Hair Breadth Escapes. Arthur Timothy Shay
not with men, but with beasts. After I had poured it all into a large bowl, I carried it to the captain, who immediately took ten or twelve spoons full of it, and was quite delighted; I told him that he might drink as much of it as he pleased.
“Well,” he said, kindly, “since you are so skilful, go and get two dozen bottles of Bordeaux; you can share them with the officers.”
I thanked him and turned to go.
“Stop!” he cried, “if I am well my men shall feel well too; they have been grumbling for several days; I’ll moisten their throats with rum; we’re perfectly safe here; tell the steward to roll a barrel on deck; they shall drink until they can’t stand.”
The storm had, in the meantime, blown over; the sea was placid, and the full moon was rising gloriously. The table was already spread; I hastened to the cabin, taking with me the laudanum bottle from the medicine chest, out of which I poured a stupefying dose into the rum-cask and into every bottle of Bordeaux, except the one destined for my own use, which I marked by a cut in the cork. Then I gave the captain’s orders to the steward, who immediately obeyed them, and the crew expressed their gratitude by three cheers and a “Long live the captain!”
I now placed the bottles of Bordeaux upon the table so that the one I had marked stood by my plate. Eight o’clock struck during these preparations; supper was brought and we immediately took our places. The crew lay about on the deck, and seemed very good humored. When the keenness of their appetite was appeased, they began to drink, and the officers broke the necks of the bottles of Bordeaux.
I did not neglect the captain meanwhile; he was very well content, for he had already emptied half the bowl. I perceived that the laudanum was taking effect upon all, and when I returned to the officers I found them all very much excited. They were relating their various exploits so noisily that scarcely a word could be heard. On deck the wildest confusion reigned, and the sailors were shouting their horrible pirate songs. The noise lasted about a half an hour and then grew fainter and fainter till it ceased entirely; the opium had done its duty; all lay buried in profound slumber, just where they had been drinking.
The steward and I delayed not an instant in taking advantage of this favourable moment. We immediately put into one of the fishing boats, a cask of water, a brandy flask, a ham and some other provisions, and then provided ourselves with the necessary clothes. I put on my overcoat, into which I had sewed a considerable number of gold-pieces; took a pocket compass, and a good spy glass, and was in the boat in less than five seconds. The steward threw down a bundle and followed me immediately.
We quickly cut the rope that fastened us to the hated schooner, put up the sail, and as the wind was favourable, were soon out of sight of her. We got into the current and shot along like an arrow. I was rather terrified when the moon set, but the stars shone brightly, and the steward was indeed well acquainted with those waters. When the sun rose, we were not more than five leagues from Havana, and as the wind and current continued to be favorable, we sailed into port a little after nine o’clock, heard the bells ringing, and the great city with its threatening fortifications and forest of masts lay before us. We landed, and before a half an hour had elapsed, were in the house of the English consul, relating to him our wonderful escape from the pirates, whom I had served, much against my will, for more than a month.
Two days afterwards, an English frigate set sail for home. I took my passage in it, and after a short, prosperous voyage, landed at Plymouth, my native town.
Captivity among the Japanese
On the fifth of July, A. D., 1811, the Russian sloop of war, Diana, approached Kumachir, one of the most southerly of the Kurile islands, belonging to Japan, for the purpose of seeking shelter in one of its bays against an approaching storm. They were received, on their arrival, by a shower of balls from a fort which commanded the bay. As no one, however, approached the vessel, its commander, Vassillii Golownin, considering this hostile reception as the natural consequence of former deeds of violence perpetrated by his countrymen in those waters, did not return the fire, but endeavored, by means of signs, to make the natives understand that his intentions towards them were friendly, and that he wished to land merely to fill his water casks. After a protracted negociation, a nearer conference was agreed on, and Golownin was imprudent enough to fall into the snare set for him. But we will let him describe the dangers and sufferings he underwent, in his own words:
After we had cast anchor, says he, in the spot designated to us, I landed with midshipman Moor, the steersman, Chleb Nikow, four sailors, and Alexis, a native of the Kuriles, who acted as interpreter. So deceived were we by the apparent friendliness of the Japanese, that we took no arms with us, except our swords. In order to destroy any distrust they might feel towards us, I ordered our boat to be partly drawn on shore, and left a sailor to watch it. The rest of the men, by my orders, carried after us some chairs, and the presents we intended for the natives. As I entered the fort, I was astonished to find that a large crowd had collected in it. There were at least four hundred soldiers, armed with guns, pikes, and javelins, drawn up in an open space to the right of the gates. Opposite to them was a tent made of striped cotton stuffs, into which we were conducted. The commander of the fort, a stately man, dressed in a complete suit of armor, and wearing two sabres by his side, rose on our entrance, and when we had saluted him, politely begged us to be seated on some benches which were set ready for us. We thanked him for his courtesy, but preferred taking our seats on the chairs which we had brought with us. When we were seated, they served us with tea without sugar, which they carried on lacquered wooden waiters. According to the Japanese custom, the cups were only half full. After we had partaken of it, they supplied us with pipes and tobacco, and the conference began. They first inquired the name and rank of each of us, and then asked repeatedly, and in an insidious manner, where we came from, whither we were going, and why our countrymen had formerly ravaged their northern coasts. When we had returned guarded answers to these questions, they wanted to know how many men were in our vessel. As I thought it prudent to magnify our strength, I replied “a hundred;” but Alexis could not translate this number, and I was obliged to make a hundred marks on a piece of paper, with a pencil, and let the Japanese count them. Whilst they were thus employed, midshipman Moor observed that naked sabres were being distributed among the soldiers, and immediately advised me of the fact; but as we had been so kindly treated, I thought little of the circumstance, especially as they were preparing for us a feast, consisting of rice, fish served up with a green sauce, and many other delicacies, the names of which we did not know. After we had partaken heartily of these solids, and for a drink been given a kind of beer called “Sagic,” I declared that we could not stay any longer, and begged them to tell us the price of the meal, which we designed paying for. To this request of mine, they returned very evasive answers, and when they saw that we were tired of the useless and fruitless questioning we had undergone, and were making preparations to depart, they suddenly threw off the mask they had hitherto worn, and by their threatening gestures showed plainly enough what their intentions were. Their chief, who, until the present moment, had spoken in a friendly and pleasant manner, now raised his voice, and pronouncing the name of the Russian who had ravaged their coasts, made a long speech, during which he often fiercely struck his hand on his sword, and ended by swearing that the Emperor would have him cut in two if he suffered a single Russian, who was in his power, to escape. As soon as Alexis, in whose anxious countenance we discovered coming evil, had translated these words to us, we sprang to our feet, and made for the door. The Japanese immediately set up a loud and threatening cry, but did not attempt to seize us, contenting themselves with throwing oars and blocks of wood in our way, in order that in running we might stumble over them and fall. When we had almost reached the entrance of the fort, they fired a volley at us, but fortunately hit no one, although the balls whistled most unpleasantly near to our heads. We were lucky enough to get out of the fort, and had almost reached our boat, when I saw to my horror that it was lying high and dry on shore, for in our absence the tide had ebbed. As our pursuers were well aware that we could not float it again, and had also made themselves acquainted with the fact that there were no weapons in it, they grew bolder, and surrounded us on all sides, brandishing their huge sabres, which they held in both hands. As resistance in such a case would be little less than madness, we surrendered ourselves to them as their prisoners. They seized me by the arms, and dragged me back to the fort, together with my unhappy companions. On the way a soldier