Pox. There are twenty down with it now. Nothing material to-day, except a few words between Mr. Cowdry and the Sergeant of the Guard. "9th. Mr. Saurey brought our money, and said he had no Orders to give us any more than Sixpence, the money being exhausted, and what we received came from Doctor Franklin. Mr. Saurey went away in a great passion. " The ungrateful in our Ward accused Capt. Manley with knowing in what manner the money was used. Mr. Appledale waited upon him, and Captain Manley satisfied him. After dinner one Peter Aspinwall took it upon himself to handle Captain Manley 's character very slender, which highly incensed me, and occasioned me to take the part of my Captain, which I did, and told them they were no Men, to talk against a gentle- man behind his back; and told them if they had anything against him I would call him out, and let them say it before his face. A number of high words passed, but I soon silenced them, but shall ever hold them in detestation. " 10th. The Officer of the Guard ordered his Sergeants to 146 The Journal of William Russell see we had clean water; the water being very dirty in the tub, the sergeant overset it. Mr. Turner sided in with them, and the waiters were obliged to fetch that which was clean. The Officer and his Guard treated us very kind. " 13th. This morning Mr. Cowdry turned us all out, and locked the Prison. We had a great deal of noise with him. P.M. All hands turned out. The Agent came into the Yard, and called for the whole Guard, except the Officers. We formed a Circle around him and had a deal of talk; one of our People threw a stone at him which lodged in his hat whereupon he ordered the Soldiers to draw their Bayonets, and seize the man by the collar and bring him before him. The Soldiers did not obey through fear — we laughed, and the Agent tum'd, and went out of the Yard. We gave three cheers after him and he went into his Office and talked from his Window, threatening us very hard. He said he'd put us on one half diet, and said we should not be allow 'd to purchase anything after hours, however he let the Woman come to the Gate with milk. In all his actions he seemed as if he would burst with spite, and what angered him the most was we would not listen to his discourse. What set him in this frenzy we can't tell, unless it was his Old Friend and Ally, the Devil, by whom he acts. Noth- ing more remarkable. " 14th. This morning we were turned out of our Prison to have it smoked by the Agent's orders. 188 men are on half diet. P.M. The Turnkeys and Soldiers came to turn us out of the long Prison, and lock the door. Our People refused and told the Corporal they would not go out, that Mr. Cowdry had done as much as he could by putting them on half allow- ance, and shewed the meat which was not four ounces. The Corporal said it was a shame, and he'd acquaint his Officer. He went out and the Soldiers with him. About two hours after the Officers came into the Yard and Lieut. Brown 147 The Shifs and Sailors of Old Salem and the other Gentlemen behaved very pretty, and did not insist upon our turning out. We asked the Uberty for a drink of Strong Beer and it was granted us. The Agent came in at the same time. Opening his window, he told us he was sorry that the innocent were punished with the guilty, but he was determined to keep us on half allowance 'till we gave up the man who threw the stone (in short Mr. Cowdry talked well). At last seeing it would not do to stand out, and as he seemed pliable, we told him we had drawn lots, and had a man ready for him to be given up (which we had not). Mr. Cowdry said if that was the case he would not take him, but would restore us to full diet, and give us the back allowances and restore us to our former liberties, and if we would keep the Prison clean and the Hammocks turned back, we should not only have the Prison open to us, but he would do anything for us that lay in his power. He granted the liberty of purchasing Beer, and said the fellow that abused him might go, like a rascal/ " 15th. Mr. Cowdry seems very good natured. I went into the Office for him to inspect a couple of letters for me to America; he only looked on the Directions and sealed them and gave them to me to deliver to the person myself who is to convey them. " Mr. Cowdry gave me liberty to improve my Hammock in the day time, at School Hours, and desired me to set the example by turning it back after I had done. " 16th. Doctor Ball came to see if the Prison was clean and the Hammocks turned back. He made a great deal of noise about the stairs, and threatened us with one-half allowance, tho' the Prison was very clean considering there is nigh 200 men in it, but they must do something to show their despotic power over a few Americans, whom they hate as they do the Devil. I hope God will soon extricate us out of their hands. "21st. This morning Mr, Danforth, the lawyer, son of the 148 The Journal of William Russell late Judge Danforth, of Cambridge, came here to offer his Services to any belonging to Boston, Charleston, or Cambridge, that were confined unjustly. By what authority, or who sent him, I can't understand. "We have heard the melancholy news of our money being out, and we in a miserable condition ; no news of an exchange, and our People daily entering the British Service.* "24th. To-day being His Most Christian Majestic 's Birth- day, the French Prisoners displayed their Colors and in the afternoon gave three cheers, which was answered by the Ameri- cans as we were counted in, but the Guard made a miscount, and we were ordered out again, and immediately drew up in the yard and gave thirteen cheers for the United States of America which was answered by our Friends and Allies the French. 4; :|: H: 4: ^ ^ "Sept. 30, 1781. This year two years gone, I was captured by the Surprise Frigate (commanded by one Reaves) on the Banks of New Foundland, in the Ship Jason, John Manley, Esq., Commander, and carried into St. Johns. " Oct. 1st. This morning as a dead man was being carried out for burial, Mr. Absalom Tindall intended to remove him and go out in the Coffin but had not time to effect it, otherwise he would have made his escape. * In a letter to his English friend, David Hartley, Franklin discusses these grievances as follows: "I am sorry you have had so much trouble in the affairs of the prisoners. You have been deceived as well as I. No cartel ship has yet appeared, and it is now evident that the delay has been one of design; to give more opportunity of seducing the men by promises and hardships to seek their liberty by engaging against their country; for we learn from those who have escaped that there are persons continually employed in cajoling and menacing them; representing to them that we neglect them; that your (British) Government is willing to ex- change them and that it is our fault if it is not done; that we shall be conquered and that they will be hanged if they do not accept the gracious offer of being pardoned on condition of serving the king." 149 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem " We have received an answer to our Petition from the Board of Commissioners who have granted leave for a Minister to come to us on Sundays and if a person runs away and is taken he is to be put on two-third allowance in the Black Hole. They will not build a Shed in the Yard, and say the Prison must hold 800 men. "4th. We learn from yesterday's papers that the Kings of Prussia, Sweden and Denmark have agreed that North and South America shall have their Independence, and that Wash- ington is augmented with seventy pieces of Cannon and that his Army consists of 32,835 men. " 17th. This morning one Ward was detected stealing Potatoes. Our People took him and hung them about his neck and made an example of him in the Yard. One of our men lost two Crowns and a pair of shoes last night, and found them in Thomas White's Hammock. White denied taking them. Frederick Blanchard of Carolina was examined and found guilty. He was sentenced to stand on a stool in the Yard for twenty minutes, five minutes each facing the four points of the Compass, with the shoes around his neck and to say in a loud voice that he was the Thief. Afterwards he was to be taken out to the I^amp Post and receive six strokes on his Naked Breech with the Shoes. The whole was performed among a crowd of spectators. "Oct. 19, 1781. To-day the Captains had a Dinner in their Ward on hearing of the defeat of the English in America. "24th. There is a Newspaper Quarrel between General Vaughan and Admiral Rodney concerning the taking of Eustacia in the West Indies. The Public have them in their Picture shops, drawn at a dice table and gambling for a pair of Dutch sleeve- buttons which they had plundered at Eustacia. Rodney throws his dice and cries : ' Six and four. A good heave, by God. ' 150 The Journal of William Russell " There is great talk of making Peace with America. "25th. To-day being the Anniversary of George the Third's Accession to the Throne, the Forts displayed their Colours and fired at one o'clock. Mr. Cowdry hoisted St. George's Jack at the Gate and fired several Swivels. The sixty that were to be exchanged have fallen to fifty-three and the Essex crew are to be included which leaves me to spend my days in a disagree- able, loathsome Prison. "28th. Sunday. This afternoon the Rev. Mr. Gibbs preached to us from 16 Chap. 15 v. of St. Mark's Gospel: 'And He saith unto them, go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.' Our people behaved in a very decent manner. After service he returned us thanks. Mr. Cowdry was very polite and let the People out of the Black Hole. "29th. Samuel Knapp of Salem who entered on Board the Echo Sloop of War (British), was taken in the Black Princess (American), and committed to Prison, was this morning taken out by a File of Marines, to be tried by a Court Martial for his Life, by order of the Board of Admiralty. "I am under the dreadful apprehension of being left out of the present exchange for I'm informed it's to be a partial one; when we shall have a chance to get from this awful place, God alone knows, for I see not the least prospect. Our number increases daily and we are now 442 Americans, and are daily expecting 200 more from Ireland. We have no one to blame but our own Countrymen, who wickedly let their Prisoners go when captured. Neither has Congress made any provision for prisoners in France; therefore, we have not the least pros- pect of being Exchanged till the War is over. For when Capt. McCarty of the Black Princess carried a number of Pris- oners into France, and applied to Doctor Franklin for a Prison to keep them on his account and expense, he was ordered to give them up to the French Agent and they went for French- 151 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem men. So we have been served ever since the War by the negligence of our People in America. " Is there not some chosen Curse, some hidden Thunder, in the stores of Heaven, red with uncommon Wrath, to Blast the Men who owe their greatness to their Countrrfs ruin? "Nov. 6, 1781. Last night as our people were digging under the Prison Wall, the Earth broke in and discovered their light to the Sentinel on the outside, who alarmed the Guard who came in and found the hole. A Sergeant had his sword broke and scabbard cut up by our People. One of the officer's servants, being with the Soldiers, used high words and threatened to knock us down, whereupon one of our People threw a stone at him which broke his leg. Mr. Cowdry has debarred us from the privilege of the market to-day, and demands two men for digging the hole and a man for throwing the stone at the servant, and says when the Black Hole is full, he'll put us in Irons on board the Guard ship, and that everyone that is detected in digging shall be put back on the list and lose his turn in the Cartel. " We are informed by a letter from France that they have a number of British Privateers now, and hope soon to Exchange, and that Dr. Franklin is expecting an Agent from Congress, who will come to England to supply us with money, &c. We also learn that Mr. Thomas Diggs has wronged us out of 400 Guineas,* and that 500 prisoners had been set on Shore and Receipts taken, but it was doubtful whether the Ministry would allow them to be Exchangeable. "Yesterday, two Years, I sailed on board the Charlotte (a Snow) one Pigsley, Commander, for Dartmouth, England. "8th. Last night I had a Dream, that I was in a room fronting the street, with two windows, each having seats. I sat myself down and desired a Young Woman (the express * See footnote on page 132. 152 The Jour7ial of William Russell image of my wife), to sit on my knees. She seemed to refuse; — I threw my left leg into the window seat, and then desired her to sit down. She set down in the window seat and I gave her my right hand, and desired her to give me hers. Accordingly she did (I had a ring on my middle finger of my right hand with a stone and four sparks, two on each side of it). I desired her to give me her heart. She seem'd lovely and every way like the true possession of my Soul. Would to God I could in a Dream be sent into the arms of my beloved and adored wife; for my apprehensions are such that I shall never see her; or at least find some alteration in my family. May the Lord fit and prepare me for His wise and holy purposes. "9th. The Exeter Journal gives an account of the treacher- ous Arnold destroying New London, but we don't hear much of Comwallis. It's said that the Americans have sued for Peace, and their proposals are liked by the Ministry. 'Tis likewise stated that Washington has gone to join Lafayette and Wayne. " 10th. This morning Mr. Green, White, Brown and Cap- tain Kemp went out with the Tubs in order to get some brandy which they purchased with the Sergeant's consent. When they got back to the Prison gate the Sergeant, with the Sen- tinel, searched Mr. White, and took from him his liquor and would have from the rest but they were too quick for him. Our people threw mud and water at the Sergeant and hooted him out of the Yard. The fellow was only a lance Sergeant, by name Ricketts. Richard Tibbets was robbed by the same Sergeant. However our Smugglers, have had great luck, con- sidering the number of English Cruisers around. "11th. Sunday. This P.M. the Rev. Mr. Gibbs preached a Sermon to us in our Ward from the 15th Chap, of St. Matthew and 10th verse. 'And He saith unto the Multitude, hear ye, and understand.' He made an excellent discourse, and a very fine prayer. 153 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem "Nov. 14th. Rained very hard last night. Several of our People taking the opportunity of the rain, intended to make their escape. As soon as the men were come down by the rope and had paid the Sentinel, the Guard were alarmed and the Officer and Soldiers took them as they came out at the end of the Alley. This is the second time this Officer has done this dirty action. "Samuel Knapp of Salem who was retaken in the Black Princess, after he had entered from this Prison in the EcJio English Sloop of War and deserted her and who was carried from this Prison on the 30th of October on board the Guard Ship and put in Irons to be tried for his life, has been set on shore destitute and naked. " Great Mars with me, come now and view, this more than Hellish creiv! Great Vulcan send your thunder forth, and all their fields bestrew! Rain on tJieir Jieads perpetual fire in one eternal fiame: Let black destruction be their doom, dishonor d be tlieir name: Send mighty bolts to strike the traitors. North and Mansfield, dead: And liquid fires to scald the croicn from royal George's head: Strike all tlieir young posterity, with one eternal curse. Nor pity tliem, no more than they, have ever pitied us! " Willm. Russell. Mill Prison, Nov. 23, 1781, 3 P.M. "25th. Capt. John Malcolm came here to see us to-day; by whom we received the Agreeable News of the Capture of Earl Cornwallis by the Army of the United States of America. 'Tis currently reported for truth. We had no preaching to-day, by reason of the Parson being sick. " Great are our Expectations, from this Noble Achievement of Genl. Washington, by which we hope to obtain our liberties. " 27th. One of the 50th Regt. whilst on Sentry in the Prison last night stole two shirts from Mr. Toombs, who entered a complaint this A.M. to the Officer who promised a search should be made. Just before the Guard was reliev'd, one of the soldiers, in sweeping the Guard room, was seen to put the 154 The Journal of William Russell Shirts under the Guard bed. The fellow was immediately confined and the shirts returned. Mr. Cassaday went into the office to the agent concerning the billet he wrote and matters were settled. "Dec. 31st. Mr. Jos. M * of Nantucket wrote a letter to us from on Board a British Man of War advising our People to enter British Service, telling them they will not be exchanged 'till the War is over, and says that he has lost the use of one arm. It is a pity it ivas not his Neck, for what business had he to sell his Country, and go to the ivorst of Enemies. For my part I wish that every one that joins them may meet with worse fate. "This is the last day of the year. I am twenty-nine months from my Dear Wife and Family, and twenty-seven months in captivity. May the Great and Allwise God, in the Midst of His Judgments remember Mercy; and point out such ways and means for our deliverance that we may like Israel (of Old) enjoy the Promised Land {America) where we may sit down with our Wives and Families, each under their own vine and fig tree, and the Sons of Violence not make them afraid. " 1782, January 1st. This morning, Thos. V * of Brain- tree was detected in stealing his fellow prisoner's bread. A Court Martial was called and he plead guilty. He was sen- tenced to stand on a table in the Yard with the bread in his hand one-half hour, and to be taken to the Lamp Post, and whipped twenty-six strokes on the Naked Breech with a Cat. The above sentence was immediately put in execution by Mathew Chambers. " Jan. 4th. This morning our names were called over, and we were asked if we were taken in Armed Vessels, and whether anybody swore against us, or if we were Committed by our own confession. We can't tell what they are going to do with us. "Mr. Laurens is paroled from the Tower, and it is said * Illegible in manuscript. 155 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem allowed six months after being called for to return in. Whilst he remained in the Tower, the Keeper charged him, and pre- sented his Bill for Fees of £95 \0s to which Mr. Laurens replied: ' Sir, I believe I must change my lodgings, you grow too dear for me.' "Last week a Marine Officer, who had been under arrest (and discharged) was at the Play. A Colonel seeing him with a sword on, sent for the Guard to take him. The Marine Officer drew his Sword on the Colonel, the Soldiers drew their Bayonets, and a number of Marines being there, they drew likewise. The Action became general until the People inter- posed, and parted them, tho' several got wounded. "10th. Read in the Plymouth Paper of the 31st December that last Saturday ' sailed from this place in a Cartel a number of French and American prisoners, among whom was that Noted Rebel Commodore Manley,* who took the Fox, and was afterwards taken by the Rainhoio. " 16th. We learn that Capt. I^insey in a forty-Gun Ship was risen upon by sixty Prisoners who took the Ship, and threw him overboard, and towed her into Martinique. The said Linsey married one of Mr. Inman's daughters of Cambridge. " 17th. This afternoon went into the Office to see Capt. Williamst who sails for France to-morrow in a Cartel. This evening I wrote to my wife and Capt. Manley; likewise to Mr. Edes. «t« ^JLg ^ «|« «|« ^ " March 11th. Captain Green and several of the Gentlemen made a Frolic, and invited the Officers, eighty in number, to * " Within a few days past several persons came to town from Philadelphia, arrivinfj there in 29 days from France. They were lately prisoners in England, some of whom have been confined since 1777, and have now been exchanged. The brave but unfortunate Captain J. Manley is one of the number." (Salem Gazette, April 4, 1782.) f Captain John Foster Williams of the Continental Cruiser Protector. See Page 108. 156 The Journal of William Russell dinner. A hog that weighed four and one-half score pounds was barbecued in the yard, a sight never seen in Mill Prison before. We dined at two o'clock. After dinner a number of very good Toasts were drunk and the day spent in jollity and mirth. " 12th. All hands Merry and myself rather Groggy still kept it up, fiddling and dancing all day in our Ward, everything conducted peaceably. " 17th. Sunday. Last Friday Mr. Saury brought us forty- eight jackets and three great-coats, a present from our friends. Captain Green began to distribute them, but the Prisoners were dissatisfied, and would have them divided among the States, accordingly they were taken back from the men. " 19th. Yesterday a gentleman came to the Office (who left London Saturday) for Captain Smith and Mr. Collins as witnesses in favour of Captain McCarty who is to be tried the last of this month at the Old Bailey for being found in Arms against his Majesty while a subject of Great Britain. It is said that McCarty belongs to France and has a wife and chil- dren there. Mr. Priest who came down for Captain Smith informs us that the Bill for our Exchange passed on the 15th, the third Reading in the House of Commons, and became an Act and was sent up to the House of Lords. Mr. Saury brought our money and confirmed the above news. "20th. The 'Bill for Making a Peace with America,' was read the first time on the 14th inst. and ordered to be printed. "21st to 23d. This afternoon the jackets and coats which was to be divided amongst those most in need, were put to vote, whether it should be by Lottery, or no. The Lottery carried the vote but some of the People seiz'd on them, and gave them to such as stood most in need. "25th. Benedict Arnold was introduced last week into the House of Commons and room made for him in the Gallery. After he was seated, the Speaker arose, and said no business 157 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem could be done with that man Arnold in the House. The People turned him out. It's said that Arnold and Elizabeth his Wife have a pension of ,£1,000 a year settled on them. "27th. Mr. John Marsh of Marblehead was brought to prison in Irons; he has laid in Exeter Goal nigh a year. "31st. This morning Capt. John Greene rec'd a letter from Mr. Saurey, informing him that Mr. Henry Laurens arrived in Plymouth last evening, at the King's Arms Tavern, and intended to visit the Prison at one-half past two o'clock. Mr. Laurens came at the time appointed and we turned out to receive him, each State by themselves. Capt. Greene presented each State, and the Gentlemen belonging to them to Mr. Laurens, who discoursed very familiarly with us, and informed us that he had full power to settle our Exchange, which would be in a short time. He had received a letter from London for him to return for that purpose, and should leave to-morrow. He advised us not to attempt an Escape, but to make ourselves easy, for he would do everything in his power for us, and did not doubt we should be away by the 1st of May. We are to be exchanged for the Grenadiers and Light Infantry of Corn- wallis' Army which has enough to Exchange every American Prisoner in this Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland, and all Public Prisons, and then have 7,000 and some hundred left. "The People behaved very well and shewed that respect which was due to so venerable a Person as Mr. Laurens; and he deserves all the respect that Mortals can show. To speak of him words fail me. Capt. Greene deserves applause for his politeness, and the Yard in general were well satisfied with him. He introduced a number of Gentlemen in the Yard to Mr. Laurens who had considerable conversation with them. The gentlemen that came with Mr. Laurens intends to give each man a pair of shoes. "April 1, 1782. A new Ministry has been formed, and they 158 The Journal of William Russell have desired his Majesty to declare America Independent. He desires longer time to consider it. "3d. This P.M. Mr. Saurey brought a letter from Mr. Hodgson informing us of our Exchange immediately. We are to be Cloathed, and furnished with necessaries for our voyage in a decent manner. He speaks very prettily of the New Ministry and advises Cowdry to use us well as a Means to recommend him- self to the New Ministry, as his Severity did to the Old. He desires us not to attempt an Escape, as it will be to the highest degree a Folly, inasmuch as we are likely to get home in a man- ner much more commodious than if we were our own providers. The New Ministry seem to make great Changes in this Kingdom, and are determined to use us different from the Old, by granting us every Indulgence. We are preparing facts to break Cowdry. " 5th. This morning Capt. Kemp and six others who escaped with him were missed; we were called over but we were determined to throw the blame of the running away on the 50th Regmt. who were then on Guard, because they have used us so badly, firing and wounding our People several times; wherefore we would not conceal it any longer. "8th. We expect some xAjnericans here from Ireland. We are now 584 in these Prisons, and all in good spirits, in daily expectation of our liberty. " 9th. This P. M. seventy American prisoners were brought here from Ireland. They were escorted by the Gloucester Militia, as prisoners of War, with Musick, &c. They are the first Americans that's been put to Prison, without being Committed by a Magistrate, which acknowledges America a Power.*" * In a letter to the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the American Congress, Franklin wrote: "The late Act of Parliament for exchanging American prisoners as Prisoners of War according to the law of nations (anything in their Commitments notwith- standing), seems to me a renounciation of their pretensions to try our people as subjects guilty of high treason, and to be a kind of tacit acknowledgment of our Independence." 159 CHAPTER IX THE JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RUSSELL (cOUcluded) (1779-1783) JUNE 5, 1782. Yesterday was 'George the Foolish 's' Birthday. The Shipping and Forts fired Salutes at noon; Cowdry hoisted an English Jack, and a French one under it, and fired his Battery. In the afternoon the OflScers of the Guard took some of their men, and fired the Cannon a number of times. In loading a piece, they did not stop the vent, and fire took the cartridge before the rammer was out, and killed one and wounded three of their men. A very melancholy circumstance has happened, two to three hundred of us taken ill with a violent cold, myself included. I still remain unwell, but something better; the men in general are improving. I was taken with a violent pain in my head, back, stomach and legs with a dry cough, but knowing the Doctor would give me but one sort of medicine, let the ail be what it may, I thought to use none of his drugs, but to trust the Physician of Physicians, and use such means as I might think proper. " One of our Men said to the Doctor, '"Doctor, I've a violent pain in my Head.' " Reply : ' Take some Mixture.' '"Doctor, I've a sour Stomach.' " Reply : ' Take some Mixture.' "Doctor, 'I've a violent Fever on me every Night.* "Reply: ' Take some Mixture. ' 160 The Journal of William Russell "In short let the disease be what it will, you must take his Mixture, or Electuary. N. B., — This Medicine is Salts and Jalap; his Electuary, Conserve of Roses and Balsam. How- ever, we have styled it Doctor Ball's Infallable Cure for all Manner of Diseases. "6th. This morning the Doctor came and bled one of our men, and went out without doing up his arm, or even saying what quantity of blood should come from him. This is the second man he has stuck his lance in, and left bleeding. I remain very ill, and the whole Prison is put on Hospital diet, which is : 1 lb. of white bread, ^ pint of milk, \ lb. of mutton, ^ lb. of cabbage, and 1 quart of beer. By not hearing anything of the Transports and with the violent pain in my head, I am almost beside myself." Under date of Dec. 22, 1781, William Russell had set down in his journal ; " Mr. Burke in the House of Commons, speaking of Hon. Mr. Lauren's ill treatment in the Tower, was told by Lord Newhaven, that if he (Newhaven) had said as much, he should have expected to be put in Mr, Lauren's place. To whom Mr. Burke replied that he did not aspire to such places, being a poor man he could not afford it; as for his Lordship, he being a man of Fortune, such places would suit him best, but a meaner prison would do for him, and he should think himself very happy in any place, ij he had such agreeable Companions with him as Mr. Laurens and Doctor Franklin. "General Burgoyne being asked in the House of Commons concerning his not being Exchanged for Mr. Laurens said he would sooner return to America, and spend his days in a Dun- geon there than ask a favor of the Ministry." After his surrender at Saratoga Major General Burgoyne was permitted to return to England as a prisoner of war on parole. When the British Government refused to release Henry Laurens from his imprisonment in the Tower of London, the Congress 161 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem of the United States demanded that General Burgoyne be sum- moned to return to America to save his parole. This retali- atory measure and the unusual circumstances of Mr. Lauren's confinement were discussed in Parliament in the debate re- ferred to in the foregoing entry of the journal. "8th. This morning we had a quarrel with the old Guard. The Sergeant was very insolent and went out and brought in a number of the Guard, primed and loaded, but we did not value them, but took our own time in turning out, after which we stoned and hooted them out of the Yard. They presented twice but the Officer would not let them fire. We had a sermon preached to us from the 22d Chap. 21st verse of Job, by My Lady Huntingdon's Chaplain, who came down from London on purpose to preach our farewell sermon. Mr. Miles Saurey came with him, and brought letters from Mr. Laurens to Cap- tain Greene, informing him that Lord Shelbom says we are to be sent away as soon as possible to our respective States, and that such as have property in France are to be paroled to leave for France. "Mr. Laurens is to be Exchanged for Lord Cornwallis,* and will leave the Kingdom in a few days. Mr. Laurens writes that we are to be provided with necessaries for our voyage, and wishes us a good passage, and safe return to our Native Land. " 14th. Mr. Saurey brought a letter from the Rev. Mr. * " Mr. Laurens having been constituted one of the five Commissioners to negotiate a Peace, the New Administration consulted with Mr. Laurens, and after the first conference he was released from his Parole, as well as his securities. Earl Cornwallis was released from his parole in consideration of the favors granted Mr. Ijaurens." (From a London Newspaper of May 8th, 1782.) In a letter from Sir Guy Carelton and Admiral Digby to General Washington, dated at New York August 2, 1782, they stated: " With respect to Mr. Laurens we are to acquaint you that he has been dis- charged from all engagements without any conditions whatever; after which he declared of his own accord, that he considered Lord Cornwallis as free from his Parole." 162 The Journal of William Russell Wren of Portsmouth; the purport of which is that a Ship is Victualed and at Portsmouth to carry the Americans belonging to the North to Boston, and the men belonging to the South- ward are to come around to Plymouth and join the men in our Prison. They are expected to embarque in a week or ten days. "Mr. Pollard received a letter from Mr. John Joy formerly of Boston, informing him that the Cartels were fitting out and were to sail the next day, wind permitting. We are in high spirits, and hope soon to be delivered from this Castle of Despair. I'm afraid we shall be detained by contrary winds, for the wind keeps to the Westward and blows fresh, which is against the vessels coming from the Downs. " 15th. We are informed by a letter from Mr. Joy to Jacob Homer, that His Majesty has been pleased to pardon us, in order for our Exchange, and that we are to be immediately delivered from this Awful place of Confinement. " We had an excellent sermon, by the Rev. Mr. Sampson, a Dissenter, belonging in Cornwall, from 61 Chap, of Isaiah, 1st and 2d verses. In reading the last Hymn, when he came to the word Rebel, he made a stop, and compar'd the Rebel to the Prodigal spoken of in the New Testament, and lest we should be offended at using the Word, altered it to Children and Stub- horn. His discourse was very suitable to our circumstances. The manner in which he delivered himself drew the greatest attention. When he spoke of our Parents, Wives and Children and the tears they had shed for us whilst in this deplorable place, and when I come to reflect on the precarious situation we were in some months gone, in a strange land, not knowing what might happen, and then to comprehend the reality of the Transporting News, of being released from this dismal place of exile and suffering, / am, compelled to cry out, O God, in the midst of Thy Judgments, Thou has remembered Mercy! 163 The Ships arid Sailors of Old Salem " 9th, Capt. Malcolm came to see us, and informed us that the air is infected with this Disorder that is among us. Some persons have experimented by flying a kite in the air with a piece of beef to the tail. When it came down the beef was tainted. I desire to thank God that the pain in my head is somewhat abated, and the people in general are getting better. "No news from any Quarter. Dark times, low in Spirits and low in purse. " 17th. Fair, a grand wind E. by N. for our Transports to come from Torbay. This morning Thomas Adams of Old York died in the Hospital. I have greatly recovered from my sick- ness, and find myself able to embarque, was the vessel ready to receive me. " 19th. Only one Cartel has arrived, and she is for the Southward, her Captain named MaxAvell, who informed me that the Cartel for the North (the Lady's Adventure) could not get out of Torbay last Monday. We are in daily expectation of seeing them as a signal is now hoisted for a Fleet from the East. " This day I am thirty months a Prisoner in this disagreeable 'place. " We have had the happiness of receiving the joyful news of the arrival of the Northern Cartel. The men for the South- ward embarque on Saturday, and the men for the North on Monday or Tuesday next. The long-looked for day is come at last for us to leave these Gloomy Walls, where nothing but Horror and Despair reigns. This afternoon we were Honor'd with a visit from the Duke of Richmond, and a number of generals and other Officers. "His Grace asked if we had any complaints against Mr. Cowdry. Capt. Greene reply 'd to the Duke 'that Cowdry was a dirty fellow.' The Duke reply 'd: 'Government keeps dirty fellows, to do their dirty Work.' 164 The Journal of William Russell " His Grace said to us, that we had gained what we had been fighting for, and we should find it so when we arrived in America. "21st. This morning Mr. Cowdry ordered the Men bound South to get ready to embarque to-morrow at 10 o'clock. Slops are to be served this afternoon, and the Prisoners to be examined at 6 o'clock in the morning. " / desire to bless God that I once more have my health, but T am in a Miserable condition for want of cash, and what I am to do for Sea-stores I am at a loss. "22d. Yesterday the Cloathing was served out to the South 'ard Men, and instead of 20 shillings they drew only 16/3. One O'Hara and John Cooper abused the Agent and broke his Windows for which they were put in the Black Hole. Mr. Cowdry embarqued 215 men on board the Cartel for the South 'ard. "23d. We are to hold ourselves in readiness to embarque to-morrow at 2 o'clock. Cowdry sent a Paper into the Prison for our People to sign, that he had used us with marks of kind- ness, &c. It was immediately torn up. " June 24th. The Escort came and the Agent opened the Gate of the Castle of Despair, and 400 Americans marched out to the Water side, where we found four Launches, and a Cutter waiting to receive us, I went on board the Cutter, and in a short time was on board the Good Ship Lady's Adventure, a Cartel bound to Boston. We had our complement on board by 6 o'clock. The Agent came ofi^ and received a Receipt for 400 Men and wished us a good Voyage. "We immediately hove up anchors, and at 8 o'clock made sail. I was transported with Joy at my deliverance from a loathsome Prison, where I've been confined thirty Months and five days, almost despairing of ever seeing my Native Country, my Loving Wife and Dear Children and my relatives and friends who are so dear to me; but ' Glory to God in the Highest ' 165 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem for His goodness unto us. I thank God I've a prospect now before me of seeing America, that Land of Liberty, and on my arrival of finding all connected with me in health and happiness. "The Rev. Robert Heath and Mr. Saurey took their leave of us. The Ship is 700 Ton with accommodations, and well found, the Captain and crew are very civil, and now Fve taken my departure from Old Mill Prison, and hope never to see it again. "We have fine Wind, and May God grant us a quick passage, and guide the Ship to her desired Port." Thus ends the Journal written in Mill Prison. During the voyage to the United States, William Russell kept a detailed diary, or log, of the working of the Lady's Adventure, which makes dry reading for landlubbers. Here and there, however, he jotted down a paragraph having to do with the company on board the Cartel, after the manner of the following extracts: "Thursday, July 4, 1782. Our People requested the Owner to let them have an allowance of Brandy, it being the Anniver- sary of our Independence. Accordingly it was granted, and he gave two quarts to a man to a Mess. I was desired to acquaint the Captain that we meant to give thirteen cheers for the thir- teen United States of America, if agreeable to him. He was agreed and accordingly the men came on deck, and manned the Yards and Tops, and gave thirteen Cheers, and then three cheers for the Captain. He was very polite and sent for me down to the Cabin, where I was kindly entertained. The People behaved very Avell, and very few drunk : Myself Merry. I desired one Lieutenant Weeks and Captain Henfield to take the command, but they refused and I was obliged to officiate myself. Whether Lieutenant Weeks thought himself too good or not, I can't say, but Captain Henfield was very excusable. " July 9th. Hoisted out the boat to catch turtle. Captains Henfield and Hamilton very angry because we kept the ship on 166 The Journal of William Russell her course and did not heave to. Captain Hamilton said he was a lousy rascal that kept her away. Mr. John Washburn replied: 'I was at the wheel and am no more lousy than your Honour.' Upon that Captain Hamilton struck Mr. Washburn, and Mr. Brewer resented it and made a strike at Hamilton. "August 7th. Discovered land under our leebow, and made it to be Cape Sable. A man at the Mast Head discovered a Light House off Cape Sambro bearing East by South, and a number of Islands around us, from the weather bow to the lee quarter. Set jib, foretopmast staysail and spritsail topsail. Captain Trask (one of our Company) took charge of the ship as Pilot, filled the topsails and bore down for the northern part of the Rock bound Island. Saw a small vessel under the lee of the Island (a privateer) which immediately made sail and ran out. Later saw a boat (Shallop) with three men which made a Signal of Distress. They came alongside but their Skipper was very much afraid, and wouldn't believe we were a Cartel until he was taken into the cabin. The Captain had some discourse with him by which we were informed that the American War is not over, that five American Privateers from Salem lately demolished the Forts at Chester* and Malagash,* and plundered the town, but used the prisoners with humanity. Came to anchor in seven fathoms. The American Sod appears very comforting to a person whose anxious desires for three years past have been to see the land where Freedom reigns. " Dined on Halibut, went on shore and picked and ate Goose- * "In the month of July, 1782, four privateers, two of them, the Hero and the Hope of Salem, attacked Lunenburg in Nova Scotia. They landed ninety men who marched to the town against a heavy discharge of musketry, burnt the commander's dwelling and a blockhouse. Their opponents retreated to another blockhouse upon which one of the privateers brought her guns to bear and forced them to surrender. The captors carried a considerable quantity of merchandise to their vessel and ransomed the town for one thousand pounds sterling. The Americans had three wounded." (From Felt's "Annals of Salem.") 167 TJie Ships mid Sailors of Old Salem berries. Washed and Loused myself, and made great fires in the woods. The boats were employed in bringing the People on board." The party spent several days ashore, catching and cleaning fish, cutting spars, gathering firewood and enjoying their free- dom after the long and trying voyage. At length the foretopsail was cast loose as a signal for sailing, the ensign hoisted with a wisp to recall the boats and the Lady's Adventure got under way for the southward. William Russell's journal relates under date of August 12th: "Spoke a fishing schooner three days out from Plymouth which enquired for John Washburn. We told the captain he was on board whereupon the old man gave three cheers with his Cap and then threw it overboard. No tongue can express the Heart -feeling Satisfaction it is unto us to have the happiness of a few moments' conversation with an American so short from Home. Cheer up, my Heart, and don't despair for thy Deliverance draweth near. "August 13th. At one half past six o'clock discovered land. Cape Cod over our lee quarter. Stood in for Boston Light House Island. The men are very uneasy, and clamour, some for Marblehead, some for Boston, and can't agree. Captain Humble is very willing the ship should go to Boston this evening, if any man will take charge of her. None will venture, so Captain Humble ordered the Ship to stretch ofl^ and on till morning." Thus ends the sea journal of William Russell, but the Salem Gazette of August 15, 1782, contains the following item under the head of Shipping Intelligence: "By an arrival of two Cartel Ships at Marblehead from England, 583 of our Countrymen have been restored to their Families and Friends. One of the Ships which arrived on Sunday last had an eight weeks' passage from Portsmouth and 168 The Journal of William Russell brought ill 183 prisoners. The other which arrived in fifty- two days from Plymouth sailed with 400 and one died on the passage. " It makes the story of this humble sailor of the Revolution much more worth while to know that after three years of the most irksome captivity, he was no sooner at home with his "dear wife and family" than he was eager and ready to ship again under the Stars and Stripes. Ill-fated as was his superb devotion to his Country, he had suffered his misfortunes in Old Mill Prison with a steadfast courage. It was so ordered, how- ever, that he should be free no more than thirty days after his glad homecoming in the Lady's Adventure. He must have re- entered the American naval service a few days after reaching Boston, for we know that he was captured in a privateer on September 16th, by a British Man of War and taken into Halifax. On November 28th he was committed to the Jersey Prison ship in New York harbor. Here he found himself in a far worse plight than in Mill Prison with its genial routine of escape and its friendly relations with the Agent, the Guard, and the French and Spanish prisoners. All that is known of this final chapter in the case of William Russell, patriot, must be gleaned from a few letters to his wife and friends. The first of these is ad- dressed to "Mrs. Mary Russell, at Cambridge," and says in part: "On Board the Jersey Prison ship. New York, November 21st, 1782. " I write with an aching heart to inform you of my miserable condition. I'm now in the worst of places and must suffer if confined here during; the Winter, for I am short of cloathing and the provisions is so scant that it is not enough to keep body and soul together. I was two months on board the Man of War and have been almost to Quebec. This is the awfuUest place I ever saw, and I hope God will deliver me from it soon. 169 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem I conclude, praying for your support in my absence, and the prosperity of an Honoured Mother and family." To his mother, "Mistress Mary Richardson, Light House Tavern, Cambridge," he wrote on November 25th: "Honoured Mama: "I present these Lines with my Duty to you hoping they'l find you with the family and all connected in perfect health. I was taken on the 16th Sept. and brought to New York, the 13th inst., and put out on board this ship the 18th. Indeed it is one of the worst places in the World, and the Prisoners are suffering; Sickly and dying daily, not having the common necessaries of life. I have seen Mr. Welsh who promised to assist me but have heard no more from him since the 18th inst. Mr. Chadwell has tried to get me exchanged but has not made out. He talks of taking Mr. Stone and me ashore and will assist us whilst confined. You will give my kind love to my Wife and family, likewise to my Brothers and Sisters, and desire Moses to write to me, and try to get me exchanged. My love to all relations and friends. " May God preserve you in health and all with whom we are connected, is the earnest prayer "of your Dutiful Son "Wm. Russell." Two weeks later the Captain addressed to his friends, "Messrs. Edes and Sons, Printers, Boston," a moving appeal for help in the following words: " Jersey Prison Ship, New York Harbor, "Dec. 7th, 1782. "Mr. Edes, "Dear Friend: " I write you a few lines to inform you of my miserable situa- tion, and at the same time to beg your assistance. I am again 170 The Journal of William Russell by the fortune of War thrown into the Enemies' hands, where our scanty allowance is not sufficient to support nature, and part of that we are cheated out of. I had the promise of a Gentleman's friendship at York, to get me Paroled or Exchanged but find that Admiral Digby is so inveterate against Privateers- men that he'll not allow any Paroles. Therefore, Sir, I most earnestly intreat of you to use your influence with Maj. Hop- kins to send to Mr. Sproat Commissioner of Prisoners at New York, for Mr. John Stone and me, which he may do very easily, and pray send in the first Flag some British Prisoner to release me. I suppose my Brother has arrived and brought some in." Some happy shift of fortune seems to have bettered the situation of the prisoner in January of 1783, for he wrote to his wife in a wholly different strain to inform her of his deliverance from "that horrid pit" below the decks of the prison ship. Although still confined aboard the Jersey, he was able to say: " My Dear, my situation is greatly altered. I am aft with a gentleman where I want for nothing, but live on the best, with good Tea night and morning and fresh meat every day. In short I am used like a gentleman in every respect both by Mr, Emery and his wife. Indeed, my Dear, I am happy in getting from between decks, out of that horrid pit where nothing but Horror is to be seen. My duty to my Mother, love to my Brothers and Sisters, and hope ere long to enjoy your agreeable company. Your affectionate husband, "Wm. Russell." On March 21, 1783, after more than six months of this second term of imprisonment, the influence and persistency of his friends in Boston obtained for him a three months' parole.* * The following is the text of the parole issued, granted to William Russell: " We the Subscribers, having been captured in American Vessels and brought into this Port, hereby acknowledge ourselves Prisoners of War to the King of 171 The Ships and Sailo7's of Old Salem Without going home WiUiam Russell at once endeavored to repair his shattered fortunes by embarking in a "venture" aboard a merchant vessel in order that he might return to Boston with money for the support of his family. The following letters to his wife explain his plans and purposes. He had obtained passage from New York to New Haven in the Lady's Adventure, the same merchant vessel which had fetched him from Pl}Tiiouth six months before. Her Master, Captain Humble, proved himself a staunch friend of our most unfortu- nate but undaunted seafarer. Writing from New Haven on March 23, 1783, William Russell told his wife: "New Haven, Connecticut, 23d March, 1783. "Mrs. Russell: "By the assistance of good friends I am once more in the land of Freedom and Independence, for which I've fought, Bled and Suffered as much as any without exception on the Con- tinent, but the greatest of my concern has (as ever) been for you and our little ones. Great Britain; and having permission from His Excellency, Rear Admiral Digby, Commander in Chief, etc., etc., etc., to go to Rhode Island, Do Pledge our Faith and most Sacredly promise upon our Parole of Honour that we will not do, say, or write, or cause to be done, said, or written, directly or indirectly, in any Respect whatever, anything to the Prejudice of His Majesty's Service; and that we will return to tliis Place unless Exchanged in three Months from the date hereof, and deliver up again to the Commissary General for Naval Prisoners, or to the Person acting for or under him; And do further promise upon our Honour that we will not in future enter on Board, or othen\'ise be concerned in an American Privateer. "In Testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands and Seals, at New York, this 21st day of March, 1783. "Present Wm. Russell (seal) "Wm. Weir Samuel Thompson (seal) "Bachus, a Negro Boy, their Sei-vant, is also to go with them. "These are to certify that the above is a true Copy of the Original Parole, signed by the Persons above named and filed in this Office; and that they have leave to pass by the way of Ivong Island to Connecticut. "Commisary's Office for Naval Prisoners at New York. "March 21, 1783. "To Whom it may Concern. Thos. D. Hewlings, "D. C. M. P. 172 The Journal of William Russell " On the 20th inst. Capt. D. Adams came on board the Lady^s Adventurer (Capt. Humble) with an order from the Admiral for me. You can't think the joy I must feel (without you had been in my place) on seeing my townsman, my Captain and Friend. True friendship is never known till we are in adversity, and then experience the assistance of the Advocate, who steps forward to our defence. Capt. Adams has been at great cost in getting me from New York, and I have no way to make satisfaction without my remaining on Board his vessel will effect it. Our circumstances are such that for me to come home with my fingers in my mouth would be of little consolation to those who have been without my help for almost four years. Therefore I think it my duty to try what I can do, and hope by the assistance of Capt. Adams to obtain a small Adventure and try my luck at a Merchant Voyage, and if Fortune smiles, expect to see you in a short time. "I recover my health slowly, and hope that Salt water will do what the Physician could not effect. " I am grieved at not hearing from you. Though out of sight, and the enjoyment of liberty might make you forgetful, I'm not so." (To Mrs. Mary Russell, Cambridge.) "Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 16, 1783. "I doubt not you thought it strange I did not come home when Paroled from New York, but the fever left me so low I could not stand the fatigues of so long a journey, and at the same time was destitute of money to support me on the road. "Capt. Daniel Adams gave me a kind offer to go with him and laid me in a Venture which don't at present seem to succeed so well as I would wishi However, I shall bring you home something for yourself and hope to see you soon. I desire if any person should make any inquiry where we are, you would 173 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem answer at the Eastwd. for I don't know whether the trade is opened among you or not. However, we are not the only vessel that's here from the Thirteen States. "We are treated very politely by his Excellency, and the Inhabitants, and I've a number of old friends here, and shall give you an acct. of them on my return." During the summer of 1783, William Russell returned to Cambridge, broken in health, with a scanty reward from his trading venture. He tried to gather together enough pupils to form a small school in his living quarters at the " Light House Tavern," Cambridge. This endeavor was short-lived, for he was fast wasting with consumption. He died in the spring following his return from the sea whereon he had suffered greatly for his Country. He was no more than thirty-five years old when his untimely end came, but his life was exceedingly worth while even though it was his lot rather to endure than to achieve. Nor could he have desired any more worthy obituary, nor wished to preach a more inspiring doctrine to later genera- tions of free-born Americans than was voiced in these words sent to his wife from Old Mill Prison, England, one hundred and twenty-six years ago : " I think many in the Yard will enter into the King's service. And I should myself, was it not that (by so doing) / must sell my Country, and that ivhich is much more dearer to me, yourself and my children, but I rely wholly on God, knowing He will deliver me in His own good time." 174 CHAPTER X RICHARD DERBY AND HIS SON JOHN (1774-1792) THE first armed fesistance to British troops in the Ameri- can colonies was made at Salem and led by Captain Richard Derby of the third generation of the most notable seafaring family in this country's annals. Born in 1712, he lived through the Revolution, and his career as a shipmaster, merchant and patriot covered the greater part of the American maritime history of the eighteenth century. Until 1757, when he retired from active service on the sea, his small vessels of from fifty to one hundred tons burden were carrying fish, lumber and provisions to the West Indies and fetching home sugar, molasses, cotton, rum and claret, or bring- ing rice and naval stores from Carolina. With the returns from these voyages, assorted cargoes were laden for voyages to Spain and Madeira and the proceeds remitted in bills on London, or in wine, salt, fruit, oil, lead and handkerchiefs to America. Captain Richard Derby's vessels ran the gauntlet of the privateers during the French War from 1756 to 1763, and their owner's letters to his London agents describe them as mounting from eight to twelve cannon, mostly six-pounders, "with four cannon below decks for close quarters." Accustomed to fighting his way where he could not go peaceably, Richard Derby and the men of his stamp whose lives and fortunes were staked on the high seas, felt the fires of their resentment against 176 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem England wax hotter and hotter as her shipping laws smote their interests with increasing oppression. In fact, the spirit of independence and protest against inter- ference by the mother country had begun to stir in the seaport towns a full century before the outbreak of armed revolution. It is recorded in Salem annals that "when it was reported to the Lords of Plantations that the Salem and Boston merchants' vessels arrived daily from Spain, France, Holland, and the Canaries (in 1763) which brought wines, linens, silks and fruits, and these were exchanged with the other colonies for produce which was carried to the aforesaid kingdoms without coming to England, complaint was made to the Magistrates that these were singular proceedings. Their reply was 'that they were His Majesty's Vice-Admirals in those seas and they would do that which seemed good to them. ' " The spirit of those "Vice Admirals" who proposed to do what seemed good to them continued to flourish and grow bolder in its defiance of unjust laws, and the port of Salem was primed and ready for open rebellion long before that fateful April day at Lexington and Concord. In 1771, four years before the beginning of the Revolution, the Salem Gazette pub- lished on the first anniversary of the "Boston Massacre," the following terrific proclamation framed in a border of black in token of mourning : "As a Solemn and Perpetual Memorial: " Of the Tyranny of the British Administration of Government in the years 1768, 1769, and 1770; " Of the fatal and destructive Consequences of Quartering Armies, in Time of Peace, in populous cities; " Of the ridiculous Policy and infamous Absurdity of supporting Civil Government by a Military Force, 176 Richard Derby and his Son John " Of the Great Duty and Necessity of firmly opposing Despotism at its first Approaches; " Of the detestable Principles and arbitrary Conduct of those Ministers in Britain who advised, and of their Tools in America who desired the Introduction of a Standing Army in this Province in the year 1768; "Of the irrefragible Proof which those ministers themselves thereby produced, that the Civil Government, as by them Administered, was weak, wicked, and tyrannical; " Of the vile Ingratitude and abominable Wickedness of every American who abetted and encouraged, either in Thought, Word or Deed, the establishment of a Standing Army among his Countrymen ; " Of the unaccountable Conduct of those Civil Governors, the immediate Representatives of His Majesty, who, while the Military was triumphantly insulting the whole Legislative Authority of the State, and while the blood of the Massacred Inhabitants was flowing in the Streets, persisted in repeatedly disclaiming all authority of relieving the People, by any the least removal of the Troops : " And of the Savage cruelty of the Immediate Perpetrators : " Be it forever Remembered " That this day. The Fifth of March, is the Anniversary of Boston Massacre in King St. Boston, Neav England, 1770. "In which Five of his Majesty's Subjects were slain and six wounded, By the Discharge of a number of Muskets from a Part of Soldiers under the Command of Capt. Thomas Preston, " God Save the People ! "Salem, March 5, 1771." The fuse was laid to the powder by the arrival of Lieutenant General Thomas Gage as the first military governor of Massa- 177 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem chusetts in May, 1774. He at once moved the seat of govern- ment from Boston to Salem which was the second town in importance of the colony, and Salem began to exhibit symptoms of active hostility. Gage's change of administrative head- quarters was accompanied by two companies of the Sixty-fourth Regiment of the line, Colonel Alexander Leslie, which were encamped beyond the outskirts of the town. The presence of these troops was a red rag to the people of Salem, and further- more. Gage outraged public opinion by proposing to choose his own councillors, which appointments had been previously con- ceded to the Provincial Assembly, A new Act of Parliament, devised to suit the occasion, eliminated the councillors who had been named by the Assembly or General Court, and Gage ad- journed this body, then in session in Boston, and ordered it to reconvene in Salem on June 7th. When the Assembly met in Salem it passed a resolution protesting against its removal from Boston, and acted upon no other political measures for ten days when the House adopted a resolution appointing as delegates to the Congress at Phila- delphia, James Bowdoin, Thomas Cushing, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Robert Treat Paine "to consult upon meas- ures for the restoration of harmony between Great Britain and the Colonies." This action angered General Gage, and he at once prepared a proclamation dissolving the General Court. His secretary posted off to the Salem "town house" to deliver said proclamation, but he was refused admittance, word being brought out to him that the " orders were to keep the door fast." Therefore the defeated secretary read the document to the curious crowd outside and afterwards in the empty council chamber. So ended the last Provincial Assembly of Massa- chusetts under a British Governor. Having moved his headquarters to Salem, General Gage let it be known that he regarded the odious Boston Port Bill as a 178 Richard Derby Richard Derby and his Son John measure which must be maintained by mihtary law and an army of twenty thousand men if needs be. He also suppressed the town meetings, appointed new councillors, and heaped up other grievances with such wholesale energy that Salem flew up in arms and defied him. A town meeting had been called for August 24th to choose delegates to a county convention, and the people of the town refused to harken unto the order prohibiting their most jealously guarded institution of local government, the town meeting. Gage hurried back from Boston, took command of his troops, and ordered the Fifty-ninth Regiment of foot to make ready for active service. It is recorded that he showed "Indecent passion, denounced the meeting as treasonable and spoke with much vehemence of voice and gesture, threatened the committee of the town whom he met at the house of Colonel Brown, and ordered up his troops." The citizens thereupon held a meeting in the open air, chose their delegates to the county convention, and dispersed. Timothy Pickering, afterwards Washington's Secretary of War, and other members of the Committee were placed under arrest for their part in this town meeting. Before nightfall of the same day three thousand men of Salem and nearby towns had armed them- selves with muskets and v%^ere ready to march to the rescue if their town meeting should be further molested, or British troops employed to enforce any further punishments. General Gage had declared with an oath that he would transport every man of the Committee, and the "embattled farmers " and sailors feared lest these fellow townsmen of theirs might be carried on board the frigate Scarboro which was making ready to sail for England. An express rider was sent out from Boston at midnight to carry the warning of the proposed sailing of this man-of-war, and with the threat of transportation bracing their resolution, the men of Salem replied that "they were ready to receive any attacks they might be exposed to for acting in 179 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem pursuance to the laws and interests of their country, as becomes men and Christians." The issue was not forced by General Gage and having made a failure of the campaign and a blunder of the transfer of the seat of government he returned to Boston with his troops in September. In February of the following year, 1775, he was informed that the Provincial Congress had stored a large amount of munitions and a number of cannon in Salem, and he ordered Colonel Leslie to embark in a transport with a battalion of infantry, disembark at Marblehead, march across to Salem and seize this material of war. These troops, two hundred and fifty strong, sailed from Boston at night and landed on the Marble- head beach Sunday afternoon. Major Pedrick, a patriot of the town, at once mounted a horse and galloped to Salem, two miles away, to carry warning of this invasion. The British infantry marched along the turnpike until they came to the North River, a small, navigable stream making up from Salem Harbor. This was spanned by a drawbridge, and Colonel Leslie was much disturbed to find the drawbridge raised and a formidable assemblage of Salem citizens buzzing angrily at the farther side of the stream. The British officer had no orders to force the passage, and the situation was both delicate and awkward in the extreme. Timothy Pickering had been chosen colonel of the First Regiment of militia and forty of his armed men were mustered, drawn up ready to fire at the order. Colonel Leslie threatened to let loose a volley of musketry to clear the road, and was told by Captain John Felt of Salem : " You had better not fire, for there is a multitude, every man of whom is ready to die in this strife." Some of the more adventurous patriots climbed to the top of the raised drawbridge and hurled insulting taunts at the British infantry, yelling "Fire and be damned to you." Rev. Thomas Barnard of the North Church tried to make peace and addressed 180 Richard Derby and his Son John Colonel Leslie: "You cannot commit this violation against innocent people, here on this holy day, without sinning against God and humanity. Let me entreat you to return." At the head of the crowd of armed men of Salem stood Captain Richard Derby. He owned eight of the nineteen cannon which had been collected for the use of the Provincial Congress and he had not the slightest notion of surrendering them. There was a parley while Colonel Leslie argued that he was in lawful use of the King's highway. The Salem rejoinder was to the effect that the road and the bridge were private property to be taken from them only by force and under martial law. At this junc- ture, when bloody collision seemed imminent. Captain Richard Derby took command of the situation, and roared across the stream, as if he were on his own quarterdeck : " Find the cannon if you can. Take them if you can. They will never be surrendered." A fine portrait of this admirable old gentleman has been preserved, and in a well-powdered wig, with a spyglass in his hand, he looks every inch the man who hurled this defiance at Great Britain and dared a battalion of His Majesty's foot to knock the chip oflf his stalwart shoulder. Colonel Leslie made a half-hearted attempt to set his men across the river in boats, and it was at this time that the only casualty occurred, a Salem man, Joseph Whicher, receiving a bayonet thrust. Meanwhile the Marblehead regiment of patriot militia had been mustered under arms, and the Minute Men of Danvers were actually on the march toward the North River bridge. Perceiving that to force a passage meant to set the whole colony in a blaze, and unwilling to shoulder so tremendous a responsibility without orders from General Gage, the British colonel delayed for fur- ther discussion. At length Captain Derby and his friends pro- posed that in order to satisfy Colonel Leslie's ideas of duty and honor, he should be permitted to cross the bridge and immedi- 181 TJie Ships and Sailors of Old Salem ately thereafter return whence he came. This odd compromise was accepted, and after marching to the farther side of the river the troops faced about and footed back to their transport at Marblehead, without finding the cannon they had come out to take. It was a victory for Captain Richard Derby and his townsmen and well worth a conspicuous place in the history of the beginnings of the American Revolution. Another prominent figure in this tremendously dramatic situation was Colonel David Mason, a veteran soldier who had commanded a battery in the French War in 1756-7, and a scientist of considerable distinction who had made discoveries in electricity of such importance that he was requested to journey to Philadelphia to discuss them with Doctor Franklin. Colonel Mason was a man of great public spirit and patriotism, and in November, 1774, he had received an appointment as Engineer from the " Massachusetts Committee of Safety, " which > was the first military appointment of the Revolutionary War. He was from this time actively engaged in collecting military stores for the use of his country and making secret preparation for the approaching contest with England. He had obtained from Captain Derby the cannon which Colonel Leslie wished to confiscate and had given them to a Salem blacksmith to have the iron work for the carriages made and fitted. Colonel Mason resided near the North Bridge and Doctor Barnard's church. When he heard the British troops were drawing near he ran into the North Church and disrupted the afternoon service by shouting at the top of his voice: "The regulars are coming and are now near Malloon's Mills. " He and others in authority among their fellow-townsmen tried to control the hotheads and avert hostilities. But the task was made diffi- cult by defiant patriots who bellowed across the drawbridge : "Soldiers, red jackets, lobster coats, cowards, damn your government." 182 Richard Derby and his Son Johii A high-spirited dame, Sarah Tarrant by narae, poked her head out of a window of her cottage overlooking the scene and shrilly addressed the British colonel: " Go home and tell your master he has sent you on a fool's errand, and broken the peace of our Sabbath. What? Do you think we were born in the woods to be frightened by owls? Fire at me if you have the courage, but I doubt it." John Howard of Marblehead, who was one of the militia men under arms, stated in his recollections of the affair at the North Bridge that there were eight military companies in Marblehead at that time, comprising nearly the whole male population between sixteen and sixty years of age. They were all promptly assembled under Colonel Orne, to the number of a thousand men. Their orders were "to station themselves behind the houses and fences along the road prepared to fall upon the British on their return from Salem, if it should be found that hostile measures had been used by them ; but if it should appear that no concerted act of violence upon the persons or property of the people had been committed, they were charged not to show themselves, but to allow the British detachment to return unmolested to their transport." The episode was taken seriously in England as shown by an item in the Gentleman s Magazine of London of April 17, 1775, which reported : " By a ship just arrived at Bristol from America, it is reported that the Americans have hoisted the standard of liberty at Salem." William Gavett of Salem wrote an account of the affair of which he was an eye-witness and described certain lively inci- dents as follows: " One David Boyce, a Quaker, had gone out with his team to assist in carrying the guns out of reach of the troops, and they were conveyed to the neighborhood of what was then called Buffum's hill, to the northwest of the road leading to Danvers 183 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem and near the present estate of Gen. Devereux. My father looked in between the platoons, as I heard him tell my mother, to see if he could recognize any of the soldiers who had been stationed at Fort William on the Neck, many of whom were known to him, but he could discover no familiar faces and was blackguarded by the soldiers for his inquisitiveness, who asked him, with oaths, what he was looking after. The northern leaf of the draw was hoisted when the troops approached the bridge, which prevented them from going any further. Their commander (Col. Leslie) then went upon West's, now Brown's, wharf, and Capt. John Felt followed him. He then remarked to Capt. Felt, or in his hearing, that he should be obliged to fire upon the people on the northern side of the bridge if they did not lower the leaf. Capt. Felt told him if the troops did fire they would be all dead men, or words to that effect. It was understood afterwards that if the troops fired upon the people, Capt. Felt intended to grapple with Col. Leslie and jump into the river, for said he, ' I would willingly be drowned myself to be the death of one Englishman.' Mr. Wm. Northey, observing the menacing attitude assumed by Capt. Felt, now remarked to him, 'don't you know the danger you are in oppos- ing armed troops, and an officer with a drawn sword in his hand?' The people soon commenced scuttling two gondolas which lay on the western side of the bridge and the troops also got into them to prevent it. One Joseph Whicher, the foreman in Col. Sprague's distillery, was at work scuttling the Colonel's gondola, and the soldiers ordered him to desist and threatened to stab him with their bayonets if he did not — whereupon he opened his breast and dared them to strike. They pricked his breast so as to draw blood. He was very proud of this wound in after life and was fond of exhibiting it." It was a son of this Captain Richard Derby who carried to England the first news of the Battle of Lexington in the swift 184 Richard Derby and his Son John schooner Quero, as the agent of the Provincial Congress. No American's arrival in London ever produced so great a sensa- tion as did that of this Salem sailor, Captain John Derby, in May, 1775. He reached England in advance of the king's messenger dispatched by General Gage, and startled the British nation with the tidings of the clash of arms which meant the loss of an American empire. Three days after the fight at Lexington, the Provincial Con- gress met at Concord, and appointed a committee "to take depositions in perpetuam, from which a full account of the transactions of the troops under General Gage in the route to and from Concord on Wednesday last may be collected to be sent to England by the first ship from Salem." Captain Richard Derby was a member of this Congress, and he offered his fast schooner Quero of sixty-two tons for this purpose, his son Richard, Jr., to fit her out, and his son John to command her for this dramatic voyage. Old Captain Rich- ard, hero of the North River bridge affair, was a sturdy patriot and a smart seaman. He knew his schooner and he knew his son John, and the news would get to England as fast as sail could speed it. General Gage had sent his official messages containing the news of the Lexington fight by the "Royal Express-packet" SuJcey, which sailed on April 24th. Captain John Derby in the Quero did not get his sailing orders from the Provincial Congress until three days later, on April 27th. These orders read as follows : "Resolved: that Captain Derby be directed and he hereby is directed to make for Dublin, or any other good port in Ireland, and from thence to cross to Scotland or England, and hasten to London. This direction is given so that he may escape all enemies that may be in the chops of the Channel to stop the 185 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem communication of the Provincial Intelligence to the agent. He will forthwith deliver his papers to the agent on reaching London. " J. Warren, Chairman. "P. S. — You are to keep this order a profound secret from every person on earth." The letter which Captain John Derby carried with his dis- patches read as follows : "In Provincial Congress, Watertown, "April 26, 1775. "To THE Hon. Benjamin Franklin, Esq., London: "Sir: From the entire confidence we repose in your faithful- ness and abilities, we consider it for the happiness of this Colony that the important trust of agency for it, on this day of un- equalled distress, is devolved on your hands; and we doubt not your attachment to the cause of the liberties of mankind will make every possible exertion in our behalf a pleasure to you, although our circumstances will compel us often to interrupt your repose by matters that will surely give you pain. A single instance hereof is the occasion of the present letter; the contents of this packet will be our apology for troubling you with it. From these you will see how and by whom we are at last plunged into the horrours of a most unnatural war. Our enemies, we are told, have despatched to Great Britain a fallacious account of the tragedy they have begun; to prevent the operation of which to the publick injury, we have engaged the vessel that con- veys this to you as a packet in the service of this Colony, and we request your assistance in supplying Captain Derby, who com- mands her, with such necessaries as he shall want, on the credit of your constituents in Massachusetts Bay. But we most ardently wish that the several papers herewith enclosed may be immediately printed and dispersed through every Town in England, and especially communicated to the Lord Mayor, 186 Richard Derby and his Son John Aldermen, and Common Council of the City of London, that they may take such order thereon as they may think proper, and we are confident your fidelity will make such improvement of them as shall convince all who are not determined to be in ever- lasting blindness, that it is the united efforts of both Englands that must save either. But whatever price our brethren in one may be pleased to put on their constitutional liberties, we are authorized to assure you that the inhabitants of the other, with the greatest unanimity, are inflexibly resolved to sell theirs only at the price of their lives. "Signed by order of the Provincial Congress, " Jos. Warren, President pro tern." John Derby cracked on sail like a true son of his father, and made a passage across the Atlantic of twenty-nine days, hand- somely beating the lubberly "Royal-Express packet" Sukey, which had sailed from Boston four days ahead of him. It is supposed that he made a landing at the Isle of Wight, went ashore alone, and hurried to London as fast as he could. The tidings he bore were too alarming and incredible to be accepted by the statesmen and people of Great Britain. Nothing had been heard from General Gage and here was an audacious Yankee skipper, dropped in from Heaven knew v>^here, spread- ing it broadcast that the American colonists were in full revolt after driving a force of British regulars in disastrous rout. From the office of the Secretary of State, Lord Dartmouth issued this skeptical statement, May 30th: "A report having been spread and an account having been printed and published, of a skirmish between some people of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and a detachment of His Majesty's troops, it is proper to inform the publick that no ad- vices have as yet been received in the American Department of any such event. There are reasons to believe that there are 187 The Shi'ps and Sailors of Old Salem dispatches from General Gage on Board the Sukey, Captain Brown, which though she sailed four days before the vessel that brought the printed accounts, is not arrived." On the following day, Hutchinson, who had preceded Gage as Governor of Massachusetts, wrote from London to his son in Boston : "Captain Darby, in ballast arrived at Southampton from Marblehead the 27, and came to London the next evening. I am greatly distressed for you. Darby's own accounts confirm many parts of the narrative from the Congress, and they that know him say he deserves credit and that he has a good charac- ter; but I think those people would not have been at the expense of a vessel from Marblehead or Salem to England for the sake of telling the truth." On June 1st, Lord Dartmouth wrote General Gage as follows: "Whitehall, 1st June, 1775. " Sir: Since my letter to you of 27th ult. an account has been printed here, accompanied with depositions to verify it, of skirmishes between a detachment of the troops under your com- mand and different bodies of the Provincial Militia. " It appears upon the fullest inquiry that this account, which is chiefly taken from a Salem newspaper, has been published by a Capt. Darby, who arrived on Friday or Saturday at Southamp- ton in a small vessel in ballast, directly from Salem, and from every circumstance, relating to this person and the vessel, it is evident he was employed by the Provincial Congress to bring this account, which is plainly made up for the purpose of con- veying every possible prejudice and misrepresentation of the truth. " From the answers he has given to such questions as has been asked, there is the greatest probability that the whole amounts to no more than that a Detachment, sent by you to destroy 188 Richard Derby and his Son John Cannon and Stores collected at Concord for the purpose of aiding Rebellion, were fired upon, at different times, by people of the Country in small bodies from behind trees and houses, but that the party effected the service they went upon, and returned to Boston, and I have the satisfaction to tell you that, the affair being considered in that light by all discerning men, it has had no other effect here than to raise that just indig- nation which every honest man must feel at the rebellious con- duct of the New England Colonies. At the same time it is very much to be lamented that we have not some account from you of the transaction, which I do not mention from any sup- position that you did not send the earliest intelligence of it, for we know from Darby that a vessel with dispatches sailed four days before him. We expect the arrival of that vessel with great impatience, but 'till she arrives I can form no decisive judg- ment of what has happened, and therefore can have nothing more to add but that I am, &c., Dartmouth." Alas for British hopes and fears, the eagerly awaited arrival of the Sukey confirmed the disastrous news revealed by Captain John Derby, as may be learned from the following article in The London Press: "To THE PUBLICK. "London, June 12, 1775. "When the new^s of a massacre first arrived, the pensioned writer of the Gazette entreated the publick 'to suspend their judgment, as Government had received no tidings of the mat- ter.' It was added that there was every reason to expect the despatches from General Gage, by a vessel called the Sukey. The publick have suspended their judgment; they have waited the arrival of the Sukey; and the humane part of mankind have wished that the fatal tale related by Captain Derby might prove altogether fictitious. To the great grief of every thinking man, 189 TJie Ships and Sailors of Old Salem this is not the case. We are now in possession of both the accounts. The Americans have given their narrative of the massacre; the favorite servants have given a Scotch account of the skirmish. In what one material fact do the two relations, when contrasted with each other, disagree.'* The Americans said 'that a detachment of the King's Troops advanced toward Concord ; that they attempted to secure two bridges on different roads beyond Concord ; that when they reached Lexington they found a body of Provincials exercising on a green; that on dis- covering the Provincial militia thus employed, the King's Troops called out to them to disperse, damned them for a parcel of rebels, and killed one or two, as the most effectual method intimidating the rest.' This the writer of the Scotch account in the Gazette styles, 'marching up to the rebels to inquire the reason of being so assembled.' Both relations, however, agree in this, that a question was asked ; the pensioned varnisher only saying that it was asked in a civil way, attended with the loss of blood. "Thus far, then, the facts, in every material circumstance, precisely agree; and as yet, we have every reason to believe that the Salem Gazette is to the full as authentick a's our Gov- ernment paper, which, as a literary composition, is a disgrace to the Kingdom. "The Salem Gazette assured us that the King's Troops were compelled to return from Concord; that a handful of militia put them to rout, and killed and wounded several as they fled. Is this contradicted in the English Gazette? Quite the contrary; it is confirmed. The Scotch account of the skirmish acknowl- edges that 'on the hasty return of the troops from Concord, they were very much annoyed, and several of them were killed and wounded.' The Scotch account also adds 'that the Pro- vincials kept up a scattering fire during the whole of the march of the King's Troops of fifteen miles, by which means several of 190 Richard Derby and his Son John them were killed and wounded.' If the American Militia 'kept up a scattering fire on the King's Troops, of fifteen miles,' the Provincials must have pursued, and the regulars must have fled, which confirms the account given in the Salem Gazette, wherein it is asserted that the Regulars 'were forced to retreat.' Whether they marched like mutes at a funeral, or whether they fled like the relations and friends of the present ministry who were amongst the rebel army at the battle of Cullodon, is left entirely to the conjecture of the reader; though it should seem that a scattering fire, poured in upon a retreating enemy for fifteen miles together, would naturally, like goads applied to the sides of oxen, make them march off as fast as they could." The newspaper account which Captain Derby carried to London was printed in The Essex Gazette of the issue of " from Tuesday, April 18, to Tuesday, April 25." The Salem Gazette had suspended publication the day before the great events of Concord and Lexington, and therefore it was The Essex Gazette of Salem which was taken to England, the slight error in the name of the journal being immaterial. This edition of the little four-paged weekly newspaper Avhich shook the British Empire to its foundations, was not made up after the pattern of modern " scarehead " journals. The story of Concord and Lexington was tucked away on an inside page with no head- line, title or caption whatever, and was no more than a column long. It may be called the first American war correspondence and no " dispatches from the front " in all history have equaled this article in The Essex Gazette as a stupendous "beat" or "scoop," measured by the news it bore and the events it fore- shadowed. The Gazette carried on its title page the legends, "Containing the freshest advices, both foreign and domestic"; " Printed by Samuel and Ebenezer Hajl at their Printing-Office near the Town House." 191 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem The article in question read, for the most part, as follows: "Salem, April 25. "Last Wednesday, the 19th of April, the troops of his Britan- nick Majesty Commenced Hostilities upon the People of this Province, attended with circumstances of cruelty not less brutal than what our venerable Ancestors received from the vilest savages of the Wilderness. The Particulars relative to this interesting Event, by which we are involved in all the Horrors of a Civil War, we have endeavoured to collect as well as the present confused state of affairs will admit. " On Tuesday Evening a Detachment from the Ai*my, con- sisting, it is said, of 8 or 900 men, commanded by Lieut. Col. Smith, embarked at the Bottom of the Common in Boston, on board a Number of Boats, and landed at Phip's farm, a little way up Charles River, from whence they proceeded with Silence and Expedition, on their way to Concord, about 18 miles from Boston. The People were soon alarmed, and began to assemble, in several towns, before Day-light, in order to watch the Motion of the Troops. At Lexington, 6 miles below Concord, a Com- pany of Militia, of about 100 Men, mustered near the Meeting House; the Troops came in Sight of them just before Sun-rise, and running within a few rods of them, the Commanding Officer accosted the Militia in words to this Effect: "'Disperse, you Rebels — Damn you, throw down your Arms and disperse.* "Upon which the Troops huzza 'd, and immediately one or two Officers discharged their Pistols, which were instantaneously followed by the Firing of 4 or 5 of the Soldiers, and then there seemed to be a general discharge from the whole Body; Eight of our Men were killed, and nine wounded. In a few minutes after this action the Enemy renewed their March for Concord ; at which Place they destroyed several Carriages, Carriage 192 Richard Derby and his Son John Wheels, and about 20 barrels of Flour; all belonging to the Province. Here about 150 Men going toward a Bridge, of which the Enemy were in Possession, the latter fired and killed 2 of our Men, who then returned the Fire, and obliged the Enemy to retreat back to Lexington, where they met Lord Percy, with a large Reinforcement, with two Pieces of Cannon. The Enemy now having a Body of about 1800 Men, made a Halt, picked up many of their Dead, and took care of their Wounded. At Menotomy, a few of our Men attacked a Party of twelve of the Enemy (carrying stores and Provisions to the Troops), killed one of them, wounded several, made the Rest Prisoners, and took Possession of all their arms, Stores, Pro- visions, &c., without any loss on our side. The Enemy having halted one or two Hours at Lexington found it necessary to make a second Retreat, carrying with them many of their Dead and Wounded, who they put into Chaises and on Horses that they found standing in the Road. They contmued their Re- treat from Lexington to Charlestown with great Precipitation; and notwithstanding their Field Pieces, our People continued the Pursuit, firing at them till they got to Charlestown Neck (which they reached a little after Sunset), over which the Enemy passed, proceeded up Bunker Hill, and soon afterward went into the Town, under the protection of the Somerset Man of War of 64 guns." There follows a list of the names of the Provincial Casualities, numbering 38 killed and 19 wounded, with accusations of savage and barbarous behavior on the part of the British troops. The writer then goes on to say: "I have seen an account of the Loss of the Enemy, said to have come from an officer of one of the Men of War; by which it appears that 63 of the Regulars, and 49 Marines were killed, and 103 of both wounded; in all 215. Lieut. Gould of the 4th 193 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem Regiment, who is wounded, and Lieut. Potter of the Marines, and about twelve soldiers, are Prisoners. . . . "The Public most sincerely sympathize with the Friends and Relations of our deceased Brethren, who gloriously sacri- ficed their Lives in fighting for the Liberties of their Country. By their noble, intrepid Conduct, in helping to defeat the Forces of an ungrateful Tyrant, they have endeared their Memories to the present generation who will Transmit their Names to Pos- terity with the highest Honour." The opposite page of The Gazette contained an editorial, or communication, signed "Johannes in Ermo," which Captain John Derby must have enjoyed spreading broadcast in London. It was a battle-hymn in prose, the voice of a free people in arms, indomitable defiance at white-heat. This was the message it flung to the mother country over seas : " Great Britain, adieu ! no longer shall we honour you as our mother; you are become cruel; you have not so much bowels as the sea monsters toward their young ones; we have cried to you for justice, but behold violence and bloodshed ! your sword is drawn offensively, and the sword of New England defensively; by this stroke you have broken us off from you, and eflfectually alienated us from you. O, Britain, see you to your own house! "King George the third, adieu! no more shall we cry to you for protection, no more shall we bleed in defense of your person. Your breach of covenant ; your violation of faith ; your turning a deaf ear to our cries for justice, for covenanted protection and salvation from the oppressive, tyrannical, and bloody measures of the British Parliament, and putting a sanction upon all their measures to enslave and butcher us, have Dissolved our Allegi- ance to your Crown and Government! your sword that ought in justice to 'protect us, is now drawn with a witness to destroy us ! Oh, George, see thou to thine house! " General Gage, pluck up stakes and be gone; you have 194 Richard Derby and his Son John drawn the sword, you have slain in cool blood a number of inno- cent New England men — you have made the assault — and be it known to you, the defensive sword of New England is now drawn, it now studies just revenge; and it will not be satisfied until your blood is shed — and the blood of every son of violence under your command — and the blood of every traitorous Tory under your protection; therefore, depart with all your master's forces — depart from our territories, return to your master soon, or destruction will come upon you ; every moment you tarry in New England, in the character of your Master's General, you are viewed as an Iniriider, and must expect to be treated by us as our inveterate enemy. "O, my dear New England, hear thou the alarm of war! the call of Heaven is to arms ! to arms ! The sword of Great Britain is drawn against us ! without provocation how many of our sons have been fired upon and slain in cool blood, in the cool of the day. . . . "I beseech you, for God's sake, and for your own sake, watch against every vice, every provocation of God Almighty against us ; against intemperance in drinking — against profane language and all debauchery! — and let us all rely on the army of the Most High. ..." That after a safe homeward voyage Captain Derby reported to General Washington in person* on the 18th of July, appears from the Essex Gazette for that month as follows : "Cambridge, July 21. "Capt. John Derby, who sailed from Salem for London a few Days after the Battle of Lexington, returned last Tuesday, * (July 18, 1774.) "Captain John Derby who carried to England the tidings of Lexington battle, appears at headquarters in Cambridge and relates that the news of the commencement of the American war threw the people, especially in London, into great consternation, and occasioned a considerable fall of stocks; that many there sympathized with the Colonies." (Felt's Annals of Salem.) 195 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem and the same Day came to Head-Quarters in this Place. Very httle InteUigence has yet transpired — we only learn, that the News of the Commencement of the American War through the People in England, especially the City of London, into great Con- sternation, and occasioned a considerable Fall of the Stocks. That the Ministry (knowing nothing of the Battle till they saw it published in the London papers) advertised, in the Gazette, that they had received no Account of any Action, and pretended to believe that there had been none. That the Parliament was prorogued two Days before Capt. Derby arrived, but it was said would be immediately called together again. That, when he left London, which was about the 1st of June, no Account of Hostilities had been received by the Ministry from General Gage, notwithstanding the Vessel he dispatched sailed four Days before Capt. Derby. That our friends increased in Num- ber; and that many who had remained neuter in the dispute, began to express themselves warmly in our Favor: That we, however, have no Reason to expect any Mercy from the Min- istry, who seem determined to pursue their Measures (long since concerted) for ruining the British Empire. " Capt. Derby brought a few London Papers, some as late as the 1st of June, but Ave have not been able to obtain a Sight of them. We are informed they contain very little News, and scarce any Remarks on American Affairs." It was singularly appropriate that this same Captain John Derby who carried the news to England of the beginning of the American Revolution should have been the shipmaster to carry home to the United States the first tidings of peace in 1783, when he arrived from France in the ship Astrea with the message that a treaty had been signed. This Captain John Derby won a claim to further notice in the history of his times as one of the owners of the ship Columbia which sailed from Boston in 1787, circumnavigated the globe, 196 I Richard Derby and his Son John and on a second voyage discovered and named the mighty Columbia River on the northwest coast of America. The vast territory which includes the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho was then an unknown and unexplored land, claimed by Spain because her navigators discovered it, by Great Britain because Francis Drake had sailed along the coast in 1759, by Russia because Bering had mapped the North Pacific and pre- pared for the opening in 1771 of the fur trade from Oregon to China. But no nation had established a foothold in this terri- tory and its extent and natural features were wrapped in mystery. In 1783, a young American seaman who had sailed with Cap- tain Cook on an exploring voyage of the North Pacific, published a chart and a journal of the voyage, and first brought to the attention of American shipowners the importance of the North- west fur trade. Ledyard was called an enthusiast, a visionary, until his story attracted the serious consideration of the leading shipping merchants of Boston and Salem. John Derby joined three men of Boston in the venture and the quartette of partners subscribed what was then a huge capital of fifty thousand dollars to equip and despatch a ship to the northwest coast and open an American trade in furs with the Indians. The Columbia was chosen, a ship of two hundred and thirteen tons, small even for that period, mounting ten cannon. Captain John Kendrick was given the command. As consort and tender for coastwise navigation and trade a sloop of ninety tons, the Lady Washington, Captain Robert Gray, was fitted out. Besides the ship's stores, the two vessels carried a cargo of hardware, tools, utensils, buttons, toys, beads, etc., to be bar- tered with the Indians. The State and Federal Governments granted special letters to the captains, and " hundreds of medals signalizing the enterprise were put aboard for distribution wher- ever the vessel touched. Years afterward some of these medals and cents and half-cents of the State of Massachusetts were to 19T The Ships and Sailois of Old Salem be found in the wake of the Columbia among the Spaniards of South America, the Kanakas of Hawaii and the Indians of Oregon." * The two Httle vessels fared bravely around Cape Horn, and steered north until they reached the fur wilderness country of the great Northwest. After many hardships and thrilling adventures the Columbia returned to Boston with a cargo of tea from China. It was a famous voyage in the history of American commercial enterprise, but it brought so little profit to the owners that Captain John Derby and one other partner sold out their shares in the Columbia. She was refitted, how- ever, and again sent to the Northwest in 1790 in command of Captain Gray. On this voyage Captain Gray discovered the Columbia River shortly after he had met at sea the English navigator, Vancouver, who reported passing the mouth of a small stream " not worthy his attention." By so close a margin did Vancouver miss the long-sought great river of Oregon, and the chance to claim the Northwestern America for the British flag by right of discovery. On May 19, 1792, Captain Gray landed with his seamen, after sailing twenty-five miles up the river and formally named it the Columbia. "It has been claimed for many men before and since Marcus Whitman that they saved Oregon to the United States. But surely the earliest and most compelling title to this distinction is that Captain Robert Gray of Boston, and the good ship Columbia. They gave us the great river by the powerful right of discovery, and the great river dominated the region through which it ran. . . . The voyage of the Columbia was plainly and undeniably the first step which won for the United States a grip on the Oregon territory that no diplomatic casuistry and no arrogant bluster could shake. Twelve years after Gray sailed into the great river and named * "The American Merchant Marine," by Winthrop L. Marvin. 198 Richard Derby and his Son John it for his ship and claimed it for his flag and country, Lewis and Clark's hardy band of explorers entered the upper Columbia and floated down to the Sea." * As venturesome a voyage as that of the Columbia, but one unknown to fame, was that of the Salem ship Margaret, Captain James Magee, which sailed to the northwest coast after furs in 1791, and was the second American ship to risk the hazards of these unknown waters. t A journal kept on board the Margaret records meeting the Columbia on the Oregon coast and contains this interesting passage: "Monday, ye 7th (May, 1792). One of our ofllcers with a party of men were daily employed on Shore sawing boards. At Eleven O'clock in the forenoon we saw a sail standing into the harbour where we lay, and Mr. Lamb was sent in the whale boat to discover what Vessel it was. He very shortly return 'd and inform 'd us it was the Sloop Adventure Commanded by Mr. Robert Haswell, a Vessel about forty-seven Tons burden, being a Tender to the Ship Columbia commanded by Captain Robert Gray from Boston. In the Evening after Mr. Haswell had got in and secur'd his Vessel within us, he favoured us with his Company on board the Margaret, and gave us the following Interesting Intelligence : " That Mr. Caswell, the second officer of the Columbia and two seamen were killed the season before, in a harbour in B Sound as they were fishing in a boat out of sight of the Ship. Likewise that Captain Hendricks as he was laying in this Harbour, the last season, was attacked by the natives of the adjacent Village under the command of Coyah, the Chief of * "The American Merchant Marine," by Winthrop L. Marvin. f " Upwards of seventy sail of vessels sailed from this port on Monday last for all parts of the world. Among them was the ship Margaret, James Magee, Esq., Commander, bovnid on a voyage of observation and enterprise to the northwest coast of this Continent. This vessel is copper-bottomed, and is said to be the best provided of any one that ever sailed from this port." {The Inde- pendent Chronicle, Boston, Oct. 27, 1791.) 199 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem the Tribe, and in his defense he killed about forty-five according to the best of his judgment, and wounded several, Coyah among the rest. In the attack there were between one and two hundred on board and alongside. In the first place those on deck took his Arm Chest from him which was upon the quarterdeck. Therefore he was obliged to flee with his men to the Cabbin where luckily he happened to have a few Muskets and some Ammunition, and Arming himself and his Officers and Men with them and some Cutlasses, they rushed on deck and having discharged their Pieces they exercised their Cutlasses so dexter- ously that they immediately clear'd the Ship of the Indians, and then plying them so warmly with his Cannon and Musketry that they immediately fled to the shore after having received the above loss. The reason of this attack probably might have arisen from Captain Hendricks having taken some of ye Natives previously and put them in Irons for repeated Thefts that were committed by the Natives on board." SOO CHAPTER XI ELIAS HASKET DERBY AND HIS TIMES (1770-1800) ELIAS HASKET DERBY, the son of Captain Richard Derby, and a brother of Captain John Derby, was the most conspicuous member of this great seafaring family, by reason of his milhon-dollar fortune, his far-seeing enterprise and his fleet of ships which traded with China, India, Mauritius, Madeira, Siam, Arabia and Europe. He was the first American to challenge the jealous supremacy of the East India, the Hol- land, the French and the Swedish chartered companies in the Orient. He made of commerce an amazingly bold and pic- turesque romance at a time when this infant republic was still gasping from the effects of the death grapple of the Revolution. He was born in 1739, went to sea as had his father and his grandfather before him, and like them rose to the command and ownership of vessels while still in his youth. As told in a previous chapter, he was the foremost owner of Salem privateers during the Revolution, and finding the large, swift and heavily manned ship created by the needs of war unfitted for coastwise and West India trade, he resolved to send them in search of new markets on the other side of the globe. No sooner was peace declared than he was making ready his great ship, the Grand Turk, for the first American voyage to the Cape of Good Hope. The Grand Turk had been built in 1781 for privateering and as a letter of marque. She was of three hundred tons burden, the largest vessel built in a Salem ship- yard until after the Revolution, and Elias Hasket Derby was 201 The Ships a7id Sailors of Old Salem proud of her speed, her beauty and her record. During the Revolution she mounted twenty-two guns and fought them handily. On her second cruise as a privateer she captured two rich prizes, took them into Bilboa, and more than paid for herself. Later the Grand Turk made several cruises in West India waters and, among other successes, captured a twenty-gun ship, the Pompey, from London. This was the ship with which Elias Hasket Derby blazed a trail toward the Orient, the forerunner of his pioneering ven- tures to the East Indies. Of the methods and enterprise of Elias Hasket Derby, as typified in such voyages as this of the Grand Turk, one of his captains, Richard Cleveland, wrote in his recollections of the methods and enterprise of this typical merchant of his time : "In the ordinary course of commercial education, in New England, boys are transferred from school to the merchant's desk at the age of fourteen or fifteen. When I had reached my fourteenth year it was my good fortune to be received in the counting house of Elias Hasket Derby of Salem, a merchant who may justly be termed the father of American commerce to India, one whose enterprise and commercial sagacity were unequalled in his day. To him our country is indebted for opening the valuable trade to Calcutta, before whose fortress his was to be the first vessel to display the American flag; and following up the business, he had reaped golden harvests before other merchants came in for a share of them. The first Ameri- can ships seen at the Cape of Good Hope and the Isle of France belonged to him. His were the first American ships which carried cargoes of cotton from Bombay to China, and among the first ships which made a direct voyage to China and back was one o^vned by him. Without possessing a scientific knowl- edge of the construction and sparring of ships, Mr. Derby seemed to have an intuitive faculty in judging of models and QQC) Elias Hasket Derby and his Times proportions, and his experiments in several instances for the attainment of swiftness in sailing were crowned with success unsurpassed in this or any other country. " He built several ships for the India trade immediately in the vicinity of the counting house, which afforded me an oppor- tunity of becoming acquainted with the building, sparring and rigging of ships. The conversations to which I listened relating to the countries then newly visited by Americans, the excitement on the return of an adventure from them and the great profits which were made, always manifest from my own little adven- tures, tended to stimulate the desire in me of visiting those countries, and of sharing more largely in the advantages they presented." The Grand Turk, "the great ship," as she was called in Salem, was less than one hundred feet long, yet she was the first of that noble fleet which inspired a Salem historian. Rev. George Bachelor, to write in an admirable tribute to the town in which his life was passed: "After a century of comparative quiet, the citizens of this little town were suddenly dispersed to every part of the Oriental world and to every nook of barbarism which had a market and a shore. . . . The reward of enterprise might be the dis- covery of an island in which wild pepper enough to load a ship might be had almost for the asking, or of forests where precious gums had no commercial value, or spice islands unvexed and unvisited by civilization. Every shipmaster and every mariner returning on a richly loaded ship was the owner of valuable knowledge. "Rival merchants sometimes drove the work of preparation night and day when virgin markets had favors to be won, and ships which set out for unknown ports were watched when they slipped their cables and sailed away by night, and clogged for months on the high seas in the hope of discovering the secret 203 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem well kept by owner and crew. Every man on board was allowed a certain space for a little venture. People in other pursuits, not excepting the merchant's minister, intrusted their savings to the supercargo, and watched eagerly the results of their ventures. This great mental activity, and profuse stores of knowledge brought by every ship's crew, and distributed, together with India shawls, blue china, and unheard of curiosi- ties from every savage shore, gave the community a rare alertness of intellect." It was the spirit as is herein indicated that achieved its finest flower in such merchants as Elias Hasket Derby. When his ships took their departure from the Massachusetts coast they vanished beyond his ken for one or two years. His captains were intrusted with the disposal of the cargo to the best advan- tage. There was no sending orders by mail or cable. It was this continual sense of facing unknown hazards, of gambling with the sea and hostile, undiscovered shores that prompted those old shipmasters to inscribe on the title pages of their log books : "A Journal of an Intended Voyage by God's Assistance . . . Cape Ann bore W.N.W. from whence I take my departure. So God send the good ship to her Desired Port in Safety. Amen." When the Grand Turk made her first voyage to the Cape of Good Hope in 1784, commanded by Captain Jonathan Inger- soU, the scanty navigating equipment of his time is said to have consisted of " a few erroneous maps and charts, a sextant and a Guthrie's Grammar."* The Grand Turk made her * The edition of 1800 of this popular compendium of knowledge bore on the title page: " A New Geographical, Historical and Commercial Grammar and Present State of the Several Kingdoms of the World. Illustrated with a Cor- rect Set of Maps, Engraved from the Most Recent Observations and Draughts of Geographical Travellers. The Eighteenth Edition Corrected and Consider- ably enlarged. London. 1800." The work contained " Longitude, Latitude, Bearings and Distances of Prin- cipal Places from London " as one of its qualifications for use among mariners. 204 I o O % i t i o o Elias Hasket Derby and his Times passage in safety and while she lay in Table Bay, Major Samuel Shaw, an American returning from Canton, sent a boat aboard for Captain Ingersoll and later wrote of this Salem venture: "The object was to sell, rum, cheese, salt, provisions and chocolate, loaf sugar, butter, etc., the proceeds of which in money with a quantity of ginseng, and some cash brought with him. Captain Ingersoll intended to invest in Bohea tea; but as the ships bound to Europe are not allowed to break bulk on the way, he was disappointed in his expectations of procuring that article and sold his ginseng for tAVo-thirds of a Spanish dollar a pound, which is twenty per cent, better than the silver money of the Cape. He intended remaining a short time to purchase fine teas in the private trade allowed the officers on board India ships, and then to sail to the coast of Guinea, to dispose of his rum, etc., for ivory and gold dust; thence without taking a single slave to proceed to the West Indies and purchase sugar and cotton, with which he would return to Salem. Notwith- standing the disappointment in the principal object of the voyage and the consequent determination to go to the coast of Guinea, his resolution not to endeavor to retrieve it by pur- chasing slaves did the captain great honor, and reflected equal credit upon his employers, who, he assured me, would rather sink the whole capital employed than directly or indirectly be concerned in so infamous a trade." The Grand Turk returned by way of the West Indies where the sales of his cargo enabled her captain to load two ships for Salem. He sent the Grand Turk home in charge of the mate and returned in the Atlantic. During the voyage Captain Ingersoll rescued the master and mate of an English schooner, the Amity, whose crew had mutinied while off the Spanish Main. The two officers had been cast adrift in a small boat to perish. This was the first act in a unique drama of maritime coincidence. 205 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem After the castaways had reached Salem, Captain Duncanson, tlie Enghsh master of the Amity, was the guest of Mr. EHas Hasket Derby while he waited for word from his owners and an opportunity to return to his home across the Atlantic. He spent much of his time on the water front as a matter of course, and used to stand at a window of Mr. Derby's counting house idly staring at the harbor. One day while sweeping the seaward horizon with the office spyglass, the forlorn British skipper let fly an oath of the most profound amazement. He dropped the glass, rubbed his eyes, chewed his beard and stared again. A schooner was making across the Isar, and presently she stood clear of the islands at the harbor mouth and slipped toward an anchorage well inside. There was no mistaking her at this range. It was the Amity, his own schooner which had been taken from him in the West Indies, from which he and his mate had been cast adrift by the piratical seamen. Captain Duncanson hurried into Mr. Derby's private office as fast as his legs could carry him. By some incredible twist of fate the captors of the Amity had sailed her straight to her captain. Mr. Derby was a man of the greatest promptitude and one of his anchored brigs was instantly manned with a heavy crew, two deck guns slung aboard, and with Captain Duncanson striding the quarterdeck, the brig stood down to take the Amity. It was Captain Duncanson who led the boarders, and the mutineers were soon overpowered and fetched back to Salem jail in irons. The gratefvil skipper and his mate signed a crew in Salem, and took the Amity to sea, a vessel restored to her own by so marvel- ous an event that it would be laughed out of court as material for fiction. In November, 1785, the Grand Turk was cleared, in command of Captain Ebenezer West for the Isle of France, but her owner had it in his mind, and so instructed his captain, to continue 206 Elias Hashet Derby and Ids Times the voyage to Batavia and China. In June of 1787, she returned to Salem with a cargo of teas, silks, and nankeens, a notable voyage in seas when the American flag was almost unknown. Her successful commerce with Canton lent a slightly humorous flavor to the comment of the Independent Chronicle of London, dated July 29, 1785: " The Americans have given up all thought of a China trade which can never be carried on to advantage without some settlement in the East Indies." Captain Ebenezer West who took the Grand Turk to the Orient on this voyage was a member of so admirable a family of American seamen and shipmasters that the records of the three brothers as Avritten down in the official records of the Salem Marine Society deserves a place in this chapter, "Captain Nathaniel West was born in Salem, Jan. 31, 1756, and died here December 19, 1851. His elder brother, Ebenezer, and his younger, Edward, as well as himself, were possessed of great energy and enterprise, and all three early selected the ocean for their field of action. Ebenezer was for nearly four years during the Revolution a prisoner of war, and was ex- changed shortly before peace was proclaimed. He subsequently had command of E. H. Derby's famous ship, the Grand Turk, and in her completed the second voyage by an American vessel to Canton, returning to Salem in 1786. " Capt. Edward West, the youngest, was in command of his brother Nathaniel's ship, Hercides, seized in Naples in 1809, and had the good fortune to obtain her release in order to trans- port Lucien Bonaparte and family to Malta, thus saving his ship from confiscation. He died at Andover, June 22, 1851, six months before his brother Nathaniel, at the age of ninety-one. "In 1775, Nathaniel, at the age of nineteen, being in command of a merchant vessel in the West India trade, was captured by a British frigate, and was soon recognized by Capt. Gayton, her 207 The Shijjs and Sailors of Old Salem commander, as the son of an old friend, and was compelled to serve as midshipman on board a British seventy-four, under the command of Capt. Edwards. Of their personal kindness he often spoke in after life. Being on shore as officer of a press gang, he effected his escape in London, and made his way to Lisbon, where he embarked on board the Oliver Cromwell, a Salem privateer of sixteen guns, and returned to this port. On the passage, having been closely pursued for three days, he narrowly escaped being captured by a British frigate. Aware of his impending fate, if taken, he encouraged and stimulated the crew to the use of the sweeps, himself tugging at the oar, and by his energy and incessant diligence was mainly instru- mental in saving the ship. "He made several cruises in the Oliver Cromwell and other armed vessels, and took many prizes. He participated with the famous Captain of the privateer Black Prince, carrying eighteen guns and one hundred and fifty men. On one occasion, with Capt. Nathaniel Silsbee as his Lieutenant, he put into Cork on a dark night and cut out and took away a valuable prize. "Capt. West subsequently embarked in commerce and pur- sued it with continued success until he had amassed a large fortune. He was among the pioneers in various branches of trade, the Northwest, China, East India, etc. — and knew their origin and progress through their various stages. In 1792, he built and despatched the schooner Patty, commanded by his brother, Capt. Edward West, and she was the first American vessel to visit Batavia. His ship Prudent (in 1805) was among the first of the very few American vessels that visited the Dutch Spice Islands, Amboyna, etc. His ship Minerva was the first Salem vessel to circumnavigate the globe, having sailed from here in 1800 for the N. W. coast and China. His ship Hercules, under his brother Edward's command, on the conclusion of the war with Great Britain in 1815, was the first vessel to sail from 208 Nathaniel West Elias Hasket Derby and his Times the United States for the East Indies, under the terms of the treaty. The Hercules, built for Capt. West in 1805, was a few years since doing good service as a whaler out of New Bedford, and is, we believe, still in existence. "His age so nearly approximated an hundred years that we may say he flourished during four generations of his race, in the most active and enterprising walks of life. In person, Capt. West was of fine figure, and of a majestic mien and gait. He never forgot the dignity which belonged to his years and station. He was a gentleman of the old school in manners and dress, and adhered with scrupulous tenacity to the costume of his early years. His physical powers were so little impaired, even in his extreme old age, that he was frequently seen driving along in his gig, or walking with vigorous and elastic step, until a very short time before his death; and many of our readers can recall his commanding and dignified appearance in our streets. He united in himself personal frugality, economy, and untiring industry; and his favorite maxim was, 'without these none can be rich, and with these few would be poor. ' " When Mr. Derby decided to push out for a share of the East India commerce he sent his eldest son, Elias Hasket, Jr., to England and the Continent as soon as he was graduated from Harvard College. There the young man remained until he had become a linguist and had made a thorough study of the English and French methods of trade with the Far East. Having laid this thorough foundation for his bold venture, Elias Hasket, Jr., was now sent to India where he lived three years in the interests of his house, and firmly established an immensely profitable trade which for half a century was to make the name of Salem far more widely known in Bombay and Canton than that of New York or Boston. A little later the Derby ship Astrea was showing the American flag to the natives of Siam. 209 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem How fortunes were won in those brave days may be learned from the record of young Derby's activities while in the Far East. In 1788 the proceeds of one cargo enabled him to buy a ship and a brigantine in the Isle of France (Mauritius) in the Indian Ocean. These two vessels he sent to Bombay to load with cotton. Two other ships of his house, the Astrea and the Light Horse he filled with cargoes at Calcutta and Rangoon, and sent them home to Salem. Then he returned in still another ship, the brig Henry. When the profit of these several transactions were reckoned it was found that more than $100,000 had been earned by this little fleet above all outlay. Soon after his return young Derby sailed for Mocha, an Arabian port in the Red Sea, to pick up a cargo of coffee. The natives had never heard of America, and the strange vessel was a nine days' wonder. In 1788 Mr. Derby decided to send a ship for a direct voyage to Batavia, another novel commercial undertaking. While. the purely business side of these enterprises is not thrilling, it holds a certain mterest as showing the responsibilities of the ship- masters upon whose judgment depended the results of the voyage. For this first American voyage to Batavia, the instruc- tions of the captain and supercargo from the owner, Mr. Derby, read as follows: "Salem, February, 1789. "Captain James Magee, Jr., " Mr. Thomas Perkins (supercargo) " Gents : The ship Astrea of which James Magee is master and Mr. Thomas Perkins is supercargo, being ready for sea, I do advise and order you to come to sail, and make the best of your way for Batavia, and on your arrival there you will dispose of such part of your cargo as you think may be the most for my interest. **I think you had best sell a few casks of the most ordinary 210 Elias Hasket Derby and his Times ginseng, if you can get one dollar a pound for it. If the price of sugar be low, you will then take into the ship as much of the best white kind as will floor her, and fifty thousand weight of coffee, if it is as low as we have heard — part of which you will be able to stow between the beams and the quintlings, and fifteen thousand of saltpeter, if very low; some nutmegs, and fifty thousand weight of pepper. This you will stow in the fore peak, for fear of its injuring the teas. The sugar will save the expense of any stone ballast and it will make a floor for the teas, etc., at Canton. "At Batavia you must if possible, get as much freight for Canton as will pay half or more of your charges; that is, if it will not detain you too long, as by this addition of freight it will exceedingly help the voyage. You must endeavor to be the first ship with ginseng, for be assured you will do better alone than you will if there are three or four ships at Canton at the same time with you. . . . " Captain Magee and Mr. Perkins are to have five per cent, commission for the sales of the present cargo and two and one- half per cent, on the cargo home, and also five per cent, on the profit made on goods that may be purchased at Batavia and sold at Canton, or in any other similar case that may arise on the voyage. They are to have one-half the passage money — the other half belongs to the ship. The privileges of Captain Magee is five per cent, of what the ship carries on cargo, exclusive of adventures. It is ordered that the ship's books shall be open to the inspection of the mates and doctor of the ship, so that they may know the whole business, as in case of death or sickness it may be of good service in the voyage. The Phila- delphia beer is put up so strong that it will not be approved of until it is made weaker; you had best try some of it first. " You will be careful not to break any acts of trade while you are out on the voyage, to lay the ship and cargo liable to seizure, 211 The Ship^ and Sailors of Old Salem for my insurance will not make it good. Be very careful of the expense attending the voyage, and remember that a one dollar laid out while absent is two dollars out of the voyage. Pay par- ticular attention to the quality of your goods, as your voyage very much depends on your attention to this. You are not to pay any moneys to the crew while absent from home unless in a case of real necessity, and then they must allow an advance for the money. Annexed to these orders you have a list of such a cargo for my own account as I at present think may do best for me, but you will add or diminish any article as the price may be. " . . . Captain Magee and Mr. Perkins — Although I have been a little particular in these orders, I do not mean them as positive; and you have leave to break them in any part where you by calculation think it for my interest, excepting your breaking Acts of Trade which I absolutely forbid. Not having to add anything, I commit you to the Almighty's protection, and remain your friend and employer, "Elias Hasket Derby." The captain was expected to "break his orders in any part," if he could drive a better bargain than his employer had been able to foresee at a distance of ten thousand miles from the market. Merchants as well as navigators, the old-time ship- master found compensation for these arduous responsibilities in the "privileges" which allowed him a liberal amount of cargo space on their own account, as well as a commission on the sales of the freight out and back. His own share of the profits of two or three voyages to the Far East might enable him to buy and ship and freight a vessel for himself. Thereafter, if he were shrewd and venturesome enough, he rose rapidly to independence and after a dozen years of the quarterdeck was ready to step ashore as a merchant with his own counting house and his fleet of stout ships. 212 Elias Hasket Derby and his Times In 1793, Captain Jonathan Carnes of Salem was looking for trade along the Sumatra coast. Touching at the port of Ben- coolen, he happened to learn that wild pepper might be found along the northwest coast of Sumatra. The Dutch East India Company was not as alert as this solitary Yankee shipmaster, roaming along strange and hostile shores. Captain Carnes kept his knowledge to himself, completed his voyage to Salem, and there whispered to a merchant, Jonathan Peele, that as soon as possible a secret pepper expedition should be fitted out. Mr. Peele ordered a fast schooner built. She was called the Rajah, and carried four guns and ten men. There was much gossiping speculation about her destination, but Captain Carnes had nothing at all to say. In November, 1795, he cleared for Sumatra and not a soul in Salem except his owner and himself knew whither he was bound. The cargo consisted of brandy, gin, iron, tobacco and dried fish to be bartered for wild pepper. For eighteen months no word returned from the Rajah, and her mysterious quest. Captain Carnes might have been wrecked on coasts whereof he had no charts, or he might have been slain by hostile natives. But Jonathan Peele, having risked his stake, as Salem merchants were wont to do, busied himself with other affairs and pinned his faith to the proven sagacity and pluck of Jonathan Carnes. At last, a string of signal flags fluttered from the harbor mouth. Jonathan Peele reached for his spyglass, and saw a schooner's topsails lifting from seaward. The Rajah had come home, and when she let go her anchor in Salem harbor. Captain Jonathan Carnes brought word ashore that he had secured a cargo of wild pepper in bulk which would return a profit of at least seven hundred per cent, of the total cost of vessel and voyage. In other words, this one "adventure" of the Rajah realized what amounted to a comfortable fortune in that generation. 213 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem There was great excitement among the other Salem merchants. They forsook their desks to discuss this pepper bonanza, but Captain Jonathan Games had nothing to say and Mr. Jonathan Peele was as dumb as a Salem harbor clam. The Rajah was at once refitted for a second Sumatra voyage, and in their eagerness to fathom her dazzling secret, several rival merchants hastily made vessels ready for sea with orders to go to that coast as fast as canvas could carry them and endeavor to find out where Captain Carnes found his wild pepper. They hurried to Bencoolen, but were unsuccessful and had to proceed to India to fill their holds with whatever cargoes came to hand. Meanwhile the Rajah slipped away for a second pepper voyage, and returned with a hundred and fifty thousand pounds of the precious condiment. There was no hiding this mystery from Salem merchants for long, however, and by the time the Rajah had made three pepper voyages, the rivals were at her heels, bartering with native chieftains and stowing their holds with the wild pepper which long continued to be one of the most profitable articles of the Salem commerce with the Orient. It was a fine romance of trade, this story of Captain Carnes and the Rajah, and char- acteristic of the men and methods of the time. For half a century a large part of the pepper used in all countries was reshipped from the port of Salem, a trade which flourished until 1850. During the period between the first voyage of Captain Carnes and 1845, the Salem custom house records bore the entries of almost two hundred vessels from the port of Sumatra. While Sumatra and China and India were being sought by Salem ships, Elias Hasket Derby in 1796 sent his good ship Astrea on a pioneer voyage to Manila. She was the first American vessel to find that port, and was loaded with a rich cargo of sugar, pepper and indigo, on which twenty-four 2U Elias Hasket Derby and his Times thousand dollars in duties were paid at the Salem Custom House. To carry on such a business as that controlled by Elias Hasket Derby, enlisted the activities of many men and industries. While his larger ships were making their distant voyages, his brigs and schooners were gathering the future cargoes for the Orient; voyaging to Gothenburg and St. Petersburg for iron, duck and hemp; to France, Spain and Madeira for wine and lead; to the West Indies for rum, and to New York, Phila- delphia and Richmond for flour, provisions, iron, and tobacco. These shipments were assembled in the warehouses of Derby wharf, and paid for in the teas, coffee, pepper, muslin, silks and ivory which the ships from the far East were bringing home. In fourteen years Mr. Derby's ships to the far Eastern ports and Europe made one hundred and twenty-five voyages, and of the thirty-five vessels engaged in this traffic only one was lost at sea. In one of the most entertaining and instructive chapters of "Walden," Thoreau takes the trouble to explain the business of a successful shipping merchant of Salem. The description of his activities may be fairly applied to Elias Hasket Derby and his times. "To oversee all the details yourself in person; to be at once pilot and captain, and owner and underwriter; to buy and sell and keep the accounts; to read every letter received, and write or read every letter sent ; to superintend the discharge of imports night and day; to be upon many ports of the coast almost at the same time — often the richest freights will be discharged upon a Jersey shore; to be your own telegraph, unweariedly sweeping the horizon, speaking all vessels bound coastwise; to keep up a steady dispatch of commodities for the supply of such a distant and exorbitant market ; to keep yourself informed of the state of the markets, prospects of war and peace every- 215 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem where, and anticipate the tendencies of trade and civiUzation. Taking advantage of the results of all exploring expeditions using new passages and all improvements in navigation; charts to be studied, the position of reefs and new lights and buoys to be corrected, for by the error of some calculator the vessel often splits upon a rock that should have reached a friendly pier; universal science to be kept pace with, studying the lives of all great discoverers and navigators, great adventurers and mer- chants, from Hanno and the Phoenicians down to our day; in fine, account of stock must be taken from time to time, to know how you stand. It is such a labor to task the faculties of a man — such problems of profit and loss, of interest, of tare and tret, and gauging of all kinds in it, as demand a universal knowledge." There is to-day nothing at all comparable with the community of interests which bound all Salem in a kinship with the sea and its affairs. Every ship for China or India carried a list of "adventures," small speculations entrusted to the captain or supercargo, contributed by boys and girls, sweethearts, brothers, mothers and wives. In the log of Mr. Derby's ship, the Astrea, for a voyage to Batavia and Canton are the following "memoranda" of "adventures," which were to be sold by the captain and the profits brought home to the investors : " Captain Nathaniel West. 15 boxes spermacetti candles. 1 pipe Tenefriffe wine." "James Jeffry. 1 cask ginseng." "George Dodge. 10 Dollars. 1 pipe Madeira wine." In searching among the old logs for these "adventures," the author found "on board Ship Messenger of Salem, 1816": "Memorandum of Miss Harriet Elkin's Adventure. " Please to purchase if at Calcutta two net bead with draperies; if at Batavia or any spice market, nutmegs, and mace, or if at 216 Elias Hasket Derby and his Times Canton, Two Canton Crape shawls of the enclosed colors at $5 per shawl. Enclosed is $10. Signed. "Henrietta Elkins." "Memorandum of Mr. John R. Tucker's Adventure. "Mr. C.Stanley, Sir: "I hand you a bag containing 100 Spanish dollars for my adventure on board the ship Messenger which please invest in coffee and sugar, if you have room after the cargo is on board. If not, invest the amount in nutmegs, or spice as you think best. Please do for me as you do for your own, and oblige your obt. "John II. Tucker. "To Edward Stanley, master." Captain Stanley kept an itemized record of his transactions with Mr. J. Tucker's one hundred Spanish dollars, and it may be interesting to note how such an "adventure" was handled to reap profits for the waiting speculator in faraway Salem. The captain first bought in Batavia ten bags of coffee for $83.30, which with boat hire, duty and sacking made the total outlay $90.19. This coffee he sold in Antwerp on his way home for $183.75. Arriving at Salem he paid over to Mr. Tucker the sum of $193.57, or almost one hundred per cent, profit on the amount of the "adventure." This is enough to show why this kind of speculative investment was so popular in the Salem of a century ago. The same ship carried also "Mrs. Mary Townsend's adven- ture," to wit: " Please to purchase lay out five dollars which I send by you, Vizt: "One Tureen 14 by 10 Inches, China. One Nett bead and you will oblige." Almost every household of Salem had its own menfolk or near kinfolk on the sea, not in the offshore fisheries, nor in the 217 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem coastwise trade where the perils of their calling might be some- what atoned for by the frequent visits of these loved ones. The best and bravest men of Salem were in the deep-water, square- rigged vessels which vanished toward the Orient and to the South Seas to be gone, not months but years on a voyage. After open hostilities had fairly begun between France and the United States, in 1798, our ports began to send out priva- teersmen and the merchants' fleets sought refuge. Elias Hasket Derby, with a revival of his bold Revolutionary spirit, decided to risk a cargo of sugar and coffee to meet the urgent demands of the Mediterranean ports. For this particular mission he built the ship Mount Vernon, a notable combination of commercial and naval fitness. She was the last venture of this great merchant, and with characteristic enterprise he took the chances of evading the French and the Algerinc pirates with a cargo whose profits would be enormous if the Mount Vernon could make the passage in safety. This fine ship was only one hundred feet long, but she carried fifty men and twenty guns. She was built for speed as well as fighting ability, and she made Cape Vincent on her outward passage in sixteen days from Salem. Her voyage was a brilliant success, although her owner died before she came home. The Mount Vernon on this one voyage paid to the Derby estate a profit of one hundred thousand dollars on a total investment for ship and cargoes of $43,000. The letter book of the Mount Vernon for this notable voyage in the history of the American merchant marine tells how she fought her way across the Atlantic. Captain Elias Hasket Derby, junior, was in charge of the vessel, and he wrote his father as follows : " GiBRALTER, 1st, AugUSt, 1799. "E. H. Derby, Esq., Salem: " Honored Sir : I think you must be surprised to find me here so early. I arrived at this port in seventeen and one-half days 218 Elias Hasket Derby and his Times from the time my brother left the ship (off Salem). In eight days and seven hours were up with Carvo, and made Cape St. Vincent in sixteen days. The first of our passage was quite agreeable; the latter light winds, calm, and Frenchmen con- stantly in sight for the last four days. The first Frenchman we saw was off Tercira, a lugger to the southward. Being uncer- tain of his force, we stood by him to leeward on our course and soon left him. " July 28th in the afternoon we found ourselves approaching a fleet of upwards of fifty sail, steering nearly N. E. We run directly for their centre; at 4 o'clock found ourselves in their half-moon ; concluding it impossible that it could be any other than the English fleet, continued our course for their centre, to avoid any apprehension of a want of confidence in them. They soon dispatched an 18-gun ship from their centre, and two frigates, one from their van and another from the rear to beat towards us, being to windward. "On approaching the centre ship under easy sail, I fortu- nately bethought myself that it would be but common prudence to steer so far to windward of him as to be a gunshot's distance from him; to observe his force, and manoevering. When we were abreast of him he fired a gun to leeward and hoisted English colors. We immediately bore away and meant to pass under his c|uarter, between him and the fleet, showing our American colors. This movement disconcerted him and it appeared to me he conceived we were either an American sloop of war or an English one in distress, attempting to cut him off from the fleet. While we were in the act of wearing on his beam, he hoisted French colors and gave us his broadside. "We immediately brought our ship to the wind and stood on about a mile, wore towards the centre of the fleet, hove about and crossed on him on the other tack about half grape shot distance and received his broadside. Several of his shot fell on 219 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem board of us, and cut our sails — two round shot striking us, without much damage. All hands were active in clearing ship for action, for our surprise had been complete. " In about ten minutes we commenced firing our stern chasers and in a quarter of an hour gave him our broadside in such a style as apparently sickened him, for he immediately luffed in the wind, gave us his broadside, went in stays in great confusion, wore ship afterwards in a large circle, and renewed the chase at a mile and a half distance — a manoever calculated to keep up appearances with the fleet and to escape our shot. We received seven or eight broadsides from him, and I was mortified at not having it in my power to return him an equal number without exposing myself to the rest of the fleet, for I am per- suaded I should have had the pleasure of sending him home had he been separate from them. "At midnight we had distanced them, the chasing rocket signals being almost out of sight, and soon left them. We then kept ourselves in constant preparation till my arrival here; and indeed it had been very requisite, for we have been in con- stant brushes ever since. The day after we left the (French) fleet we were chased till night by two frigates whom we lost sight of when it was dark. The next morning off Cape St. Vincent in the latitude of Cadiz, were chased by a French lateen- rigged vessel apparently of 10 or 12 guns, one of them an 18-pounder. We brought to, for his metal was too heavy for ours, and his position was to windward, where he lay just in a situation to cast his shot over us, and it was not in my power to put him off. We of course bore away, and saluted him with our long nines. He continued in chase till dark and when we were nearly by Cadiz, at sunset, he made a signal to his consort, a large lugger whom we had just discovered ahead. Having a strong breeze I was determined to pass my stern over him if he did not make way for me. He thought prudent so to do. 220 1 ili^ Elias Hashet Derby and his Times " At midnight we made the lights in Cadiz city but found no English fleet. After laying to till daybreak, concluded that the French must have gained the ascendency in Cadiz and thought prudent to proceed to this place where we arrived at 12 o'clock, popping at Frenchmen all the forenoon. At 10 A.M. off Algeciras Point were seriously attacked by a large latineer who had on board more than 100 men. He came so near our broadside as to allow our six-pound grape to do execution handsomely. We then bore away and gave him our stern guns in a cool and deliberate manner, doing apparently great execution. Our bars having cut his sails considerably he was thrown into con- fusion, struck both his ensign and his pennant. I was then puzzled to know what to do with so many men; our ship was running large with all her steering sails out, so that we could not immediately bring her to the wind and we were directly off Algeciras Point from whence I had reason to fear she might receive assistance, and my port (Gibralter) in full view. "These were circumstances that induced me to give up the gratification of bringing him in. It was, however, a satisfaction to flog the rascal in full view of the English fleet who were to leeward. The risk of sending here is great, indeed, for any ship short of our force in men and guns — but particularly heavy guns. " It is absolutely necessary that two Government ships should occasionally range the straits and latitude of Cadiz, from the longitude of Cape St. Vincent. I have, now while writing to you, two of our countrymen in full view who are prizes to these villains. Lord St. Vincent, in a 50-gun ship bound for England, is just at this moment in the act of retaking one of them. The other goes into Algeciras without molestation. " You need have but little apprehension for my safety, as my crew are remarkably well trained and are perfectly well disposed to defend themselves; and I think after having cleared our- 221 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem selves from the French in such a handsome manner, you may well conclude that we can effect almost anything. If I should go to Constantinople, it will be with a passport from Admiral Nelson for whom I may carry a letter to Naples. "Your affectionate son, "Elias Hasket Derby." That the experience of Captain Elias Hasket Derby, Jr., in the Mount VernoJi was not an unusual one is indicated by the following letter written by Captain Richard Wheatland and published in a Salem newspaper of 1799 under these stirring headlines : " A sea Fight gallantly and vigorously maintained by the Ship Perseverance, Captain Richard Wheatland of this port against one of the vessels of the Terrible Republic. The French Rascals, contrary to the Laws of War and Honor, fought under false colours, whilst the Eagle, true to his charge, spreads his wings on the American flag." "Ship Perseverance, "Old Straits of Bahama, Jan. 1, 1799. "Dec. 31st. Key Remain in sight, bearing south, distance four or five leagues. A schooner has been in chase of us since eight o'clock, and has every appearance of being a privateer. At one o'clock P.M. finding the schooner come up with us very fast, took in steering sails, fore and aft and royals; at half -past one about ship and stood for her; she immediately tacked and made sail from us. We fired a gun to leeward and hoisted the American ensign to our mizzen peak; she hoisted a Spanish jack at maintop masthead and continued to run from us. Find- ing she outsailed us greatly, and wishing to get through the Narrows in the Old Straits, at two o'clock P.M. we again about ship and kept on our course. The schooner immediately wore, fired a gun to leeward, and kept after us under a great press of 222 r /- A) icuraf] jsjassE^J sssn^) c=22^f (JKa*.~;j §i&''^ ■^ feiik* ^ 1 H 1^' jBfffcrtwtc*^^'^ "" Eliiis Hasket Derby mansion (1799-1816) Prince House. Home of Richard Derby. Built about 1750 Elias Hasket Derby and his Times sail. At half-past two she again fired a gun to leeward, but perceiving ourselves in the Narrows above mentioned, we kept on to get through them if possible before she came up with us, which we effected. " At three o'clock finding ourselves fairly clear of Sugar Key and Key Laboas, we took in steering sails, wore ship, hauled up our courses, piped all hands to quarters and prepared for action. The schooner immediately took in sail, hoisted an English Union flag, and passed under our lee at a considerable distance. We wore ship, she did the same and we passed each other within half a musket. A fellow hailed us in broken Eng- lish and ordered the boat hoisted out and the captain to come on board with his papers, which he refused. He again ordered our boat out and enforced his orders wnth a menace that in case of refusal he would sink us, using at the same time the vilest and most infamous language it is possible to conceive of. "By this time he had fallen considerably astern of us; he wore and came up on our starboard quarter, giving us a broad- side as he passed our stern, but fired so excessively wild that he did us very little injury, while our stern-chasers gave him a noble dose of round shot and lagrange. We hauled the ship to wind and as he passed poured a whole broadside into him with great success. Sailing faster than we he ranged consider- ably ahead, tacked and again passed, giving us a broadside and a furious discharge of musketry which they kept up incessantly until the latter part of the engagement. " His musket balls reached us in every direction, but his large shot either fell short or went considerably over us while our guns loaded with round shot and square bars of iron, six inches long, were plied so briskly and directed with such good judg- ment that before he got out of range we had cut his mainsail and foretopsail all to rags and cleared his decks so effectively that when he bore away from us there were scarcely ten men 223 The SJiips and Sailors of Old Salem to be seen. He then struck his EngHsh flag and hoisted the flag of the Terrible Republic and made off with all the sail he could carry, much disappointed, no doubt, at not being able to give us a fraternal embrace. "The wind being light and knowing he would outsail us, added to a solicitude to complete our voyage, prevented our pursuing him; indeed we had sufficient to gratify our revenge for his temerity, for there was scarcely a single fire from our guns but what spread entirely over his hull. The action which lasted an hour and twenty minutes, we conceive ended well, for exclusive of preserving the property entrusted to our care, we feel confidence that we have rid the world of some infamous pests of society. We were within musket shot the whole time of the engagement, and were so fortunate as to receive but very trifling injury. Not a person on board met the slightest harm. Our sails were a little torn and one of the quarterdeck guns dismounted. "The privateer was a schooner of 80 or 90 tons, copper bottom, and fought five or six guns on a side. We are now within forty-eight hours sail of Havana, where we expect to arrive in safety; indeed we have no fear of any privateer's preventing us unless greatly superior in force. The four quarterdeck guns will require new carriages, and one of them was entirely dismounted. "We remain with esteem, " Gentlemen, " Your Humble Servant, "Richard Wheatland.'* 224 CHAPTER XII PIONEERS IN DISTANT SEAS (1775-1817) THE name of Joseph Peabody takes rank with that of EHas Hasket Derby as an American who did much to upbuild the commerce, wealth and prestige of his nation in its younger days. It may sound like an old-fashioned doctrine in this present age of concentration of wealth at the expense of a sturdy and independent citizenship, to assert that such men as Joseph Peabody deserve much more honor for the kind of manhood they helped to foster than for the riches they amassed for themselves. They did not seek to crush competi- tion, to drive out of business the men around them who were ambitious to win a competence on their own merits and to call themselves free citizens of a free country. Those were the days of equal opportunities, which shining fact finds illustra- tion in the career of Joseph Peabody, for example, who, during his career as a ship owner, advanced to the rank of master thirty-five of his fellow townsmen who had entered his employ as cabin boys or seamen. Every one of these shipmasters, " if he had the stuff in him," became an owner of shipping, a mer- chant Avith his own business on shore, an employer who was eager, in his turn, to advance his own masters and mates to positions of independence in which they might work out their own careers. During the early years of the nineteenth century, Joseph Peabody built and owned eighty-three ships which he freighted 225 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem on his own account and sent to every corner of the world. The stout square-riggers which flew the Peabody house flag made thirty-eight voyages to Calcutta, seventeen to Canton, thirty- two to Sumatra, forty-seven to St. Petersburg, and thirty to other ports of Europe. To man this noble fleet no fewer than seven thousand seamen signed shipping articles in the counting room of Joseph Peabody. The extent of his commerce is indicated by the amount of duties paid by some of these ships. In 1825 and 1826, the Leander, a small brig of two hundred and twenty-three tons, made two voyages to Canton which paid into the Salem Custom House duties of $86,847, and $92,392 respectively. In 1829, 1830, and 1831, the Sumatra, a ship of less than three hundred tons, came home from China with cargoes, the duties on which amounted to $128,363; $138,480, and $140,761. The five voyages named, and all of them were made in ships no larger than a small two-masted coasting schooner of to-day, paid in duties a total of almost six hundred thousand dollars. Typical of the ships which won wealth and prestige for Joseph Peabody, was the redoubtable George which was the most successful vessel of her period. For twenty-two years she was in the East India trade, making twenty-one round voyages with such astonishing regularity as to challenge comparison with the schedules of the cargo tramps of to-day. She was only one hundred and ten feet in length, with a beam of twenty- seven feet, but during her staunch career the George paid into the United States Treasury as duties on her imports more than six hundred thousand dollars. She was built in 1814 by a number of Salem ship carpenters who had been deprived of work by the stagnation of the War of 1812. They intended to launch her as a co-operative priva- teer, to earn her way by force of arms when peaceable merchant- men were driven from the high seas. But the war ended too 226 Pioneers in Distant Seas soon to permit these enterprising shipwrights to seek British plunder and they sold the George to Joseph Peabody. She sailed for India in 1815, with hardly a man in her company, from quarterdeck to forecastle, more than twenty-one years of age. Every man aboard of her could read and write, and most of the seamen had studied navigation. Not always did these enterprising and adventurous Salem lads return to their waiting mothers. In the log of the George for a voyage to Calcutta in 1824, the mate has drawn with pencil a tombstone and a weeping willow as a tribute to one Greenleaf Perley, a young seaman who died in that far-off port. The mate was a poet of sorts and beneath the headstone he wrote these lines: "The youth ambitious sought a sickly clime, His hopes of profit banished all his fears; His was the generous wish of love divine. To sooth a mother's cares and dry her tears." Joseph Peabody began his sea life when a lad in his teens in the hardy school of the Revolutionary privateersmen. He made his first cruise in Elias Hasket Derby's privateer, Bunker Hill, and his second in the Pilgrim owned by the Cabots of Beverly. A little later he became second officer of a letter of marque ship, the Ranger, owned by Boston and Salem shipping merchants. It was while aboard the Ranger that young Pea- body won his title as a fighting seaman. Leaving Salem in the winter of 1781-82, the Ranger carried salt to Richmond, and loaded with flour at Alexandria for Havana. Part of this cargo of flour was from the plantation of George Washington, and the immortal story of the hatchet and the cherry tree must have been known in Cuba even then, for the Spanish merchants expressed a preference for this brand of flour and showed their confidence by receiving it at the marked weight without putting it on the scales. 227 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem The Ranger returned to Alexandria for another cargo of flour, and on July 5th, 178!2, dropped down the Potomac, ready for sea. Head winds compelled her to anchor near the mouth of the river. At three o'clock of the following night, the seaman on watch ran aft, caught up a speaking trumpet, and shouted down to the sleeping officers in the cabin that two boats were making for the ship. Captain Simmons and Lieutenant Pea- body rushed up the companionway, and as they reached the deck, received a volley of musketry from the darkness. Captain Simmons fell, badly wounded, and Peabody ran forward in his night clothes, calling to the crew to get their boarding pikes. He caught up a pike and with a brave and ready seaman named Kent, sprang to the boAvs and engaged in a hand to hand fight with the boarding party which was already pouring over the rail from the boat alongside. The Rangers crew rallied and held the deck against this invasion until a second boat made fast in another quarter and swept the deck with musket fire. The first officer was in the magazine below, breaking out ammunition, the captain was wounded, and the command of this awkward situation fell upon Lieutenant, or Second Officer Peabody, who was a con- spicuous mark in his white nightshirt. He ordered cold shot heaved into the boats to sink them if possible, and one of them was smashed and sunk in short order. Peabody then mustered his crew against the boarding party from the other boat, and drove them overboard. After the Ranger's decks had been cleared in fierce and bloody fashion and the fight was won, it was found that one of her crew was dead, three wounded, the captain badly hurt, and although Peabody had not known it in the heat of action, he had stopped two musket balls and bore the marks of a third. One of the very able seamen of the Ranger had seen a boarder about to fire point-blank at Peabody and with a sweep of his cutlass he S28 Joseph Peabody Pioneers in Distant Seas cut off the hand that held the pistol. For this service Peabody made the seaman a life-long pensioner, showing that his heart was in the right place in more ways than one. The Ranger carried twenty men and seven guns at this time, and the enemy attempted to carry the ship with sixty men in two barges, their loss being more than forty in killed and wounded. They were later ascertained to be a band of Tories who had infested the bay of the mouth of the Potomac for some time, and had captured a brig of ten guns and thirty men a few days before this. The Ranger sailed up to Alexandria to refit and land her wounded, and the merchants of the town presented the ship with a silver mounted boarding-pike in token of their admiring gratitude for her stout defense. This trophy became the property of Joseph Peabody and was highly prized as an adornment of his Salem mansion in later years. When the Ranger went to sea again, Thomas Perkins of Salem, her first officer, was given the command and Peabody sailed with him as chief mate. Thus began a friendship which later became a business partnership in which Perkins amassed a large fortune of his own. Peabody sailed as a shipmaster for a Salem firm for several years after peace came, and at length bought a schooner, the Three Friends, in which he traded to the West Indies and Europe. The story of his career there- after was one of successful speculation in ships and cargoes and of a growing fleet of deep-water vessels until his death in 1844, a venerable man of large public spirit, and shining integrity, a pillar of his state and town, whose fortune had been won in the golden age of American enterprise in remote seas. William Gray completed the triumvirate of Salem ship owners of surpassing sagacity and success, his name being rightfully linked with those of Elias Hasket Derby and Joseph Peabody. He served his apprenticeship in the counting room of Richard Derby and was one of the earliest American shipping merchants 229 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem to seek the trade of Canton and the ports of the East Indies. In 1807 he owned fifteen ships, seven barks, thirteen brigs, and one schooner, or one-fourth of the tonnage of the port. He became the Heutenant governor of the Commonwealth and left a princely fortune as the product of his far-sighted industry. For the information of those unfamiliar with the records of that epoch on the seas, the rapidity with which these lords of maritime trade acquired their fleets and the capital needed to freight and man them, it may be worth while to give a concrete example of the profits to be won in those ventures of large risks and larger stakes. A letter written from the great shipping house of the Messrs. Perkins in Boston to their agents in Canton in 1814, goes to show that the operations of the captains of industry of the days of Derby and Gray and Peabody would have been respected by the capitalists of this twentieth century. Here is the kind of Arabian Night's Entertainment in the way of dazzling rewards which these old-time merchants planned to reap: "To Messers. Perkests and Co. Canton, Jan. 1, 1814. "You say a cargo laid at Canton would bring three for one in South America, and your copper would give two prices back. Thus, $30,000 laid out in China would give you $90,000 in South America, one half of which laid out in copper would give one hundred per cent, or $90,000, making $135,000 for $30,000. "60,000 pounds of indigo even at 80 cents, $48,000; 120 tons of sugar at $G0, or $7,200, and cotton or some other light freight, say skin tea, $20,000, in all $75,000, would be worth $400,000 here, and not employ the profits of the voyage to South America. Manila sugar is worth $400 or $500 per ton here, clear of duty. The ship should be flying light, her bottom in good order, the greatest vigilance used on the voyage and make any port north of New York. " (signed) Thomas H. Perkins and James Perkins." 230 Pioneers in Distant Seas It was the heyday of opportunity for youth. Robert Bennett Forbes, by way of example, was the nephew of this Thomas Perkins of Boston, and Hkewise became a wealthy merchant and ship owner. Young Forbes went to sea before the mast as a boy of thirteen. He has told how his mother equipped him with a supply of thread, needles, buttons, etc., in his ditty-bag, also some well-darned socks, a Testament, a bottle of lavender water, one of essence of peppermint, a small box of broken sugar and a barrel of apples. " She wanted to give me a pillow and some sheets and pillow cases," he writes, " but I scorned the idea, having been told that sailors never used them, but usually slept with a stick of wood with the bark on for a pillow. My good mother who had been at sea herself and fully realized the dangers and temptations to which I should be exposed, felt that there could be but one more severe trial for her, and that was to put me in my grave. My uncle contributed a letter full of excellent advice, recommending me to fit myself to be a good captain and promising to keep me in mind. William Sturgiss, who had much experience of the sea, took an interest in me and gave me this advice : " ' Always go straight forward, and if you meet the Devil cut him in two and go between the pieces; if any one imposes on you, tell him to whistle against a northwester and to bottle up moonshine. Forbes was 15 years old when Mr. Gushing, of the firm's ship- ping house in Canton, wrote to Thomas H. Perkins in Boston : "I have omitted in my letters per Nautilus, mentioning our young friend Bennet Forbes, recommending his being pro- moted to be an officer on the return of the Canton packet. He is without exception the finest lad I have ever known, and has already the stability of a man of thirty. During the stay of the ship I have had him in the office and have found him as useful as if he had been regularly brought up in the business; he has profited so much by the little intercourse he has had with the 231 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem Chinese that he is now more competent to transact business than one half of the supercargoes sent out." The Crowninshield family of Salem earned very unusual distinction on salt water and a national fame as men of ajffairs and statecraft. There were six brothers of them, born of a sea- faring father and grandfather, and this stalwart half dozen Crowninshields one and all, went to sea as boys. One died of fever at Guadaloupe at the age of fourteen while captain's clerk of a Salem ship. The five surviving brothers commanded ships before they were old enough to vote, and at one time the five were absent from Salem, each in his own vessel, and three of them in the East India trade. "When little boys they were all sent to a common school and about their eleventh year began their first particular study which should develop them as sailors and ship captains. These boys studied their navigation as little chaps of twelve years old and were required to thoroughly master the subject before being sent to sea. It was common in those days to pursue their studies by much writing out of problems, and boys kept their books until full. Several such are among our family records and are interesting in the extreme, beautifully written, without blots or dog's ears, and all the problems of navigation as practised then, are drawn out in a neat and in many cases a remarkably handsome manner. The designing of vessels was also studied and the general principles of construction mastered. "As soon as the theory of navigation was mastered, the youngsters were sent to sea, sometimes as common sailors, but commonly as ship's clerks, in which position they were enabled to learn everything about the management of a ship without actually being a common sailor."* *From "An Account of the Yacht CleopaMs Barge.'''' by Benjamin W. Crowninshield, Historical Collections of the Essex Institute, fi-om which much of the information in this chapter is derived. 232 Hon. Jacob Crowninsliield Pioneers in Distant Seas This method of nautical education was of course open only to those of considerable influence who wished to fit their sons to become merchants as well as shipmasters. It seems to have been remarkably efficient in training the five Crowninshields. One of these shipmasters, Benjamin W., became Secretary of the Navy under Jefferson, and United States Congressman, while another brother, Jacob, was a Congressman from 1803 to 1805 and had the honor of declining a seat in Jefferson's Cabinet. Jacob Crowninshield, however, earned a more popu- lar kind of fame by bringing home from India in 1796, the first live elephant ever seen in America. It is probable that words would be wholly inadequate to describe the sensation created by this distinguished animal when led through the streets of Salem, with a thousand children clamoring their awe and jubila- tion.* It is recorded that this unique and historical elephant was sold for ten thousand dollars. The eldest of these brothers. Captain George Crowninshield, who served his years at sea, from forecastle to cabin, and then retired ashore to become a shipping merchant, was the patriotic son of Salem who chartered the brig Henry, manned her with a crew of shipmasters and sailed to Halifax to bring home the bodies of Lawrence and Ludlow after the defeat of the Chesa- peake by the Shannon. Those who knew him have handed down a vivid description of his unusual personality. He was * (1797) " Aug. 30.— Went to the Market House to see the Elephant. The crowd of spectators forbade me any but a general and superficial view of him. He was six feet four inches high. Of large Volume, his skin black as tho' lately oiled. A short hair was on every part but not sufficient for a covering. His tail hung one third of his height, but without any long hair at the end of it. His legs were still at command at the Joints but he could not be persuaded to lie down. The Keeper repeatedly mounted him but he persisted in shaking him off. Bread and Hay were given him and he took bread out of the pockets of the spectators. He also drank porter and drew the cork, conveying the liquor from his trunk into his throat. His Tusks were just to be seen beyond the flesh and it was said had been broken. We say his because this is the common language. It is a female, and teats appeared just behind the fore legs." (From the Diary of Dr. William Bentley.) 233 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem robust and daring beyond the ordinary, and a great dandy in his small clothes and Hessian boots with gold tassels. "His coat was wonderful in cloth, pattern, trimmings and buttons, and his waistcoat was a work of art. He wore a pigtail and on top of all a bell-crowned beaver hat, not what is called a beaver to-day, but made of beaver skin, shaggy like a terrier dog." Captain George has the distinction of being the first American yacht owner. As early as 1801 he had built in Salem a sloop called the Jefferson in which he cruised for several years. She was turned into a privateer in the War of 1812. While the Jefferson was beyond doubt the first vessel built for pleasure in this country, and the first yacht that ever flew the Stars and Stripes, her fame is overshadowed by that of the renowned Cleopatra's Barge, the second yacht owned by Captain Crown- inshield, and the first of her nation to cruise in foreign waters. The Cleopatra's Barge was a nine-days' wonder from Salem to the Mediterranean, and was in many ways one of the most remark- able vessels ever launched. Her owner found himself at forty-nine years in the prime of his adventurous energy with his occupation gone. The ship- ping firm founded by his father had been dissolved, and this member of the house fell heir to much wealth and leisure. Passionately fond of the sea and sailors he determined to build the finest vessel ever dreamed of by a sober-minded American, and to cruise and live aboard her for the remainder of his days. There were no other yachts to pattern after, wherefore the Cleopatra's Barge was modeled and rigged after the fashion of a smart privateer, or sloop-of-war. When she was launched in Salem harbor in 1817, at least a thousand curious people visited her every day she lay in port. Her fittings were gorgeous for her time, what with Oriental draperies, plate glass mirrors, sideboards, and plate. She was eighty-seven feet long, and in dimensions almost the counter- 234 Pioneers in Distant Seas part of the famous sloop Mayflower of modern times. When she was ready for sea, this yacht had cost her owner fifty thousand dollars. She was rigged as a brigantine, and car- ried a mighty press of sail, studding-sails on the fore-yards, sky-sail, "ring-tail," "water-sail," and other handkerchiefs now unknown. With that bold individuality of taste responsible for the yellow curricle in which Captain George was wont to dazzle Salem, when he drove through the streets, he painted his yacht in different colors and patterns along her two sides. To star- board she showed a hull of horizontal stripes laid on in most of the colors of the rainbow. To port she was a curious " her- ring-bone" pattern of brilliant hues. Her stern was wide and pierced with little cabin windows. With his cousin Benjamin as skipper, and a friend, Samuel Curwen Ward, the owner sailed for the Mediterranean on what was destined to be a triumphant voyage. He had prepared himself with no fewer than three hundred letters of introduction to eminent civil, military and naval persons of Italy, Spain and other countries. The cook of the Cleopatra's Barge was a master of his craft, the stock of wine was choice and abundant, and if ever an open-handed yachtsman sailed the deep it was this Salem pioneer of them all. The vessel was the sensation of the hour in every port. Her journal recorded that an average of more than three thousand visitors came aboard on every pleasant day while she was in for- eign ports, and that in Barcelona eight thousand people came off to inspect her in one day. Wherever possible the owner chartered a band of music or devised other entertainment for his guests. His yacht was more than a pleasure barge, for he had the pleasure of beating the crack frigate United States in a run from Cartagena to Port Mahone, and on the way to Genoa she logged thirteen knots for twelve hours on end. 235 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem It was at Genoa that an Italian astronomer of considerable distinction, Baron von Zack, paid a visit on board and several years later recorded his impressions of the Cleo'patrd's Barge in a volume, written in French, and published in Genoa in 1820. " How does it happen that the Commanders of French vessels, with thirty-four schools of Hydrography established in the Kingdom, either know not, or do not wish to know, how to calculate the longitude of their vessels by Lunar distances, while even the cooks and negroes of American vessels understand it? " I will now relate what I once witnessed on board an Ameri- can vessel, the Cleopatra's Barge, which arrived in the month of July, 1817, at the port of Genoa from Salem, one of the handsomest Towns in the State of Massachusetts, U. S. A., Lat. 42° 35' 20" N., Long. 73° 9' 30" W. All the city crowded to see this magnificent palace of Neptune; more than 20,000 persons had visited this superb floating palace, and were aston- ished at its beauty, luxury and magnificence. I went among others. The owner was on board ; he was a gentleman of for- tune of Salem, who had amassed great riches during the late war with Great Britain. He was brother to the Secretary of the Navy of the United States. " This elegant vessel was built for his own amusement, after his own ideas, upon a plan and model new in very many respects, and was considered the swiftest sailer in America. He had traveled or sailed for his pleasure in this costly jewel (bijou) that appeared more the model of a cabinet of curiosities than a real vessel. He had left America in this charming shell (coqiiille) for the purpose of visiting Europe and making the tour of the Mediterranean & had already touched at the ports of Spain, France, Italy, the Archipelago, Dardanelles, coasts of Asia, Africa, etc. We have since heard of the death of this gentle- man, a short time after his return to Salem. His name was George Crowninshield — he was of German origin — his ancestor 236 Benjamin Crowninshield Pioneers in Distant Seas was a Saxon officer who, having the misfortune to kill his adver- sary in a duel, sought refuge in America. The captain of this beautiful vessel was a lively old gentleman, a cousin to Mr. Crowninshield — his son, a young man, was also on board. I shall not here enter into detail concerning the remarkable con- struction of this vessel, still less her splendor — the public journals have already noticed them. "In making some enquiries respecting my friends and cor- respondents in Philadelphia and Boston, among others I men- tioned Dr. Bowditch. 'He is the friend of our family, and our neighbor in Salem,' replied the old Captain. 'My son, whom you see there, was his pupil; it is properly he, and not myself, that navigates this vessel ; question him and see if he has profited by his instructions.' "I observed to this young man, *you have had so excellent a teacher in Hydrography that you cannot fail of being well acquainted with the science. In making Gibralter what was the error in your longitude.^' The young man replied, 'Six miles.' 'Your calculations were then very correct; how did you keep your ship's accounts?' 'By chronometers and by Lunar observations.' 'You then can ascertain your Longitude by Lunar distances?' "Here my young captain appearing to be ojffended with my question, replied with some warmth, 'What! I know how to calculate Lunar distances! Our cook can do that!' 'Your cook!' Here Mr. Crowninshield and the old Captain assured me, that the cook on board could calculate Longitude quite well ; that his taste for it frequently led him to do it. 'That is he,' said the young man, pointing to a Negro in the after part of the vessel, with a white apron about his waist, a fowl in one hand, and a carving knife in the other. "'Come here, John,' said the old Captain to him, 'this gen- tleman is surprised that you understand Lunar observations. ^37 The Shijys and Sailors of Old Salem Answer his questions.' I asked, 'By what method do you calculate Lunar distances?' The cook answered, 'It is imma- terial — I use some time the method of Maskelyne, Lyons, or Bowditch, but I prefer that of Dunthorne, as I am more accus- tomed to it.' I could hardly express my surprise at hearing that black-face answer in such a manner, with a bloody fowl and carving knife in his hands. " ' Go,' said Mr. Crowninshield, ' lay aside your fowl and bring your books and journal and show your calculations to the gen- tleman.' The cook returned with his books under his arms, consisting of Bowditch 's Practical Navigator, Maskelyne 's Requisite Tables, Button's Logarithms and the Nautical Almanack, abridged from the Greenwich Edition. I saw all the calculations this Negro had made on his passage, of Lati- tude, Longitude, Apparent Time, etc. He replied to all my questions with admirable precision, not merely in the phrases of a cook, but in correct nautical language. " This cook had sailed as cabin-boy with Captain Cook in his last voyage round the world and was acquainted with several facts relative to the assassination of the celebrated navigator at Owhyhee, February, 1779. 'The greatest part of the seamen on board the Barge,' said Mr. Crowninshield, 'can use the sex- tant and make nautical calculations.' "Indeed Mr. Crowninshield had with him many instructors. At Genoa he had taken one acquainted with Italian — he had also on board an instructor in the French language, a young man who had lost his fingers in the Russian campaign. What instruction! what order! what correctness! what magnificence was to be observed in this Barge; I could relate many more interesting particulars concerning this true Barque of Cleo- patra." The editor of the Diario di Roma newspaper of Rome con- sidered the Cleopatra'' s Barge worthy of a eulogistic notice, a 238 Pioneers in Distant Seas translation of which was printed in the Essex Register of October 11, 1817: " Soon after the visit of the fleet, there anchored in our port a schooner from America, of a most beautiful construction, elegantly found, very light, and formed for fast sailing, and armed like our light armed vessels. It was named the Cleo- patra, belonging to a very rich traveller, George Crowninshield, of Salem, who constructed her for his own use, and for the voy- ages he had undertaken in company with Captain Benjamin Crowninshield, his cousin. Besides the extreme neatness of everything about the vessel to fit her for sea, her accommoda- tions were surprising and wonderful. Below was a hall of uncommon extent, in which the luxury of taste, the riches and elegance of the furniture, the harmony of the drapery, and of all the ornaments, inspired pleasure and gallantry. The apart- ment of the stern was equally rich and interesting. Five con- venient bed chambers displayed with that same elegance, were at the service of the Captain, with an apartment for the plate of every kind, with which it was filled. Near was another apartment which admitted all the offices of a kitchen, and in it was a pump with three tubes which passed through the vessel, to supply water from the sea, or discharge what they pleased, with the greatest ease. " The rich and distinguished owner had with him beside his family servants, several linguists, persons of high talent in music, and an excellent painter. Everything to amuse makes a part of the daily entertainment. The owner and Captain were affable, pleasing and civil, and gave full evidence of the talents, the industry and the good taste of their nation, which yields to none in good sense and true civility. The above travellers having complied with the usual rules of the city, upon receiving a par- ticular invitation, he visited the Cleopatra in company with many persons of distinction, and partook of an elegant collation." 239 The Shifs and Sailors of Old Salem The Salem Gazette of Sept. 26, 1817, contained the folloAving "extract of a letter from a gentleman on board the Cleopatra's Barge "; "Barcelona, June 8. "You have undoubtedly heard of our movements in the Mediterranean; indeed you must have heard of us, from every place at which we have touched — for the Cleopatra's Barge is more celebrated abroad than at home. Even the Moors of Tangier visited us tho' they abhor the Christians. At Gibralter the Englishmen were astonished. In Malaga, Carthagena and this place the Spaniards have been thunderstruck. For these four days past the whole of this great city has been in an uproar. They begin to crowd on board at daylight, and continue to press upon us till night. This morning the Mole was so crowded with people waiting to come on board, that we have been obliged to get under weigh, and stand out of the Mole, yet the boats, with men, women and children, are rowing after us. Thus it has been in every place we have visited. In Port Mahon we were visited by all the officers of our squadron." Further tidings were conveyed to the admiring townspeople of Salem by means of an article in the Essex Register under date of Oct. 25th: "Having noticed the attention paid to the American barge Cleopatra, at Rome, we could not refuse the pleasure of assuring our friends that Capt. G. Crowninshield had been equally successful in arresting attention in France. The following is an extract from a Letter dated at Marseilles, 14th July, 1817, from a person long residing in France: ' Capt. G. Crowninshield left this port in the beginning of this month, for Toulon and Italy. During his stay here, thousands of both sexes were on board of his beautiful Vessel. Every day it was like a continual procession. It gave me the utmost pleasure, as the universal 240 w Ship Ulysses — This painting shows a jury rudder about to be put in ])lace at sea, in 1800. So ingenious was the display of seamanship in the rigging of this emergency rudder that her commander, Capt. Wm. Meyford, was awarded a metlal by the American Philosophical Society Yacht Cleopatra's Barge, 191 tons, built in salem, 1816, shows the "herring-bone' design painted in bright colors on side of the yacht Pioneers in Distant Seas opinion was that no vessel could compare with this Vessel. I felt proud that such a splendid specimen of what could be done in the United States was thus exhibited in Europe. We con- sider it as an act of patriotism. The Vessel was admired. The exquisite taste in her apartments greatly astonished the French for their amour propre had inclined them to believe that only in France the true gout was known. '" The Cleopatra's Barge returned to Salem in triumph, but Captain George Crowninshield died on board while making ready for a second voyage abroad. She was sold and converted into a merchantman, made a voyage to Rio, then rounded the Horn, and at the Sandwich Islands was sold to King Kame- hameha to be used as a royal yacht. Only a year later her native crew put her on a reef and the career of the Cleopatra's Barge was ended in this picturesque but inglorious fashion. In reading the old-time stories of the sea, one is apt to forget that wives and sweethearts were left at home to wait and yearn for their loved ones, for these logs and journals deal with the day's work of strong men as they fought and sailed and traded in many seas. Few letters which they sent home have been preserved. It is therefore the more appealing and even touch- ing to find in a fragment of the log of the ship Rubicon, the expression of such sentiment as most of these seamen must have felt during the lonely watches in mid-ocean. It is a curious document, this log, written by a shipmaster whose name cannot be found in the bundle of tattered sheets rescued from the rubbish of an old Salem garret. On the fly leaf is scrawled : "Boston, May the 11th, 1816. Took a pilot on board the Ship Rubicon and sailed from Charlestown. 12th of May at 3 P.M. came to an anchor above the Castle, the wind S.E." The ship was bound from Boston to St. Petersburg, and after he had been a week at sea, her master began to write at the 241 The ShijJs and Sailors of Old Salem bottom of the pages of his log certain intimately personal senti- ments which he sought to conceal in a crude cipher of his own devising. The first of these entries reads as follows as the captain set it down, letter by letter: "L nb wvzi druv what hszoo R dirgv go uroo gsrh hsvvg R droo gvoo blf gszg R ollp blfi ovgvih levi zmw lev! zmw drhs nv rm blf zinh yfg R dzng rm kzgrvmxv gsrmprmt Im Z szkb nvvgrmt R zn dvoo." It is not easy to fathom why the captain of the good ship Rubicon should have chosen to make such entries as this in the log. This much is clear, however, that he longed to say what was in his heart and he wished to keep it safe from prying eyes. He left no key to his cipher, but his code was almost childish in its simplicity, and was promptly unraveled by the finder of the manuscript, David Mason Little of Salem. The old shipmaster reversed the alphabet, setting down " Z " for "A," "Y" for "B," and so on, or for convenience in working it out, the letters may be placed as follows: A— Z N— M B— Y O— L C— X P— K D— W Q— J E— V R— I F— U S — H G— T T— G H— S U— F I — R V— E J— Q W-D K— P X— C L— O Y— B M— N Z —A Reading from the top of the column, the letters of the reversed alphabet are to be substituted for the letters standing opposite 242 Pioneers in Distmit Seas them in their normal order. The passage ah'eady quoted therefore translates itself as follows: "O, Dear Wife, what shall I write to fill this sheet. I will tell you that I look your letters over and over and wish me in your arms, but I wait in patience, thinking on a happy meeting. I am well." Other messages which this sailor wrote from his heart and confided to his cipher in the log of the Rubicon read in this wise : "My Heart within me (is) ashes. I want to see my loving Wife and press her to my bosom. But, O, my days are gone and past no more to return forever." "True, undivided and sincere love united with its own object is one of the most happy Passions that possesses the human heart." slf ^ii sk «fc vtc •!• " Joanna, this day brings to my mind grateful reflections. " This is the day that numbers thirty years of my Dear's life. O, that I could lay in her arms to-night and recount the days that have passed away in youthful love and pleasure." Sif Hi rIC ^ 5l« •(• "The seed is sown, it springs up and grows to maturity, then drops its seed and dies away, while the young shoot comes up and takes its place. And so it is with Man that is born to die." Now and then a sea tragedy is so related in these old log books that the heart is touched with a genuine sympathy for the victim, as if he were more than a name, as if he were a friend or a neighbor. It is almost certain that no one alive to-day has ever heard of Aaron Lufkin, able seaman, who sailed from Calcutta for the Cape of Good Hope in the year 1799. The ship's clerk, William Cleveland of Salem, who kept a journal of the voyage, wrote of this sailor in such a way that you will 243 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem be able to see him for what he was, and will perhaps wish no better epitaph for yourself : "Aaron Lufkin, one of the most active of our seamen held out till he was scarcely able to walk, but as this appeared to be fatigue, his case was not particularly observed by the Captain nor officers. When he first complained he said he had been unwell for some days but that there were so few on duty he would stand it out. Unfortunately his zeal for his duty cost him his life, for on the 17th of April he died after lingering in torment for several days. He was often out of his head and continually on the fly when no person was attending him, and constantly talking of his father, mother and sisters, which shewed how fond he was of them. Indeed his little purchases in Calcutta for his sisters were a sufficient proof. He was the only son of a respectable tradesman in the town of Freeport (Maine) and the brother of eight or nine sisters, all of which were younger than himself, though he was but twenty years old." The death of an able seaman, under such peaceful circum- stances as these, was a matter of no importance except to his kindred and his shipmates. It is significant of the spirit and singularly dramatic activity of those times that the loss of a whole ship's company might be given not so much space in the chronicles of the town as the foregoing tribute to poor Aaron Lufkin. Indeed "Felt's Annals of Salem" is fairly crowded with appalling tragedies, told in a few bald lines, of which the following are quoted as examples of condensed narration: "News is received here that Captain Joseph Orne in the ship Essex had arrived at Mocha, with $60,000 to purchase coffee, and that Mahomet Ikle, commander of an armed ship, persuaded him to trade at Hadidido, and to take on board 30 of his Arabs to help navigate her thither while his vessel kept her company ; that on the approach of night, and at a concerted 244 // f^ ^ g?^^^>^i*^ cx^^ /Y'^^^i >%*^-^ i?>^ -^^^^i^^y^-f t/2W>^ ^-r^c^^^ytA a^fi»!~ ac^ <^ ,..'^K^ J^i^->^ cy:^aucy^ J'a<-o^ <:^'^a^ JjU^ ^J^O/ 1^ i/c^>^ €> ^// ^ ^ -^ / /? ^ £ .yU ^-^^^ ^^^^r--^ "^^^ .-^/^-^ ^ ^ic^ Log of the good ship Riihwm, showing the captain's cipher at the bottom of the page f*ioneers in Distant Seas signal, the Arabs attacked the crew of the Essex, and Ikle laid his ship alongside, and that the result was the slaughter of Captain Orne, and all his men, except a Dutch boy named John Hermann Poll. The Essex was plundered and burnt. The headless corpse of Capt. Orne and the mutilated remains of a merchant floated on shore and were decently buried. It was soon after ascertained that the faithless Mahomet was a notorious pirate of that country. He kept the lad whose life he had spared, as a slave until 1812, when Death kindly freed him from his cruel bondage." On the 13th of November, 1807, "the ship Marquis de Somereulas* arrives hither from Cronstadt and Elsinore. She brings in eleven men, a woman called Joanna Evans, and her child, which were picked up Oct. 28th in a longboat. The rest being eight in number, were rescued at the same time on board a ship from Philadelphia. They had been in the boat six days, during which seven of their company died of starvation. The living, in order to sustain themselves, fed upon the dead. They were the remains of one hundred and ten souls on board an English transport which was waterlogged and then blew up * "A narrative dated Sept. 18, 1806, is published. It relates that the ship Marquis de Sumereulas, Captain William Story, on the coast of Sumatra, had a narrow escape from being surprised by some of the natives. Two proas came alongside with fourteen men who were allowed to come on board. Only five of the ship's company were left on deck. The mate and rest of the hands were stowing the cargo. The captain, being in the cabin, heard Mr. Bromfield, the clerk who was above, exclaim that he was cresed. The sailmaker ran to his rescue, but was dangerously wounded and jumped down the hatchway. All the hands below were ordered to gain the deck, though they had scarcely any arms. The captain, while endeavoring to ascend the companionway, was attacked with boarding pikes. His men attempted to get up but were repulsed with several of them wounded. They were rallied and another effort was about to be made. The injunction was given that if they did not succeed, and the Malays took possession of the ship, a match should be applied to the magazine to blow her up. In the meanwhile the natives had retreated, which was immediately discovered by the crew who got on deck with the expectation of a deadly contest. Mr. Bromfield was found dead. The carpenter and cook were missing, but these two had escaped in a boat and soon returned to unite with their comrades." (Felt's " Annals of Salem.") M5 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem and foundered. The captain and some of his men, being in a small boat, by some means or other separated from those in the long boat and were never afterwards heard of. After the sad story of these shipwrecked sufferers was generally known among our citizens, they experienced from them the most kindly sympathy and substantial aid to the amount of between two and three hundred dollars." A more cheerful story, and one which may be called an old- fashioned sea yarn, was told with much detail by a writer in the Salem Evening Journal in 1855, who had received it at first hand from a shipmate of the hero. In 1808, when England was nominally at peace with the United States, but molesting her commerce and impressing her seamen with the most perni- cious energy, the bark Active, of Salem, arrived at Martha's Vineyard and Captain Richardson reported that "while on his course for Europe he was captured by an English letter-of- marque, whose commander put seven men on board with Cap- tain Richardson and three of his crew, the rest of his men being taken from him and the bark ordered to Nevis. Wlien near that port the Americans seized upon the arms of the English, confined them in irons, and put away for home where Captain Richardson afterwards arrived in safety." "A few years ago," narrates the loquacious contributor to the Salem Evening Journal of 1855, "the writer heard from one who was on board the barque Active on the above mentioned voyage a somewhat amusing account of one of the crew, who came down from New Hampshire, when she was about ready to sail, and not being able to find any work on shore, shipped with Capt. Richardson and went to sea. As a matter of course, our country friend, as far as regarded nautical phrases and the 'ropes' generally, was extremely verdant. To use his own words, he 'didn't really know t'other from which." Capt. Richardson knew all this beforehand, but he also knew that 246 Pioneers in Distant Seas our Yankee friend was a tall, stout, and very smart young man and so he did not hesitate at all about taking him on board his vessel. The chief mate, however, not being so well aware of Peleg's verdancy as the Captain, and observing that he stood with his hands in his pockets gazing curiously around the ship, whilst the rest of the crew were engaged in getting the anchor secured, addressed him thus; '"Who are you?' "'Peleg Sampson, from away up in Moultonboro, State of New Hampshire. I say, it's a dernation mighty curious place this, ain't it?' "Rather surprised at the familiar manner of our Yankee friend, the mate replied: " ' I guess you'll find it curious enough before the voyage is up. Lay forward there and help cat that anchor.' "Whilst the mate stepped on the forecastle for the purpose of superintending this necessary operation, Peleg began to search all around the deck with a minuteness that would have done honor to an experienced gold-hunter. After he had been for a few minutes thus engaged, he followed the mate to the forecastle deck and said : "'I say, mister, I cack'late there ain't any of them critters here.' "'What critters? You d — n land-lubber,' said the mate. "'Cats,' returned Peleg, with an innocent gravity of tone and manner, which made the sailors turn from their work and gaze, open-mouthed, upon their verdant shipmate. Who the said anything about cats?' asked the mate. '"Why you, you tarnal goslin,' returned Peleg somewhat tartly. 'Didn't you tell me to help cat the anchor, and before I could do that ere, hadn't I got to find the animal to do it with, hey, what?' " On hearing this reply to the mate's question, the old salts 247 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem burst out in a loud, uproarious guffaw, in which the chief officer most heartily joined, as he had by this time become fnost fully aware that Peleg was nothing more nor less than a 'green hand.' " About a week afterwards, when the Active had got well out to sea, and Peleg had recovered from a severe fit of seasickness so as to be able to be about the decks, the mate, being in want of an article from aloft, said to Peleg : " ' Go up in the maintop there, and bring down a slush bucket that's made fast to the topmast rigging.' " ' What, up these rope-ladders do you want me to go?' asked Peleg, with a scared look at the main-rigging. "'Yes,' returned the mate, 'and be spry about it, too.' "'Can't do any such business,' returned Peleg, in a very decided tone of voice. 'Why don't you tell me to run over- board. I should jest as soon think on't, really. Now I'm ready to pull and haul, or wrestle, back to back, Indian hug, or any way you like, fight the darnation Englishers till I'm knocked down, or do anything I km do, but as to going up them darna- tion littleish rope-ladders, I can't think of it nohow.' " Thinking it would be as well not to urge the matter farther at that time, the mate sent another hand for the slush bucket, and thus the affair ended. Afterwards, however, as we learned from the same authority, Peleg became one of the smartest sailors on board the vessel, and in the affair of retaking the ship from English, did most excellent and efficient service." In Felt's Annals of Salem, it is related under date of Feb- ruary 21,1802, "the ships Ulysses, Capisdn James Cook; Brutus, Captain William Brown, owned by the Messrs. Crowninshield ; and the Valusia, Captain Samuel Cook, belonging to Israel Williams and others sailed for Europe (on the same day). Though when they departed the weather was remarkably pleasant for the season, in a few hours a snowstorm commenced. 248 Pioneers in Distant Seas After using every exertion to clear Cape Cod the tempest forced thtji the next day upon its perilous shore. The most sad of all in this threefold catastrophe was the loss of life in the Brutus. One hand was killed by the fore-yard prior to the ship striking; another was drowned while attempting to reach the shore, and the commander with six men perished with the cold after they had landed, while anxiously seeking some shelter for their wet, chilled, and exhausted bodies." Doctor Bentley, in his diary, had some interesting and lively comments to make concerning the singular coincidence of the loss of the three fine Salem ships which, sailing from port on the same day, had met common disaster twenty-four hours later. On March 1st (1802) he wrote: " Arrived in town W. Rowell, one of the hands from Brutus. He tells us that the ship struck at ^ past 7 on Monday night, that they discharged so much of their coffee into the sea as to lighten her, that she began to come to pieces at ^ past nine and then by the help of the main-mast all but one reached the shore. They took their way across the Cape and at length Captain Brown failed and advised them to sit down and die together. They helped him as long as they were able and then left him. He was thin clad. The second mate failed, Mr. Ayres. He had lost his boots and so their number continued to diminish till daybreak. Two of the negroes were found locked together in each others arms. They first discovered the ship Volusia, but she was so covered with ice that they did not know her. They hailed, but no person was on board. At length they found a fence and from that discovered the light- house at which they had assistance. The men were found next day and brought to the same house, and next day buried from the meeting house in Truro. Captain Brown was buried in Province Town. "Young Rowell thinks it would have been impossible to 249 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem tarry on the beach or to have erected any shelter in their ex- hausted state. He says that if he stopped only a few minutes he fell down oppressed with sleep and all the dead were found upon their faces and the mate with one arm under his head. The cold by thermometer in Truro was below zero and the snow and sand blew incessantly. Ober, who survived till next day and was taken up alive, was almost choked with sand and died soon after the attempt to relieve him. He remembered to have heard them walking round him, was buried in snow, and stretched out his hand that it might be seen above the snow, but it was not discovered. A boy found him next morning." On the following Sunday, Doctor Bentley read aloud in his pulpit a memorandum of "Thomas Rowell and wife and chil- dren, thanks to God for the remarkable preservation of their son William in the most distressing situation of the shipwreck when Captain Brown and the greater part of the crew perished on Cape Cod." Writing in his diary for March 14th, Doctor Bentley observed: " Our friends shipwrecked on Cape Cod, both at Province Town and Truro, do not speak favorably of the talents of the clergymen as displayed to alleviate their calamaties. Tho' no impeachment of humanity can be laid, they derived little aid from their devotion as guardians of sympathy. "There was nothing done which they could call pleasing accommodation in the public solemnities. Speaking of the great humanity to the persons of the sufferers but the gross violation of property, as characteristic of all the Cape Cods in the world, or places in which shipwrecks are common, it had been told of old Mr. Lewis of Wellfleet, that on a stormy Sunday morning, upon seeing a wreck on shore from the pulpit window, he closed his book, put on his outside garment and descended from the pulpit, not explaining his intention till he was in the 250 Pioneers in Distant Seas aisle, and then he cried out 'Start fair,' and took to his legs. The congregation understood him and soon followed." More fortunate than the luckless seamen of the Brutus was the resurrected sea cook of Salem who insisted upon being alive to the consternation of his former shipmates, whereas he had been declared as dead as a herring by due formality of law. His return to his native town is thus recorded in its annals: " (1819) July 16. A few days since one of our sailors was exceedingly frightened by meeting in the street what he really believed to be the ghost of a shipmate. This person was Peter Jackson whose worth as a cook was no less because he had a black skin. He had belonged to the brig Ceres. As she was coming down the river from Calcutta, she was thrown on her beam ends and Peter fell overboard. Among the things thrown to him was a sail-boom on which he was carried away from the vessel by the rapid current. Of course all on board concluded that he was drowned or eaten by crocodiles, and so they reported when reaching home. Administration had been taken on his goods and chattels and he was dead in the eye of the law. But after floating twelve hours he was cast ashore and as soon as possible hastened homeward. Notwithstanding he had hard work to do away with the impression of his being dead, he succeeded and was allowed the rights and privileges of the living." 251 CHAPTER XIII THE SUFFERINGS OF DANIEL SAUNDERS {Shipwrecked on the Coast of Arabia) (1792) ON April 30, 1793, Rev. William Bentley of Salem made this entry in his diary : "The Ship Commerce has been stranded on the coast of Arabia. She belonged to Boston. The greater part of the men perished or were left upon the road travelling from the place of their misfortune toward Muscat. Two have arrived, one Saunders belonging to this town. The event happened July 10, 1792." This Daniel Saunders, who escaped with his life after the most remarkable sufferings and adventures in the Arabian Desert, wrote his own story in the year following his return home. It was printed by Thomas C. Gushing of Salem in 1794, and the rudely bound little book added a unique chapter to the long list of autobiographies of the seafarers of Salem a century and more ago. "Its publication," wrote Daniel Saunders in a very modest preface, "is in consequence of repeated solicitation for that purpose since his (the Writer's) return to Salem. And he sincerely hopes that no mariner may ever have occasion to relate misfortunes and sufferings like those which befell the Company of the Ship Commerce." He began his story with this explanation of how he happened to be in the Commerce: 252 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders "On the 4th of May, 1791, I sailed from Salem in the State of Massachusetts in the capacity of second mate on board the snow Grand Sachem, Jonathan Games, master, bound to the Cape of Good Hope, where we arrived safe after a passage of one hundred and sixteen days, which brought it to the 30th of August. We tarried at the Gape till the 9th of October when we departed for the Isle of France where we arrived on the 16th of November, all well. I remained with Gaptain Games till the 25th of December; but having found my situation on board less agreeable than I wished,! preferred going as a mariner on board the Ship Commerce of Boston, John Leach, master, which was then at the Isle of France. For this purpose I obtained my discharge from Gaptain Games, who received a man from on board the Commerce instead." The Commerce sailed for Madras on the 27th of January, 1792, at which port Gaptain Leach left the ship and Gaptain Samuel Johnson of Rhode Island took his place. On the 28th of April, 1792, the Commerce departed from Madras bound to Bombay "on the coast of Malabar." The ship met contrary winds and was blown out of her course. Gaptain Johnson lost his bearings and on July 10th, while supposing himself to be off the coast of Malabar and laying his course for Bombay, the ship went ashore in the night. Seaman Daniel Saunders may be allowed to take up the narrative at this point. In his words: "The consternation we were thrown into by this unexpected shock — the darkness of night which surrounded us — the dashing of the waves against our stranded ship and the prospect of immediate death before us, created a scene of horror past description. Gontinuing yet dark and in momentary expectation of the ship going to pieces we waited impatiently the approach of day which soon ap- peared, and in some measure alleviated our anxiety when we found ourselves only two or three miles from the shore which 253 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem presented to our view a white sandy beach, the extent of which we could not see on one end or the other; and not a house, a hut, a tree or even a bush was to be seen. Having handed our sails, and finding the ship had not made much water, and the sea being considerably fallen, we hoisted out our boats, and carried an anchor out astern, with the hope of heaving the ship off again ; but that and every other effort proving ineffectual, nothing remained for us but to prepare for leaving the ship, and taking to the boats. We accordingly went to work to procure masts and sails for the boats, with provisions, water, and as many other necessaries as the boats would conveniently carry. "Our Captain, in the meantime, with several of the hands, went on shore in the pinnace, where they found twelve or four- teen savages, but neither house or habitation of any kind. The gestures of these barbarians indicated an inhuman and hostile disposition; and their conduct soon proved that it was not prudent to put ourselves in their power; for one of our people, who was less wary, or more venturesome, than the rest, going within their reach, they immediately caught him, and tied his hands; but he found means to disengage himself, with a knife which he had in his pocket, and returned to the boat. "By this time every one was convinced that we were not on the coast of Malabar, but on the inhospitable shore of Arabia. Finding nothing on shore but what served to augment our misfortunes, and added to the deplorableness of our condition, the Captain returned to the ship, and concluded there was nothing now to be done but to go into the boats, placing our- selves as much to advantage as we could, in order to steer for Muskat, it being the nearest seaport on the coast that has trade with the Europeans. " Having everything ready we really wanted which our boats would admit of carrying from the ship, we accordingly got them equipped with all possible expedition, and at three o'clock 254 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders in the afternoon we got into the three several boats, being thirty- four souls in number, viz.: twenty Whites, thirteen Lascar sailors, and one African black. The ship by this time having bilged, her hold was full of water when we left her. "Leaving the ship, with the wind in the southward quarter, we steered along the coast to the eastward till night, when, finding ourselves much fatigued, it being likewise hazardous to run in the night, we came to an anchor at a convenient dis- tance from the shore. The water being somewhat smooth, and the wind light, we had a tolerable night's rest. "Wednesday, July IL Finding ourselves much refreshed by our night's rest, at four o'clock in the morning we weighed our anchors, and proceeded along the coast, with a pleasant breeze from the southwest, as before. At twelve o'clock we tried for an observation; but it being cloudy prevented our getting one to be depended on. We continued our course along shore until night, when we came to an anchor again in very shoal water, it not exceeding three or four feet; but being protected from the fury of the sea by a point that projected without the other part of the beach, we lay very securely all night. "Thursday, July 12. At five o'clock in the morning we weighed anchor again, and proceeded along the coast, wind and weather still favourable, until three o'clock in the after- noon, when we stood off, to clear a long point that ran a con- siderable distance out into the sea; but the wind headed us so much that we could by no means clear the land; and the sea had by this time rose to such an height, that we could not venture upon the other tack without danger of being driven on shore by the surf; in consequence of which we came to an anchor. The sea at length ran so high, that it was with diffi- culty we kept the boats above water; we therefore took the people out of the yawl, and let her drive on shore; the danger 255 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem we were then in leading us to apprehend that it would not be long before we must follow her; our apprehensions and horrors increasing, as the boats began to drive towards the shore, and as we had no means left to prevent it, we were kept awake all night ; but by good Providence our boats kept afloat till another morning. " Friday, July 13. Being reduced to two boats for the whole number, at daylight we made sail, in hopes to get out to sea far enough to keep our boats clear of the surf, which ran very high in shore; but every effort proving fruitless, we were obliged to put the boats before the wind for the shore, trusting to Provi- dence to alleviate our misfortunes, and soften those hardships on the land, which we could no longer sustain at sea. Being now before the wind, which blew strong, and 1 aving a heavy swell, we soon got on shore in the long boat; and by God's assistance we were, every man, landed safe, being twenty- seven in number. " When we had saved as many things as we co aid that were in the long boat, we stood upon the beach, waiting the landing of the pinnace; she being yet some distance off, and seemingly in great danger, being less qualified for encountering with the sea than our boat. Our anxiety and apprehensior s increased as she drew nearer the shore; nor were they without foundation, for, when she was about half a mile from the shore, we had the mortification to see her turned stern over head, which over- whelmed all that were in her, being seven in number, four of whom with difficulty reached the shore, and three were drowned, viz.: King Lapham, carpenter; Ebenezer Grant, mariner, and Nathaniel Seaver, jun., the merchant's son. The grief of the father, who stood an unhappy spectator of this melancholy catastrophe, finding his son to be among the number of those who perished, may be more easily imagined than described. " Having saved some of our sails from the long boat, and the 256 The Sufferings of Dcmiel Saunders spars having drifted on shore, the morning being misty, we went to work to raise a tent, to keep ourselves as much as we could from the inclemency of the weather, which we soon effected. About nine o'clock, the sun made its appearance, which afforded us an opportunity of drying our clothes, and other things we had collected on the beach, which came on shore from the boats. In walking the beach, we found a musket and powder horn, by means of which we kindled a fire, and made shift to cook a small pig that had swam on shore from the long boat; it proved a very delicious meal, being the first we had eat from the time of the ship's going on shore. "Having thus refreshed ourselves, and thinking we were pretty secure, not having seen a living creature since our landing, and being much fatigued, having had no rest the preceding night, we lay do^n to sleep; but, to our great surprise and misfortune, about three o'clock in the afternoon, we were alarmed by eighteen savages, on camels, armed with spears, cutlasses and knives, who rushed upon us, before we were aware of them; and, being in a very ordinary state of defence, we could make but a weak resistance. Our Captain, however, & some others, exhorted us to defend ourselves, and protect our property; and in resisting them when they attempted to strip him, he received several slight cuts, but suffered no material injury thereby. " Being in no condition to oppose them, they robbed us of every thing we had, even stripping the shirts from off our backs; and to get from one of us his hair ribbon, they cut off the hair close to his head. We importuned them, by signs and gestures, to leave us some old clothes to cover us, to prevent the sun from burning our skin; which, after some hesitation, they did, finding the spoil more than they could conveniently carry away; so that every man was left with some article of clothing; some had a shirt — some a jacket — some a pair of trowsers — and one 257 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem nothing but a strip of canvas to tie round him, except a hat on his head, which every man had, there being a number in a trunk which came ashore, and which the Arabs seemed to disregard. "They now separated the Blacks from the Wliites; and finding that the African (named Juba Hill, who came out from Boston cook of the ship) spoke the same language we did, they took him from the rest, bound him, and kept him; he crying to us in the greatest distress, to attempt his release; but this was entirely out of our power, and we expected every moment to be treated in the same manner ourselves, or to be instantly put to death if we made any resistance. Under this anxiety of mind, we laboured awhile, in doubt of what would be done to us, or what to do ourselves; at length we determined, if they seized on any one of us, to rescue him, or die in the attempt. " Soon afterwards came three or four more Arabs, whom we supposed, by their appearance and conduct, to be some of their merchants who traded in the country; these assisted in collect- ing the spoils, and loading the camels with it. Having thus far waited the result of their proceedings with various thoughts and suggestions, about five o'clock in the evening, they per- mitted us, with the thirteen remaining blacks, to leave them, but not without sending two of their number, armed, as a guard, along with us, to see us to a short distance, probably conjecturing we might have something hid in the sand. "When the guard left us, they informed us, as well as we could understand them, that we might travel to Muskat in five days. This, however, was far from being true, as we were then four or five hundred miles in a direct line from it, and the shortest route by land was doubtless twice that length; add to this, that our way lay through fields of burning sands, and over mountains of rocks and precipices, affording neither food to eat or water to drink — exposed, naked, in the day time to a scorching 258 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders sun, and in the night, to cold and heavy dews — and to the con- tinual depredations of thieves and robbers — with no other guide, a great part of the journey, than the heavenly bodies, and the course of the sea — and without even the pity of man to soften our fate. "Rejoiced, however, that these inhuman plunderers had quitted us, we began our wearisome journey, clothed with the remnants which the Arabs had left us, and in as good health as could be expected after our fatigues, excepting Mr. Seaver,* who had been ill a great part of the passage, and was now quite weak, but who preserved a courage and firmness which gave spirits to the rest, and did honour to himself. We travelled along the beach till dark, when, finding ourselves much fatigued, we lay down in the sand to sleep. "Saturday, July 14. We rose again, and proceeded on our journey. About nine o'clock we saw three Arabs, fishing, who seemed to shew some fear at our approach, and a wish to avoid us; we passed them without taking any further notice of them. About an hour after, we observed at the head of the beach, several paths which seemed to lead into the country. We followed these paths some way, till we lost sight of the beach, and coming to a valley, saw some vines, which bore something very much resembling our watermelons, both outside and in; but on tasting them we found them so bitter that we could not eat them. "There was now a difference of opinion, whether it would be better to keep on in these paths, or return to the beach in hopes, that by keeping inland, they might find inhabitants, who would shew them more compassion than we had met with on the sea shore; while others apprehended it would be an imprudent and dangerous experiment, and were of opinion that it would be best to keep along the beach, which tended to lead us most * Merchant and part owner of the Commerce. 259 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem to the eastward, and which was the course we were pursuing. Contemplating awhile on the circumstances, the Captain, Mr. Robert Williams,* Benjamin Williams,! Thomas Barnard, J and all the Blacks, took the inland road; and the remainder of us chose to travel the beach. "About noon, we saw three Arabs, fishing; we made what signs we could to them, to make them understand that we wanted water, and they walked along with us, until they brought us to a place where were two more of their fishermen. Being now five of them in number, each having a large bludgeon, they went about to search if we had any money; finding them- selves disappointed in that, they robbed us of some books and papers, and from one they took an old piece of canvas with which he had covered his nakedness. Having done this, they let us go, and we proceeded on, without getting any water. After travelling some time, we discovered a spot on the upper part of the beach, that appeared as if there was water wanting to force its way up; we therefore began to dig and scrape as well as we could with our hands. Having dug to some depth, and finding no water, we gave over the object, and betook our- selves to our journey again; but the sun being intensely hot, the sand scorching our feet, and having had nothing to allay our hunger, or quench our thirst, the preceding nor all that day, it was with much difficulty the major part of us could walk at all. " Providence at this time directing to our view a single Arab, we stopped him, and made him understand that we wanted water. He pointed us to the top of a precipice which was at some distance before us, where, as we understood him, we could find water. We accordingly hastened with all possible diligence toward the hill, and in a short time gained its summit, where, after some search, we found a small well which contained some * Merchant and part owner of the Commerce. f Ship's cooper. J Seaman. 260 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders brackish water; but being very thirsty, we drank our fill, and found ourselves much refreshed by it. After resting ourselves a little while at this place, we again resumed our journey, but had not walked far before we saw at some distance a number of men coming toward us, whom we at first took to be savages; but stopping a while to view them more attentively, we were happy to find them to be our own people, who had parted with us in the morning. "Sunday, July 15. At day light we found some of the blacks were missing, and the remaining ones (excepting the captain's servant) parted from us soon after, taking the road to travel they most approved of; the rest of us continued walk- ing the beach along until nine o'clock, when we ascended a mountain in hopes of finding water; having gained the top of the mountain, we saw at some distance behind us, a number of savages, who seemed to be coming after us in some haste; but not overtaking us, we conjectured they had gone another way. We continued walking across the mountain till twelve o'clock, but finding nothing either to eat or drink, nor the least prospect of getting any thing, we divided ourselves, rather by accident, into three parties, each hoping to find a road that might bring them to something which might save them from perishing with hunger and thirst. Our party consisted of Captain Johnson, Mr. Robert Williams, Benjamin Williams, John Daniels,* William Leghorn,* John Rowe,* Thomas Barnard,* James Leatherby,* John Quincy,* myself, and Manno, the captain's servant. Charles Lapham,* Valentine Bagley,t Solomon Buthby,* Samuel Laha* and Gilbert Foss,* formed another party; and Mr. Seaver and Mr. Ockington,| choosing to go by themselves, made the third. "This was the last I saw of these two, and of some of the others. The other parties left us, and went their way. We * Seamen. f Carpenter. J First mate. 261 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem (being eleven in number) saw at some distance a rock, whose head reached considerably above the other part of the mountain and afforded some shade that would shelter us from the sun, whose heat was almost insupportable; under this rock we lay down until the sun had declined, and become somewhat more tolerable, "Monday, July 16. At day light we rose again, and pro- ceeded along the mountain to the eastward, until about 9 o'clock. By this time the rays of the sun had become so intensely hot, and we so weak and faint for want of food and water, that it was with difficulty that any of us could walk at all; and Ben- jamin Williams, William Leghorn and Thomas Baniard, whose bodies were exposed naked to the scorching sun, finding their strength and spirits quite exhausted, lay down, expecting nothing but death for relief. In this deplorable, melancholy condition we left them, without being able to afford them the least help or consolation, nature calling for all our exertions to preserve our own lives. We therefore continued our journey, but not without being much disheartened and dismayed at seeing our poor fellow sufferers exhausted with hunger and fatigue, giving over the thought of living any longer, and resign- ing themselves to the arms of death. "About an hour after this Capt. Johnson and his servant left us, and took another way, more inland. The remainder of us (being now but six in number) still pursued our usual track, until near twelve o'clock, when we reached a shady place at the side of a rock, where we lay down till about three o'clock; we then got up, and proceeded on again until near six o'clock, when Mr. Williams, John Rowe and John Daniels took another way by themselves. The three of us that were left walked once more down to the beach, where we saw several old fishing nets, but nothing in them. Having been two days without a morsel of any thing to eat, or a drop of any thing to 262 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders drink but salt water, we grew very weak and faint ; however, we walked on till night, and then lay down on the beach and went to sleep. "Tuesday, July 17. At day light we rose again and pro- ceeded on our journey. Having a long, hard, sandy beach to walk, the traveling was somewhat less painful than that of the mountains. About nine o'clock we met Mr. Robert Williams, John Rowe and John Daniels again, who, we found, had fared no better than ourselves. About an hour afterwards we came to a rocky point that projected into the sea, about which we found many crabs and cockels, whfch afforded us great relief. James Leatherby now left us, and walked up to the mountain again, in hopes of getting water. The rest of us walked along the beach until about eleven o'clock, when, looking up to the top of the mountain, I saw Leatherby, and made use of some endeavours to persuade them all to go up to him; but they all declined, except Mr. Williams and myself, who parted with the rest of the company, and ascended the mountain as fast as we could, but could see nothing of him. When we had reached the top of the hill, Mr. Williams thought it was best to keep the inland road, or rather find our road over the mountains. We descended the mountain, and travelled across a neck of land, which our companions upon the beach must have walked round, which shortened our distance considerably. We travelled until about one o'clock, when I became so weak with fatigue and want of bodily nourishment, and the sun so hot, that I could no longer support myself, and fell to the ground, and began to despair of ever rising again. But, by the blessing of God, my strength revived, and I was enabled to rise again in about half an hour, Mr. Williams having been so good as to stay by me during this conflict. When I rose, we walked down toward the beach, and I went immediately and bathed myself in the salt water, which afforded me great relief; then walking 263 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem back to the head of the beach, I took ojBF what rags I had on, and spread them to dry. Mean while Mr. Williams and I lay down under the rock, and slept for a while tolerably easy. "When I woke, I went down to the sea side and caught a few crabs, which afforded us a tolerable good meal. Although we found ourselves considerably refreshed, yet, so desperate were our circumstances, that I proposed to Mr. Williams to remain and end our existence at this place; but he having still some hope of getting to Muskat, we concluded to set out again. About five o'clock, we met Captain Johnson and his servant, who informed us that he had seen Mr. Seaver and Mr. Ocking- ton, whom he left in a very low condition. Soon after, James Leatherby overtook us, and we walked together till near sun down, when we saw a parcel of small rocks in a low, watery marsh, where we found a quantity of small fish in nets; but our mouths were so parched and dried for want of water, that we could not eat any of them. We imagined there must be fresh water near, from this being a place of fishing, and the Captain went back toward the country in search of some, and left us on the beach, to wait his return; but it growing dark, and no appearance of his coming we followed him, and walked until it was very dark, in quest of him. Now missing Mr. Williams, I returned in search of him, and found him asleep at the side of a rock. I awoke him, and we soon overtook our party, but could find nothing of the Captain. "Wednesday, July 18. About five o'clock we began our usual hard labour, somewhat more inland; and, walking until noon, we met two women with a goat skin full of water; we importuned them some time for some of the water to drink ; at length they understood what we wanted, and gave us about three pints of water each, and made us understand where we might get more. We immediately plied ourselves along the road they directed us; and after travelling some distance, we 264 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders met two men and six women, who at first treated us very hospita- bly, and gave us as much water as we wanted; they gave us also three small fishes each; but, our mouths being so sore for want of continual moisture, we could not eat them. Their thievish disposition now began to make its appearance, for one of the women, taking a fancy to Mr, Williams's shoes, went immediately and took them off his feet ; they took from James Leatherby his shirt, and from me my hair ribbon, and, the men standing over us with large bludgeons in their hands, we durst make no resistance. "Having gratified their curiosity, and taken from us what- ever attracted their attention, they made signs to us to go away, which we did; and walking down toward the beach, we over- took the Captain, who informed us that he had got water, since he left us, of some of the Arabs; but that in return they had taken from him his trowsers. We travelled along the beach until about 4 o'clock, when, seeing a number of trees and bushes, we went among them, in hopes of finding some water, but unfortunately found none. James Leatherby, Manno, the Captain's servant, and myself, laid down under a bush and tried to sleep, leaving the Captain and Mr. Williams to go on before us, as we could overtake them in a short time, being more accustomed to walk barefooted than they were, we having been destitute of shoes the whole journey. Having laid about an hour, we got up again, and took the road the Captain and Mr. Williams had gone before; we travelled in this track over nearly three miles of land, the surface of which was covered with broken flint stones, which rendered our travelling very irksome and painful indeed. Having at length with much difficulty passed it over, we discovered, at a distance before us. Captain Johnson supporting Mr. Williams as he walked, who having lost his shoes, and not being accustomed to go without them, his feet were so tender, and so wounded with the stones, 265 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem that he was scarcely able to walk at all. We soon overtook them; and not long after we met three savages with one camel; perceiving they had water on their camel, we made signs to them that we would be very thankful for a little of it; they accordingly filled us a cup that contained about a pint, which was all we could persuade them to afford us; this we divided among ourselves with a shell of a fish, which we carried with us for the purpose of drinking water out of. The Savages then taking a liking to a jacket which the Captain's servant had on, they took it from him and went their way. At sun-set we saw at a distance a number of wild date trees, which we went to, but not without much fear of meeting with Arabs among them ; but not discovering any living creature there we began to search for water, and soon found a small well, which appeared to have been lately dried up ; we dug down some little depth, and found water; but it was very muddy, and proved of very ill conse- quence to us. 266 CHAPTER XIV THE SUFFERINGS OF DANIEL SAUNDERS (continued) THURSDAY, July 19. Mr. Williams' strength and spirits failed him so much that he was unwilling we should leave this place when we did; and now he was so exhausted, that he fell considerably in the rear, and appeared scarcely able to walk, and almost insensible of his condition; and we concluded that it was not in his power to contend any longer with us against the hardships of the journey, more especially as there was no prospect of its having an end, nine days having already elapsed since our misfortune in the ship began, and not the least appearance of drawing near Muskat, or any other place of refuge from the cruelty of the barbarians. We therefore with reluctance left him to the mercy of God, suffering ourselves all the horrors that fill the mind at the near approach of death. " Friday, July 20. At daybreak, we sat out again along the beach but Captain Johnson's sinews and nerves had been so contracted by the sun in the day time, and chilled by the dews at night, that he found himself unable to travel any longer; he therefore concluded he must make his grave at that place, and told us that he could not wish us to make any delay for him, but advised us to make the best of our way along. We there- fore took leave of him, and left him in a similar condition to those we had left before, and a point we had to go round soon hid him from our sight. We traveled along till about nine o'clock, when we came to a grove of small trees and bushes, a little distance from the beach, where we found as many as an 267 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem hundred and fifty people, who were constant inhabitants of this dreary abode, without a hut or roof of any kind, except what was formed by the trees, for shelter. " Here was their baggage, their cooking utensils, and a great number of fish, which appeared to have been lately caught. In the midst of this grove was a good spring. Here we found one of our Lascar sailors, who had been at the place four days, and appeared to be in as good health as when he left the ship. The greater part of these people were women; & from the females we had met with, we had commonly received kinder usage than from the men. They gave us as much fish and water as we could eat and drink, and even gave us fish to carry away, for which we thanked Heaven and our benefactors. Having refreshed ourselves greatly from this piece of good fortune, we found our strength considerably restored, and our spirits greatly revived; we then took leave of our hospitable friends, and proceeded along the seaside again, the Lascar choosing to remain behind. " About one o'clock, we discovered a man lying on the beach, with very little signs of life in him, and coming to him, found it to be Charles Lapham, in a most deplorable condition, having no water since he left us, which was five days; we told him where he could get water, at about two miles distance; after many efforts, he got upon his feet, and endeavored to walk. Seeing him in so wretched a condition, I could not but sym- pathise enough with him in his sufferings to go back with him (though it retarded my progress in my journey enough to do myself material injury), which both my other companions refused to do. Accordingly, they walked forward, while I went back a considerable distance with Lapham, until, his strength failing him, he suddenly fell down on the ground; nor was he able to rise up again, or even speak to me; finding it in vain to stay with him, I covered him with sprays and leaves which I 268 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders tore from an adjacent tree, it being the last friendly oflBce 1 could do him. "Thus I left him, and about an hour after, overtook my companions again. Travelling along the beach, about four o'clock we saw a man, a woman, and three children, of whom we got a little water, but not enough to quench our thirst. Leaving them, we walked until near sunset. Our travelling on the beach being obstructed by reason of the rocks running into the sea some distance, and very high, we ascended the moun- tains again, on the side of which we found a vast number of withered date trees, under and about which appeared to have been the habitation of some of the natives, which was now evacuated. We found nothing here that afforded us any satis- faction; and, leaving it, we walked along the side of the moun- tain some distance, when, coming to a rock, whose craggy side hung over and formed a sort of cave, we discovered two of our late shipmates, viz., Solomon Buthby and Valentine Bagley, lying down by a little stream of water that issued from the rock, which was the first they had found since their parting from us. We were happy to find each other yet alive, and concluded to travel together for the future, as long as it should please God that we should be enabled to encounter with the hardships of the journey. The mantle of day being now withdrawn, and night having spread her shades around us, we all lay down and slept tolerably well during the night. "Saturday, July 21. At daybreak, we rose again, much refreshed by our night's rest, and applied ourselves to our daily toil and travel, being now five in number. We walked along together, relating to each other what had befallen us in the time of our separation ; by which we found that Charles Lapham had been left by Bagley and Buthby, the preceding day, in the place where we found him, according to their description. About nine o'clock, we very fortunately got some crabs and 269 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem cockles, which proved a very seasonable relief; having eat as much as satisfied us, we lay down among some bushes that grew at a little distance from the beach, the sun being so intensely hot that we could by no means walk, or scarcely stand, and the sand had also scorched our feet in a shocking manner. Here we lay until about three o'clock. " Leaving the side of the mountain, we had to travel across a neck of low land, which projected so far toward the sea that we could not see its extent, upon which we met two Arabs, who were good enough to give us water. We left them, and soon after reached the eastern side of the land, where we found it formed a deep bay, bounded by a sandy beach, which we walked till near five o'clock, when we met seven camels, with the same number of Arabs attending them. We endeavoured to obtain of them some information respecting the distance of Muskat, and understood them that they had been only one day from thence. However we might misunderstand them, this created new spirits in us, and we began to think our greatest hardships at an end. We made them understand that we wanted something to eat and drink; and they gave us a handful of dates, which is a fruit that grows in that country, and pre- serve themselves when they are gathered ripe; this was all we could get of them to eat; they gave us a plenty of water to drink, for which we were very thankful. Being about to take our leave of them, they robbed Solomon Buthby of his hat, which it was not in our power to prevent, and then suffered us to depart. We followed the tracks of the camels over the mountains until it was quite dark, and then lay down upon a sand bank to sleep, when came an Arab, who surveyed us, and muttering something we did not understand, he left us, and we lay without further molestation all night, covering our bodies with the sand to protect us from the cold. "Sunday, July 22. Awaking at daylight from our sleep, 270 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders and finding ourselves much refreshed, and that we had derived considerable benefit from covering ourselves with sand, we once more began our daily travel, and walked till about nine o'clock, when we found a well with very good water, where we drank our fill, and proceeded on our journey, still following the camels' tracks, till, about eleven o'clock, when, finding we were going too much inland, we turned to the right hand again, in order to gain the beach once more, which we found very hard to accomplish, having most tremendous hills of sand to climb over, which appeared like mountains of snow; and the sand was so loose, that it gave way at every footstep, so that it was with great difficulty we could get over them; the rays of the sun, and the reflection from the sand, being so hot, that it scorched our skins from head to foot. " Having at length attained the shady side of these hills, we lay down, and I believe slept about two hours. When we awoke, it being about four o'clock, we descended the hills into the valley seaward, where we fortunately found two huts, or small dwelling places, in one of which was an old man, in the other an old woman, who gave us a quantity of broiled crabs, which proved to us a delicious meal; but they could give us no water, having none in the huts, and the water of which they drank being at a great distance. After returning our humble thanks for what they had so hospitably afforded us, we took our leave, and proceeded down the valley until near sunset, when we met with two men who took us to an adjacent place, where they gave us as much water as we would drink. "After many signs and gestures concerning Muskat they understood that we wanted to go thither, and agreed to provide camels and guides to take us there for twenty-five dollars per man, making signs with their fingers to express the number, and calling the pieces of money fluish, which we found were dollars. It growing dark, we left them for the night, and ^71 The Shifs and Sailors of Old Salem walking to the side of an adjacent bank in the side of the moun- tain, we went to sleep. "Monday, July 23. Early in the morning we renewed our discourse with the Arabs, and agreed with them to give them their price to carry us to Muskat, in hopes on our arrival there to find some more Christianlike people, who would advance the money for our labour in their service, until we could clear ourselves of the bondage. Having got some water of the Arabs, about seven o'clock we sat out with one of them, who was to conduct us to an island, where were more of their company, who were to furnish us with camels for our journey to Muskat. Having walked down the side of the hill, we found ourselves on a white beach, the most beautiful to appearance that I ever beheld, the end of which we could not see to the westward; and taking our way eastward, we walked about seven miles, but could not see its end to the eastward. It was about two miles in breadth, and the surface of it as fair to look upon as a looking glass, and so hard that the hoofs of the laden camels made no impression on it. ''At length we came opposite to the island we were to go over it, which was about two miles from us, and which it ap- peared almost impossible ever we could wade to or near it, there being a very strong current running by which we were in danger of being carried away, being so weak that we could scarcely walk the ground where there was nothing to obstruct us. However, our guide taking the water, at which he was very expert, we followed after; and wading through from two to three feet of water, we at length reached the island, where we found near thirty more Arabs, unto whom our guide com- municated our business; upon which they shewed us some signs of civility. " Here we staid all day, without having anything to eat but a little salted shark, which is the most of their food; and there 272 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders being no water on the island, we suffered much for want of it, especially in the excessive heat of the day. Late in the after- noon they gave us a little water, which was brought over to the island by an Arab, who was soon after followed by another, bringing Captain Johnson with him, in a very deplorable condition indeed, the sun having bred insects under his skin, which were destroying the flesh on his bones. Captain Johnson having fallen in with this Arab, he had agreed with him to give him fifty dollars to carry him to Muskat; and for that purpose he was brought to this island, as we had been. The sun having declined, the Arabs shewed us a cave in the island, where we retired and went to sleep. " Tuesday, July 24. At daylight they made signs to us that we were to go to a neighboring island, for the readier attaining to the camels when they were ready; and having the one for a guide that conducted the captain hither, we began our route, and walked a considerable way through soft mud, that had been created by the flowing of the water, which fatigued us very much, the sun at the same time having its full power on our heads. We, however, at length reached the water, through which we had to wade about a mile, it being full three feet deep, which rendered it very difficult. But notwithstanding our being so weak, by God's assistance w^e reached the shore we were plying for. This island we found very thickly inhabited, dis- covering at our first arrival as many as two hundred in number, who came down to the beach to meet us. The catching and curing of fish appeared to be the business of these islands, and with their fish they carried on a traffick to Muskat. " Our guide having informed them of our business, they received us somewhat civilly; they gave us dates to eat and water to drink, of which we stood in great need, and from which we found ourselves much refreshed. But finding no kind of shade from the sun w^e were very often in fear that we should 273 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem die with its heat, it having bUstered our skin from our heads to our feet; and our mouths were so parched, and our Ups so swollen, that we could scarcely open them to admit of eating or drinking enough to keep us alive. Finding no shade to keep us from the heat of the sun (the savages not permitting us to go under their tents, or to eat or mix with them) we sauntered up and down the side of the island, not without being viewed and examined, as objects of curiosity, by the savages, who passed all day at intervals. Towards sunset they gave us some dates and water; and to lay upon and cover ourselves withal, they gave us a large mat, on which we lay tolerably well all night. "Wednesday, July 25. About five o'clock they awoke us, and gave us some dates and water, which we with difficulty swallowed. We walked or rather sauntered about the island the greater part of the day, to pass away the tedious time, which seemed to us to move very slowly. At noon they gave us sharks' fins to eat, which they had broiled upon the fire, and water to drink, the remaining part of the day we passed as the former; at sunset we had broiled sharks' fins, dates and water, and at night we lay down to rest, in the former manner. "Thursday, July 26. When we awoke in the morning the Arabs brought us our usual fare, and the time seeming very tedious and irksome to pass, this being the third day of our being upon the island, and no prospect of the camels coming to deliver us from the burden we laboured under, we made signs to our conductors to know when we should go; and they gave us to understand that we should not go in less than three days, as they should not be ready for the journey in less time. They promised us we should fare every day as we had the preceding one, while we staid on the island. The sun in these two last days had blistered our skins in so shocking a manner, that our condition seemed to be more deplorable than ever; we could not walk, nor sit or lie down, without enduring all 274 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders the torment our weakness would bear. Thus we passed this day as the former ones, and at night lay down to rest as usual, but found ourselves very incapable of sleeping. "Saturday, July 28. Attempting to rise in the morning, we found we could not stand, the flies in the course of the night having made holes in our skin, and filled them full of their insects, which made us so sore that we could scarcely endure the pain. Thus labouring under evils which grew heavier now than ever we had felt them before, we spent this day after the preceding ones, and at night lay down, in hopes the ensuing day to be removed, if it should please God to enable us to sur- vive the night. " Sunday, July 29. The day having appeared, we were called by the Arabs, who informed us we must prepare for our departure, there being a boat provided for carrying us over to the main continent, where the camels were ready to carry us to Muskat. We summoned all our strength together, and began our walk to the boat, where we embarked, but without receiving anything to eat or drink. Having reached within two miles of the shore, the boat struck the ground, nor would go any farther, the water being too shoal; we were all accordingly obliged to get out of the boat, and wade through the water, which was two feet deep. " This was a task that from our weak and sore condition we were afraid we should hardly accomplish; however, with much toil and suffering we reached the dry land, being most spent, the savages showing us no pity nor affording us any assistance ; but having with difficulty got on shore, they gave us some dates and water. Here we staid, waiting for the camels until three o'clock, when they came, being three in number, viz., one for the Captain, who had made a separate agreement, as before mentioned; and two for the rest of us, who were five in number; and each camel had a driver. The savages having laden the 275 The Shijjs and Sailors of Old Salem camels with salt shark, they put us on the top of it, and began the journey, and travelled over the mountains till near sunset; then stopped in order to let the camels feed; they made a fire also, and broiled some salt shark for us, and gave us the usual quantity of dates and water. It being by this time quite dark, we lay down to sleep. "Monday, July 30. About five o'clock in the morning, the savages having laden the camels again, we proceeded and travelled till ten o'clock, when we came to a pond of fine water, where they unloaded the camels again, and mixed some fish, with a sort of meal not unlike oatmeal, with water, and gave us to eat. After refreshing ourselves, and stopping awhile to let the camels feed, they loaded them again, and we continued our route and travelled till near sunset, when coming to a grove of trees, they delivered the camels of their burden, as they always did when they stopped ; they then gave us our usual quantity of dates and water; and it growing quite dark, and this being a tolerably comfortable place to what some were which we had met with, we lay pretty easy all night. " Tuesday, July 31. At two o'clock in the morning, the man to whose care I fell, and whose name we found was Ishmael, took one of the camels and went to an adjacent village for dates, and, returning about ten o'clock, brought a quantity of dates, and gave us to understand that in his way he saw one of our people almost dead ; but having parted with so many, we could not conjecture who it was. Here we tarried till near sunset, the day being so excessively hot that the camels could not travel; but the day being nearly elapsed, they loaded the camels, and we travelled till about eleven o'clock at night, when, coming to a level piece of ground on a mountain, where were a quantity of bushes on which the camels feed, they unloaded the camels as usual, and we lay down among the bushes and went to sleep. "Wednesday, August 1. About four o'clock the Arabs mus- 276 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders tered us. The camels being ready, we set out; and about eight o'clock, having descended the mountain, we came to a low marsh, which was covered with a strong, dry reed, which grew there as we imagined in the rainy season; we had to pass through this cane patch, and found it a very tedious under- taking; the tops of the reeds, reaching the camels' bellies, retarded our progress in a great measure; however, about ten o'clock we had passed this troublesome part of the journey, and about eleven o'clock, it being so hot that the camels could travel no longer, we stopped in a place where we found three several springs; but the place we staid in afforded us little relief, there not being the least shade or refuge from the sun. "Our man Ishmael, going to one of the springs, caught twelve or fourteen small birds, which he broiled on a fire they had made, and brought them to us to eat ; but one of the Arabs, begrudging us our meal, took some of the birds from us. From his freedom, we were encouraged to ask him for water, which he as readily denied us. The water .in the springs so near us not being fit to drink, our thirst and the heat became intolerable; notwithstanding which, we were obliged to content ourselves until five o'clock in the afternoon, when, having laden the camels, we mounted again, and travelling till about seven o'clock, we met seven camels, with the same number of savages attending them, whom we knew to be some of the people we had seen on the island the day of our landing there, and who had been to Muskat with the same kind of commodity that our camels were loaded with, viz., salt shark, and brought cotton and dates in return; the dates being their food, and the cotton they made their fishing nets of. We could not rightly under- stand how long they had been from Muskat; but we under- stood from them that there were a number of ships there, which gave us new life. Our conductors having exchanged some of the camels with them, we parted, and proceeded on till about 277 TJie Ships and Sailors of "Old Salem eleven o'clock at night, when we stopped by the side of two fine springs, where were a number of savages, with twenty camels, watering. "Thursday, August 2. About three o'clock in the morning the Arabs called us, and we mounted to proceed on our journey, in hopes it was soon to have an end. We travelled until about eleven o'clock, when we stopped among a number of sand hills upon the mountain, where there was no screen from the sun; and the reflection of it from the sand hills, whose heads were so high that they deprived us of the benefit of the wind that blew, rendered it so hot that it was with difficulty we could breathe as we lay down, for we could by no means stand upon our feet. While we were in this place, we saw three or four small girls and boys driving a large flock of goats, consisting apparently of several hundreds; but they did not come within two or three hundred yards of us. Having laid down some time, our man Ishmael brought us some broiled fish, with dates and water, which gave us some refreshment; after which, we lay down again till five o'clock, when they reloaded the camels, and set out again, and travelled till near one o'clock in the morning; when, coming to a number of bushes on which the camels feed, we stopped, and the savages unloading the camels as usual, we lay down among the bushes, and slept till about five o'clock. " Friday, August 3. We proceeded on our journey again, and travelled until about eleven o'clock, the usual time, when, coming to a large well, where we saw between twenty and thirty savages watering a number of camels, we stopped, and of them we got some dates, all that we had being consumed; it proved a seasonable relief, and having drank our fill of water, we lay down until four o'clock in the afternoon, when we set out again, and travelled till about ten o'clock, when, coming to a thicket of bushes upon small hills of hard, sandy 278 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders soil, this being a convenient place for feeding our camels, we lay down to rest, "Saturday, August 4. About five o'clock in the morning we continued our route again, and about nine o'clock we passed by a large grove of date trees, which were the first we had seen bearing fruit, and which encompassed a village, as our guide informed us, containing a number of inhabitants; but we did not go into it. Passing by this, we travelled until near eleven o'clock, when we came to a fine village, where we found the inhabitants very hospitable; it being surrounded by a number of date trees, whose fruit was ripe, they gave us a large quantity of them; and it being the first time, for a long while, that we had had an opportunity of eating our fill, we eat more than did us good, for it put us in excessive pain the whole day. We laid among these remarkably civil people until four o'clock in the afternoon. Our men having laden the camels again, we were going away, when the friendly Arabs brought us a quantity of dates, which they gave us to serve us on our journey. We now set out and travelled till about nine o'clock at night, when we stopped in the open road, without the least thing for shelter. " Sunday, August 5. About four o'clock in the morning we began our day's journey once more, in hopes we could not be far from Muskat, of which we were quite ignorant, as our guides would give us no satisfaction respecting it. Travelling till eleven o'clock, we came to a village that was evacuated, by reason of the date trees being barren. Our man Ishmael, with the other Arabs, leaving us here, with part of the camels' load- ing, they went to a large village which we saw in the distance, with some of the fish to sell, leaving us some dates to eat, and water to drink; which after we had eat and drank, we went into a house in this deserted village, that appeared to have been a place of worship, where we lay down to sleep; and our man not returning till near night, we were not disturbed until he 279 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem came and brought two of our black sailors along with him, whom he had met with in his way. These sailors informed us that the Arabs had sold Juba Hill for sixty pieces of silver; but by what means they knew this, I cannot say. They staid with us a short time, and then left us, appearing to be in pretty good health. " Monday, August 6. Having slept till about two o'clock in the morning, our man came to us, and informed us that the camels were laden and waited for us; we accordingly hastened with him to the camels. Having mounted, we set out again. About four o'clock, we passed by another village, and travelled till near ten, when we came to a very large one, containing a great many houses and stores, and vast numbers of inhabitants ; the males, from the age of seven or eight years, to the oldest among them, being armed with spears, cutlasses, and long knives. At our first entering the village, we alighted from the camels, our curiosity prompting us to see the place, and being desirous to get something to eat and drink, if we could find any among them humane enough to give us anything; flattering ourselves, that from the kind reception we had met with in the village we stopt in on the Saturday preceding, we should be civilly treated here also. But we were much mistaken in our suggestions; for, going among a number of them, importuning them for something to eat, they laid hands on us, and locked us up in a house. We now began to reflect upon the indiscretion of our leaving the camels, not knowing what might be the result of our error, as we now found it to be. " Ruminating some time on our confinement, we were alarmed lest the camels and our guide should pass through the village, and imagining we would follow them, give himself no concern on the occasion; but in a little time we had the pleasure of seeing him gain admittance into the place, and we were immedi- ately set at liberty. Having now our guide with us, who we 280 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders supposed had related our circumstances and condition to them, they gave us a quantity of dates, and shewed us many signs of civility. Our guide then took us to a market place, where we saw onions, dates, and vegetables of different kinds, for sale. They gave us each three pieces of copper coin, called fice, which is current in most parts of the East Indies; and some onions, which we eat with a good appetite. We tarried here till near sunset, when some of the inhabitants gave us some more onions. :jc * * * * * "Sunday, August 12. Early in the morning we set out affain, and travelled the beach to the southward. Soon after sunrise, our Arabs, finding the beach was not the way by which we were to get to Muskat, once more altered their course; and travelling toward the mountain sometime, we passed a small village, and about three hours after we discovered, as we entered on a plain, at some distance to the southward and eastward, a town, which made but a slender appearance. As we drew near the place, we saw over the houses a ship's mastheads, whence we concluded it was Muskat. But its appearance seemed to afford us little hope of meeting with the succour or consolation we had promised ourselves, although the sight of a seaport gave us some relief, as we flattered ourselves we might perchance find an European ship which would enable us to dis- charge the obligation we were under to our conductors. We plied forward for the town, found it was called Matterah. The inhabitants were very numerous, and flocked about us in great numbers to view us, until we came to the beach opposite where the ship lay, when we were accosted by a man in the English tongue, who asked us many questions relative to our circum- stances; and having told him our story, he informed us that he acted as factor for the English ships that came to Muskat to load, which had a safer harbour than Matterah; that the chief of what he procured for the English was preserved dates and 281 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem small shells, which they call cowrie, and which are used for money in many parts of the East Indies. "We told him that we were concerned about getting money to pay the men who had brought us to this place; on which he proffered us what money we wanted, and said he was com- missioned so to do. But he informed us that Muskat was not more than three miles distant, and that if we chose he would carry us thither in boats; we thankfully accepted his offer; and he accordingly hired two boats, one of which he went in himself, taking part of our company with him, and the rest going into the other boat, we put off, and soon reached Muskat, having only a short neck of land to row round. On landing at Muskat, the Factor recommended us to the care of a man whom he met, and proceeded himself to the Governor, directing the man, in whose care he had left us, to follow him with us. " We soon arrived at the place of destination, where we were very well received by the Governor and his attendants. From there we were conducted to the house of a man, who acted as Consul for the English, and who spoke the English language. This man, having heard our story, told us he would procure a ship to carry us to some English port in the East Indies. He informed us that there were then two of our ship's crew in Muskat, besides us, under his protection, one white man and one black. He then conducted us to a house, in which was a hall, where were a number of persons, whom we found by the Consul to be the magistrates and officers of the town, and who asked the Consul many questions concerning us, which he duly answered. We then went with the Consul to another house, which we imagined to be the bank, where he paid the Arabs, who brought us to Matterah, 35 dollars, which was far short of what we had agreed to give them; but the Consul insisting it was enough, they took it and went their way. He next took us to a house near the sea side, where he ordered victuals and 282 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders drink for us; and we were soon sensed with dates, fish, bread, and water. "Having refreshed ourselves by this good man's bounty, and having a view of the ships in the harbour, we began to feel new life, and almost to think ourselves restored to our former strength & vigour; tho' in reality we were still in a most deplor- able condition. We were anxious to see our former shipmate, to know who it was that was so fortunate as to survive the journey, as well as ourselves; and soon after we found it to be Samuel Laha, as we saw him going in a boat on board of a ship. " Having made another good meal, we felt our spirits greatly revived, though our strength was still low, and our bodies very sore. We now waited with impatience the return of the Consul who had promised to procure us some clothes, as we were almost naked, and could not go out of the house on that account. He sent us a barber, who shaved us, and combed our hair, having seen neither razor nor comb since the time of our ship wreck till now. While this was performing, we had the pleasure of seeing our old shipmate, Laha, come in, who informed us that he had been in Muskat four days; that he had suffered much in his journey, having walked all the way, without the least assistance; and that he was going to work his passage to Bombay in an English snow. Having waited till near night for the Consul, we began to conjecture that he had forgot his promise; and it being late by this time, we were obliged to content ourselves for the night, and wait the result of the morning. "In the morning (Aug. 13) Captain Johnson sent a letter to the Master of the English snow in which Laha was going to Bombay, acquainting him with our distresses, and imploring his sympathy and assistance in contributing to our relief; and in a short time after, an answer was returned by the generous Englishman, accompanied with several suits of clothes for 283 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem Captain Johnson, and one for each of the rest of us. Having received so bountiful a donation from a man we had never seen, gratitude bade us make him the first offer of our services. The Consul came to us early this morning, and removed us to a house near the middle of the town, and told us he had clothes making for us. There was not an European or white man of any nation in the harbour, who did not come to see us, so that we did not want for company the whole day; among other visitors was an Arabian, who commanded a ship that wanted a carpenter; and he took our carpenter's mate, Valentine Bagley, along with him, and gave him some very good clothes. " The Consul took care to have victuals provided for us this day, as he had the preceding one; and about sunset we had the pleasure of seeing our benefactor, the Master of the English snow, who came on shore to make us a visit, attended by his clerk, who appeared to sympathize with us. On offering him our ser\^ice, he told us he was going away very soon, and advised us to stay on shore till we were stronger, and our health per- fectly restored. We thanked him for his goodness, and he took his leave of us. "Thus we lived two days longer; and finding ourselves much stronger, and thinking it advisable to get clear of ex- penses if possible, we agreed to go on board different ships in the harbour to work, till an opportunity offered of going to some English port in India. I went on board an Arabian ship, where I found three French sailors, who were very kind to me, and gave me a shirt and trowsers, which were very serviceable to me; and I staid on board five days, and was well treated by everyone on board. On the sixth day, Captain John Christian Gaddis, of the ship Laurel, of Bengal, bound to Bombay, offered us a passage thither, which we all readily accepted, saving Bagley, who had gone carpenter in an Arabian ship. Capt. Johnson, Leatherby, Butliby, and myself, accordingly 284 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders went on board the Laurel, and sailed the same night. Capt. Johnson gave us our bill of expenses at Muskat, for which he said he was responsible; it amounted to 11 dollars each, viz., for camel's hire 7, one shirt and trowsers 2, and provisions 2 more. But the bills were of little more consequence than to remind us that after all our hardships and sufferings we were in debt and without a single farthing to discharge it with, or even to help ourselves. " On the 30th of August we arrived at Bombay, much re- cruited in health, thro' the goodness of God, and the unspeakable kindness of Capt. Gaddis and his chief officer. Thus, after a term of 51 days, in which we had suffered hardships and trials seldom known to human nature, snatched from the very jaws of death, thanks to the Supreme Disposer of all events, we were once more placed in a situation to seek a living in this variegated, troublesome world. "On our arrival we found our old shipmate Laha had got there before us; he came on board directly to see us, and in- formed us what ships in the harbour wanted hands; and Buthby went immediately on board the Queen, bound to England, but Leatherby and myself concluded to go on board the ship Fame, of Boston, Captain Standfast Smith, bound to the Isle of France and Ostend. This ship laid in dock at Massegon, a considerable distance up the harbour. We communicated our intention to Captain Gaddis, who approved of it, and calling us into his cabin, he gave us each five dollars; the Chief Mate also gave each of us one dollar, two shirts, two trowsers, and one jacket. "Capt. Gaddis 's goodness did not stop here, for he hired a boat to carry us to Massegon, where, having arrived, we agreed with Capt. Smith, and immediately entered on board his ship, which being then under repair, we did not sail until the 26th of September. On the 12th of November we arrived at the Isle of France, where I left Captain Smith, and took a third Mate's 285 TJiG Ships and Sailors of Old Salem birth on board the American ship Robert Morris, Captain John Hay, bound to Madras; for which place we sailed on the 3d of December, and arrived there the 9th of February, 1793; sailed again on the 25th for Calcutta, where we arrived on the 9th of March. Here, to my great joy, I was informed of the safe arrival of Mr. Robert Williams at Bombay, contrary to every expectation, considering the shocking condition in which we left him. On the 17th of March we dropped down the river, and on the 12th of June sailed for Ostend. On the 27th of September we fell in with a Dutch cruiser, with two prizes, bound into Cape of Good Hope, where we all arrived together the 1st of October. Our ship being leaky, we tarried there till the 25th to repair; and we arrived at Ostend on the 20th of January, 1794. Here the hands were all discharged, as the ship was going to England to repair. " Finding no American ship there, I entered into the transport service, to keep clear of expenses till I could get a passage to America; and afterwards was pressed on board a King's ship, where I was kept several weeks, and then made my escape, and got to Blackwell in England, and thence back to Ostend; soon after which arrived the snow Enterprise, Captain William Ward, from Calcutta, bound to Salem; in which vessel I sailed on the 9th of June, and arrived at Salem on the 17th of August following, when I had the happiness of being once more restored to my friends, after an absence of about forty months. " Soon after my arrival, I saw my fellow sufferer, Mr. Robert Williams, who informed me, that after we parted with him he went back to the spring we had left, where he caught some frogs, and staid till he was a little recruited, and finally got along to Muskat ; and that at Muskat he met with Mr. Ocking- ton whose unfortunate friend, Mr. Seaver, had failed in the journey. "Thus, out of 17 white persons who began the journey, I 286 The Sufferings of Daniel Saunders am knowing to 8 who got through & survived it, viz., Capt. Johnson, Mr. Robert Wilhams, Mr. Ockington, Valentine Bagley, Solomon Butliby, James Leatherby, Samuel Laha, and myself. The Lascars being always accustomed to going naked, and living abstemiously, it is supposed they suffered but little, and either got to Muskat or continued in the country, as they chose. It was the fate of Juba Hill, the black man from Bos- ton, to be detained among the Arabs, probably as a slave." 287 CHAPTER XV THE BUILDING OF THE ESSEX (1799) TWENTIETH century battleships are built at a cost of six or seven millions of dollars with the likelihood of becoming obsolete before they fire a gun in action. It is a task of years to construct one of these mighty fabrics, short-lived as they are in service, and crammed with intricate machinery whose efficiency under stress of war is largely experimental. One hundred and ten years ago there was launched from a Salem shipyard a wooden sailing frigate called the Essex. She was the fastest and handsomest vessel of the United States navy and a dozen years after she first flew the flag of her country she won immortal renown under Captain David Porter. There is hardly a full-rigged sailing ship afloat to-day as small as the Essex, and in tonnage many modern three-masted coasting schooners can equal or surpass her. Yet her name is one of the most illustrious in the list of a navy which bears also those of the Constitution, the Hartford, the Kcarsarge and the Olympia. It was the maritime war with France at the end of the eigh- teenth century which caused the building of the Essex. When American commerce was being harried unto death by the frigates and privateersmen of "the Terrible Republic" as our sailors called France, our shadow of a navy was wholly helpless to resist, or to protect its nation's shipping. At length, in 1797, Congress authorized the construction of the three famous frigates. Constitution, Constellation and United States, to fight 288 The Building of the Essex for American seamen's rights. The temper and conditions of that time were reflected in an address to Congress delivered by President John Adams on November 23, 1797, in which he said: "The commerce of the United States is essential, if not to their existence, at least to their comfort, growth and prosperity. The genius, character and habits of our people are highly com- mercial. Their cities have been formed and exist upon com- merce; our agriculture, fisheries, arts and manufactures are connected with and dependent upon it. In short, commerce has made this country what it is, and it cannot be destroyed or neglected without involving the people in poverty or distress. Great numbers are directly and solely supported by navigation. The faith of society is pledged for the preservation of the rights of commercial and seafaring, no less than other citizens. Under this view of our affairs I should hold myself guilty of neglect of duty if I forebore to recommend that we should make every exertion to protect our commerce and to place our country in a suitable posture of defence as the only sure means of preserv- ing both." The material progress of this country has veered so far from seafaring activities that such doctrine as this sounds as archaic as a Puritan edict for bearing arms to church as a protection against hostile savages. One great German or English liner entering the port of New York registers a tonnage equaling that of the whole fleet of ships in the foreign trade of Salem in her golden age of adventurous discovery. Yet the liner has not an American among her crew of five hundred men, and not one dollar of American money is invested in her huge hull. She is a matter of the most complete indifference to the American people, who have ceased to care under what flags their com- merce is borne over seas. On the other hand, the shipping of Salem and other ports was 289 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem a factor vital to national welfare a century ago. But when John Adams preached the necessity of resorting to arms to protect it, the country was too poor to create a navy adequate for defense. Forthwith the merchants whose ships were being destroyed in squadrons by French piracy offered to contribute their private funds to build a fleet of frigates that should rein- force the few naval vessels in commission or authorized. It was a rally for the common good, a patriotic movement in which the spirit of '76 flamed anew. The principles that moved the American people were voiced by James McHenry, Secretary of War in 1789, in a letter to the Chairman of the Committee of the House of Representatives for the Protection of Commerce: "France derives several important advantages from the sys- tem she is pursuing toward the United States. Besides the sweets of plunder obtained by her privateers she keeps in them a nursery of seamen to be drawn upon in conjunctures by the navy. She unfits by the same means the United States for energetic measures and thereby prepares us for the last degree of humiliation and subjection. " To forbear under such circumstances from taking naval and military measures to secure our trade, defend our territories in case of invasion, and to prevent or suppress domestic insurrec- tion, would be to offer up the United States a certain prey to France . . . and exhibit to the world a sad spectacle of national degradation and imbecility." In June of the following year, Congress passed an act "to accept not exceeding twelve vessels on the credit of the United States, and to cause evidences of debt to be given therefor, allowing an interest thereon not exceeding six per cent." It was in accordance with this measure, which confessed that the United States was too poor to build a million dollars' worth of wooden ships of war from its treasury, that subscription 290 f*J The Building of the Essex lists were opened at Newbury, Salem, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Norfolk, the citizens of each of these seaports making ready to contribute a frigate as a loan to the government. Even the infant city of Cincinnati sub- scribed toward equipping a galley for the defense of the Mis- sissippi against the French. At Salem, Elias Hasket Derby and William Gray, the two foremost shipping merchants of the town, led the subscription list with the sum of ten thousand dollars each, and in a few weeks $74,700 had been raised in contributions as small as fifty dollars. The Salem Gazette of October 26, 1798, contained this item: " At a meeting in the Courthouse in this town Tuesday evening last, of those gentlemen who have subscribed to build a ship for the service of the United States, it was voted unanimously to build a Frigate of thirty-two guns and to loan the same to the Government; and William Gray, jr., John Norris and Jacob Ashton, Esqr., Captain Benjamin Hodges and Captain Ichabod Nichols were chosen a committee to carry the same into immediate effect." Captain Joseph Waters was appointed General Agent, and Enos Briggs, a shipbuilder of Salem, was selected as master builder. The Master Builder inserted this advertisement in the Essex Gazette: "The Salem Frigate "Take Notice. "To Sons of Freedom! All true lovers of Liberty of your Country. Step forth and give your assistance in building the frigate to oppose French insolence and piracy. Let every man in possession of a white oak tree be ambitious to be foremost in hurrying down the timber to Salem where the noble structure is to be fabricated to maintain your rights upon the seas and 291 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem make the name of America respected among the nations of the world. Your largest and longest trees are wanted, and the arms of them for knees and rising timber. Four trees are wanted for the keel, which altogether will measure 146 feet in length, and hew 16 inches square. Please to call on the subscriber who wants to make contracts for large or small quantities as may suit best and will pay the ready cash. "Enos Briggs. "Salem, November 23, 1798." So enthusiastic was the response to the call for material that Master Builder Enos Briggs was obliged to have this adver- tisement printed: "The Salem Frigate " Through the medium of the Gazette the subscriber pays his acknowledgements to the good people of the county of Essex for their spirited exertions in bringing down the trees of the forest for building the Frigate. In the short space of four weeks the complement of timber has been furnished. Those who have contributed to their country's defence are invited to come forward and receive the reward of their patriotism. They are informed that with permission of a kind Providence, who hath hitherto favored the undertaking. Next September is the time When we'll launch her from the strand And our cannon load and prime With tribute due to Talleyrand. "Enos Briggs. "Salem, Jan. 1, 1799." The great timbers for the ship's hull were cut in the "wood lots " of Dan vers, Peabody, Beverly and other near-by towns of Essex county and hauled through the snowy streets of Salem on sleds drawn by slow-moving oxen, while the people cheered 292 The Building of the Essex them as they passed. The keel of the frigate was laid on the 13th of April, 1799, and she was launched five months and seventeen days later, on the 30th of September, Master Builder Briggs saving his reputation as a prophet by the narrowest possible margin. The Essex was a Salem ship from keel to truck. Her cordage was made in three rope walks. Captain Jonathan Haraden, the most famous Salem privateersman of the Revolution, made the rigging for the mainmast at his factory in Brown Street. Joseph Vincent fitted out the foremast and Thomas Briggs the mizzenmast in their rigging lofts at the foot of the Common. When the huge hemp cables were ready to be carried to the frigate, the workmen who had made them conveyed them to the shipyard on their shoulders, the procession led by a fife and drum. Her sails were cut from duck woven for the purpose at Daniel Rust's factory in Broad Street, and her iron work was forged by the Salem shipsmiths. Six months before she slid into the harbor her white oak timbers were standing in the woodlands of Massachusetts. The glorious event of her launching inspired the editor of the Salem Gazette to this flight of eulogy: "And Adams said : ' Let there be a navy and there was a navy.' To build a navy was the advice of our venerable sage. How far it had been adhered to is demonstrated by almost every town in the United States that is capable of floating a galley or a gun-boat. "Salem has not been backward in this laudable design. Impressed with a sense of the importance of a navy, the patriotic citizens of this town put out a subscription and thereby obtained an equivalent for building a vessel of force. Among the fore- most in this good work were Messrs. Derby and Gray, who set the example by subscribing ten thousand dollars each. But alas, the former is no more — we trust his good deeds follow him. 293 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem "Such was the patriotic zeal with which our citizens were inspired, that in the short space of six months they contracted for the materials and equipment of a frigate of thirty-two guns, and had her complete for launching. The chief part of her timber was standing but six months ago, and in a moment as it were, ' every grove descended ' and put in force the patriotic intentions of those at whose expense she was built. " Yesterday the Stars and Stripes were unfurled on board the frigate Essex and at 12 o'clock she made a majestic movement into her destined element, there to join her sister craft in repelling foreign aggressions and maintaining the rights and liberties of a 'Great, Free, Powerful and Independent Nation.' "The concourse of spectators was immense. The heart-felt satisfaction of the beholders of this magnificent spectacle was evinced by the concording shouts and huzzas of thousands which reiterated from every quarter. "The unremitting zeal of Mr. Briggs, the architect of this beautiful ship, cannot be too highly applauded. His assiduity in bringing her into a state of such perfection in so short a time entitles him to the grateful thanks of his Country and we fondly hope his labors have not been spent in vain, for we may truly say that he has not ' given rest to the sole of his foot ' since her keel was first laid. At least he will have the consolation of reflecting on the important service he has rendered his country in this notable undertaking." The guns of the frigate had been planted on a near-by hill, and as she took the water they thundered a salute which was echoed by the cannon of armed merchant vessels in the harbor. This famous frigate, literally built by the American people, their prayers and hopes wrought into every timber of her with the labor of their own hands, cost a trifle less than $75,000 when turned over to the Government. The Essex was a large vessel for her time, measuring 850 tons. She was 146 feet in 294 The Building of the Essex length "over all," while her keel was 118 feet long. Her beam was 37 feet and her depth of hold 12 feet 3 inches. The height between her gun deck and lower deck was only 5 feet 9 inches. Her mainmast was 85 feet long with a head of 12 feet. Above this was a topmast 55 feet long with a head of 7h feet, and towering skyward from the topmast her topgallant mast of 40 feet with a head of 15 feet. Her mainyard was 80 feet long. Rigged as a three-masted ship, with an unusual spread of canvas, the Essex must have been a rarely beautiful marine picture when under way. The handling of such a majestic fabric as one of these old-time men-of-war is mirrored in the song of "The Fancy Frigate" which describes how such a ship as this noble Essex was manned by the hundreds of tars who swarmed among her widespread yards: "Now my brave boys comes the best of the fun. All hands to make sail, going large is the song. From under two reefs in our topsails we lie, Like a cloud in the air, in an instant must fly. There's topsails, topgallant sails, and staysails too. There is stu'nsails and skysails, star gazers so high. By the soimd of one pipe everything it must fly. Now, my brave boys, comes the best of the fun. About ship and reef topsails in one. All hands up aloft when the helm goes down. Lower way topsails when the mainyard goes round. Chase up and lie out and take two reefs in one. In a moment of time all this work must be done. Man your head braces, your haulyards and all. And hoist away topsails when it's 'let go and haul,' As for the use of tobacco all thoughts leave behind, If you spit on the deck then your death warrant sign. If you spit overboard either gangway or starn You are sure of six dozen by way of no harm." But before this "fancy frigate" of the American navy could get to sea, there was much to be done. Captain Richard Derby of Salem had been selected to command her, but he was abroad 295 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem in one of his own ships and could not return home in time to equip the frigate for active service. Therefore, Captain Edward Preble of the navy was offered the command, which he accepted and hastened to Salem to put his battery and stores aboard and recruit a crew. It is related that when Captain Preble saw the armament that had been prepared for his ship he found the gun carriages not at all to his liking. "Who built those gun carriages," he angrily demanded of Master Builder Briggs. "Deacon Gould," was the answer. " Send for Deacon Gould to meet me at the Sun tavern this evening," ordered Captain Preble. Deacon Gould made his appearance and found Captain Preble waiting with somewhat of irritation in his demeanor. The deacon was a man of the most dignified port and he asked : "What may be your will. Captain Preble?" " You do not know how to make gun carriages, sir," exclaimed the fighting sailor. "What's that you say, Captain Preble. What's that you say?" thundered Deacon Gould. "I knew how to make gun carriages before you were born, and if you say that word again I will take you across my knee and play Master Hacker* with you, sir." Both men were of a hair-trigger temper and a clash was prevented by friends who happened to be in the tavern. Cap- tain Preble proceeded to have the gun carriages cut down to suit him, however, as may be learned from the following entry in his sea journal kept on board the Essex: "26 12-pound cannon were taken on board for the main battery; mounted them and found the carriages all too high; dismounted the cannon and sent the carriages ashore to be altered." * Master Hacker was a Salem schoolmaster of that time. 296 The Building of the Essex The battery of the Essex consisted of 26 12-pounders on the gun decks; 6 6-pounders on the quarter deck; 32 guns in all. During his first cruise at sea Captain Preble recommended to the Secretary of the Navy that 9-pounders replace the 6-pound guns on the quarterdeck which he thought strong enough to bear them, a tribute to honest construction by Master Builder Enos Briggs. The ofiicial receipt of the acceptance of the Essex in behalf of the Government of the United States which Captain Preble gave the Salem committee reads as follows: "The Committee for building a frigate in Salem for the United States having delivered to my charge the said frigate called the Essex, with her hull, masts, spars and rigging com- plete, and furnished her with one complete suit of sails, two bower cables and anchors, one stream cable and anchor, one hawser, and kedge anchor, one tow line, four boats and a full set of spare masts and spars except the lower masts and bowsprit, I have in behalf of the United States received the said frigate Essex and signed duplicate receipts for the same. "Edward Preble, Captain, U. S. N. "Salem, Dec. 17, 1799." This receipt was not given until Captain Preble had taken time to make a thorough examination of the vessel, for his first letter to the Secretary of the Navy concerning the Essex was written on November 17th, more than a month earlier than the foregoing document. He reported on this previous date: "Sir. I have the honor to inform you that I arrived here last evening and have taken charge of the Essex. She is now completely rigged, has all her ballast on board, and her stock of water will be nearly complete by to-morrow night. . . . 297 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem I am much in want of officers to attend the ship, and the recruit- ing service. I shall be obliged to open a rendezvous to-morrow to recruit men sufficient to make the ship safe at her anchors in case of a storm. I presume the Essex can be got ready for sea in thirty days if my recruiting instructions arrive soon. The agent, Mr. Waters, and the Committee are disoosed to render me every assistance in their power. "Very respectfully, "Your obedient servant, "Edward Preble, Capt, " To the Hon. Secretary of the Navy, etc., etc." In another letter with the foregoing address Captain Preble wrote: " I beg leave to recommend Mr. Rufus Low of Cape Ann for Sailing Master of the Essex. He has served as captain of a merchant ship for several years and has made several voyages to India and sustains a good reputation. His principal induce- ment for soliciting this appointment is the injuries he has sustained by the French." The crew of the Essex, officers and men, numbered two hun- dred and fifty when she went to sea. It was a ship's company of Americans of the English strain who had become native to the soil and cherished as hearty a hatred for the mother country as they did the most patriotic ardor for their new republic. There were only two "Macs" and one "O'" on the ship's muster rolls, and men and boys were almost without exception of seafaring New England stock. In a letter of instructions to Captain Preble, the Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddard, wrote of the proposed complement of the Essex: "Sixty able bodied seamen, seventy-three ordinary seamen, thirty boys, fifty marines including officers. Able seamen $17 per month, ordinary seamen and boys $5 to $17." 298 The Building of the Essex Captain Preble was greatly pleased with the behavior of the frigate in her first "trying out" run from Salem to Newport. He wrote from sea to Joseph Waters: "The Essex is a good sea boat and sails remarkably fast. She went eleven miles per hour with topgallant saijs set and within six points of the wind." He also wrote the Secretary of the Navy after leaving Newport : " I have the honor to acquaint you that the Essex in coming out of the harbor sailed much faster than the Congress, and is, I think, in every respect a fine frigate." Nor was this admiration limited to her own officers, for from the Cape of Good Hope, on her first deep-water cruise. Captain Preble wrote home: " The Essex is much admired for the beauty of her construc- tion by the officers of the British Navy." In company with the frigate Congress the Essex sailed in January, 1800, for Batavia to convoy home a fleet of Ameri- can merchantmen. Six days out the Congress was dismasted in a storm which the Essex weathered without damage and proceeded alone as the first American war vessel to double the Cape of Good Hope. Ten months later she reached the United States with her merchantmen. The Essex had not the good fortune to engage the enemy, for a treaty of peace with France was signed in February, 1801. Captain Preble left the ship because of ill health, and in com- mand of Captain Wm. Bainbridge, she joined the Mediter- ranean squadron of Commodore Richard Dale. She made two cruises in this service until 1805, and played a peaceful part on the naval list until the coming of the War of 1812. At that time the eighteen-gun ship Wasp was the only American war vessel on a foreign station. A small squadron was assembled at New York under Commodore Rodgers, comprising the 299 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem President, Hornet and Essex. Captain David Porter had been given command of the Essex and he sailed with this squadron which was later reinforced by the ships assembled with the pennant of Commodore Decatur. The Essex took several prizes, and fought a fierce single-ship action with H. B. M. ship Alert of twenty guns and 100 men, which he captured. The immortal cruise of the Essex under David Porter began when he was ordered to meet Bainbridge's ships, the Constella- tion and Hornet in South American waters. Failing to find the squadron at the rendezvous in the South Atlantic, in April David Porter headed for Cape Horn and the Pacific in search of British commerce. Early in 1813 he was able to report: "I have completely broke up the British navigation in the Pacific; the vessels which had not been captured by me were laid up and dared not venture out. I have afforded the most ample protection to our own vessels which were on my arrival very numerous and unprotected. Tlie valuable whale fishery there is entirely destroyed and the actual injury we have done them may be estimated at two and a half million dollars, inde- pendent of the vessels in search of me. "They have furnished me amply with sails, cordage, cables, anchors, provisions, medicines, and stores of every description; and the slops on board have furnished clothing for my seamen. I have in fact lived on the enemy since I have been in that sea, every prize having proved a well-found store ship for me." In letters from Valparaiso Captain Porter was informed that a British squadron commanded by Commodore James Hillyar was seeking him. This force comprised the frigate Phoebe of thirty-six guns, the Raccoon and Cherub, sloops of war, and a store ship of twenty guns. " My ship, as it may be supposed after being near a year at sea," wrote Captain Porter, "required some repairs to put her in a state to meet them ; which I deter- 300 The Building of the Essex mined to do and to bring them to action if I could meet them on nearly equal terms." With this purpose in mind Captain Porter went in search of the British squadron. In his words: " I had done all the injury that could be done the British commerce in the Pacific, and still hoped to signalize my cruise by something more splendid before leaving that sea." "Agreeably to his expectation," as Captain Porter phrased it, the Phoebe appeared at Valparaiso shortly after the arrival of the Essex in that port. But instead of offering a duel on even terms between the two frigates, the British Commodore brought with him the Cherub sloop of war. These two British vessels had a combined force of eighty-one guns and 500 men, as com- pared with the thirty-six guns and fewer than 300 men of the Essex. "Both ships had picked crews," said Captain Porter, " and were sent into the Pacific in company with the Raccoon of 32 guns and a store ship of 20 guns for the express purpose of seeking the Essex, and were prepared with flags bearing the motto, ' God and Country; British Sailors Best Rights; Traitors Offend Both.' This was intended as reply to my motto, 'Free Trade and Sailors' Rights,' under the erroneous impression that my crew were chiefly Englishmen, or to counteract its effect on their own crew ... In reply to their motto, I wrote at my mizzen: ' God and Our Country; Tyrants Offend 1 hem. Alongside the Essex lay the Essex, Junior, an armed prize which carried twenty guns and sixty men. For six weeks the two American vessels lay in harbor while the British squadron cruised off shore to blockade them, "during which time, I endeavored to provoke a challenge," explained Captain Porter, "and frequently but ineffectually to bring the Phoebe alone to action, first with both my ships, and afterwards with my single ship with both crews on board. I was several times under 301 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem way and ascertained that I had greatly the advantage in point of saiUng, and once succeeded in closing within gun shot of the Phoebe, and commenced a fire on her, when she ran down for the Cherub which was two miles and a half to leeward. This excited some surprise and expressions of indignation, as previous to my getting under way she hove to off the port, hoisted her motto flag and fired a gun to windward. Com. Hillyar seemed determined to avoid a contest with me on nearly equal terms and from his extreme prudence in keeping both his ships ever after constantly within hail of each other, there were no hopes of any advantages to my country from a long stay in port. I therefore determined to put to sea the first opportunity which should offer." On the 28th of March, 1813, the day after this determination was formed, the wind blew so hard from the southward that the Essex parted her port cable, and dragged her starboard anchor out to sea. Not a moment was to be lost in getting sail on the ship to save her from stranding. Captain Porter saw a chance of crowding out to windward of the Phoebe and Cherub, but his maintopmast was carried away by a heavy squall, and in his disabled condition he tried to regain the port. Letting go his anchor in a small bay, within pistol shot of a neutral shore, he made haste to repair damages. The Phoebe and Cherub bore down on the Essex, which was anchored in neutral water, their "motto flags," and union jacks flying from every masthead. The crippled Essex was made ready for action, and was attacked by both British ships at three o'clock in the afternoon. Describing the early part of the engagement Captain Porter reported to the Navy Department: " My ship had received many injuries, and several had been killed and wounded; but my brave officers and men, notwith- standing the unfavorable circumstances under which we were brought to action and the powerful force opposed to us, were 302 The Building of the Esse: in no way discouraged; and all appeared determined to defend their ship to the last extremity, and to die in preference to a shameful surrender. Our gaff with the ensign and the motto flag at the mizzen had been shot away, but 'Free Trade and Sailors' Rights' continued to fly at the fore. Our ensign was replaced by another and to guard against a similar event an ensign was made fast in the mizzen rigging, and several jacks were hoisted in different parts of the ship." After hauling off to repair damages both the Phoebe and the Cherub stationed themselves on the starboard quarter of the Essex where her short carronades could not reach them and where her stern guns could not be brought to bear, for she was still at her forced anchorage. All the halyards of the Essex had been shot away, except those of the flying jib and with this sail hoisted the cable was cut and the stricken Yankee frigate staggered seaward with the intention of laying the Phoebe on board and fighting jai close quarters. For only a short time was Porter able to use his guns to advantage, however, for the Cherub was able to haul off at a distance and pound the Essex while the Phoebe picked her own range and shot the helpless frigate to pieces with her long eighteen-pounders. In the words of David Porter which seem worthy of quotation at some length: "Many of my guns had been rendered useless by the enemy's shot, and many of them had their whole crews destroyed. We manned them again irom those which were disabled and one gun in particular was three times manned — fifteen men were slain in the course of the action. Finding that the enemy had it in his power to choose his distance, I now gave up all hope of closing with him and as the wind for the moment seemed to favour the design, I determined to run her on shore, land my men, and destroy her." But the wind shifted from landward and carried the Essex 303 The Ships and Sailoi's of Old Salem toward the Phoebe, " when we were again exposed to a dreadful raking fire. My ship was now totally unmanageable; yet as her head was toward the enemy and he to leeward of me, I still hoped to be able to board him." This attempt failed, and a little later, the ship having caught fire in several places, "the crew who had by this time become so weakened that they all declared to me the impossibility of making further resistance, and entreated me to surrender my ship to save the wounded, as all further attempt at opposition must prove ineffectual, almost every gun being disabled by the destruction of their crew. "I now sent for the officers of division to consult them and what was my surprise to find only acting Lieutenant Stephen Decatur M 'Knight remaining ... I was informed that the cockpit, the steerage, the wardroom and the berth deck could contain no more wounded, that the wounded were killed while the surgeons were dressing them, and that if something was not speedily done to prevent it, the ship would soon sink from the number of shot holes in her bottom. On sending for the cai-penter he informed me that all his crew had been killed or wounded . "The enemy from the smoothness of the water and the im- possibility of reaching him with our carronades and the little apprehension that was excited by our fire, which had now become much slackened, was enabled to take aim at us as at a target; his shot never missed our hull and my ship was cut up in a manner which was perhaps never before witnessed; in fine, I saw no hopes of saving her, and at 20 minutes after 6 P. M. I gave the painful order to strike the colours. Seventy- five men, including officers, were all that remained of my whole crew after the action capable of doing duty and many of them severely wounded, some of them whom have since died. The enemy still continued his fire, and my brave, though unfortu- 304 The Building of the Essex nate companions were still falling about me. I directed an opposite gun to be fired to show them we intended no farther resistance, but they did not desist; four men were killed at my side, and others at different parts of the ship. I now be- lieved he intended to show us no quarter, that it would be as well to die with my flag flying as struck, and was on the point of again hoisting it when about 10 minutes after hauling down the colours he ceased firing." Of a crew of 155 men who went into action, the Essex lost in killed, wounded, and missing no fewer than 153 oflScers, seamen and marines, including among the list of " slightly wounded " no less a name than that of " David G. Farragut, midshipman," who was destined to serve his country a full half century longer on the sea before his great chance should come to him on the quarterdeck of the Hartford in the Civil War. Captain David Porter had been overmatched, fighting his crippled ship against hopeless odds until his decks were such an appalling scene of slaughter as has been recorded of few naval actions in history. But the Salem-built frigate Essex had fulfilled her destiny in a manner to make her nation proud unto this day of the men who sailed and fought her in the harbor of Valparaiso, many thousand miles from the New England ship- yard where a patriotic town of seafarers had united with one common purpose to serve their country as best they could. There was grief and indignation beyond words when the tidings reached Salem that the Essex had been taken, and bitter wrath against England was kindled by the conviction, right or wrong, that Commodore Hillyar had not played the part of an honorable foe in pitting both his fighting ships against the Yankee frigate. This impression was confirmed by that part of Captain Porter's ofiicial report which read: "We have been unfortunate but not disgraced — the defence of the Essex had not been less honourable to her officers and 305 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem crew than the capture of an equal force; and I now consider my situation less unpleasant than that of Com. Hillyar, who in violation of every principle of honour and generosity, and regardless of the rights of nations, attacked the Essex in her crippled state within pistol shot of a neutral shore, when for six Aveeks I had daily offered him fair and honourable combat on terms greatly to his advantage. The blood of the slain must rest on his head; and he has yet to reconcile his conduct to heaven, to his conscience, and to the world." In a later letter to the Secretary of the Navy Captain Porter added these charges : " Sir : There are some facts relating to our enemy and although not connected with the action, serve to shew his perfidy and should be known. " On Com. Hillyar 's arrival at Valparaiso he ran the Phoebe close alongside the Essex, and inquired politely after my health, observing that his ship was cleared for action and his men pre- pared for boarding. I observed : ' Sir, if you by any accident get on board of me, I assure you that great confusion will take place; I am prepared to receive you and shall act only on the defensive.' He observed coolly and indifferenlly. 'Oh, sir, I have no such intention'; at this instant his ship took aback of my starboard bow, her yards nearly locking with those of the Essex, and in an instant my crew was ready to spring on her decks. " Com. Hillyar exclaimed in great agitation : ' I had no inten- tion of coming so near you; I am sorry I came so near you.' His ship fell off with her jib-boom over my stern; her bows exposed to my broadside, her stern to the stern fire of the Essex, Junior, her crew in the greatest confusion, and in fifteen minutes I could have taken or destroyed her. After he had brought his ship to anchor, Com. Hillyar and Capt. Tucker of the Cherub visited me on shore ; when I asked him if he intended 306 The Building of the Essex to respect the neutrality of the port: 'Sir,' said he, 'you have paid such respect to the neutrahty of this port that I feel myself bound in honour, to do the same. '" The behavior of Commander Hillyar after the action was most humane and courteous, and the lapse of time has sufficed to dispel somewhat of the bitterness of the American view-point toward him. If he was not as chivalrous as his Yankee foeman believed to be demanded of the circumstances, he did his stern duty in destroying the Essex with as great advantage to himself as possible. Captain Porter had shown no mercy toward English shipping, and he was a menace to the British commerce, which must be put out of the way. The inflamed spirit of the American people at that time, however, was illustrated in a "broadside," or printed ballad displayed on the streets of Salem. This fiery document was entitled: "Capture of the Essex "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights. " Or, the In-glorious victory of the British with the Phoebe, Frigate, of 36 guns and 320 men and the Cherub, sloop of war, with 28 guns, and 180 men over the unfortunate Essex, Frigate of 32 guns and 255 men. Commanded by Captain David Porter. An action fought two hours and 57 minutes against a double complement of Men and force, by an enterprising and veteran Crew of Yankees." The closing verses of this superheated ballad were: "The Essex sorely rak'd and gall'd; While able to defend her The Essex Crew are not appall'd They Die but dont Surrender! They fearless Fight, and Fearless Die! And now the scene is over; 307 Tlie Ships and Sailors of Old Salem For Britain, Nought but Powers on high Their Damning Sins can Cover. They Murder and refuse to savel With MaUce Most infernal! ! Rest, England's Glory in the Grave, 'Tis Infamy — Eternal! ! ! Brave Hull and Lawrence fought your Tars With honorable dealings; For great as Jove and brave as Mars Are hearts of Humane Feelings Our tears are render'd to the brave, Our hearts' applause is given; Their Names in Mem'ry we engrave. Their spirits rest in Heaven; Paroled see Pouter and his crew In the Essex Junior coasting; They home return — hearts brave and true. And scorn the Britons boasting- Arrived — by all around belov'd, With welcome shouts and chanting. Brave Tars — all valiant and approv'd. Be such Tars never Wanting. Should Britain's Sacrilegious band Yet tell her in her native land Her Deeds are like her Daring, That should she not with Wisdom haste Her miscreant Crimes undoing. Her Crown, Wealth, Empire, all must waste And sink in common Ruin." One of the seamen of the Essex returned to his home at the end of the cruise and told these incidents of his shipmates as they have been preserved in the traditions of the town : " John Ripley after losing his leg said : ' Farewell, boys, I can be of no use to you,' and flung himself overboard out of the bow port. " John Alvinson received an eighteen-pound ball through the body; in the agony of death he exclaimed: 'Never mind, ship- mates. I die in defence of 'Free Trade and Sailors' Rights* and expired with the word ' Rights' quivering on his lips. 308 q^FTUM C^/ THE ESSEX I/: '*/^ ♦^r&.?n.^«^bw f'^o/rVrOrrf/^JHpi^iW P?r«^^K/'^Wv-/3^^*«r.. 'm^'^ru-^Mi^rV^nnn, TAI,PAaAlSO, (d. A.) ^Two SiXm HM^ - llonn- mi /V>^-*/«r«4,r™ Kavj Iff lie Vmtd ilart* M, Itw (lllli i^ In hnoor (jf ber Mtfw, Sirt^ J4rd pT<«j»Tin. look ll™ nclion, (.T» cUmb Iho •• .l/»r ,: OcMB. ' *-«>*e »Hii,., .111! rapid rtrjde, ■ ■Monpt lylanii, Trl',,, vtiltalitn, Aod M Ao aioTd, m mUt pride, B«rt/?'d (heif 3f^cUi*4tM>n!t. A* i-fao*"!) lf« «mtl and ttiWilH., .■■ *V CrST* 111 hoirtj— lif« ,„d ■>„,I, ' iUdI OB iO tiimnoclU, sVipgioi; ; •am « «^(i wouM hsTc Uoj(h'i1, Wrth Iroe dflij*! ao g)»il.omB ; T» «e* how t*ch crn« dirf .(u»* part, - la wntk, t(|^, toogh «r KindjoitKi. ' Jo pMt'rt ihdt dijv bjr •* gUft md huff /•^ K([, worit, mr beaet;. ftltor Captain vtu m noWo ftowi, IWcrv d bj in the tr«w< Sir. ; , If* *i«h«. liu.,i.B-t» fio, hh^j, , GoiMt «r(^ af l^cfc' at.lioo ; Si.r f>er wrtt lite *af jik««, A.xfW ib ft»l.^ f«, pWii, f "With alt tlfclr ««!a*N fcr afl llil [mA AU Ci^ of .,ri<«» wSjrt, At IMt» in Toipatillii pof^ H-r IM.JMW ell ^rs -Jic*-*, Sl« t«ttr-* her rtatjoo hj Om* Fft^ A» ifv *(»(i b«ft3 cnf3l»«wfo, oa^ isd til, j9i* ,..-^-' If /WWrttlo m.inla.o, l>«',/i, Ihcirnaril ; tor YaTikrrt t.cTrt vct WtTc mad«, ' J • DODafu roKcs, or >'ont,« f.crw jrti weri T9feet a Tcant Jf tpirit. 'Guard mil ih«^, ;... i. " Nowthfiifrnyi/f/^liu.,.. , , BeWKlT, br.,.- K;»,. a„,l ,p«;<) jdiS, cgtTjj "/OtfATBUCMat. .igl» J/d|rr '.■■ ■ lib ^ Ihcir C0(O«0r«j., E ^fnn «<»*<• cooi!.ii):H,ilh bla.ii.g J ^ WtKM all al aact, Ih«y Ixjlh rMira, ^' While rnoltjlud'^Ara ^£ing. f %tmtV l!.-; rHuni, wftlli>oi<4fc (Trjal^ £j Til' f »»iilHil fl., bl..t) ^noio*! "ortli, Tlv. /-.ASM «r,ly -flj .„l Jj|.d ; Thr ««*<;>«. air „M appall.,). T* TVy fmilns FASy/r, and IfM-lcj. ZJAS ,- ^ Ari^ now lh« K«i)^ji, / ' With Mlic* fflr,i«!^I»nu1 • > ' Bml, tI>^>teK{-< OWt ill Iho irrare Tb iSfAMY—StEnsAr, ' : • • 8r«»« ^rUAt a„d L.nnF.NCS tiothirom For jnal .< /orSi and bra.'r .> JU^iaj, I Otir t«tw arti rirndef'/io tha brare, I Oorhotna »\>p\»^ tt f^reo : I Tbeir mwm, 10 i^/firv. w« cograTC. I Tbeir apJHt* rml a Hnrvno' ^ Parol d aw POWtflfaod hit trair. t» Hh. UiF^JP^IOIt «.„lmj ; if^M T!lCjJ»IM r«nt4,-Jw«ila<>r.T«,od tr«,- <,, _^<<«1 ""om IlK &^*« , UtutH ». ,3 Aft.vni- by .11 »,«ei«^VtetM, ' ' \V ilh wal< ,n* Arota and chinlisg, jB'« o Trr 1 1 V'turd «Wl aj^roi'd, ,Sb<^ldi? Ill,, lot lurj^jua baild, » Tbi" " SMton^ b»- lor iparjug , TtlMniir, mb-B.i„u3d R BMl'm Kfff-' ill loirr* arwtc 1 I Broadside ballad published in Salem after the news was received of the loss the Essex The Building of the Essex " James Anderson had his left leg shot off and died encourag- ing his comrades to fight bravely in defence of liberty. After the engagement Benjamin Hazen, having dressed himself in a clean shirt and jerkin, told what messmates of his that were left that he could never submit to be taken as a prisoner by the English and leaped into the sea where he was drowned." 309 CHAPTER XVI THE day's work ON BLUE WATER (1790-1802) THE diary* of Dr. William Bentley, for many years a notable Salem clergyman, contains vivid glimpses of the life of the town as it had to do with the sea. He used to watch for incoming vessels, spyglass in hand, in a tower raised on the highest hill overlooking the harbor entrance. This lookout was built for him by one of his parishioners, Cap- tain George Crowninshield. Above it was a flagstaff, from which waved the signals telling the safe arrival of some expected vessel. Sometimes it hung at half-mast to notify the towns- people of sorrowful news impending. In his diary Doctor Bentley frequently made notes of those of his flock who desired special prayers said for their dear ones, and these entries have each its story of anxious separation with the gray sea rolling between. Under date of April 24, 1785, the list of prayers requested reads: * la his diary Doctor Bentley achieved one masterpiece of characterization which, although it does not pertain to seafaring matters deserves record as illuminating the intellect of this doughty fighting parson of Salem. Under the date of December 23, 1800, he wrote: "This morning died in Warner Street, Hubartus Mattoon, aet. 78. He was as far from beauty as he could be without deformity, and as brutal in his zeal as he could be without persecution. He was ignorant, noisy, petulant, but happily neither his organs nor his abilities made him intelligible. He was a blacksmith with the same fame as he was religious. There was no polish, no invention and no praise in what he did, more than in what he said. He declined at last into intemperance, dishonesty, and derangement, and died of a cancer which took away all of his face and made him as ghastly to behold as he was terrible to hear. His wife was glad he was dead and even Charity had not a tear, though she comforted him in his sickness and carried him to his grave. The race is extinct and like the Mammoth nothing is left but his bones." 310 The Day's Work on Blue Water "Sunday, Notes for Martha Hodgdon, sick and Brother at Sea. Hannah Bushnel, for Sister's death and Brother at sea. Hannah Archer death of daughter and friend at Sea. Mary Whitford, death of Sister and friend at Sea. David Newhall, sick and son at Sea. " August 13. Mary LauchHn, delivery, and husband at Sea. Martha Gale, death of husband and brother at Sea, Mary Crowninshield, death of son-in-law, and Sons at Sea. "Julys, 1791. Anna Bowditch, death of Husband, and prayer for her Brethren at Sea. "Mary Bowditch, and children, death of her son, and for Sons at Sea. Mary Batten, sudden death of her only Son and for Son-in-law at Sea. Sarah Batten, sudden death of her husband and prayer for Brethren at Sea. Elizabeth Cotton, death of her Brother, and for her Husband and Brother at Sea. Elizabeth Mason, death of youngest child and prayer for hus- band and friends at sea . . . Preserved Elkins returns thanks for the remarkable preservation of her husband, asks prayers for his safe return and for absent Brethren." Doctor Bentley enjoyed visiting his seafaring parishioners, from the wealthy shipowner to the humble retired seaman whose parlor floor was carpeted with white sand fancifully " heringboned " in patterned squares. Then the aged house- wife would set out her best china which her husband had brought from Canton, and make a " nimble cake " to be served with hot sauce. After rounds of salty gossip, the pastor would set down in his diary items like these: " Dec. (1786). News of the death of Captain Adam Wellman. There is something singular in this event. Wellman is the third Captain who has been part owner with Captain White in the same vessel and who has died in succession within the space of one year." "Aug. 9, 1790. The Ship Columhia came in from around 311 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem the world; the first adventure from America and it is hoped with pleasing success." " We are told that Mr. Derby expressed great dissatisfaction from the results of his Voyages, with the several persons em- ployed by him." " Oct. 27, 1790. Strange disorders in Manchester last Sun- day. A Bradford of Rowley preached all day and in the evening discoursed upon the servant of Abraham sent to bring a wife for his son. He turned to the women and asked them whether they did not want a husband to go home Married to. A Crazy Man named Lee cried out: 'All want for a husband.' And Women fell into fits, and shrieks were heard, while an honest Tar standing by exclaiming, ' The Devil of a Wedding, Hollo, Boys, Hollo.'" "Nov. 12, 1790. It is reported that Sinclair has returned from a Guinea voyage with the loss of all his crew. Notwith- standing the laws of the Commonwealth, there is not one man of spirit to stand forth and make inquiry into these detestable practices. I am informed that this daring Wretch who has made so much Mischief is engaging in another such a voyage." " Dec. 5, 1790. This day sailed another Guinea-man com- manded by one Grafton, a Man of Contemptible Character. It is said to be the property of Joseph White, Stone, Waters and the former master, one Sinclair." " Jan. 20, 1791. Had some information respecting Coro- mandel Coast and Bengal from Captains B. Crowninshield and Gibant. The first testifies that he saw the funeral of a husband in which the wife was consumed. She was feeble, led round the pile by two Bramins, appeared wild and was suspected of taking opium. The fire was quickened by brimstone, etc., and the ashes swept into the River. She was very Young." "April 7 (1791) the sale of India Goods closed this day at noon. The strangers retired after the first day, complaining 312 The Day's Work on Blue Wafer that they did not expect to purchase at retail, on account of the Small Lots. The third day was of sales upon the wharf, raisins. Teas, etc. The Sales of Tea were few. About 12 chests of Bohea. The fruit sold at a moderate advance. The usual artifice was employed of a Bidder for the owner which must leave much of the Goods unsold. From the care to spread the Advertisements, it was expected that a great Con- course of people, etc. Few rich merchants appeared." "Julys (1791). In consequence of the various distresses which we have suffered, numerous reports are spreading respect- ing the state of our absent friends, so that it has become a time of general disquietude. All are expecting ill news from their friends (at sea). Some of our fears we realize. Mr. Smith who married Lydia King has arrived from the East Indies, from Bengal, with Captain Rich of Boston and brings the news of the death of Mr. William Cotton, a most worthy young man who died at Batavia in Java of the fever in that place. He and Mr. Smith were Adventurers in the service of India Merchants upon high wages. The one has paid with his life and the other gives but poor recommendation to such temporary employ- ment. He asserts that he has buried 12 hands of his crew and that he was sick in person nearly five months." " July 30, 1791. Entertained by a Curious Captain Patrick Blake who told the story of his Pilot Nutting falling overboard drunk and having hold of the Tiller-rope, was by bringing to suddenly thrown into the Wake of the Vessel. And while they were anxiously fearing lest he should be sunk, without saying a word he was climbing up the side of the Vessel, and after his obtaining the deck he was cursing the loss of an old hat. Such an example of intemperance is one of the many proofs of its effect upon the understanding." "Aug. 20th. Captain Hosmer assured me that Warden, an English sailor, who has acquired a handsome property, but was 313 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem enticed by an infamous house called Newtons, and was in a delirium taken from it, was sent by Mr. Gray on board his vessel as a foremast hand, and that a few nights after his depar- ture from this Port he cut his throat, but being alarmed ceased in time to save his life." "April 14, 1798. Tom Bowling, another Sailor was buried this day. Tom kept it up till the last breath, swearing, raving, praying and the last came in only by the edges. He was a true Sailor, lost one hand in the American service, knew a ship well, and had all the true manners of a Ship of War. The song, Tom Bowling, was sung in private houses by his friends, and what his true name was I never could learn." In a list of 176 heads of families attending the East Meeting House of Salem in 1790, Doctor Bentley's diary shows that no fewer than forty-two of these were sea captains, thirty-three were mariners, and twenty-two were ship carpenters, rope makers, sail makers, boat builders and fishermen, or one hun- dred heads of families, in round numbers, who gained their living from the sea and its allied industries, considerably more than half the total enrollment of the parish. The references to " Guinea men " in the foregoing quotations seem to demand some further account of Salem's share of the slave trade during her golden age. While Newport and Bristol, of all the New England ports, did the most roaring trade in slaves and rum with the west coast of Africa, Salem appears to have had comparatively few dealings with this kind of com- merce. Slavers were fitted out and owned in Salem, but they were an inconsiderable part of the shipping activity, and almost the only records left to portray this darker side of seafaring America in the olden times are fragmentary references such as those already quoted and these which follow. There has been preserved a singularly pitiful letter from a Salem boy to his mother at home. It reads : 314. The Day's Work on Blue Water "Cayenne, April 23, 1789. "Honoub'd Parent: " I take this Opportunity to write Unto you to let you know of a very bad accident that Happen 'd on our late passage from Cape Mount, on the Coast of Africa, bound to Cayenne. We sailed from Cape Mount the 13th of March with 36 Slaves on bord. The 26th day of March the Slaves Rised upon us. At half-past seven, my Sire and Hands being foreward Except the Man at the helm, and myself, three of the Slaves took Possession of the Caben, and two upon the Quarter Deck. Them in the Caben took Possession of the fier Arms, and them on the quarter Deck with the Ax and Cutlash and Other Weapons. Them in the Caben handed up Pistels to them on the quarter Deck. " One of them fired and killed my Honoured Sire, and still we strove for to subdue them, and then we got on the Quarter Deck and killed two of them. One that was in the Caben was Comeing out at the Caben Windows in order to get on Deck, and we discovered him and Knock'd him overbord. Two being in the Caben we confined the Caben Doors so that they should not kill us. " Then three men went foreward and got the three that was down their and brought them aft. And their being a Doctor on bord, a Passenger that could Speak the Tongue, he sent one of the boys down and Brought up some of the fier Arms and Powder. And then we Cal'd them up and one came up, and he Cal'd the other and he Came up. We put them In Irons and Chained them and then the Doctor Dres'd the People's Wounds, they being Slightly Wounded. Then it was one o'clock. " They buried my Honoured Parent, he was buried as decent as he could be at Sea, the 16th of this Month. I scalt myself with hot Chocolate but now I am abel to walk about again. So I remain in good Health and hope to find you the Same and 315 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem all my Sisters and Brothers and all that Inquires after Me. We have sold part of the Slaves and I hope to be home soon. So I Remain your Most Dutiful Son, "Wm. Fairfield. "Addressed to Mrs. Rebecca Fairfield, "Salem, New England." Under date of May 29, 1789, Doctor Bentley wrote in his diary: " On Wednesday went to Boston and returned on Friday. News of the death of Captain William Fairfield who com- manded the Schooner which sailed in Captain Joseph White's employ in the African Slave Trade. He was killed by the Negros on board." This following letter of instructions to one of the few Salem captains in the slave trade was written in 1785, under date of November 12th: " Our brig of which you have the command, being cleared at the office, and being in every other respect complete for sea, our orders are that you embrace the first fair wind and make the best of your way to the Coast of Africa and there invest your cargo in slaves. As slaves, like other articles when brought to market, generally appear to the best advantage, therefore too critical an inspection cannot be paid to them before purchase; to see that no dangerous distemper is lurking about them, to attend particularly to their age, to their countenance, to the strength of their limbs, and as far as possible to the goodness or badness of their constitutions, etc., will be very considerable objects. " Male or female slaves, whether full grown, or not, we cannot particularly instruct you about, and on this head shall only observe that prime male slaves generally sell best in any market. No people require more kind and tender treatment to exhilarate 316 The Day's Work on Blue Water their spirits than the Africans, and while on the one hand you are attentive to this, remember that, on the other hand, too much circumspection cannot be observed by yourseK and people to prevent their taking advantage of such treatment by insur- rection and so forth. When you consider that on the health of your slaves almost your whole voyage depends, you will particularly attend to smoking your vessel, washing her with vinegar, to the clarifying your water with lime or brimstone, and to cleanliness among your own people as well as among the slaves." These singularly humane instructions are more or less typical of the conduct of the slave trade from New England during the eighteenth century when pious owners expressed the hope that " under the blessing of God " they might obtain full cargoes of negroes. The ships were roomy, comparatively comfortable quarters were provided, and every effort made to prevent losses by disease and shortage of water and provisions. It was not until the nations combined to drive the traffic from the high seas that slavers were built for speed, crammed to the hatches with tortured negroes and hard-driven for the West Indies and liiverpool and Charleston through the unspeakable horrors of the Middle Passage. Salem records are not proud of even the small share of the town in this kind of commerce, and most of the family papers which dealt with slave trading have been purposely destroyed. It is true also that public sentiment opposed the traffic at an earlier date than in such other New England ports as Bristol and Newport. Slaves captured in British privateers during the Revolution were not permitted to be sold as property but were treated as prisoners of war. The refusal of Elias Hasket Derby to let his ship Grand Turk take slaves aboard on her first voyage to the Gold Coast was an unusual proceeding for a shipping merchant of that time. Nor according to Doctor 317 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem Bentley was the slave trade in the best repute among the people of the place. While Salem commerce was rising in a flood tide of enter- prising achievement in the conquest of remote and mysterious markets on the other side of the globe, and the wounds left by the Revolution were scarcely healed, her ships began to bring home new tales of outrage at the hands of British, French and Spanish privateers and men-of-war. There was peace only in name. In 1790, or only seven years after the end of the Revo- lution, seamen were bitterly complaining of seizures and im- pressments by English ships, and the war with France was clouding the American horizon. The Algerine pirates also had renewed their informal activities against American shipping, and the shipmasters of Salem found themselves between several kinds of devils and the deep sea wherever they laid their courses. The history of the sea holds few more extraordinary stories than that related of a Salem sailor and cherished in the maritime chronicles of the town, "On the 14th of August, 1785, a French vessel from Mar- tinique, bound to Bordeaux came up with the body of a man floating at some fifty rods distance. The captain ordered four men into the boat to pick it up. When brought on board, to the great surprise of the crew the supposed dead body breathed. Half an hour afterwards the man opened his eyes and exclaimed : 'O God, where am I?' On taking oft' his clothes to put him to bed it was discovered that he had on a cork jacket and trousers. It was afterwards ascertained that he had sailed from Salem in a brig bound to Madrid. The brig was attacked by Sallee pirates and captured. This sailor, pretending to be lame, was neglected by the Moors who had captured him. About 11 o'clock at night, having put on his cork apparatus, he let himself down from the forechains into the water unper- ceived. He swam about two days when he being quite ex- 318 The Day's Work 07i Blue Water liausted, his senses left him, in which state he was discovered by the men from the Frigate. On his arrival at Bordeaux he was presented by the Chamber of Commerce with a purse of 300 crowns." On February 10th, 1795, the following appeal was posted in the streets of Salem : "For the purpose of taking into consideration the unhafyy situation of the un]ortunate prisoners at Algiers, and to de- vise some Method for carrying into effect a General Collection for their Relief on Thursday, the 19th day of the present Month! " The Meeting is called by the desire of the Reverend Clergy and other Respectable Citizens of this Town who wish to have some System formed that will meet the Acceptance of the Inhabitants previous to the Day of Contribution. "The truly deplorable fate of these miserable captives loudly calls for your Commiseration, and the Fervent Prayers they have addressed to you from their Gloomy Prisons ought to soften the most Adamantine Heart. They intreat you in the most Impassioned Language not to leave them to dispair, but as Prisoners of Hope, let those of them who still survive the Plague, Pestilence, and Famine, anticipate the day that shall relieve them from the Cruel scourge of an Infidel, and restore them to the Arms of their long-bereaved Friends and Country. "It is hoped the Humane and Benevolent will attend that Charity may not be defeated of her intended Sacrifice in the auspicious Festival, when the New World shall all be assembled, and the United States shall offer her tribute of Praise and Thanksgiving at the Altars of God."* An item of the date of February 16th, 1794, records that "information is received that Edward Harwood, mate, James * The 19th of February, 1795, was a day of National Thanksgiving ordered by proclamation of President Washington. 319 Tlic S J lips and Sailors of Old Salem Peas and Samuel Henry of Salem, lately returned from Algerine captivity were apportioned shares of a benefit previously taken for such sufferers at the Boston Theatre." War between France and England for more than a decade involved American commerce in continued and severe depreda- tions under pretext of violating the paper blockades or official decrees issued by one or another of the contestants. What this high-handed system of piracy and plunder meant to American shipping may be glimpsed from the following bits of news as they found place in the Salem annals of the time :* " 1787. Great excitement is caused among our commercial community by the report that English privateers in the West Indies had forced our seamen out of their vessels and impressed them into the British service. '* On the 15th of March, 1791, it is stated that our people in consequence of the vexations and spoliations committed on our commerce by the subjects of Great Britain and other foreign countries, meet and petition Congress to adopt suitable measures of redress." A writer in the Salem Gazette of March 18, 1791, remarks: "The last week has been a scene of general gloom and anxiety in this town. Every day has brought with it fresh intelligence of insults to our flag, abuse to our seamen, and destruction to our commerce. Our merchants have suspended their business, our sailors are wandering about for want of employment, and our laborours will soon be starving in idle- ness." "1791. The schooner Ruth arrived here the 21st of March and her captain, Joseph Wood, reports that he was taken at St. Moran with others by the English and ordered to Port Royal, but afterwards he became accidentally separated from the brig-of-war that guarded them. Having two of his own * Felt's Annals oj Salem. 320 The Day's Work on Blue Water men left and two of the British on board he coolly told the latter he should shape his course homeward which he accord- ingly did." "Captain Thomas Ashley comes home about this time and tells a great tale of what his own and other crews have suffered in the West Indies, after being captured by the British. It is calculated that the English have condemned 400 American vessels in the West Indies, of which Salem is said to have had a very full proportion. " Committees of merchants in this and other towns meet on the 25th of April to consult upon means for the restoration of property captured by the English. They agree to memorialize Congress. Captain Ropes comes home as passenger in a vessel by which he had been picked up at sea. He reports that his vessel after a long detention was cleared at Dominica. All his crew had been previously taken from him except the mate and a boy. With these he sailed for home. Soon afterwards his vessel leaked and floundered, but they took to their boat and were providentially saved." "The schooner Swallow, Captain Baker, arrived here the first week in July. He reported having been captured on our coast by a Bermudean privateer who took out most of his men, and put on board a prizemaster and five hands. He, however, bravely made an attempt to overcome them and succeeded in retaking his vessel." " 1794. Captain Flint of the schooner Cijnthia is captured by a privateer and all but himself taken out of his vessel, and eight others put on board to supply their places. With so great odds, he succeeded in gaining over three Bermudians. Thus assisted he confined the rest in the cabin, and kept on deck night and day until he reached home." " Many complaints are made during the month of May that our vessels continue to be a prey to French and English priva- 321 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem teers and our men victims to British press gangs. Many Salem ships with valuable cargoes have been captured whilst on their return from East Indian and other Foreign ports, their cargoes confiscated and with the vessels appropriated by the French to their own use." "Information is received here August 16th from William Thomas with other impressed seamen on board the British frigate Assistance in Halifax, stating that ' he w as flogged daily because some of the others had run away, and that he should die under such cruel severity unless soon released.' It is reported under date of Dec. 20th that James Barnes, a native of Salem and having a family here had recently escaped from an English Frigate in the West Indies. He was held in their vile durance seven months. When impressed he was second mate of the ship Astrea of New York. At the point of the sword he was forced into several battles with the French. Once he swam with a messmate to an American vessel whose captain did not dare to take them on board. They were com- pelled to return and whilst in the act of so doing Barne's com- panion was killed by a shark. To all such sufferers 'Free Trade and Sailors' Rights ' are no unmeaning sounds." "News from St. Eustacia is received here on the 20th of January, 1794, that in an unsuccessful attack of the English there one of their Frigates ran down a sloop commanded by Benjamin Diamond of Salem who had been carried thither by a French privateer. He being on shore was saved while his mate and three others were drowned. His heart, he states, was greatly pained to see one of them waving a handkerchief on the top of a mast for relief, and sink before any boat could get to his rescue. March 4th, tidings are received here that among the several captures of our vessels by the French was the ship Eliza, Captain George Hodges, bound to Canton. It is also stated under the same date that complaint is louder The Day's Work on Blue Water and more bitter; that our neutral position is grossly violated by the two belligerents. " July 24th, this year, a curious statement is made of Captain Jonathan Carnes of the schooner Rajah, then on the coast of Sumatra. It appears that the commander of a French priva- teer, supposing that Carnes was an Englishman attacked him in the night. Captain Carnes thought them to be Malays and a desperate conflict immediately ensued. The mistake was not discovered till one of his men had a hand cut off, and a French lieutenant was killed. Afterwards as the result of a parley, the French apologized and was suffered to depart in peace." April 10, 1798. "The subject of arming our merchant vessels is being often and excitedly discussed. Many fear that if done this will lead to a desolating war. Others contend that it should be resorted to as the only means of effectually pre- venting farther and more frequent aggressions on our maritime rights." "Information is received here that on the 27th of April, Captain George Ropes in the brig Patty on his passage to the Spanish Main is taken by a French privateer. Only himself and two boys were left, under the guard of seven Frenchmen. He soon succeeded in overpowering and forcing them into a boat, with which on the 5th of May they reached St. Thomas. But the gallant Captain did not long enjoy his freedom, as he was soon afterwards taken by another French privateer. Under the threat of death one of the boys disclosed the fact that Capt. Ropes had recaptured his own vessel, which led to his being very cruelly treated, however, he reached his home in safety." "Captain Josiah Orne is reported as sailing June 19th, 1798, in the ship Ulysses with 10 guns and 25 men for Batavia. About the same time wooden guns are advertised as scarecrows for our merchantmen. With the mixture of a few iron ones they make a very formidable appearance." 323 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem In 1799 the ship Concord sailed on one of the earUest round- the-world voyages made by an American vessel. She was fitted out for sealing among the islands off the Southern Pacific coast of South America, thence taking her cargo of skins to China. A youth of the crew, Nathaniel Appleton of Salem, kept a log, which is to be found among the old sea journals stored in the Essex Institute. The chronic desire of the seamen of the time to play Robinson Crusoe and set up kingdoms on far-away islands played hob with discipline and caused the captains many anxious hours. The Concord's log, written somewhat more than a century ago, holds within its tattered covers such illuminating entries as the following: "This is by far the worst weather that ever I saw; however, the moon changes to-morrow; the sailors seem to have great faith in that. I hope they will not be disappointed, for I am heartily sick of this plaguey, dirty, good for nothing weather. I would advise no one to come around Cape Horn for pleasure. "March 15 (1800) Island of Mocha and St. Mary's in Olive Bay for water. Saw a great many apple trees but no apples, strawberry vines but no berries, blue berries unripe. There is a garden here which I suppose some of the whalers planted, pease, beans, cabbages, potatoes, just come up. " 17th. In the course of the night Glover and Drown, two of our seamen stole the yawl and run on shore with all their clothes. We found the boat, but can't find the men. " 18th. Saw those two fellows that run ashore, but there is so much wood and swamp that it is impossible to catch them. " 20th. Glover, the fellow that run away, came and said he was very sorry, etc. "22d. Sent the boat on shore to fill three barrels of water which were empty. Moser, one of our hands, gave us the slip. We supposed at first that he went to take a walk and did not come back in time to come off in the boat. After the boat The Day's Work on Blue Water came on board we saw him on the beach, sent the boat after him, but he ran into the woods. The people are all dissatisfied that two men are gone, that they will have to do the work and have no benefit. And as they have been mutinous of late, I have engaged, provided they can't catch the men, to give each his proportion according to the days they ship. " March 23rd. Sent two boat crews on shore to try to catch those Infernal Rascals. Caught Drown but Moser kept his distance. Night calm, some hands ashore to catch the Villian. No Moser to be found. The fellow must be a plagy fool, for he's got no clothes but what he has on — no fire works,* nor nothing of the kind. "24th. The captain with a boat's crew on shore to try to find Moser but all in vain. At eleven saw Moser on the beach making signals to come off. Sent the boat to fetch him. We have got all the crew again to my great joy. " (Masafuero), St. Ambrose. April 12th. Drown, one of the fellows that run away, swears by all that's good that he will not work. I suppose we must tie him in the shrouds and give him a plagy flogging which is very disagreeable, but there is no help for it. " At Islands of St. Felix and St. Ambrose, April 15th. Mr. Bunker, the mate, says that Warner, the master of the sealing gang left here by a Boston ship, had been giving our people grog, etc., till they were tipsy, then telling them how ungenerous it was to come here to seal when he had got possession of ye island first. A glass of grog will get a sailor over to your side any time, and the people refused to work. However, by using a few harsh words and threats they came to and things appear to be quiet at present. This voyage will end somehow or other — but I can't tell at present how. "From Pisco towards Island of Lobos. June 21st. They * Flint and steel. 325 The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem have no rain here, but the dew from Heaven waters their plants. If I had not heard it was the dew from Heaven I should think it was the fumes of Hell. 'Tis the most disagreeable weather that ever I saw." In such homely chronicles as these is reflected one phase of the spirit of the coastwise towns of old New England. Able seamen Drown and Moser, "the plagy rascals," had got it in their noddles that a desert island already planted with fruit and vegetables would be a rare habitat for a couple of Yankee sovereigns, but they lacked the temper of such adventurous solitaries as John Young and Isaac Davis, who were living with the natives of the Sandwich Islands almost a hundred years ago, or of David Whepley, the Yankee whaler who ruled as a chief among the Fijis in the early days of South Pacific trade. The sea journal of Captain John White, who went to China in the brig Franklin in 1819, contains the condensed narrative of another attractive figure in Salem shipping history, a sailor "who would be king" of a remote speck of an island in the South Atlantic, between Cape Horn and Good Hope : " On the twelfth of March, we saw and passed the island of Tristan d'Acunha. This island was taken formal posses- sion of in 1814 by Jonathan Lambert of Salem. He issued a proclamation setting forth his rights to the soil, and invited navigators of all nations, whose routes might lie near the island, to touch at his settlement for supplies needed on a long passage; and which he anticipated his industry would draw from the earth and the adjacent sea. He signified his readiness to receive in payment for his products, which consisted of vege- tables, fruit and fish, whatever might be most convenient for his visitors to part with, which could in any way be useful to him and his associates in their solitary abode. " For the purpose of being able to fully carry out his plans, Mr. Lambert took with him to the island various implements 326 The Day's Work on Blue Water of husbandry, seeds of the most useful cuKnary plants which grew in the United States, tropical trees for transplanting, etc. After Lambert had been on the island about two years, it was apparent that his efforts would be crowned with success, but unfortunately he was drowned soon after, while on a visit to one of the adjacent islands. Disheartened by this unfortunate occurrence, Lambert's associates, shortly after his death, left the islands in a ship which touched there." Those boys whose ambitions turned seaward at an age when the youngsters of to-day are in grammar school took the day's work as they found it without complaint. The diary of one of them has fortunately been preserved in Salem, and its pictures of life aboard ship more than a century ago have a genuine appeal. Charles Francis Waldo was the lad's name, and he sailed from Boston in the ship Indus in 1802 for Canton and Batavia. He wrote in his sea journal of such incidents as the following ; " Thus after having sustained innumerable hardships, having escaped from the very jaws of death, having the misfortune to be dismasted; the ship's springing a leak, seven feet of water in the hold and a number of our people disabled; arriving at Batavia with our cargo principally damaged, and under the necessity of discharging it; of remaining upwards of three months in that unhealthy climate, and of losing one of our people, we have at last the pleasure of bidding a final adieu to the farther Indies, and of being once more under sail for Boston . . . "Since leaving Batavia we have experienced a material difference in the treatment on board and find the misfortunes of the Voyage have considerably added to the asperity of the captain's temper, he being most generally out of sorts and nothing pleasing him. A laughable circumstance took place the other day respecting him. Missing his hat, he made 327 The Ships mid Sailors of Old Salem diligent search for it, and likewise ordered one of the people to look for it. Not being able to find it, he flew into a violent passion, accusing him of secreting it, and threatening to horse- whip him if it was not immediately produced. At length after a very strict search and more noise, happening to put his hand upon his own poll, he found it there . "Another proof of the captain's good humor took place the other day. Between the cook and steward, two quarts of rice was boiled and carried upon the table for breakfast. The rice on account of our water being thick was rather coloured, which displeased the Captain who thought it was the Cook's fault. He called him down below and obliged him to eat the whole of it, able or unable, upon pain of a severe flogging, and enforced his command with horsewhip in hand, which he in the mean time occasionally laid across the steward's back for bringing the rice. The poor fellow threw it up in a short time, or I know not what would have been the consequences of such an unmerciful cramming. " As a fresh proof of the Captain's good nature, after making sail and finding the ship Herald considerably beating us, he called all hands, reefed the topsails, sent down the topgallant yards, and a gale ensueing, continued to keep all hands upon deck during the whole of it. And on the following Sunday not being able to find anything else, made us set up the lower fore rigging. So much for him ! However, we are all in good spirits, homeward bound, and in the prospect of seeing Boston in two months. . . . " During the preceding days our situation had been very dis- agreeable having but three casks of water on board. Continued calms or head winds, and no rain falling, we have the dreadful prospect of soon perishing with thirst if not favoured with a fair breeze or a sufficiency of rain. Indeed our allowance of every other article is rather short. Those that live on shore 328 The Day's Work on Blue Water and have an abundance of that most necessary article of hfe know not what a luxury a sufficiency of water is to a sailor. To be confined within the limits of a ship, with a very small quantity of water on board, without winds or rain and no possible way of obtaining even one drop more with the prospect of soon perishing with thirst, the most horrid of all deaths, is a situation that surpasses description. . . . Thanks to the Almighty Ruler of the Seas, we are again favoured with a breeze and the prospects of soon being at St. Helena. . . ." 329 CHAPTER XVII THE FIRST AMERICAN VOYAGERS TO JAPAN (1799-1801) IT it commonly assumed that until the memorable visit of Commodore Perry's squadron in 1853 shattered the ancient isolation of Japan, no American ship had ever been permitted to trade or tarry in a port of that nation. More than half a century, however, before the tenacious diplomacy of Matthew C, Perry had wrested a treaty "of friendship and commerce," at least three Yankee vessels had carried cargoes to and from Nagasaki. It was in 1799 that the ship Franklin, owned in Boston and commanded by Captain James Devereux of Salem, won the historical distinction of being the first American vessel to find a friendly greeting in a harbor of Japan. In 1800, the Boston ship Massachusetts sailed to Nagasaki on a like errand, and her captain's clerk, William Cleveland of Salem, kept a detailed journal of this unusual voyage, which record, because of its length, is dealt with in a separate chapter following this account of the adventures of the Franklin, and of the Salem ship Margaret which went from Batavia to Nagasaki in 1801. Aboard the Margaret, Captain S. G. Derby, was a crew of Salem men, among them George Cleveland, captain's clerk, brother of William Cleveland, who filled a similar berth in the Massa- chusetts and also kept a journal. In the logs and journals of these three voyages, as written by three seafarers of Salem more than a century ago, has been preserved a wealth of adventure, incident and description which 330 \ y/».n^, '\M. C y*.'-'^. ^^__/'^^ ^Jc.r ''S.i^>y--i-'-^-' /f^i '/rj^t^n,' ■■^'^'^f /2^/i-'iJ> ■''''■• tc .'^■i.O.iZr ^i ' -^y^j/ /f4f^ .■■/.'y>. ,^r A ^v. (•,/;?' ^„g- ff^e.(>^. /'i:/t^a^