I could well write a book describing the two months of my life that I
spent as an English prisoner of war; but as this is to be a record of my
adventures alone, I fear me I would take up too much time if I should
allow this fact to leave my mind.
We were awakened early in the morning, and orders were given us to get
our baggage ready, as we were going to be transferred from the frigate
to one of the prison-ships. The order to get our "baggage" must have
been a bit of sarcasm, as there was none of us who possessed a spare
shirt to his back.
Our breakfast was doled out to us on the upper deck, and we hastened
down the gangway. Such a multitude of bumboats and small craft I had
never seen as surrounded the vessel. There was a great hubbub on all
sides, and our departure, being such a small number, created little
comment. A launch was waiting for us, and one by one we jumped into her
stern-sheets.
I almost forgot I was a prisoner in looking about me, for it all was
new. I saw more ships gathered together than I had ever seen in the
whole course of my life. Some were twice as large as the 74
_Plantagenet_ that I had seen from the deck of the _Minetta_.
We rowed under the stern of a great vessel pierced on one side for sixty
guns.
"This is the sort of a craft," said Sutton, pointing, "that Nelson and
their Admirals won battles with. She could swing the _Young Eagle_ at
her side; eh, youngster?"
And well she could, I think, for it struck me that she was more of a
floating fort than a sailing craft. Sheer-hulks and vessels outfitting
crowded the inner harbor, and the constant hammering, tapping, and
picking of an army of calkers filled the air.
When we reached the gangway on the port side we climbed up to the tall
gallery. I had to smile. We might have been royal personages making a
visit, for such ceremony I have never seen equalled. We passed between
two files of marines and were inspected by three different groups of
officers. They asked questions, and for some time seemed to be quite
confident that Sutton was an Englishman. In this belief they were
somewhat shaken when they saw his tattoo decorations, however.
At last our names were taken, and we passed below into the foul-smelling
air of the 'tween-decks. Five or six hundred men were confined on board
this ship, and as the guards had a generous portion set apart for
themselves, the prisoners were much crowded. But we were not going to be
kept here long; and although the time seemed to go slowly and was
certainly most tedious, only a week elapsed before we were informed that
we were going to be taken to a large prison near the town of Bristol.
On the twelfth day we were landed on the dock in Plymouth, and the dry
ground felt odd to our feet, I can tell you. As luck had it, Sutton,
Craig, and myself were in the first draft. It took us several days to
travel from Plymouth to Bristol, being closely guarded by a squadron of
cavalry and a battalion of infantry on the route.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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