Kidnapping in the Pacific: or, The Adventures of Boas Ringdon

“We could not talk much however. On his way he had picked up a couple of pieces of wood, and armed with these we were able to drive the albatrosses off. They are cowardly birds, and when they found that we were living men and not pieces of offal, they left us alone and flew after the schooner.

“The time went slowly by, but at last I could distinguish the sail of a ship rising above the horizon. She was standing towards us; of that I felt certain, so did Sambo. This enabled us to keep up our spirits. We watched her narrowly, her topsails, then her courses appeared, at length her hull itself came in sight, and we made out that she was a frigate, probably English. I was inclined to curse my fate, for one of the things I dreaded most was having to serve on board a man-of-war. Once or twice I felt almost inclined to let go, but Sambo laughed at my fears.

”‘Can’t be worse off dan on board slaver, and you better live, and den when we have a chance we may run from de ship.’

“His arguments prevailed, and once when it seemed to me she was altering her course, I began to fear that after all we might not be seen. However, as it was, she stood directly for us, and passed within a half a cable’s length of where we floated on the spar. We shouted together, she immediately hove-to, and a boat being lowered we were picked up and taken on board. She was an English frigate bound out to the East Indies. We had not thought of agreeing to any story, and therefore when we were questioned as to the character of the craft ahead of us, we had nothing to do but to tell the truth. I could not help hoping that the schooner would be overtaken, when we should be amply revenged, but before we could get up with her night came on. The next morning she was nowhere to be seen.

“I had heard enough about men-of-war to make me expect pretty rough treatment. Things, I must own, were not so bad as I thought. I had no choice but to enter as one of her crew. Sambo did the same, and was rated as cook’s mate. He seemed much happier than before, and told me it was the luckiest thing that ever happened to him in his life. When we got out to Bombay, the first place we touched at, I asked him about running from the ship. ‘Don’t be a fool, Boas,’ he answered; ‘you stay where you are; you only fall from de frying-pan into de fire if you attempt to run.’

“I still, however, thought that I would try it some day, but so sharp a look-out was kept whenever we were in port, that I gave it up as hopeless.

“Four years passed away. We had a few brushes with the Chinese and some boat service in looking after pirates, and at length the frigate was ordered home. I had had a taste of the lash more than once for getting drunk, and had been put in irons for insubordination, and had no mind to join another man-of-war if I could help it.

“As soon as the frigate was paid off, after I had had a spree on shore, I determined to make my way to Liverpool and ship on board another trader. I tried to persuade Sambo to accompany me. ‘No, no, Boas, I know when I well off; I serve my time, den bear up for Greenwich, get pension and live like a gentlemen to the end of my days. You knock about de world, get kicked and cuffed and die like a dog.’

“I felt very angry and parted from him, though I could not help thinking that perhaps he was right.

“Well, after that I served on board several merchantmen, now sailing to the West Indies, now to the East, once in a fruit vessel to the Azores, and two or three times up the Mediterranean. I was wrecked more than once, and another time the ship I was on board was burnt, and I and three or four others of the crew escaped in one of the boats. I could not help thinking sometimes of what Sambo had said to me, but it was too late now, and as I had not saved a farthing and had no pension to fall back on, I was obliged to continue at sea.

“I had found my way once more back to Liverpool, when the crimps, who had got hold of me, shipped me on board a vessel while I was drunk, and I was hoisted up the side not knowing where I was nor where I was going to till next day, when the pilot having left us, we were standing down the Irish Channel. I then found that I was on board a large armed brig, the ‘Seagull,’ bound out round Cape Horn to trade along the coast of Chili and Peru.

“I had sailed with a good many hard-fisted skippers and rough shipmates, but the captain and mates and crew of the ‘Seagull’ beat them all. The mates had ropes’ ends in their hands from morning to night, and to have marling-spikes hove at our heads was nothing uncommon. I had been at sea, however, too long not to know how to hold my own. My fists were always ready, and I kept my sheath-knife pretty sharp as a sign to the others that I would have no tricks played with me. But the boys among us did have a cruel life of it; one of them jumped overboard and drowned himself, and so would another, but the captain had him triced up and gave him two dozen, and swore he should have three the next time he made the attempt.

“We had a long passage. I have a notion that the skipper was no great navigator. I have seen tall large-whiskered fellows like him who could talk big on shore prove but sorry seamen after all.

“After trying for a couple of weeks to get round Cape Horn we were driven back, and being short of water, the captain, by the advice of the second mate, who had been there before, determined to run through the Straits of Magellan. We had been two days without a drop of water on board when we managed to get into a harbour in Terra del Fuego. We lost no time in going on shore in search of water to pour down our thirsty throats. Scarcely had we landed than we caught sight of a party of the strangest-looking black fellows I ever set eyes on. Talk of savages, they were indeed savages by their looks and manners – hideous looking little chaps with long black hair and scarcely a stitch of clothing on their bodies. We had muskets in our hands, the use of which they, I suppose, knew, for they behaved in a friendly manner, and when we made them understand that we wanted water, they took us to a pool into which a stream fell coming down from the mountain, where we could fill our casks and roll them back to the boats. As soon as we caught sight of it we rushed forward, and dipping down our heads drank till we were nigh ready to burst. I thought that I had never tasted such water before. Had the savages been inclined they might have taken the opportunity of knocking us on the head, but they didn’t. After we had loaded the boat, some of us walked on with them to their village, which was not far off. I cannot say much for their style of building. Their huts were just a number of sticks run into the ground, and tied at the top in the shape of a sugar-loaf – branches were interwoven between the sticks, and the whole was covered with dry grass. A few bundles of grass scattered about on the ground was their only furniture. These people, as far as you could see the colour of their skin through the dirt, were of a dark, coppery brown. The women were as dark and ill-looking as the men, but they were strong little creatures, and, as well as we could judge, did all the work.

“The men had bows and arrows and spears and slings. They had among them a number of little fox-like looking dogs, savage, surly brutes, which barked and yelped as we came near them. They were almost as ugly as their masters, but ugly as they were, they were clever creatures, for we saw them assist to catch fish in a curious fashion. A number of the little brutes swam out to a distance, and then, forming a circle, turned towards the shore, splashing the water and yelping as they came on. They were driving before them a whole shoal of fish towards the net which the Fuegeans had spread at the mouth of, a creek. As soon as the fish got into shallow water, where they were kept by the dogs, the savages rushed in with their spears, and stuck them through, or shot them with their arrows. In this way, by the help of the dogs, a number were caught. The dogs also are used to catch birds. This they do while the birds are sleeping, and so noiselessly do they spring upon them, that they can carry off one after the other without disturbing the rest, when they bring them to their masters. Useful as they are, the dogs get hardly treated, being constantly cuffed and beaten, and never getting even a mouthful of food thrown to them. They know, however, how to forage for themselves, and will take to the water and catch fish or pounce down upon birds whenever they are hungry.

“Savage as these people are, they can build canoes for themselves, sometimes of birch bark, and sometimes they hollow out the trunks of trees by fire. They make them in different parts, which they sew together with thongs of raw hide, so that when they wish to shift their quarters, they can carry their canoes overland.

“They have got some stones in their country which give out sparks, and they use a dry fungus as tinder, so that they can quickly make a fire.

“As to cooking, their only notion is to make a fire, heat some stones, and put their food in among them.

“They are about the dirtiest people I ever fell in with; and all the time we were among them we never saw any of them washing themselves.

“In summer, when they can get fish and seals, which they catch with their spears, they have plenty of food. In winter, they are often on short commons. We heard it said that when it has been blowing too hard for them to go on the water, and they can catch neither fish nor seals, they are given to eat their old women, who they say can be of no further use, instead of killing their dogs, which they know will be of service to them when the summer again comes round.

“While we were on their coast, a whale was stranded near the mouth of the harbour. The news spread, and canoes were seen coming from all directions. In a short time the canoes gathered round the body of the monster, and the little coppery-coloured chaps were soon hard at work cutting off the blubber with their shell knives. The water was shallow between where the whale lay and the shore, and when one of the little fellows had cut off a large piece of blubber, he made a hole in the middle, through which he put his head, and thus brought his cargo to land, generally munching a piece of the raw fat on his way.

“The most curious things we saw were masses of stuff growing on the beech trees, of a red colour, something like mushrooms. Though this stuff has no taste, the people were very fond of it, and, for my part, I preferred it to raw whale-blubber.

“Having replenished our stock of water and wood, we made our way westward, sailing only during the day, and keeping the lead going. We were glad, however, to get clear of those high rocky shores, and the snow-storms which frequently came down on us. We kept away from the land for some time, and made it again not far from the town of Callao on the coast of Peru.

“The captain’s manner didn’t improve during the passage. Half his time he was drunk, and he was never on deck but that he was cursing and swearing at the crew, rope-ending every one who came within his reach. I could not help wishing that I had followed Sambo’s advice and stuck to the navy; though there was flogging enough at times when men would get drunk, still there was something like justice. A man had only to be sober and keep a quiet tongue in his head, and he need have no fear of the cat. On board the ‘Seagull,’ a man had reason to think himself fortunate if he escaped without a cracked skull. It was easy to tell what the fate of the brig would be, and I resolved to run from her on the first opportunity.

“Though we made the land in the forenoon, we were still at a considerable distance from it when the sun went down. We, therefore, after standing on for some time, hove-to, hoping to enter the harbour of Callao the next day. When morning broke we could see the snow-capped tops of the Cordilleras rising up in the far distance, but still the lower land appeared a long way off.

“We had to wait till the sea breeze set in, and it was nearly nightfall before we came to an anchor off Callao.

“It is the chief port of Peru, a short distance from Lima, the capital. As the captain expected to get rid of a good part of his cargo, I knew that the brig would remain some time. I, however, didn’t wish to lose a moment in getting free of her. As soon as the anchor was dropped, I watched my opportunity for a run. I intended, if possible, to escape in a shore boat, when there would be less chance of being traced. That night, however, only the Custom House and health boats came off to us. I had to wait, therefore, the whole of the next day. I could not help fancying that the first mate suspected my intention, and was watching me. I showed myself, therefore, more active and attentive to the work I had to do than usual.

“A number of boats during the day came off to us with fresh provisions, especially all sorts of fruits. To throw the mate off his guard, while I saw that he was looking towards me, I bought some fruit; at the same time I tried to make the Chilian understand that if he would come again in the evening I would buy more of him. I then began eating some of the fruit and carried the rest below. After this the mate seemed to take no more pains to keep an eye on me.

“My friend returned just before sunset. I told him to hand me up some of the fruit, and paid him for it, letting him understand that if he would wait a little, and I liked what he had brought, I would take some more. It rapidly grew dark, and I returned on deck with a melon under my arm, which I pretended was rotten, and intended to have changed. Seeing the boat still alongside, holding the melon I slipped down into her, and was followed by the owner, who had been trying to sell more fruit on deck. Sitting by him, I began to talk in my fashion, and when no one was looking slipped a dollar into his hand and pointed to the shore. He at once nodded to show that he understood me. We waited, and I pretended to be bargaining about the melon while it grew darker and darker, and then when no one was looking over the side, lay down among the fruit baskets, pulling some of them over me. My friend continued to remain alongside, and I daresay if anyone had enquired for me, he would have handed me back, but as good luck would have it, I was not missed, and at last, he and his men shoved off and began to paddle towards the shore. Even then I did not feel safe, for I feared that the mate might miss me and send a boat to overhaul all the shore boats which had visited the brig, and I knew if I fell into the captain’s hands, he would clap me into irons and keep me there till we were at sea again.

“After we got some distance, the Peruvian crew began to pull faster. At length we reached the shore. The master, when we landed, shook my hand, to show that he intended to be my friend, and led me away to his house, which was at some distance from the shore. I made him understand that I did not wish to go back to the ship. He replied that it would be safer for me at once to go into the interior, where the captain would not think of looking for me. I saw the sense of this, and after I had had some supper we set out. I gave my friend another dollar, which pleased him mightily, and I told him by signs that I was ready to work in his garden, or anything of that sort on shore, not that I at any time had a fancy for digging.

“We travelled for some hours on muleback, till we reached a farm on the side of a mountain. I found that it belonged to my friend’s brother. After matters had been explained to him he received me very kindly, and I was soon at home in his house. I helped him about the place as I had promised, and had a tolerably easy life of it; for though I worked twice as hard as anyone else, that was not much, seeing that the Spaniards are not addicted to over-tire themselves. My host had a daughter, though I cannot say much for her beauty, for she had a dark skin, and was short and fat, but she took a fancy to me, and so thinking I could not do better, I offered to splice her. Her father, who was glad to get me to assist him, and wished to keep me, consented.

“Accordingly, we were married in the church they went to. The priest asked me if I was a Catholic, and I said I was ready to be anything he liked, on which he replied he would soon make me one. There was a grand festival, and a number of priests and people collected, and they took me in among them and made the sign of the cross upon me, and so I was turned into a Catholic. I suppose that I was a very good one, for I used to attend church with my wife and go to confession to the priest, though as I told him all my sins in English, not a word of which he understood, he could not have been much the wiser; but that, I suppose, didn’t matter, as he absolved me notwithstanding. I was thus looked upon with great respect by our neighbours, and got on very well with my wife.”

Chapter Two

“I had been a good many months in the place when my father-in-law, thinking I was securely moored, began to give me more and more work, which I didn’t like. However, I lived on pretty contentedly, but still I had a wish for a sniff of the sea air, and to feel myself once more on the moving ocean; not, to be sure, that I had not felt the ground move under me, for we had had two or three earthquakes, when not a few houses had been thrown down, and the ground tumbled and tossed, and here and there opened, as if ready to swallow us up.

“I took French leave of my wife, for I was afraid she would stop me; but when I reached Callao I sent word to her by her uncle that I hoped to be back soon, after I had collected no end of dollars to buy her a new dress, and keep the pot boiling.

“I hadn’t made up my mind what to do when I saw a whaler in the harbour. I thought if she was likely to remain in the Pacific for some time, and she wanted hands, I would make a trip in her, on condition that I was to be landed at Callao before she returned home.

“She was an American, only out a few months, and having lost several hands, the captain was very glad to get me. I hadn’t been long on board before I began to wish myself back with my wife. It was much harder work than I expected, especially when we got into the southern ocean among the icebergs. Those spermaceti whales, too, are savage monsters, and will often turn on a boat and try to capsize her.

“I was pretty well nigh losing my life on one of those occasions as several of my shipmates did theirs. We had chased a big bottle-nose right up to an iceberg, and had stuck two harpoons into his back when he sounded. He was making for the berg, we thought, and if he got under it we should have to cut the lines, and lose him and the harpoons. Presently the lines slackened, we hauled in upon them, when suddenly up he came not half a cable’s length from us, blowing away with all his might. We dashed on, when round he turned, and with open mouth came towards us.

”‘Back all,’ was the cry, but before we could get out of his way he struck the bow of the boat with his nose, sending it up in the air, and jerking several of us overboard. The next moment with his huge jaws he made a grab at the boat. Seizing a stretcher I sprang as far as I could out of his way, and struck out for my life. The shrieks of my shipmates and the cracking of the ribs and timbers of the boat sounded in my ears, but I had enough to do to take care of myself, even to turn my head for a moment. I swam on as fast as I could. Fortunately for me, the accident had been seen from the ship, and another boat was coming to our assistance. It’s a wonder the savage whale didn’t attack her, but probably he had had enough of it, while the harpoons in his back must have troubled him not a little. I was soon picked up, and two others were found floating, but the rest of the boat’s crew had either sunk or been crunched to death between the whale’s jaws. He had been watched from the ship, which made sail in the direction he had taken. In the evening a spout was seen in the distance, the boat shoved off, and before nightfall we had the very whale which had attacked us in the morning, fast alongside with tackles hooked on, and the blanket pieces, as we called the blubber, being hoisted on board.

“That trying-out is curious work to those who have never seen it. Along the decks were the huge tripods, with fires blazing under them, and the crew standing round begrimed with smoke and oil, putting in the blubber, while others, as soon as the oil was extracted, were filling the casks and stowing them below. All night long the work went on, and there was no stopping till the huge monster had been stripped of his warm coat, and we had bailed the oil out of its big head, which had meantime been made fast to the stern.

”‘Dollars are pleasant things to pick up, but I must find some pleasanter way for gathering them than this,’ I said to myself. However, for more than two years I hadn’t a chance of returning to Callao. When at last the whaler put in there and landed me, I found that an earthquake had occurred, and the ground opened and swallowed up my father-in-law, and my wife with all her family. My wife’s uncle, however, had escaped, and he received me very kindly, and more so that, as I had made a good voyage in the whaler, my pockets were full of dollars. They, however, went at last.

“One day I was thinking what I should do next, when he told me that several vessels were fitting out in the harbour, to make a cruise among the islands of the Pacific, just to pick up some labourers for the mines. ‘It’s pretty hard work up in the mountains there, and most of our native Peruvians who used to work in them have died out,’ he observed. ‘There’s a merchant in our city who is going to make a grand speculation, and as Englishmen have shares in most of the mines, of course he is assisted with English capital, which our country could not supply. Now if you like to ship on board one of these vessels, you will find the pay good, the voyage short, and but little risk.’

“I thought to myself that I could not do better. I had served too long on board a slaver to think much of the work proposed. There was no difference that I could see between a black skin and a brown skin, and as I had assisted to carry some thousands of black men across to the east coast of America, I did not scruple to undertake to carry as many brown men as could be picked up to the west coast. To be sure, the natives of those bright and sunny islands, unaccustomed to work, might not find it very pleasant to be carried away to labour high up among the rocks and snows of the Andes, but that was no business of mine.

“I accordingly shipped on board one of several vessels fitted out by the enterprising merchant I spoke of. The ‘Andorinha’ carried thirty hands besides the captain and mate, and we had four guns and plenty of small arms. Our orders were to proceed direct to the nearest islands, and to carry off as many of the inhabitants as we could get on board, but we were to try stratagem first, and by every means in our power induce them to, visit the ship. As soon as we had collected as many as we were likely to entice on board, we were to put them below and shut down the hatches, and sail away with them.

“The plan was simple, and I thought it would succeed. Should they object to make the voyage and attempt to regain their liberty, we had our arms, and were to use them, but we were advised not to kill more people than we could help, as each was likely to fetch fifty or sixty dollars on shore.

“Before sailing, the merchant who had fitted out our vessel came on board with several friends, and the crew being called on deck, he addressed the captain and us, telling us that we were about to engage in an enterprise likely to prove of great value to Peru, but all was to be done by fair and honourable means. That we were to visit various islands, and to engage the industrious inhabitants to come and labour in our beautiful country for good wages, where they would also have the benefit of being instructed in the Christian faith and become good Catholics, to the great advantage of their souls. We were to treat them kindly and gently, and to give them the best of everything, so that they would not fail, by their gratitude, to show how highly they valued the service we should render them.

“I could not help grinning when I heard this, knowing the way that matters were really to be managed. The speech was made just to hoodwink the authorities, and for the benefit of the merchant’s friends, who, if they were not to profit by the adventure, might have found some fault with the way in which it was really to be carried on.

“The ‘Andorinha’ was a large vessel, and we calculated that we could stow away five or six hundred people on board her.

“Seven other vessels being fitted out, we sailed together in company, our first destination being Easter Island, which lies in latitude 27 degrees South and 109 degrees West, some distance from the coast of Chili.

“Light winds detained us, but at length we made the island, which is high and rocky and about thirty-six miles in circumference. The inhabitants, of the same race as the rest of the Eastern Pacific, and somewhat less savage than most of them, were living in villages, at peace among themselves.