Ran Away to Sea Part 19

Puzzled by the ungrammatical construction of the phrase, you are probably inquiring what it meant. I shall tell you.

It meant that all the fresh-water on board the _Pandora_ had been used-- that the water casks were empty, and that we were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, with not the slightest chance of obtaining a fresh supply--that it would be weeks before we could possibly reach land--that under the burning tropic sun that was shining constantly down upon us, one week would be enough for thirst to do its work; but if any should survive that period, then a second week would finish them--in short, within two weeks one and all of us were doomed to perish! Black slaves and white masters--tyrants and victims--the innocent and the guilty, must all succ.u.mb to the same fate--every living thing on board the _Pandora_ must die!

This then was the meaning of the four short words that were muttered so despondingly by the sailor. Words of dread import were they, a phrase of fatal meaning.

I say that at first I did not clearly feel the full significance of the information given me by Brace; but a very little reflection enabled me to comprehend it; and I soon became as apprehensive as an of the others, and took as earnest a part in the investigation that was going forward.

There was an investigation, and it was about this the crew of the _Pandora_ were engaged. It was not yet clearly made out that the casks were empty. In fact they were not--not half of them were so; and if it had been a simple question of whether empty or full, it could have been decided at once. More than half of them were full--full to the very bung.

But what were they full? That was the serious question. Of fresh-water? No. The appalling discovery that had been made was, that the water within them was salt! in fact, water out of the sea itself, salt as brine!

This was indeed a fearful discovery; but it was easily explained. It was known from the beginning that these b.u.t.ts had been filled with salt-water--to serve as ballast on the out voyage from England; and the intention had been to empty them all into the African river and subst.i.tute fresh-water instead. It appeared now that this had only been partially done!

Various explanations were offered for the dangerous neglect. Neither captain nor mate had superintended the duty. Both had been too busy in bartering and carousing with King Dingo Bingo and his boon companions-- and the irresponsible hands who had been set about the work were half-drunk while executing it--many of the casks that had been emptied of the sea-water were found to have been only partially refilled; and it was also discovered that more than half of the others had never been emptied at all! Some of the crew alleged that others had told them that these already contained fresh-water--that it would be no use bothering about them--while the men who were named as having given this a.s.surance now stoutly denied it. Mutual recriminations took place--the lie was given and returned--filthy language was used profusely; and, what with the quarrelling of the men, and the shouting and swearing of the officers, a scene was carried on that might have rivalled an Irish row in the infernal regions.

The princ.i.p.al reason why such a culpable error had been committed--and this all hands knew--had been the appearance of the cruiser. She had caught them at their work, and suddenly put a stop to it.

Had she not arrived, it is probably enough that the men--however idle and drunken--would have finished their work and provided water enough for the voyage, but the unexpected appearance of the warship had driven all ideas of the water casks out of their heads; and they had thought only of shipping the "freight" and getting out of the river as speedily as possible.

In reality the skipper was the man answerable for the whole misfortune.

He had allowed no time to complete the filling of the casks; and, indeed, had he done so, he would never have set sail, but must have lost both his barque and his cargo in the river.

It is probable enough he had never thought of the other horn of the dilemma; indeed, it is certain he had not--else he would long before have discovered the shortness of his supply, and taken some means to remedy it. No means had been used either to provide more water, or to economise what there was. Neither crew nor cargo had been upon rations since the beginning of the voyage; water had been dealt out to all as freely and lavishly as if the ocean itself had been a fresh-water lake.

I watched the investigation with painful forebodings. I waited, as patiently as I could for the result.

The report was at length delivered in presence of the whole crew. Its effect was like that of an electric shock upon all of them. There were but two casks on board that contained fresh-water, and these were only half-full!

CHAPTER FORTY FOUR.

Yes--two half casks or one whole one--in all, about one hundred gallons of fresh-water to serve for a crew of forty white men and a cargo of five hundred black ones; to serve them for weeks! Why, it would not be a single day's allowance--far less, indeed--it would scarce give each of them a drink!

I have said, that the announcement, as to the quant.i.ty of water remaining, produced upon the crew a very marked effect. Up to this time they had been in a state of gloomy apprehension--still not without hope that among the many casks, whose weight proclaimed them full, they would find a few containing fresh-water. All had now been carefully examined.

Every bung had been taken out, and the contents tasted; but in every case disappointment was the result. Nothing but the bitter brine of the sea was found inside.

Every one of them had been examined and tried by several of the crew-- doubt and apprehension were at an end. The truth had now been reached, was known to a certainty by all--and the result was a general paroxysm of despair.

Rage, too, freely exhibited itself. Some, who considered themselves innocent of having brought about this dilemma, accused and incriminated those who were responsible for it; and some were bold enough openly to charge the captain and mate with the neglect. Mutinous language was freely used, threats uttered aloud, and for awhile all discipline appeared to have departed from the ship.

After a long time spent in stormy altercation and the profuse exchange of oaths and menaces, the angry tone died away, and all parties began to a.s.sume a more pacific bearing towards each other. The common danger made them friends again, or at all events put a stop to their useless hostility; and at length, calming down to greater moderation, each proceeded to offer suggestions, or listen to them, about what measures should be adopted under the circ.u.mstances.

Of course, the first idea was, that the water should from this time forth be measured out: but the question was, how much at a time? and how often should the rations be issued? This required a nice calculation to be made; and in this calculation all had the greatest interest. If too large a quant.i.ty were to be allowed daily, then the stock might be exhausted before relief should be near, and they must perish all the same. How long would a hundred gallons last? and at what rate might they use it? These were the two questions of importance.

These calculations were easy enough. There were just forty of the crew--officers included--and these last were now to be put on equal rations with the rest; for, in this crisis of peril, the government of the _Pandora_ had suddenly a.s.sumed the form of a republic. Both captain and mate had lost their authority, and hereafter everything was to be conducted on the commonwealth system--share and share alike.

There were forty then in all, and, as near as could be ascertained, about one hundred gallons of water.

After all, the prospects was not so bad--so thought they, as they hurriedly ran over the calculation. One hundred gallons to forty men would be two and a half gallons, or twenty pints to each man--which would give a pint a day for twenty days, and upon a pint a day they could subsist. In twenty days, and less time than that, they were confident of coming within sight of land. Even should they not reach a haven before the twenty days were expired--should they be delayed by calms, or contrary winds, they might reduce the ration still lower, and by so doing extend the time. Half a pint a day would enable them to exist; and even far less in case of extreme necessity. After all, their prospect was not so perilous as they had at first judged it to be, and they began to recover from the shook which they had received--for on the announcement that there was only one hundred gallons left the quant.i.ty had appeared as nothing to them, accustomed as they had been to drinking and wasting that much daily. The calculation, however, showed that, with this quant.i.ty they might make shift without any great deprivation, until land, or perhaps a ship, might appear in sight.

With regard to the latter contingency, they had already formed a purpose. If any ship came in view--excepting, of course, a ship of war--they had come to the determination to chase and board her; and if a supply of water was denied them they would take it from the vessel _nolens volens_. Perhaps, even more than water--for both captain and crew were now so desperate that they would not have stuck at anything; very little provocation would have transformed the slaver into a pirate.

Such were the views of the _Pandora's_ crew, and such their determinations in regard to the use of the water. Each man was to be allowed a pint _per diem_; and, in case of any obstruction that might prolong the voyage, the ration was to be reduced still lower--even to a single gla.s.s a day, if this should become necessary.

CHAPTER FORTY FIVE.

During all these deliberations not one word was said about the five hundred unfortunate wretches between decks! It is a question whether even a thought was spent upon them, except by myself, perhaps by Ben Brace, and most likely the captain of the _Pandora_. But if the skipper thought of them, it was from no motives of humanity. Profit and loss were the only considerations that had any interest for him, and if he was thinking of the poor creatures with regret, it was not any regret for the horrid fate they were likely to meet with, but solely on account of the pecuniary loss he would sustain by their destruction!

I feel certain that, up to the moment when their future plans had been fully discussed and agreed upon, not one of that reckless crew had given thought to the situation of the blacks. Had these human beings been so many head of cattle, they could not have entered less into the calculations that had been made; for they were not considered at all.

Not one drop of water had been apportioned to their use. No suggestion of such a thing had been afforded--it would have been ridiculed as preposterous.

It was only after everything had been settled, that mention was made of them. Then a rough fellow cried out, in a tone of mock surprise, that smacked of a disgusting levity:--

"Thunder an' 'oun's! what's to be done with the n.i.g.g.e.rs!"

"Ay, ay," shouted several, in a breath; "what is to be done with 'em?

There's no water for them--that's sartin."

"Why, what can be done?" responded an inhuman monster. "Chuck 'em overboard!"

"Dunder an' blitz!" exclaimed a ferocious German, who appeared pleased with the idea; "dhat is de besht blan--wees not can do petter dhan to glear 'em out from de sheep."

"_Pe Gar_!" cried the Frenchman, Le Gros, "it be von great big drown-- von grand splash in ze vater--_Sacr-r-r-e_!"

I cannot describe the feelings I had in listening to this conversation.

These men were actually serious, and yet jesting. It is almost too horrid to be credible, and yet it is true!

But they were serious--I knew they were--and I expected every minute to hear that this horrible suggestion was adopted, and that the blacks were to be thrown overboard!

But the villains were not unanimous; and for a length of time they continued to discuss the question in the same half-serious, half-jocular way. It was awful to listen to that inhuman debate!

The slave-captain's wishes, however, were opposed to throwing his cargo overboard; and, notwithstanding the mutinous disposition of the men, he had still authority enough to carry the point. He was obliged however, to humiliate himself by resorting to argument. His speech was characteristic; and throughout the whole of it, there was not one word about humanity.

He alleged that the n.i.g.g.e.rs could only die, anyhow, and a few days could make no difference to them. Neither could it signify to them (the crew) whether the blacks died of thirst or by drowning. They could throw them overboard, after the breath was out of them, all the same. But some of them might live it out. He had known n.i.g.g.e.rs to stand it a long while without water--they could hold out much longer than white men--for in this respect they resembled the ostriches, camels, and other animals of their own country, that could go for whole weeks without drinking! No doubt many of them would die, and therefore be lost to him; but they would not die if they could help it, and there were still the chances that a good many would stick it out (these were the captain's words) till they had made land, or overhauled some vessel; and though they might be pretty far gone (another phrase of the speaker), a drink of water would set their stomachs all right again. So ran the ruffian speech.

He further proceeded to point out to his audience the dest.i.tute condition that he and they would be in, should they reach the Brazilian coast without a cargo. There would be no bounty--no spending-money-- nothing; whereas, if they could only get there with even a portion of the negroes alive--even one out of five (a hundred out of the whole lot)--there would still be a large sum realised; and he promised that he would be liberal to all hands.

It was absurd, therefore, to talk of flinging the cargo overboard. They could do no harm as they were; there could arise no danger, since they would keep the blacks securely under hatches; and, therefore, in every way it was better to let these hold out as long as they could, and take chance of bringing some of them to a market. Such was the skipper's speech; and I have followed his phraseology as nearly as I remember it.

It was an awful harangue, and my heart sickened within me as I listened to it.

Meanwhile, the ill-starred victims who were the subject of these deliberations were, happily for themselves, still ignorant of the horrid fate with which they were threatened. A few of them, whose gaunt faces looked up through the grating, may have noticed that something was amiss; but, ignorant both of the language and ways of their tyrant gaolers, they could not possibly have known the danger in which their lives were now placed.

Alas! alas! they would soon learn--too soon. Soon would they experience the agony of thirst; soon would they feel its horrid cravings.

Even at that moment was it drawing upon them; even then were they crying for water--for, in consequence of the discovery that had been made, their morning's allowance had not yet been served to them; and water was always the thing they seemed most to covet and desire. Its scarcity was to them their greatest grief. Even at that moment, as I pa.s.sed the hatchway, I could hear them calling for "water--water," some in their native tongue, and others--in hopes of being better understood--in that language best-known along the African Coast--the Portuguese--repeating the word:--