Jack in the Forecastle; or, Incidents in the Early Life of Hawser MartingaleSleeper, John Sherburne
General
Jack in the Forecastle; or, Incidents in the Early Life of Hawser Martingale
Sleeper, John Sherburne
Seafaring life
The principal town in Grenada is St. George, which is situated on a
bay on the south-west side of the island, and is defended by heavy
fortifications. On arriving at the mouth of the harbor in the Lapwing,
we fell in with a large brig-of-war, called the Ringdove, and was
boarded before we came to anchor in the bay. When the boat from the
brig was approaching, it was strange to see the trepidation which seized
every one of our crew. Although all, with the exception of myself, were
in possession of genuine legal documents that should have served as
impregnable barriers against impressment, yet they had witnessed so many
facts showing the utter disregard of human or divine laws on the part
of the commanders of British ships-of-war when in want of men, that they
awaited the result of the visit with fear and trembling.
A lieutenant came on board and conversed pleasantly with the captain and
supercargo. The men were mustered and called aft to the quarter-deck,
and carefully scrutinized by the boarding officer. Our protections were
examined, but being printed or inscribed in the Swedish language, were
not read. Every thing appeared according to rule. The lieutenant looked
hard at me as John Lordick, and asked some questions of the captain, to
which the captain replied, "He is my brother," which seemed to settle
the matter. The boat returned on board the Ringdove, and I, as well as
the others, rejoiced in having eluded impressment in a man-of-war.
The sloop was brought to anchor, and the cook and myself were ordered
into the boat for the purpose of setting the captain and supercargo on
shore. We pulled around the principal fort, which is situated on a point
of land, and entered a beautiful land-locked harbor, or careenage,
where a number of vessels were lying at the wharves. The captain and
supercargo landed on one of these wharves, and the captain directed the
cook to accompany him to the market square for the purpose of procuring
fresh provisions; I was ordered to remain by the boat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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