James Braithwaite, the Supercargo: The Story of his Adventures Ashore and Afloat

by William Henry Giles Kingston

  CHAPTER EIGHT.

  A COMPLETE WRECK.

  "Cut away the masts--the shrouds first! Be smart, my men!" cried avoice.

  "Who dares give that order?" shrieked out the captain; "she'll be overthis in no time."

  "I dare obey it!" exclaimed one of the seamen. "Come, lads, it's thebest chance of saving our lives."

  The men listened to the advice of their messmate, and, knowing where tofind the axes, quickly severed the shrouds of the mizen-mast, and someattacked it, while others went to the mainmast, in spite of the madcries of the captain to "hold fast." Their object was thus to force theship over the reef--if it was a reef we were on--head first, or closerto the shore if we were on an island. The seas came thundering againstour sides, often dashing over the decks, so that with difficulty any ofus could save ourselves from being carried away by them. Several poorpeople were thus swept away soon after the ship struck, and theirdespairing shrieks rang in our ears as they were borne away or hurled onthe rocks amid the foaming breakers. We could see nothing beyond theship except the troubled waters. Our chief hope rested on her not beingwedged in the rocks. Now she lifted and drove on her bottom, grindingover the coral; now down she came again, and rocked to and fro in thesurges. Directly the after masts were cleared away, her head paid off,and we drove on stern first. It was pitiable to hear the cries whichrose from the terrorstricken passengers, but as we could as yet givethem no comfort, I refrained from going below. William and Trundle,O'Carroll and I, stood together holding on to the stump of the mainmast;the Frenchman and his son had gone below at the commencement of thegale. I hoped that they were still there. The ship continuedalternately grinding and bumping along, but still evidently progressingover the reef. She must have been new and well built, or she would havegone to pieces with the treatment she was receiving. Our anxiety wasthus prolonged, for it was impossible to say, supposing the ship shoulddrive over the reef, whether we should find land, and if not whether shewould float. It seemed as if each blow she received must be knocking ahole through her planks. Oh! how we longed for daylight, at all eventsto see and face the dangers which beset us! In the dark we could donothing but hold on for our lives and pray to be preserved fromdestruction.

  At length the ship was lifted by a huge wave. On she drove. It seemedthat the next time she came down on the hard rocks it must be to herdestruction. On, on she went; the waters roared and hissed around her.Instead of the expected catastrophe, suddenly she appeared to befloating with comparative calmness; she had been forced over the reef,but the furious wind was still driving her before it.

  "We should anchor this instant!" said O'Carroll; but neither the masternor his mates were on deck to give the necessary orders. "Stand by toanchor!" cried O'Carroll.

  The two midshipmen, with Kelson and several of the crew, hurried tocarry out the order. Some delay occurred in consequence of thedarkness. At length the anchor was let go, but as the ship's sternswung round it struck heavily on a rock. Again cries of terror came upfrom the passengers in the cabins; I therefore, as I could be of no useon deck, went below in the hopes of tranquillising their minds. Theyclung round me as I appeared, entreating to be told the truth. Iassured them that there was no immediate danger, and that, though theship had again struck on the rocks, there was so much less sea insidethe reef than what she had already gone through, I hoped she mightcontinue to hold together. In all probability we were not far off land.Some, on hearing this, especially those who had been most overcome withterror, expressed their joy in all sorts of extravagant ways, and seemedto consider that there was no longer any danger to be apprehended;others, again, would scarcely credit what I told them, and inquired whatthe captain thought on the subject.

  "The captain! What does he know about anything?" exclaimed a young man,who appeared to be superior in education to most of the passengers. "Ifthe ship is lost, and our lives sacrificed, on him will rest the blame.Look there!"

  He threw open the door of the captain's cabin, where he and the firstmate sat, both far too tipsy to move, yet still trying to pour spiritsdown their throats.

  "What's that you say?" growled out the captain, with an indistinctutterance; "I'll have no mutiny aboard this ship."

  He endeavoured to rise, but fell forward across the table, upsetting thebottle and tumblers. The mate was too far gone even to attempt to rise.He gazed at us with an idiotic glance for a minute or two, then hishead dropped down on the little table at which he was sitting. It mustbe understood that all this time the ship was far from quiet; she wasstill grinding and striking heavily against the rocks, though the seahad not sufficient force to lift her over them. I hurried again ondeck; my fear was that the ship would fill with water and drop off therocks and sink. After hunting about we found the carpenter, and withhis help sounded the well; already there were six feet of water in thehold. After waiting a short time we found that the water wasincreasing, the pumps must be set to work. Some of the crew said it wasof no use, and refused; others came to our summons; and to help us wecalled up all the men passengers, while we set the example by labouringas hard as we could. Thus the night passed. It was indeed better foreverybody that we had something to do. Dawn came at last. We eagerlylooked out for the prospect which daylight was to reveal, whether wewere to find ourselves amidst reefs just rising from the water, or neara mere sandbank, or on an inhabited shore. At first we could only see,as before, the white foam dancing up, then dark rocks and yellow sand,and beyond it brown hills and a few trees. As the light still furtherincreased we discovered that the country was in a state of nature; invain we looked for traces of inhabitants.

  The passengers, hearing that we were close to land, came crowding ondeck, all eager to get on shore. It was, however, no easy matter to doso. The sea came rushing round the ship, between which and the dryrocks the distance was considerable, so that anybody attempting to swimto them would have been swept away. One small boat alone remained, therest had been knocked to pieces. In this only two rowers could sit, anda couple of passengers at the most. As far, however, as we could see oneither side the surf broke too furiously to allow her to land, so thatshe could, we feared, be of no use.

  At length my brother cried out, "We'll go in her; there is one placejust inside the ship where we can jump on shore with a line. If we cando that we'll carry a hawser to the rocks, and all the people may land."

  The two mids and Kelson agreed to go in the boat, towing a light line.We watched them anxiously. The water tossed and foamed around them, andthey had hard work to contend with the reflux of the sea. Earnestly Iprayed that they might be protected and succeed, both for their sakesand ours. A shout of joy and thankfulness burst from the lookers-on asKelson leaped on the rock, followed by the two midshipmen, who instantlyhauled the boat up out of harm's way. A hawser had been prepared, whichthey at once hauled on shore and secured. A cradle was next fitted toit by the seamen, under O'Carroll's directions. It was a question whowas to go forth to prove it. At that moment Jacotot made his appearanceon deck. He was told that he must go on shore. He was securedforthwith to the cradle. In vain he struggled and protested: he wasquickly drawn across. His son and Jack followed. Two men then went toassist in hauling the passengers across. They were placed, one afterthe other, in the cradle and landed in safety. I was thankful when theywere all on shore. There they stood, grouped together, gazinghelplessly at the ship, not knowing what to do. There was no one toguide them. Those wretches, the master and his mate, still remainedutterly helpless in the cabin. Half the crew of the ship had been lost,and the young mate, who might have exercised some authority. From whatI saw of the remainder of the crew I was afraid that they were mostly avery bad set. I dreaded their breaking into the spirit-room--whichseamen often do under such circumstances. To prevent this it wasnecessary to keep them amply employed; we urged them, therefore, to landall the provisions that could be got out of the hold.

  To expedite this proceeding we got another ha
wser carried on shore. Ourlives might depend on the amount of provisions we could save. All daywe worked on, till towards evening the water had risen so much in thehold that nothing more could be got out. The heat was intense, but soimportant was the work that we scarcely stopped even to take food. Noone had thought all this time of the captain and mate, the real cause oftheir misfortunes. Suddenly I recollected that they had been left in aside-cabin asleep. I hurried down. I was but just in time; the waterwas up to their heads, and in another minute would have washed overtheir faces and drowned them as they lay sleeping off their debauch. Ishouted out their names, and called them to come on deck. They startedup, their countenances exhibiting their horror and alarm, as theybelieved that the ship was sinking beneath them. Out into the waterthey tumbled. The mate slipped, and caught hold of the captain to savehimself. Over they went, struggling together. I fancy that theythought themselves overboard; right under the water they dragged eachother, once more to get their heads out, spluttering and shouting, andswearing most fearfully. At last, fearing that they might after all bedrowned, I seized the mate, who was the smaller man of the two, anddragged him on deck, calling out to O'Carroll to assist in getting upthe captain. He came to my assistance, and we hauled both the men ondeck. Their sea bath and the struggle had brought them to their senses;but when, after staring around for some time, they saw that the ship wasa hopeless wreck, cast away on an apparently barren island, they verynearly lost them again. To find fault with them at such a moment wouldhave been folly. "Come, I advise you to go on shore, for very likelythe ship will go to pieces during the night, if the wind rise again," Isaid quietly. They were far from disposed to thank me for my advice,though, after looking about for a few minutes, they took it, and werehauled on shore. After collecting everything of value to be found inthe cabin, compass, charts, and some nautical books, I followed.O'Carroll was the last man to leave the ship. William and his messmatehad been very active on shore, and got a tent rigged for the poor womenand children, and some food cooked for them by Jacotot.

  No sooner was a fire lighted than the Frenchman was himself again,hurrying about in search of the utensils necessary for his calling. Hehad cooked a capital supper for them, and he now offered to cook one forus. On collecting all the sails we had landed, we were able to form ashelter for ourselves, as well as for the seamen; and at length, wearywith our exertions, we lay down to rest. The captain and mate were verysilent, and I hoped ashamed of themselves. During the night there was agood deal of wind and sea. I was thankful that we were on shore, andwhen I looked out I almost expected to find that the ship had gone topieces. There, however, she was, still holding fast together. Seeingthis, the captain declared that he would get her off, and that if treescould be found in the island suitable for new spars, he could proceed onhis voyage.

  "If he knew of the bumping she got he wouldn't say so," observedO'Carroll. "That ship will never float again, and, strong as she is,another gale such as we had last night will break her to pieces."

  As there was nothing more to be done, we started to explore the island.It seemed to be the chief of a group of rocky islets, being about sixmiles long and half as broad. Though we made diligent search as wewalked on, we could find no water. A few small casks of the preciousliquid had been landed, but sufficient only for another day or two.

  "And what shall we do when that is gone?" asked William. It was aserious question.

  "We must trust in God, for vain is the help of man in such a case," Ianswered; "at all events, we must use what we have got with the greatesteconomy."

  On returning to the camp and reporting our want of success in findingwater, what was our dismay to find that every drop in the casks had beenconsumed! All the poor people could say was that they were so thirsty,and the children were so constantly crying out for water, that theycould not help giving it to them. We were ourselves already sufferinggreatly from thirst after our ramble, yet not a drop of water did weobtain. Our lips were parched, our tongues dry: without water we couldnot eat, we loathed food, supperless we lay down to sleep. All nightlong I was dreaming of sparkling fountains and running brooks. As soonas it was daylight we again set out with a spade and pickaxe, prepared,if we could find no running stream, to dig wherever verdure showed thatmoisture was at hand. We walked on and on, searching in every directionround the shore, but no sign of a stream emptying itself into the seacould we discover, and when we dug we soon met the hard rock. Faint andweary we turned to the camp. We found a fire blazing, and Jacotot withseveral men standing round it: two were working a rough pair of bellows,others hammers and tongs. All were employed under his directions, whilehe was engaged in riveting a pipe into a large copper vessel.

  "Why you trouble to look for water?" he asked. "There is salt water,there is wood to make fire, then we have plenty of fresh water. We makesteam, steam come out and leave the salt in de kettle, and then find acold piece of iron and drop, drop, down into this tub all fresh and goodfor drink." He told us that he had seen a French doctor obtain freshwater from salt in that manner.

  "Most men have their merits, if we could but discover them and put themin their right places," I thought to myself. "We were inclined to laughat Jacotot, but if he can produce fresh water out of salt, he may be themeans of saving all our lives."

  We watched him anxiously, all eager to help him, but he would not behurried. At length the machine was finished, and we hastened to fill itwith salt water. It was placed on the fire, and slowly the drops offresh water were distilled from it. How eagerly were they sought for bythe poor creatures who stood round with lack-lustre eyes and parchedlips. Jacotot insisted that the youngest should be served first. Ithink he was influenced by the wish to get his boy Auguste an earlydraught. That was but natural. Some of the crew grumbled, and so didthe captain and mate, who were, in consequence of their late debauch,suffering fearfully from thirst; but O'Carroll, William, Trundle,Kelson, and two or three of the passengers formed a body-guard round theFrenchman, to enable him to do as he thought right. Only half a littleliqueur glass of the precious fluid was served out to each person. Itwas pleasant to see the eyes of the poor children brighten as the purewater touched their lips. The younger ones, however, directly theirallowance was gone, cried out for more. Several times we had to stoptill more water was distilled.

  While we were thus engaged, the wind had again got up, and the sea,dashing over the reef, began to burst with violence against the shore.The effect produced on the wreck was soon apparent. The remaining upperworks began to give way. As the sea rolled in with increasing violence,plank after plank was torn off, then larger portions were wrenched fromthe hull, the deck burst up, and was soon dashed into pieces against therocks. As soon as we had swallowed enough water somewhat to slake ourburning thirst, we hastened to the beach to save what we could from thewreck. We hauled on shore all the planks and timber we could get holdof, with the vague idea that we might be able to build a raft of somesort, in which to make our escape. At all events the wood would beuseful to construct huts for the women, or to burn. As darkness set in,a large portion of the wreck had disappeared, and even the captain wasconvinced that her keel would never leave its present position, exceptto be cast up in fragments on the rocks. He and the mate had been veryquiet and low-spirited. They were craving for their accustomedstimulants, and several times I heard them grumbling at us for nothaving landed any liquor for them. Neither they nor the larger portionof their crew had exerted themselves in the slightest degree to assistus in our labours. Most of them sauntered along the beach with theirhands in their pockets, or sat coolly watching us. Fatigued with ourexertions, we at last returned to the camp, where Jacotot was able togive us a glass of water, and we then, thankful even for that smallsupply, lay down to rest.

  It was not till late that any of us awoke; we then found that thecaptain and mate, and several of their men, had withdrawn themselves toa distance from the camp. We were glad to be rid of their comp
any,though why they had gone away so suddenly we could not tell. We couldnot help suspecting, however, that they had done so with the intentionof hatching mischief. When I speak of _we_, I mean our party from the_Dore_, for we of necessity kept very much together. I have notparticularly described the emigrants, for there was nothing veryremarkable about them. Two or three were intelligent, enterprising men,who had made themselves acquainted with the character of the country towhich they were going, and had tolerably definite plans for theemployment of their capitals. The rest had mostly failed in England,and were rather driven by want into exile than attracted by theadvantages the new colony had to offer. They were all married men withfamilies, and this made them associate with each other for mutualassistance. The steerage passengers were generally small tradesmen, andhad emigrated for much the same reason as the others. Three gentlemenof the first-class, who were bachelors, had begged leave to join ourmess. One of them had already been in New South Wales, and was able togive us much interesting information about it. So much taken was I,indeed, with what I heard, that I resolved, should I be unable to findthe _Barbara_, to visit the colony before returning home. We thus, as Ihave explained, formed three chief messes. We were not as yet eithervery badly off. We had saved provisions from the wreck sufficient, witheconomy, to last us a couple of months or more; and now that we couldobtain fresh water, though but in small quantities, we were not afraidof dying of thirst. We were in hopes, too, of finding turtles andturtles' eggs, and perhaps wild fowl, and we might also catch fish toadd to our stock of provisions. Could we only find water, and some sortof vegetables, we might be able, we thought, to support existence forany length of time; and as far, indeed, as we could judge we might nothave an opportunity of escaping from the island for months, or it mightbe for years. This was not, however, a subject pleasant to contemplate.I thought of my merchandise, William of his promotion, and of theopportunities he might lose of distinguishing himself, while Jacotot,though not idle, was unable to make money where he was. Toby Trundle,however, took things very easily. He laughed and joked as much as ever,and declared that he never was more jolly in his life. He used to saythe same thing in the midshipmen's berth; he had said it on board theboat, and I believe he would have said it under nearly any circumstancesin which he could have been placed. The poor emigrants, on thecontrary, were very far from content. Most of them had lost all theypossessed in the world, and knew that, should they even ultimatelyarrive at their destination, they must land as beggars, dependent on thebounty of others. They were therefore naturally very loud in theircomplaints of the captain and his mate, while they were continuallybewailing their own hard lot. Those persons had, as I observed, removedthemselves to a distance from the rest of our shipwrecked band.

  We had retired to tents for the night, and had lain down to sleep, whenafter some time I was awoke by sounds of shouting and laughter, followedby shrieks and cries, which seemed to come up from the beach where thecaptain and his associates had taken up their quarters. The noisesincreased, and O'Carroll awoke. He got up, and we went together to theentrance of our tent. The night was very calm. The stars shone forthfrom the dark sky with a brilliancy I have never seen surpassed; eventhe restless sea was quiet, and met the shore with an almost noiselesskiss; all nature seemed tranquil and at rest. A shot was heard, andthen another, and another, followed by shouts and execrations. "Therewill be bloodshed among those madmen," exclaimed O'Carroll. "They havegot hold of some liquor unknown to us, and are fighting with each other:we must try and separate them." Calling my brother and the rest of theparty to come to our assistance, we hurried off in the direction whencethe sounds proceeded.