COAST OF MADAGASCAR.
"A strong nor'wester's blowing, Bill;
Hark! don't ye hear it roar now?
Lord help 'em, how I pities them
Unhappy folks on shore now!"—Wm. Pitt.
"In noble minds some dregs remain.
Not yet purged off, of spleen and sour disdain."—Pope.
We sighted the coast of Madagascar about Fort Dauphin, but at a distance of nearly fifty miles, so that our view of it was not very distinct. But it is always a pleasure to a sailor to see land, and a great relief after many days of wearisome, changing, wave scenery to let the eye rest upon the everlasting hills. The mountains symbolize stability and unchangeableness, and as the aspirations of the heart are ever towards those things most in contrast with present experience, so the sailor's life of unrest and variableness disposes his dream of happiness to be one of enduring repose. This idea the land as contrasted with water expresses to his mind. A thrilling sensation always accompanies the sound of "Land, ho!" and longing glances are directed to the faintest loom of land in the horizon.
Our easterly winds continued and took us to the coast of Africa, which we sighted about Algoa Bay. Then the wind became light and variable and with smooth water we sailed slowly along in sight of the land for four days. One evening we sighted the light on Cape Agulhas, the south-east point of Africa, and with the wind freshening at N.N.E. soon ran it out of sight on the starboard quarter. Before this breeze sprang up we were in company with a large ship showing Dutch colors. She sailed alongside of us for a considerable time, then slowly gained ahead, crossed our bow and in a few minutes disappeared from sight, though the twilight gave a long range to the vision. Many were the conjectures about her, and some of our crew will always believe they saw the veritable "Flying Dutchman," the phantom ship that is supposed to cruise off the Cape of Good Hope. The legend concerning her, as many will remember, is, that a Dutch captain, who had encountered very severe gales, was advised to put the ship back to a port of distress, but swearing a terrible oath he declared he would beat around the Cape if it took him till the Day of Judgment. In punishment for his sin he is doomed to battle with the elements until that day, and his battered hulk, with threadbare sails and skeleton crew haunts the southern sea.
At eight in the evening we passed another ship bound the same way, but under close-reefed topsails, whereas we had the royals set. We hailed her and found she was the "Meteor" from Batavia, but whither she was bound, or where she hailed from, we failed to learn, for we went by her so fast there was no time for further questions.
"What can she be doing under that sail?" asked the mate.
"O, she has got a prudent captain," I replied. "The barometer has been down low for the last two days and no doubt there is a gale of wind coming on. I can't take in sail though in this country, with a fair wind blowing, until I see the breeze coming. Every mile here is precious and as long as there is a chance to gain ahead we must use it. But you must keep your eyes peeled to-night for nor'west squalls."
At ten o'clock I carefully inspected the wind and weather. It was a bright starlight night, with not a cloud to be seen, except that ahead in the horizon was a low streak that looked like a fog bank. A fresh breeze was blowing from the northward driving the ship along nine knots, with the yards just clear of the backstays, all sail being set. The mate had the watch on deck, and I said to him, "This is fine, I only hope it will last, but the glass says, No. However, very likely we'll have good warning before the change comes. Keep a sharp lookout and if it breezes on, or the weather looks threatening, get the light sails off of her and give me a call."
In half an hour after that, the mate shouted "clew up the fore royal," but no sooner had they let go the halyards than a furious blast from the north-west struck her flat aback. The helm was put hard up and having a good deal of headway the vessel fortunately "fell off." None of the watch below needed a call for every one was out of his bunk in a few seconds as the bark, nearly on her beam ends, and the shaking sails, gave their own summons. I was on deck promptly and shouted, "Lower down the spanker;" but the mate had his men forward hauling down the jib and flying-jib, for the sheets had parted and the sails were blowing into ribbons. The second mate got his watch along aft as soon as possible, and in the meantime I jumped on top of the after-house to let go the spanker throat-halyards. As I passed forward of the mizzen-mast to go to leeward, the wind and the inclination of the vessel gave me a slide, and away I went head foremost off the house on to the main deck. I had on rubber boots with my pants tucked into them, and as I fell the belaying-pin of the main brace went up the right boot leg and there I hung, heels up and head down in the lee-scuppers, while the good bark was lying beam on to the hurricane, which threatened every moment to dismast her, and in the meantime was blowing to pieces a number of her sails. The night was pitchy dark and the rain poured in large drops which, with the force of the wind, struck like hail, while the storm roared with a sound such as that with which the express train affrights one who stands on the platform of a country station past which it flies. I managed to extricate myself from this awkward position, and crawling to windward renewed the directions for shortening sail. The vessel was run off to the S.E. for two hours while we took in and furled every sail except the close-reefed main-topsail and then she was brought to the wind on the port tack.
That was a night we long remembered, and a hard time the crew had furling the wet sails in the cold rain, but there was one alleviation to their discomfort, for I had the cook "roused out" and ordered him to make coffee for all hands; and as soon as she was hove to, a mug of hot coffee and a cake of hard bread gave them one of the greatest treats they ever had in their lives.