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CHAPTER XXIV JAMAICA TO SOUTHAMPTON Jamaica, and the Bahamas Bermudas ^Azores Preparing for Submarines Southampton once more, JAMAICA Jamaica was discovered by
Columbus, and
belonged to Spain till 1655, when it was captured by an expedition sent
out by
Oliver Cromwell. The Island, from its
proximity to the Spanish
Possessions, was a godsend to the Buccaneers. Port Royal, which, as its
name
shows, was founded after the Restoration, was full of riches, often
ill-gotten:
"always like a Continental mart or fair." In 1692 it was overwhelmed
by an earthquake, and again laid low by fire in 1703. Kingston, originally begun
as a settlement of
refugees from Port Royal after the earthquake, gradually grew in
importance,
and finally became the capital of the island. During the wars which
followed the French
Revolution, Jamaica was of importance as the great centre of British
interests
in the Western Caribbean. We now
headed for Jamaica; Kingston, its capital, lies towards the eastern
extremity
of its southern coast. The town is placed on fiat land which gradually
rises
into dwarf hills. It is built parallel to, and abutting on to its
water-front.
Right and left of the city, when viewed from the sea, extends low
country,
whilst behind it, and to the east, rises in the distance a lofty range
of
mountains. From the open sea, the town and flat country is divided by a
natural
breakwater that maintains the general trend of the coast. By this
breakwater is
formed a lagoon that runs East and West, parallel to the coast, for a
distance
of some six miles, with an average breadth of about one mile, and has
practically no arms or branches. This lagoon is the harbour of Kingston
and a
fine one, but it lacks the element of picturesqueness, nor is it a
comfortable
one for small craft. The strong easterly wind, known as "The
Undertaker," that daily arises and increases in strength with the sun,
sweeps down its length and knocks up a nasty sea. It is difficult to
obtain
shelter, even for a dinghy, when landing at Kingston. But we
are anticipating. We ran down the coast, close in, and at 9.30 a.m.,
Friday,
April the 7th, 1916, we reached the western end of the natural
breakwater
between which and the mainland is the passage into the lagoon. Here the
Port
Doctor came on board, and as he went through our bills of health we
mutually
discovered that we were old hospital friends, though we had never heard
of each
other for twenty years. We entered
the harbour, and brought up in 15 fms., abreast of the wharf of the old
naval
dockyard of Port Royal, and distant from it about a cable's length.
Port Royal
is situated on the inner aspect of the bulbous-headed western extremity
of the
natural breakwater. The land surface is very limited in extent and is
entirely
taken up with the old fort, the old dockyard, and old naval and
military
quarters. All but a few poor closely packed houses is in the occupation
of
Government. The width of the breakwater to the eastward soon becomes
small;
open beach on seaward side, mangroves extending into the lagoon on the
other;
and between the two sand and scrub. This part is the well-known
Palisadoes, the
home of land-crabs and dead men, and the scene of many a duel. Port
Royal is
now deserted; no shipping or living workshops; everything is hushed,
but the
place is not neglected. Nelson might have left it but yesterday; the
dockyard,
with its fittings, stores, and quays, reminded one of that other quaint
little
marine gem, the old naval dockyard of English Harbour in the island of
Antigua.
When the place hummed with life, The
Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor, by Falconer, was the text book to
work
by, and its social life is vividly and accurately given us by Marryat
in one of
his novels. As in the
dusk, all alone, we passed down the silent corridors, and approached
the old
mess-room, we somehow listened for, and expected at any moment to hear,
through
some opening door, the reckless toast of "A bloody war, and a sickly
season,"
the chink of glasses, and the crash of the chorus "Yellow Jack! Yellow
Jack! And Jack, thus bidden, used to come, and link his arm in that of
some
fine young fellow, and together the two would saunter away "to the home
of
a friend of his in the Palisadoes." Little time for packing up allowed!
Many and many a man, in the prime of life and feeling quite well, has
dined at
mess one night in snowy uniform: the next night in a white uniform of a
different cut as the guest of Jack and Death. These two kept open house
in
those days. The R.E.
Officer in charge was most kind and hospitable; he took us over the old
fort,
pointing out, amongst much else. Nelson's former quarters and the
adjoining
length of parapet overlooking the harbour entrance, now known as
Nelson's Walk.
Our host informed us that, fishing from the wharves, he got splendid
sport. From Port
Royal to Kingston is about four miles by the boat channel. Passes
through the
coral banks have been blasted where requisite and the channel beaconed.
A least
depth of 4½ ft. is thus obtained, and a
direct course. Our little motor lifeboat carried us backwards and
forwards most
excellently on various voyages made to attend to our business at
Kingston. The
way in which she bucked at speed over the short steep seas reminded one
of
larking over hurdles on a pony. The work
in hand was to get our clearance inwards, to get rid of our
food-destroyer from
Panama, and to find in his place a live ship's cook, to report
particulars of
the Morant's Cays upheaval, and finally the usual catering, and bill of
health,
and clearance outwards. The Chief of the Customs was good enough to
interest
himself in Mana's welfare, so that
all these matters were dealt with in due sequence, and with the least
possible
trouble to us. A coloured cook was procured from an hotel at £16 a
month, with,
as it proved, but little justification on the ground of ability for
drawing
such a rate of pay; still, his professional enormities were associated
with so
many humorous incidents, and as he appeared at least to mean well, we
resigned
ourselves to the inevitable, and prayed that we might survive his
ministrations. About
noon on Sunday, April 9, 1916, we weighed and motored out from Port
Royal,
unplagued by pilots, and dipping our ensign to the Port Doctor and his
wife, in
acknowledgment of adieux waved from their garden. Clear of everything,
the
engines were stopped and Mana, bound
to "the stormy Bermuthies," proceeded to argue the point with a head
wind as to whether she should, or should not, go to windward. By steady
hammering she gradually got under the western end of the Island of San
Domingo,
and then through the celebrated Windward Passage. We had now to
threadle our
way betwixt the numerous islets that constitute the Bahama group, and
it was
quite delightful and interesting; brilliant sunshine, cool moderate
breezes,
land every few hours, but reliable charts. This was yachting; we had
met a good
deal of what bore little semblance to it, so we appreciated our present
luck
all the more. The morning
of the 19th of April 1916 saw us beating up under the lee of Acklin
Island and
of Crooked Island; a fresh N.E. breeze swept in puffs across the long,
narrow,
fiat land. An open native boat, with jib-headed mainsail as usual, was
seen
heading across our course when we were close in, so we gave her a wave,
and, as
we came into the wind, she rounded-to under our stern, dousing her
sail,
unshipping her mast and shooting up alongside our quarter. We dropped
into her;
a couple of empty sacks were pitched in, and she was clear of the ship
before
she had lost her way. The mast is stepped, the sail hoisted, and she is
off
again with her gunnel steadily kept awash. We now for the first time
spoke. The
two coloured men, her crew, were most obliging; they would make for the
most
convenient landing and then they would accompany us catering. Everything
went off excellently; we made a tour to different cottages and gardens,
collecting whatever was available, particularly grape-fruit, oranges,
and
tamarinds. We also got exceptionally fine specimens of the shell of the
King
conch and of the Queen conch. Hundreds of the King conch were piled up
at one
spot on the shore ready to be burnt into lime. The
natives appeared to be pure-blooded negroes of westcoast type, and in
some
respects their culture remains unchanged. For instance, the pestle and
mortar
and winnowing tray for treating maize were exactly similar in pattern
to those
we had seen used by the Akikuyu of Eastern Central Africa. When
catering, the price of each article is settled by negotiation, and it
is
definitely bought, as it is met with from time to time in our
perambulation, on
condition that it shall be paid for as it is passed into the boat on
departure
cash on delivery. Much other stuff, though unbought, is also brought
down to
the boat in the hope of sale at the last moment. This too is generally
taken as
well, because going cheaply, and also to avoid causing disappointment. Everybody
having been paid, and the already laden boat now pretty well
cluttered-up with
an unexpected additional cargo of chickens, eggs, fruit, shells, and
sundry
ethnological acquisitions, up goes the shoulder-of-mutton, the helmsman
ships
his twiddling-stick, and, in a few moments, the water is purring
beneath our
lee gunnel as the little craft slithers through the closely set
wavelets of
land-sheltered water. Long, narrow, and ballasted, these boats are very
fast
and are given the last ounce of wind pressure they can stand up to. It
seemed
to us, however, that her crew wished to show what they could do with
her as,
halliard and sheet in hand, they lifted the lee gunnel from moment to
moment,
just sufficiently to prevent her filling, but they did so with an easy
nonchalance that told that they were finished boat sailors. A very
few minutes saw us "once more aboard the lugger." We had left Mana at noon, and eight bells were
striking as the staysail-sheet-tackle scraped to leu'ard along the
hairless
belly of its horse; we had explored an island, seen a good deal of its
people
and their culture, and had revictualled ship, all within four hours,
yet
without hurry! Towards
sundown we passed out into the Atlantic, through the Crooked Island
Passage; at
8.45 p.m. the Light that marks the Passage dipped over our taffrail,
and we
turned in with that peace of mind which is the portion of those whose
ship is
clear of all land. This day,
April the 19th, Gibb's Hill Lighthouse, Bermuda, bore N. 42° E.,
distant 767
miles; it took us eleven days to do it. April the 20th. The
sargasso weed formed floating islands sometimes many acres in extent;
when one
considers the marine fauna that centres round a piece of floating
wreckage in
tropical seas, some idea can be formed of the wealth of life associated
with
this vast sudd. Our patent log could no longer be towed. In 1609 attention was drawn
to them by Sir
George Somers, who was shipwrecked there on his way to Virginia, and
found them
"the most plentiful place that ever I came to for fish, hogs and
fowl." Fifty emigrants were sent out in 1612. Moore, a ship's
carpenter,
was the first governor. He established his headquarters at St.
George's. Later
a more central position was needed, and the town of Hamilton was laid
out, and
became the capital in 1815. The American War brought the islands into
notice
from a naval point of view, and in 1810 a dockyard was begun on Ireland
Island,
thousands of convicts being sent out from England for its construction.
The Colony possesses
representative
institutions, but not responsible government. We made
Bermuda for the sake of gaining our northing. We had new canvas
awaiting us
there, that we ought to have received at Tahiti, and we had to decide,
on cable
advices, whether we would lay up Mana
here in Bermuda, in the United States of North America, or bring her
back to
England. The
Sailing Directions offered us two harbours, St. George's and Hamilton.
They do
not point out that all shipping business, practically all business, is
done at
Hamilton. We selected St. George's. The harbour master came aboard with
the
pilot, and proved an interesting man, kindly and obliging an old
soldier, a
keen conchologist, and a bit of a geologist. The harbour itself is
excellent
and charming; it extends away ad infinitum amongst
the islets and coral patches, but there is little indication of its
being made much use of by mercantile shipping. St.
George's Island is linked to its big neighbour by causeways and
bridges, which
are carried across the shallow coral sea. Its quaint, clean, sleepy
little
townlet, or village, exists by letting lodgings to American visitors,
and
growing early vegetables for exportation to the States. The
American Tourist is the winter migrant whose nature and idiosyncrasies
are by
the islanders most deeply studied. He, to the Bermudian, is Heaven's
choicest
gift his coconut the all-sufficing. Nine-tenths of the brain power of
the
islanders is devoted to inducing the creature to visit the islands and
to
keeping it contented whilst it is there, the other tenth to supplying
it with
early vegetables in its continental habitat. Of course Bermuda is an
important
naval station, and a certain amount of business is done in purveying to
the
naval and military establishments, but that is a thing apart. The
Dockyard is
situated on islands well removed from both St. George's and Hamilton.
In this
we may see the finger of Providence; placed elsewhere it would have
incommoded
the American Tourist. This cult
of the foreigner is the explanation of many things which at first sight
appear
strange in Bermuda. It is about eleven miles by road from St. George's
to
Hamilton, and there is no means of public conveyance beyond a covered
pair-horse wagonette, that act as a carrier's cart for goods and
passengers. We
marvelled exceedingly why this should be, whereupon it was thus
explained to us
by our butcher, who was also the proprietor of the shandy, ran express
aforesaid, and of a hired-carriage business, and by his son and
partner, the
M.P. for the St. George's Harbour Division. The Americans find the
climate of
Bermuda delightful as a winter resort. At Hamilton monster hotels are
built for
them, but there is nothing whatever for them to do. The islands do not
possess
any features of natural or historical interest that appeal to tourists.
Now the
islanders had observed that the dominant note in the American character
was its
restlessness; unless an American could violently rush around and spend
money he
was wretched and pined. But the island had excellent roads and lovely
views, so
they provided carriages, and objectives to drive to associated with
romance and
story, the evolution of which, from a basis of nothing, is a standing
testimony
to their intellectual creative powers, and of the truth of the axiom
that a
demand creates a supply. But the
island, for we may ignore the numerous islets, is very small. With care
and
good management, and by severely rationing him in the extent of his
daily shay
excursions, it was found that the American could be kept alive, and
healthy,
and cheerful for 14 days: from one steamer to the next: all this time
he exuded
dollars. "All is well," as the ant said to the aphis. Then suddenly
the heavens fell. A lewd spirit had prompted our friend the butcher of
St.
George's to import two motor-buses and with them run an hourly service
between
Port St. George and Hamilton, to the great convenience of the public,
and to his
own exceeding profit. As if this were not enough, he and others were
known to
have even placed orders in the States for motor-cars! Bitter was the
cry of the
carriage purveyors of Hamilton, of the hotels, of the furnished
apartments. The
American visitor would "do the darned island," every inch of its
roads, twice over, in a single day, and get away by the same boat he
had
arrived by (the boats stay two days loading vegetables). But where
shall salvation be found if not in "government of the people, by the
people,
for the people"? Many members of both Houses indirectly, and in some
cases
directly, were interested in the hired carriage, or apartment, or hotel
lines.
Trained in such schools for statesmen, the Legislature was able to
visualise
the national danger, and deal with it broadly, regardless of the vested
interests of the day. Without delay both Houses met, an Act was passed,
and the
Royal Assent given through the Governor, whereby the butcher was given
the cost
price of his two buses, and a solatium; the buses were immediately to
be sent
back to the States, and, for the future, no form of automobile was to
be
landed, owned, or used on the island. Heavy penalties for infraction.
So there
is still one spot on earth, anyhow, where one can escape the scourge of
the
motor-horn. For a few
days we stayed at St. George's, getting a little smith's work done and
watering
ship. There is no surface water on the island; the rain water is
collected and
stored in great underground cisterns hewn in the solid coral rock of
which the
island is formed. The water supply thus conserved has never been known
to fail.
In Mana's case the Military
Authorities kindly sent their large tank-boat alongside. At odd times
we
explored in the launch some of the labyrinth of waterways and islets
forming
part of St. George's Harbour, or connected with it. When doing so one
afternoon, we made the acquaintance, at nightfall, of a coloured
fisherman, by
offering him the courtesy of a pluck home. This man (Bartram of St.
George's)
proved an extraordinarily good fellow. He said he never worked on
Sundays,
therefore he was free to offer to take us on that day, as his guest, to
try for
monsters in a certain wonderful hole, far out on the edge of the reef,
a spot
we could reach with the aid of our launch. He was most keen about it,
so we
accepted. The monster-capturing was a failure, but he and his two sons
worked
hard all day, and seemed much concerned that they had failed to show
sport, nor
would they consider any suggestion of payment for their long day's
work, on our
return to the ship. They accepted, however, a clasp-knife each, as a
souvenir
of our excursion. Bartram
had told us that he had at home a wonderfully fine and rare "marine
specimen."
(The collection of "marine specimens" is one of the refuges of
despair of the American Tourist, and their supply has gradually become
a minor
industry of Bermuda.) He had found it some years ago. Many millionaires
from
the hotels or on yachts had offered him big prices for it, but the very
fact that
they were so keen to get it had made him all the more determined to
keep it.
Some day he had intended to sell it . Now would we accept it as a gift?
On
inspection it proved to be no coral, but a very fine example of a
colony of
sociable sea snails (Vermetus). We therefore suggested to Bartram that
we
should take it to England on Mana and
offer it in his name as a gift to the British Museum (Natural History).
This we
did, and Dr. Harmer, the Keeper of the Zoological Department, was much
pleased
with it, and wrote to Bartram accordingly. The
interest of this little story lies in the fact of its being a typical
example
of the way in which one often finds, in our remote dependencies, the
people
exhibiting unexpected keenness and pride in associating themselves with
England, and her interests, on an opportunity of doing so being pointed
out to
them. We had found it so at Pitcairn Island. A more
delightful place than Bermuda at which to spend a winter would be hard
to find
by those who care for pleasure sailing in smooth waters, fishing,
sunshine, and
the customary amenities of civilised life. Unhappily we could not spare
the
time to avail ourselves of the possibilities of St. George's. We had
constantly
to be at Hamilton on ship's business, so after several journeys to and
fro in
the dreadful covered wagonette, wherein physical discomfort almost
rendered us
indifferent to a kaleidoscopic succession of humorous persons,
situations, and
incidents, we got a pilot and went round under power into Hamilton
Harbour. Pilotage
is compulsory, but free. Once at Hamilton things went much more easily.
The
Colonial Authorities and the Admiral in Command and his Staff were most
kind
and hospitable. Admiralty House is a charming eighteenth-century
English
country residence, of moderate size, and romantically situated. In its
garden,
peeps of the sea are seen, through graceful subtropical foliage, at
every turn,
and miniature land-locked coves, reached from above by winding steps
down the
face of the falaise, afford the most perfect of boat harbours and
bathing-pools. Another
delightful official residence is allotted to the officer in command of
the
Dockyard. In his case he is given a miniature archipelago. His tiny
islands
rise from 20 to 100 feet above the water. On one is his house; another
is his
garden; chickens and pigs occupy a third, whilst his milch goats live
on
various small skerries. As the extent of water between the different
islets is
proportional to their size, and is deep, the whole makes a very
charming and
compact picture. Yet he is only ten minutes by bicycle from his office
in the
Dockyard, although, from his little kingdom, no sign of the Dockyard is
to be
seen, it being shut off by a wooded promontory. The
Admiral was good enough to offer us every facility for laying up Mana in the Dockyard, but on various
grounds we eventually decided to take war-time risks and bring her back
to
England, so receiving from him a signal-rocket outfit, and some kindly
advice
on the unwisdom of trying to run-down periscopes that showed no wake
behind
them, the vessel being now refreshed, at 0.55 p.m. on Friday, May the
12th,
1916, we weighed, and proceeded under power from Hamilton to the
Examination
Anchorage, with pilot aboard. Arriving there at 4.15 p.m. the Examining
Officer
came alongside and handed us the now usual special Admiralty clearance
card,
together with a courteous radiogram wishing us luck, from the Officer
in
Command of the Dockyard. The new trysail was hoisted, the engines
stopped, and
we commenced our voyage to Ponta Delgada in the Island of St. Miguel,
one of
the Azores, distant miles 1,869. This run
was of "yachting" character. Gentle breezes, smooth seas, an
occasional sail on the horizon. On the eighth day out, at the beginning
of the
first watch, the lights of St. Elmo were seen burning on both fore and
main
trucks. It is rather remarkable that this was the first, and only
occasion, on
which this phenomenon occurred throughout the entire voyage.
Occasionally we
got a turtle. Ten o'clock in the morning of the 30th of May showed us
the Peak
of Pico Island, 65 miles away, and at 10 p.m. next day, Thurs., May the
31st,
we hove-to off Ponta Delgada in the island of St. Miguel to await
daylight. The
1,869 miles had taken us 18 days. Having
been the victims of the organised dishonesty of the pilots of San
Francisco in
California, we had long before decided to run no risks of having the
vessel
again detained for ransom by foreign officials. Mana
therefore next day, June the ist, simply stood in and dropped
a boat outside the breakwater, and again stood off, whilst we pulled
in. Being
Good Friday, it was, of course, a fiesta,
all shops shut, and everybody away in the country. Our consul, too, was
away
for the day, but his wife kindly gave us our letters. We had been
instructed to
obtain from him the necessary information regarding war conditions, and
the
regulations governing shipping bound for British ports. At Bermuda
nothing was
known. When
pulling up the harbour, we had noticed one British vessel an armed
Government
transport, evidently formerly a small German passenger-carrying tramp
so
having bought some pineapples, vegetables and cigarettes, nothing else
being
procurable, we got into our boat and paid her a visit. Her commander
was ashore
for the day with the Consul fiestaing, but his Chief Officer was good
enough to
put us au courant with things, so we
bade adieu to Ponta Delgada without any wish to see more of it, and
pulled out
to sea. The ship was far away to leeward, set down by wind and current.
Not
expecting us to get through our work so quickly, she had not troubled
to keep
her station, but went off to argufy by flag with a Lloyd's
Signal-Station which
would not admit that she was in its book. After she
had picked us up one of the men left aboard asked whether any of the
craft in
the harbour were "a-hanging Judas." Though there were several small
square-rigged vessels alongside the Mole, none had, however,
cock-billed their
yards.1 It was interesting thus to find that the memory and
meaning
of the old sea custom still survived. Old superstitions and fancies
still
exist: an ancient shellback who was with us down to the s'uth'ard
reprobated
the capture of an albatross "They is the spurrits of drownded
seamen." Someone objected on doctrinal grounds, but was met with the
crushing rejoinder: "I said spurrits:
their souls ar' in 'ell." And now
we come to the last lap. On June the ist, by I p.m. we were again
aboard Mana, the boat hoisted in, and she bore
away to round Ferraira Point which forms the extremity of St. Michael's
Island.
From Ferraira's Point to the haven where we would be was no 1.5 miles,
and the
direction N.49Ό° E. true, or, shall we say. North East. After
making the customary routine entries in the Log Book associated with
taking
departure the latitude, the longitude, the reading of the patent log,
the
canvas set, etc. our Sailing-master makes the following entry, And
now we
are fairly on our way to Dear Old Britain. All the talk now is of the
submarine
risks. I put our chances of getting through unmolested at 85 per cent.
But is
the Mana doomed? Time will tell, but
I don't think." Nevertheless
every preparation was now made, in case we had to leave the ship in a
hurry, at
the orders of some German submarine. The engine was taken out of the
lifeboat
to save weight. Every detail both for her and the cutter was suitably
packed or
made up, and placed in the deck house, ready to be passed into her at
the last
moment before she was lowered. We could only afford room for the
photographic
negatives and papers of the Expedition. If the ship be sunk, the whole
of the
priceless, because irreplaceable, archaeological and ethnological
collections
must go with her. The men,
however, proceeded to pack, in their great seamen's bags, all the
clutter and
old rubbish they had accumulated during a voyage of over three years.
Its bulk
and weight would have rendered the boats unmanageable. Moreover, each
man, when
the time came, would be attending to shipping his property instead of
giving
all thought to getting his boat with her essential equipment safely
away from
the vessel. But we had taken them this long voyage without accident,
and we
were not going to let them make fools of themselves at the finish.
Moreover, Mana carried a pretty mixed crowd:
English, Spanish, Portuguese, and West Indian negroes, a Russian Finn,
and
descendants of the mutineers of the Bounty. At a pinch, amongst such a
lot,
long knives are apt to appear from nowhere, and self-control and
discipline be
at an end, with lamentable result. We therefore drew up a set of orders
in
triplicate; one copy for the fo'c's'le, one for aft, and one for entry
in the
official log, in which was clearly set out a routine that was to be
followed to
the letter in the event of our having to take to the boats. The details
need
not here be given, suffice to say that they stated that explicit orders
for the
common good were now set out in writing, and that THESE ORDERS WOULD
NOT, WHEN
THE OCCASION AROSE, BE REPEATED VERBALLY; that there was ample boat
accommodation for all, if the lifeboat were got away safely from the
ship
before the cutter, but not otherwise, because all hands were needed to
swing
out the larger boat. Therefore, when the ship's bell rang, the
Sailing-master
would take up his position by the lifeboat in the waist, to superintend
her
launching and stowage, and to give orders, and eventually to take
command of
her, and the Master would pick up his loaded repeating rifle and spare
cartridges in clips and go to the taffrail. (It was obvious from that
position
he could see and hear everything, and yet could not be approached or
rushed by
any, or many.) Any man
failing immediately to appear on deck when the bell rang would be shot
dead
without any warning when he did appear. Any man endeavouring to place
his
private gear in a boat would be shot dead in the act, without any
warning. The
like if he attempted to enter other than his own boat, or his own boat
out of
his turn. The like on a long knife, or other weapon, being seen in his
hand or
possession. The like on his failing to obey the verbal orders as
issued. By the
routine laid down the lifeboat would get away safely with her crew and
equipment. The cutter's own crew were strong enough to load and lower
their own
boat, after having assisted the heavy lifeboat, provided they obeyed
the orders
of the Mate who had charge of her. He was a good seaman, but it was
essential
that he should have the moral support that comes from a loaded rifle.
Once
boats all clear and safe, the lifeboat would pull in to the ship, as
close as
she thought wise, whereupon the "Old Man," in a nice cork jacket,
would drop off his taffrail into the water, and she would pick him up. These
orders and the penalties, extreme as they were, met with general
approval as
far as we could gather indirectly. Two days after their being posted,
when
Thomas, the coloured cook, came for orders, we thought we would put him
through
his catechism. Have you learnt up the orders in the fo'c's'le that
concern you,
Thomas? "Yes, sar! "When the bell rings, what will you
do? "Jump deck quick, damn quick,
sar!" "Good! And then?" "I go starnbig boat."
"And when she is in the water you'll jump into her? "No, sar! You
shoot Thomas. Cutter's my boat." Thomas had got up his orders
thoroughly
and intelligently, and departed quite pleased with his viva voce exam.,
and the
bundle of cigarettes his reward. Some of
the men, finding that their kit-bags must be left behind, hit out the
following
ingenious plan for saving their clothes. They first put on their Sunday
best
suit, over that their weekday go-ashore rig, then their working
clothes. To the
foregoing must be added a knitted guernsey or two, and any superior
underclothing. The result was most grotesque; they could hardly waddle,
or get
through the fo'c's'le hatch. Had the fine weather continued, their
sufferings
would have been severe. A gale, however, in which no submarine could
show her
nose, came to their rescue. At the time
we are writing of June 1916 the submarines were not operating far
out into
the Atlantic. Our idea was to keep Mana
well away until we got on to about the same parallel of latitude as the
Scilly
Isles, and then wait thereabouts until it blew hard from the S.W. Blow
it did,
sure enough, with high confused seas: dangerous. Gradually they became
bigger,
but less wicked. We rode it out dry and comfortably as usual, with
oil-bags to
wind'ard. Unhappily it was an Easterly gale, instead of the Westerly we
had
hoped for. It moderated. The wind drew to the Nor'ard. We let her go,
and sped
up the Channel at a great pace, and arrived in St. Helen's Roads, Isle
of
Wight, at noon on June the 23rd. Twenty-two days from St. Miguel. We
had
entered and passed up the English Channel, unchallenged by friend or
foe. In St.
Helen's Roads we took aboard the now obligatory Government pilot, who
brought
us through the different defences to the Hamble Spit Buoy, from which
we had
started three years and four months earlier. We had
traversed, almost entirely under canvas, without accident of
consequence to
ship or man, a distance of over One Hundred Thousand miles. Such is
the Mana of MANA. [The
Royal Cruising Club Challenge Cup, last held by Sunbeam
(Lord Brassey), was, in 1917, awarded to Mana on her
return, by special
resolution of the Annual General Meeting of the Club, for a remarkable
cruise
in the Pacific."] |