What has happened since the “Bayern” sailed from Civitavecchia? First
one, then another of that strangely assorted ship’s company shall tell
the story.
“Immediately on getting under way,” writes Captain Belknap, “the work of
arranging our supplies began, so that we might know what, how much, and
where to lay our hands on everything. Supplies purchased at Genoa were
in the after hold, those from Rome forward; except for this separation
everything was mixed together. The Rome purchases had been made by
several persons acting independently; marks on many packages had been
torn off or obliterated in the hurry of transportation, and the
difficulty was increased by the absence of many invoices. Fortunately
good weather favored us. The work continued in the fore hold until ten
P.M. on Thursday.”
“Worked very hard till dinner getting cargo in order and opening up some
stuff. After dinner worked on bills with Flint and Hale,” writes Wilfred
Thompson in his diary for January 7th.
A letter from J., of the same date, gives a fuller account of the first
day:
“We got straight to work the moment you were all clear of the ship. I
didn’t even get a chance to take a snap-shot as we left the harbor of
Civitavecchia; indeed, I didn’t even see the town, as I was helping
Thompson with his invoices. After that we all went down in the hold and
were hunting or moving things and getting them up on deck. Such
confusion as there was in the hold, it is impossible to imagine!
Everything simply dumped in a heap. I found a lot of things they wanted.
We worked down there till dinner just like porters, and I am tired as a
dog.”
Friday, January 8th, was a busy day for all on board. In the morning the
weather was fine, at noon they passed Stromboli, the burning mountain
that rises in a sharp cone from the Tyrrhene Sea. Mr. Thompson notes in
his diary the beauty of the Calabrian coast. They passed near enough the
shore to see the people of the ruined villages living in tents and
shanties.
J.’s letter for that day says:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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