Under Sail

by Lincoln Colcord

"Without allowance" said I "I never liked the idea of putting people on an allowance; it's too much like starving yourself by degrees. I can guarantee you provisions to last us for a month or six weeks, three good meals a day; and we can't in common fortune be out that long. The best of provisions, I think you'll find"

"How does it happen, sir?" he demanded.

"It doesn't happen. We're always prepared for just such an emergency. More than once I've met a ship short of provisions, and furnished her with a boatload or two. You can't anticipate what is liable to happen; but a lazaret full of beef and flour and potatoes fills in almost anywhere"

He shook his head in amazement. "I've often heard it said that American ships were remarkably well-found" he observed "But I shouldn't have believed a yarn like this from my best friend. Let's see, we've brought you three times your ordinary ship's company; and you have provisions and water for all hands to last longer than twice your usual run to New York. Are you positive, sir?"

"Positive. Give yourself no further worry on that score"

"Back there in the boats" said Captain Potter "I was thinking that, if God was good to us, we might be picked up by some Slavonian bark, with only macaroni enough aboard to take him to the Banks of Newfoundland, where he'd depend on catching a few codfish, and water or not according as it rained. Then it would have been a case of Halifax or St. Johns, or else a transfer in open boats to another vessel, with more danger to my passengers and crew. This, Captain, seems like a pleasant dream"

There was no necessity for telling him how it really did happen. In the line for which I was sailing, a captain had the fitting out of his own vessel, and was given practically a free hand. I'd found that there were many things that I could buy cheaper and better in Liverpool; and I always laid in a supply of these for the round trip. Things like hams, and bacon, and tobacco; yes, tobacco, the best American plug at a shilling a pound, the same article that I would have had to pay fifty cents for in New York. At Liverpool, too, we could get the finest French and Irish potatoes; though they wouldn't keep for the round trip, I used to lay in enough to last me to New York and down to the Line on the outward passage. We had a ton and a half of potatoes on board that trip, when we sailed from Liverpool; we reached New York with half a ton of them left, so you can judge how short of provisions we were. Then there were certain things, especially flour, and canned fruits, vegetables and preserves of all kinds, which I could buy cheapest and best in San Francisco; I'd supplied the ship there with these articles, for the round trip, and a good half of the stock still remained. Butter—we had barrels of it. In fact, we could actually have fed all hands of them for two or three months without allowance; but I didn't want to spoil the effect by overdoing it. I let them continue to think that this was the accepted fashion on board of an American ship crossing the Western Ocean.

That afternoon, when the Pactolus was at last shortened down, the empty bolt-ropes unbent from the upper yards, and the decks cleared for heavy weather, the question of accommodations had to be disposed of. We started with the after cabin; the woman with her baby had one spare stateroom, the invalid man another. To Captain Potter I assigned a third spare stateroom, so that he could be by himself. My own room, with double bunk, sofa, and mattresses on the floor, I gave up to the rest of the women passengers; the stewardess slept on the sofa in the after cabin, and generally looked after the ladies' quarters.

This accounted for all the spare staterooms we had. For myself, I took the upper bunk in the mate's room, at the same time moving the second mate to this room, where he and the mate, having alternate watches, could share the same bunk. This left the second mate's room free for the accommodation of the steamer's three deck officers, with two single bunks and a knock-down of pillows and blankets on the floor. In the steward's room also there were two berths; my steward kept the lower, the first steward of the steamer had the upper, and her second steward another knock-down on the floor.

In the forward house there were the galley, carpenter's shop, and sail room, all narrow rooms running from side to side of the house, each with two doors and two windows; forward of the sail room were the two forecastles, separated from each other by a fore-and-aft partition in the middle of the house, and opening forward on either side of the fore hatch. I moved all of my crew into one forecastle, since my only watch would be sleeping at a time; and put the steamer's crew into the vacated one, where bunks and bed clothes were ready for them to use. The engine room crowd were assigned to the carpenter's shop; the rest of the men-folk, a miscellaneous lot, first, second, and third class passengers all together, were given the sail room.