In the Eastern Seas Read online

  CHAPTER THREE.

  WALTER HEATHFIELD'S JOURNAL.

  The _Bussorah Merchant_ was now ready for sea. Mr Thudicumb was firstmate, as he had been on the previous voyage; Dick Tarbox was boatswain;young Oliver Farwell was cabin-boy. Merlin, too, who indeed never leftthe ship, was on board, and welcomed my sister and me, whom herecognised the moment we appeared with signs of the greatestsatisfaction. The ship was bound out to the coast of China and Japan,with a prospect of visiting several other interesting places before shereturned home. I was delighted with the thoughts of all I should see,and was very glad to find on board several books descriptive of thoseregions. The ship came to an anchor at Gravesend, where severalpassengers joined her. Among them was a gentleman with very broadshoulders, a broad forehead, and light curling hair covered by a verybroad-brimmed white hat. His eyes were blue and remarkably keen; he hada nose somewhat turned up; and a firm mouth, with a pleasing smile,showing a set of strong white teeth. He brought with him a number ofcases and boxes; among them gun-cases, and fishing-rods, and cases whichlooked as if they enclosed instruments, with numerous other articles notusually carried by travellers. His business-like, quiet manner showedthat he was well accustomed to move about the world. Who he could be Icould not tell. Soon after he came on board he called Oliver Farwell tohelp him arrange his cabin; but as Oliver had other duties to attend to,I offered my services.

  "Yes, my lad, I shall be very much obliged to you," said the gentleman."I should have liked to have got these things on board before the shipleft the docks; but there was no time for that; and it is important thatthey should be secured before we get into a tumbling sea, from whichthey may receive damage."

  I observed that Mr Nicholas Hooker was painted on all the cases, and ofcourse concluded that such was the name of the gentleman. He had anumber of screws with which he fastened some of the articles to thebulkheads, and lashed others in a seamanlike fashion. There were chartsand telescopes; indeed, from the various articles he had with him, Ifancied that perhaps the gentleman was a naval officer. Still, as I didnot see R.N. at the end of his name, I thought again that he could notbe so.

  At length Mr Hooker, having unpacked his books, various instruments,and other articles, begged that the cases might be stowed away below.His directions were promptly obeyed, and having surveyed his cabin, heseemed satisfied that all was in perfect order.

  "Now, young gentleman," he said, with a pleasant smile which won myconfidence, "I daresay you would like to know what all these things arefor. Some are for taking the latitude and longitude, ascertaining theexact position of places on the earth's surface. Others are formeasuring the height of mountains, some the temperature of the air andwater, and so on. Then I have cases for creatures which move in thewater or fly in the air, which walk or crawl on the earth or burrowbeneath it; and I have the means of shooting them or trapping them.Those I can, I hope to preserve alive; and if not, to be able to exhibitto my scientific friends, when I return home, the forms of some perfect,the skins of others, and the skeletons of others. And now, having toldyou thus much, I must leave you to guess what I profess myself to be.One thing I can tell you, I know very, very little compared to whatthere is to be known. I hope to gain more knowledge but I am very wellaware that, gain all I can, I can but add a very small portion to whatis already known, and a still smaller compared to what is to beascertained. Here comes the captain. We are old friends, and thatinduced me to select this ship for my voyage. Are you his son?"

  "No, sir," I answered; "but he is a very kind friend of mine; and wereit not for him, I know not what would have become of me and my sister."

  The _Bussorah Merchant_ had a fine passage down Channel, and taking herdeparture from the Land's End, stood across the Bay of Biscay. Fourdays afterwards the captain told us that we were in the latitude of CapeFinisterre, but no land was to be seen. Another eight days, with thewind abeam, carried us into the neighbourhood of the island of Madeira.

  "Would not it be as well to have a look at it, sir," I said, "and thenwe shall better know where we are."

  The captain smiled. "That is not at all necessary," he answered. "Bythe observations we are able to take with the perfect instruments wepossess, we are able at all times to ascertain our exact position on theocean; and we might thus sail round either Cape Horn or the Cape of GoodHope to New South Wales without once sighting land till we were about toenter Port Jackson."

  "It is very wonderful," I said. "What puzzles me is how you can findthe longitude. I know you get the latitude by seeing how high the sunis above the horizon at noon, and then with the aid of the nauticalalmanac you can easily work out the calculation."

  "With the aid of the chronometer we can as easily ascertain thelongitude, though the calculation is a little longer," answered CaptainDavenport. "I can explain it to you more easily. The chronometer showsus the exact time at Greenwich. We know by our nautical almanac that,at a certain hour on a certain day, the sun will have attained atGreenwich a certain altitude. When on that day and that hour we findthat the sun is so many minutes behind hand in attaining that altitude,we know we must be a certain distance further to the west, as, the worldturning from west to east, the more westerly a place is the longer itwill be before the sun appears there. If, on the contrary, we find thesun has gained a fixed altitude some time before it would have gainedthat altitude at Greenwich, we know that we must be to the east ofGreenwich, or have met the sun sooner than the people at Greenwich havedone. Thus, the further we sail east day after day, the sooner we seethe sun; while the further we sail west, the longer the time whichpasses before he shines upon us."

  "I think I have an idea about it now, sir," I exclaimed; "and I shouldbe very much obliged if you will show me how to take an observation andto make use of the books, as well as to work out the calculations. Why,may I ask, do you cry Stop, sir, to the second officer or to MrThudicumb, who are watching the chronometer while you are taking anobservation?"

  "That they may mark the exact moment shown on the chronometer, while Imark the sun's elevation as shown on the index of the sextant."

  "But then you take observations at night sometimes, sir, looking at themoon or the stars?"

  "We do that to discover the distance which one star appears from anotherat a certain hour, or their elevation above the horizon. The object isthe same as that for which we take an observation of the sun, though thecalculation is rather more intricate."

  After this I set to work, and whenever the captain and his mates took anobservation, I took one also, although I was, I must own, at first veryfar from correct. Sometimes my observation was imperfect; at othertimes I made mistakes in the calculation.

  At length the ship, which had been favoured with a breeze more or lessstrong ever since she left England, was becalmed. Sometimes she got alittle wind which lasted for an hour or two, and then died away; thenlight airs came, first from one quarter, then from another, and the crewwere constantly employed in bracing up, or squaring away the yards.

  "It is always like this in these Horse Latitudes," said the boatswain ashe walked the forecastle, where I had gone to have a talk with him.

  "Why do you call them `Horse Latitudes?'" I asked, as I listened to hisremarks.

  "Why, I have heard say that they were so called by the Yankees, or thepeople of _New_ England, before they were separated from Old England.They used to send out deckloads of horses to the West Indies, and theywere very often kept becalmed so long in these latitudes that theirwater grew scarce, and to save the lives of some of the horses they wereobliged to throw the others overboard; so that is how this part of theocean came to be called the `Horse Latitudes.'"

  I afterwards told Mr Hooker what Tarbox had said.

  "A more scientific name would be the Tropic of Cancer," he answered."We had a good breeze before we entered it, but often the wind to thenorth of where we now are is very variable. After we have passed thisbelt of calm and light airs we shall get into the regions
of thenorth-east trades, which will carry us along at a fine rate till we getinto the very worst part of the ocean for trying a person's temper,called the Doldrums. Remember to ask me more about it when we getthere. You will remember, then, the Variables are to the north of theTropic of Cancer. The `Horse Latitudes' are on either side of theTropic. Then we get into the north-east trade-winds, which carry us upto the Doldrums about the Equator; and passing through them with more orless trial of temper, we get into the south-east trade-winds, which weshall have to cross with our tacks aboard. Then we shall probably findcalms about the Tropic of Capricorn; after which, without once sightingland, we may very likely find a breeze, more or less favourable, butseldom against us, which will carry us through the Straits of Sunda,between Java and Sumatra, to the west of the great island of Borneo,right away to the north, through the China sea, leaving the PhilippineIslands on our right hand, up to Japan. I will have a talk with youanother day about those East India Islands, for they are very curious,and are probably less generally known than most parts of the world."

  The events occurred very much as Mr Hooker had predicted. For nearly awhole week our ship lay with her head sometimes one way, sometimesanother, the sails flapping against the masts. Then she got a breezewhich carried her a few miles further to the south, and people's spiritsbegan to rise, soon again to fall when once more the sails would give aloud flap, and hang down without a particle of wind in them. At length,however, they once more bulged out. The yards were squared away. Thecaptain walked the deck with a more elastic step than for the last weekhad been the case, and on the ship went hour after hour, the breezerather increasing than lessening.

  "We are in the north-east trades," observed Mr Hooker. "Little fearnow, for another two weeks or so we shall have a fine run of it."

  Three day after this, a seaman from aloft shouted out, "Land ahead!"

  "Ay, ay," answered Mr Thudicumb, who had charge of the deck. "It island that will not hurt us, though;" and he continued to let the shiprun on in the course she had been steering.

  Curious to know what had attracted the man's attention, I went aloft,and there I saw spread out on the surface of the calm ocean, what lookedlike a dark field, but little raised, however, above the water. Onreturning on deck, I told the first officer that I really thought theremust be land ahead.

  "No, Walter, no fear of that," answered Mr Thudicumb; "we are crossingthe Sargasso Sea. You will observe that it is merely sea-weed anddrift-wood collected in this spot from all parts of the ocean. Thecurrents and winds bring it, but why this place is selected I do notexactly know. In a calm it might bother us, but we shall only passthrough a small portion of it, and there is wind enough to send us alongin spite of the obstruction it may offer. We must get a bucket ready,for Mr Hooker will be anxious to have some of it up on deck, that hemay examine the creatures who live upon it. In the Pacific there is acollection of the same sort, and people who could not otherwise for wantof fuel inhabit some of the islands in that region, are enabled to do soin consequence of the supply of drift-wood it brings them."

  The ship, soon clear of the Sargasso Sea, glided on proudly, with allsail set below and aloft. The weather was delightful; the passengersconstantly on deck. Emily and Grace were very happy together, foreverything was new and interesting. They had plenty of employment; forMrs Davenport, knowing what a sea voyage is, had brought work of allsorts. And then they had books; and they were not above running aboutthe deck, and playing at ball occasionally, and _Les Graces_, and othergames suitable for ship-board.

  Thus day after day passed pleasantly by: the sea sparkling, the skybright, or occasionally mottled with light clouds. One morning,however, when they came on deck expecting to see the blue sky abovetheir heads, they saw only a thick canopy of clouds. The sails wereflapping against the masts; the air was oppressive. There the ship lay,her head moving now in one direction, now in another. Those who hadbefore been full of life and spirits began to complain of lassitude andweariness. The seamen no longer moved actively about the decks, butwent sauntering along when called upon to perform any duty. The heatgrew greater and greater. The iron about the ship was unpleasant totouch. The pitch bubbled in the seams of the deck and stuck to thefeet. Emily and Grace no longer wished to play at ball, or _LesGraces_, or any other game. Even Merlin went disconsolately up and downthe decks, as if he thought something serious was going to happen. Ifelt as I had seldom felt before.

  "Are we going to have a storm, sir?" I asked of the captain. "I haveread that storms are apt to come on after weather such as we now have."

  "I do not expect one," answered Captain Davenport, "though we maypossibly have a squall of a few hours' duration; and I should not besorry for it, if it would carry us out of this region. We are now inthe Doldrums."

  "Not a bad name, considering the condition of all us poor mortals onboard," observed Mr Hooker.

  "We are now under the cloud ring which encircles this part of the earth.God has placed these clouds above our heads in this region for aparticular purpose. You will observe that the thermometer and barometerstand lower under this cloud ring than they do on either side of it.The clouds not only promote the precipitation which takes place in thisregion, but they also cause the rains to fall on places where they aremost required, shading the surface from which the heating rays of thesun are to be excluded, and thus giving tone to the atmosphericalcirculation of the world and vigour to its vegetation. You have often,when the sun is sending his rays with great heat down on the earth, seenthe atmosphere dancing, as it were, and trembling. This appearance iscaused by the ascending and descending columns of air. The cloud ringcreates on a greater scale this circulation of the atmosphere; indeed,the more we examine the phenomena of Nature, the more we shall discoverthe hand of a directing Providence, in suiting all things for theconvenience and use of the beings placed by Him on the earth."

  Day after day the ship remained in this calm region with a cloudy sky.People began to feel ill; and some fancied that as they were goingfurther south the heat would increase, and could scarcely understandthat as they proceeded the atmosphere would again become cold. CaptainDavenport and the officers were on the watch to make use of every breathof air which would forward the ship on her course; and at length sheonce more got the breeze, and those who had before been complaining oflassitude and illness suddenly revived and came on deck to enjoy therenovating and refreshing breeze. The sky was clear; the sea bright andsparkling as before. Cheerful countenances were everywhere visible,instead of the weary, downcast looks which most of those on board hadworn for the previous ten days. The only person who never seemeddepressed was Mr Hooker. When not taking exercise on deck, he alwayshad a volume in his hand, from which he was constantly making notes intohis pocket-book.

  "You see, my young friend," he said to me one day, "I am anxious toascertain what others have known, because all that man can aim at is toincrease the stock of knowledge possessed by his fellow-men."

  The varied changes of the ocean, and the creatures which appearedbeneath its surface, and occasionally above it, afforded us an unfailingsource of interest. On a bright morning I was engaged with some work bythe side of the boatswain when I heard Grace cry out--

  "Oh, look--look what funny birds!"

  "Why, miss, those are not birds, unless they may be called water birds;those are flying-fish," said Mr Tarbox, who had come with me to theship's side.

  Others, with Mr Hooker, came also, looking on at the curious sight.Numbers of fish with wings, or more properly fins, as long as theirbodies, were rising out of the water and darting along for aconsiderable distance above the surface, again, however, to fallhelplessly into their native element. Directly after them, in pursuit,appeared several large fish--now one of the latter leaped half out ofthe water, now another, seldom failing to catch one of the beautifulcreatures in its huge jaws.

  "The dolphins are getting a fine banquet," I heard Mr Hooker remark."The poor _dactylopteri_ are th
e sufferers; but they do not fall a preyto their persecutors without a brave attempt to escape. See, no soonerhave they wetted their wings than they are out of the water again, andwill lead them a long chase, till the dolphins are wearied out."

  We watched the pursuers and pursued till they were lost to sight in thedistance.

  The ship once clear of the Doldrums, met the steady trade-wind blowingfrom the south-east. With her tacks aboard, she stood away towards theSouth American coast. When I went on deck at night, I observed a changein the appearance of the constellations; and now the beautiful one ofthe Southern Cross became every day clearer, rising as it were in thesky. The magellhenic clouds also came in sight, showing that the shipwas now in the southern hemisphere. Frequently patches of light werepassed in the water; caused, Mr Hooker told me, by the _pyrosoma_.They exhibited a beautiful pale silvery light; but when they were takenout of the water the light disappeared, till any particular part of thecreature was touched, when the light again burst forth at that point,pervading the whole animal mass.

  The _Bussorah Merchant_ did not, however, as many ships do, touch at Riode Janeiro; but passing through another belt of calms at the Tropic ofCapricorn, kept away eastward towards the Cape of Good Hope. Oneevening, while I was keeping watch under the first officer--for I wasconsidered fit to take regular duty on board--the ship running at therate of four or five knots an hour through the water, I heard a sound asif substances were falling upon the deck. As I went to windward, alarge dark object, wet and cold, struck me on the shoulder, and thenfell down. I instantly sung out; when the boatswain, who was on deck,brought a lantern; and there, to the surprise of all of us, a dozen ormore cuttle fish were found, which had sprung over the weather bulwark.

  "Well," exclaimed Mr Tarbox, "I never did see such a thing as thisbefore."

  Mr Hooker, however, said that he had heard of it, as the creatures canspring an immense distance. "I have known some," he said, "to springright over a ship; though, certainly, to look at them, it is difficultto ascertain their means of rising out of the water."

  The island of Tristan da Cunha was sighted, looming in the evening lightlike some huge monster rising out of the ocean. Looking over the sidesthe water appeared unusually clear; and I could see, far down, the fishswimming about by the side of the ship. Even Mr Hooker, however, didnot succeed in catching any. The stormy petrel now made its appearance;and I and Emily and Grace were delighted soon afterwards to see amagnificent white bird with outstretched wings following the ship. "Analbatross! an albatross!" I shouted, for I guessed at once what it was.Mr Hooker said he wished to catch two or three and prepare them tosend back to England by the _Bussorah Merchant_. He accordingly madepreparations to catch them.

  "I should not like to shoot one though," I remarked. "You remember whatbecame of the `Ancient Mariner' who shot an albatross; how his shipfloated all alone on the ocean day after day, and week after week, andmonth after month, till all on board had died and he alone remained."

  "Oh no; pray don't!" exclaimed Emily, "lest so dreadful a fate shouldovertake us."

  "It is only a fancy of the poet's, perhaps," I remarked. "At the sametime I like to try and believe it."

  "I hope the same fate does not overtake those who catch the bird with abait. It is his own fault, recollect, if he swallows it," said MrHooker, who had now got a strong line with a hook and a piece of meat onit, with a float to keep it from sinking. This he now veered astern. Icould not help admiring the wondrous power exhibited by the bird as itglided on without flapping its wings. Now one was seen to dash down ata piece of refuse which the cook had thrown overboard, slowly again torise and then to follow the ship, apparently without the slightestexertion.

  "That gives me an idea," said Mr Hooker, throwing a large piece of fatoverboard before he let go his baited hook. Again the albatross darteddown on it; and then, without rising again, swam vigorously after thebaited hook.

  "There--he has snapped it up!" I exclaimed.

  Instantly the bird found the obstruction. When the sailors who had comeaft began to attempt to haul him in, out went his wings, with which heendeavoured to hold himself back, offering a powerful resistance to theline. Although three men were pulling away with might and main, yet thebird could not be drawn nearer the stern; and, at length, crack went theline, and off it flew with the hook and the remainder of the line in itsmouth.

  "Poor creature! I am afraid it will die a miserable death, instead ofspeedily being put out of its sufferings, as it would have been had itmore wisely come on board," observed Mr Hooker. "However, we must getanother line and take care there is no flaw in it."

  The passengers now amused themselves by throwing bits of meat overboard,and seeing the albatrosses pounce down and snap up the tempting morsels.At last Mr Hooker's fresh line was got ready. No sooner had the baitreached the water than down pounced a bird upon it, rising immediatelywith the hook in his mouth. This time the sailors, instead of pullingthe line up, had to haul it down, just as a paper kite is hauled downfrom the sky; and, at length, by running forward, the huge bird wasbrought on deck. Still it fought bravely with its wings, which it wouldhave been dangerous for any one to have approached. At length MrHooker put an end to its sufferings by a blow from a boat's stretcher.The other albatrosses, in no way disconcerted by the disappearance oftheir companion, still followed the ship. Two more were caught; onehauled out of the water, the other hauled on deck like the first.

  A young gentleman going out to Japan then made his appearance with a gunin his hand; and in spite of my warnings of what might be our fateshould he kill one, began firing away at the birds. Even a practisedmarksman would not have found it easy to hit one of them, although theywere in no way scared by the report of the gun. At length, however, abullet struck one of them on the head, just as he descended into thewater. In an instant down pounced his companions, driving their beaksinto the dead body; and in a few minutes, while it still remained insight, they had torn it almost to pieces.

  "I hope no harm will come of that shot of yours," I said to the youngcivilian; "but look out!"

  The young gentleman laughed, and said he did not believe in suchnonsense. Mr Hooker was soon busily employed in skinning hisalbatrosses and preparing the skins for stuffing.