The great Civil War, the introduction of steam and the unwise acts of a National Congress have caused American supremacy in the shipping lines to be destroyed, but it is to be hoped that the future may bring forth a solution of the problem that will once again put American ships under American skippers on old ocean’s bosom, and once again send our flag to the uttermost corners of the earth.
VOYAGE ON THE BARQUE SEA BIRD.
(Captain John Taylor, Master).
I made this trip while in my “teens,” and the voyage was out to Cape Town from Boston and return. Our crew consisted of six men and four boys before the mast. The chief officer was a brother of the Captain, Prince Harding Taylor by name, and a man by name of Harding as second mate, all officers hailing from Chatham, Mass.
The Captain had his wife and two children with him, one a boy about seven years of age and the other a babe of eighteen months. The Captain was a big, powerful man, very nervous and always finding fault with someone, or something, and his special trouble was the weather. When it was fine we were going to have a storm, and when it was a fair wind it would not last long, and so on, day in and day out, always in a stir.
Now the Captain happened to be a cousin of mine, and was always pleasant with me, and would often come and chat with me while I had a trick at the wheel. But should any officer or man suddenly make his appearance he would damn me and order me to mind my course and not be star-gazing around, and I would always answer, “Aye, aye, sir.”
This always gave the men the idea that I was very harshly treated by him, and they were very ready with sympathies. Although the barque was a small one, not over 450 tons, one would have thought at times that she was a four-deck ship by some of the maneuvers we went through. Every week we had to holystone the decks, wash and wipe off the paint-work, and swab up the decks at 7 bells in the morning, when we were supposed to be through cleaning. We would then trim sails fore and aft and the watch would be relieved and go below for breakfast, and we would be off duty until 7 bells, or 11.30 a.m.
Those who were asleep would be called to dinner so as to relieve the other watch at 8 bells, or noon-time. Every other night the starboard watch had from 8 to 12, midnight, and from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m., when we had breakfast. In this way we changed the time and evened things up. At two bells, or five o’clock in the morning, we always commenced to wash down decks and clean things up for the day, except in stormy times, when we were kept at work below or in the deck house.
When nearing the equator, on our outward bound trip, I was at the wheel one morning from eight to ten, and as sailors are always scanning the horizon, I saw a sail coming up from astern and, as is the custom, sang out, “Sail ho!”
The captain said, “Where away?” and I answered, “Dead astern, sir.” He then told me to attend to my steering and never mind what was going on astern. In a short time we made her out to be a large, full-rigged ship, coming down on us with all sail set, and with her port studding-sails rigged out. She soon came up to us, going very fast and sailing at least two feet to our one. Instead of passing us under our lea, as is the custom, she hove down her wheel and shot across our port quarter, taking the wind out of our sails, which almost be-calmed us. Our skipper was now boiling mad. She was a beautiful sight, carrying an immense spread of canvas, and her decks crowded with passengers.