On Board the "Rocket"Adams, Robert C. (Robert Chamblet)
History
On Board the "Rocket"
Adams, Robert C. (Robert Chamblet)
Seafaring life
A calm set in in the afternoon, and we anchored off Point Lookout,
at the mouth of the Potomac; but in the early hours of the morning,
a breeze enabled us to get under way again, and meeting a steam-tug,
the captain struck a bargain, and the little boat took us in tow and
brought us by Fort McHenry into the harbor of Baltimore, just before
the sun went down. As much as twenty miles below the city we met
sailor boarding-house runners, cruising in their boats, but refused to
allow them on board, and the refusal in each case called forth a volley
of curses and the foulest language. When near the city a perfect swarm
of boats had collected about the ship, hanging on to her channels or
sailing along by her; and every little while some adventurous person
would climb up the side and attempt to come on board, and if refused,
as they always were, would use most insulting language. One fellow,
who persistently took his stand in the main channels, and refused to
get into his boat, was accosted by the captain with a belaying-pin;
but he coolly drew out a revolver and threatened to blow the captain's
brains out if he dared to touch him. The pilot cautioned the captain
not to quarrel with these men, for they belonged to an organized gang
of rowdies called "blood-tubs," and his life would not be safe on shore
if he took any harsh measures with them.
I thought Capt. Streeter had attained to the highest perfection
possible in the use of profane language, but these men quite equalled
him, using epithets and comparisons, shewing that human ingenuity had
been taxed to the utmost to invent new phrases and combinations of
oaths.
After a good many threats of murdering the captain and officers when
they caught them ashore, they one by one pulled in to the wharves and
left the ship unmolested. The next day the "Dublin" hauled in to a
wharf, at Fell's Point. The sailors had formed great plans for sueing
the captain and second mate, and anticipated a sweet revenge in this
way; but unfortunately they had arrived in a slave state, where a black
man's testimony would not be taken in court, and where also a black
sailor could not be discharged from his ship, unless some white man
became his bondsman that he should leave the state within twenty-four
hours. So there was nothing to do but postpone their revenge to the
indefinite time, when they might catch them in New York or Boston.
A tailor, for the sake of their custom, entered into bonds for the
men, and after making a pretty good bill out of each, shipped them by
railroad to New York.
After the sailors were all settled with, Capt. Streeter called the mate
into the cabin and said to him: "Mr. Morrison, I suppose you want to
leave, since you've told me you're ashamed of the ship."
"I'm not ashamed of the ship, sir," answered the mate; "I'm only
ashamed of the captain. I like the ship very much; I only wish she had
a master worthy of her."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account