A Narrative of Voyages and Commercial Enterprises

Preface

. The character of the citizens of New England for enterprise and industry is very generally ac knowledged. Being, for the most part, obliged to seek their own fortunes, they are early accustomed to the endurance of privations, and to those indus trious and frugal habits, which lead to competence and wealth. In the pursuit of that independence of which all are more or less desirous, there have been instances of daring enterprise, of persevering determination, of disregard of fatigue and suffering, which are very remarkable ; but which pass unob served from their frequency, no less than from the unobtrusive habits of the actor. A simple account of such enterprises, drawn from journals and letters written at the time the events therein related occurred, is here given to the public. More than forty-five years have elapsed since the first of the voyages here narrated was undertaken ; and more than twenty since the completion of the last. It is apparent that they possess but in a small degree, the power to interest, that would have been excited, had they been published at the period of

PREFACE.

. IV their performance ; yet this delay in their publica tion may, on some considerations, enhance their value. It may be interesting to the young merchant to trace some of the great revolutions in the commerce of the world, which have occurred with in the above-named periods ; and those of advanced age may be induced to recur to by-gone days, with pleasing, even if accompanied with melancholy as sociations. For several years preceding the date of the first of my voyages, the merchants of the United States, and particularly those of Salem, carried on an active and lucrative commerce with the Isles of France and Bourbon, which was continued up to the period of the conquest of those islands by the British, since which it has nearly ceased. That important product of our country, cotton, which is now its greatest and most valuable article of export, em ploying a greater amount of tonnage than any other, was then unknown as an article of export from the United States ; and the little required for the con sumption of our domestic fabrics, was imported from Demerara, Surinam, and the West India Islands.

The trade to the Northwest Coast of America, which for about twenty-five years was actively and almost exclusively pursued from Boston, on an extensive scale, and to great advantage, has for some years been abandoned, from the scarcity and high price of furs, caused by the competition of the Russians, who have gradually advanced their posts far to the south of those places where my cargo was collected ; and where they were not then seen. The sealing voy-

PREFACE.

. V ages, which were prosecuted most actively from New Haven, Norwich, and Stonington, principally to the Island of Masafuera, and by which sudden and large fortunes were made, have, for many years past, been productive of little comparative advantage to the few yet engaged in them ; and this in conse quence of the animal's being almost annihilated. Our cargoes from China, which were formerly paid for in these furs, and in Spanish dollars, are now procured for bills on England, for opium, and for European and American fabrics. The cotton and silk manufactures of Indostan, constituted for merly, almost exclusively, the cargoes of our ships from Calcutta, which were paid for in Spanish dollars, and which generally yielded large profits. At this time our cotton fabrics are so much better and cheaper, as entirely to have superseded the importa tion of those ; and most of the articles which now compose a cargo from Calcutta, excepting saltpetre and bandanas, were then scarcely known there, as articles of export to this country.

Bills on England in payment for these cargoes, as well as for those laden at other ports of India, have been substituted for Spanish dollars, which formerly were indispensa ble to the prosecution of this trade. When I first visited the ports of Brazil, of Chili, of Pern, of Mexico, and of California, they had been for ages, and were then, so exclusively used for their own respective flags, that the admittance of one of a foreign nation, was granted only on the most palpable evidence of a necessity, which it would be a* VI

PREFACE.

. inhuman not to relieve. When admitted, no indi vidual belonging to the vessel was permitted to land, or to walk the streets of the city, without the disagreeable iucumbrance of a soldier following him; hence the difficulty of obtaining information, and consequently the meagre accounts given of the man ners and customs of those nations. The revolutions in those countries which have been effected with so much individual distress, and so great loss of life, though far from having pro duced the prosperity and happiness anticipated by their most enlightened patriots, have nevertheless caused their ports to be thrown open for the admis sion of the flags of all nations. This has afforded opportunities to strangers for visiting them, which have been abundantly improved ; and the numerous and elaborate accounts of them which have been given to the world, within a few years, by literary men, who possessed the requisite leisure and opportunity for the purpose, seemed to obviate the necessity of my attempting to enlarge on those subjects.

The same reason forbade the attempt at more than cursory and passing descriptions of countries, cities, customs, and manners in other parts of the globe, visited by me for objects exclusively of a commercial character. Equally, if not even more remarkable than the changes above mentioned, are those observable at the Sandwich Islands, since my first visit there in the year 1799. Then the inhabitants were but little elevated from the barbarous state in which they were found by Captain Cook ; — now they are com-

PREFACE.

. VII paratively a civilized people, sensible of the value of instruction, and eager to obtain it; cultivating their fields, and, by an extended and increasing for eign trade, affording a most remarkable instance of the ameliorating and humanizing effects of com merce. In these days of philanthropy, when there are so many zealous advocates and active promoters of the great and truly benevolent cause of temperance, it is proper and becoming in every wellwisher to the advancement of this cause, to aid it in every way in his power. With such impressions, and with the favorable opportunity now presented, I should con sider it reprehensible to withhold from the public, a statement of facts relating to myself personally, and which no other consideration than the hope of doing good, would induce me to make, although they may be viewed by many as not the least extra ordinary of the facts which have been narrated.

I am not, nor have I ever been a member of a temperance society ; but I was a practical temper ance man long before such societies were dreamed of. At the period when I began my nautical career, it was a universally received maxim, that drinking grog and chewing tobacco were two essential and indispensable requisites for making a good seaman. So omnipotent is custom, and so powerful is satire, that although the absurdity of such a maxim must be apparent to every one, I have, nevertheless, seen many young men repeatedly made sick before over coming the disgust, and some of them afterwards became miserable drunkards. As alcohol and tobac-

PREFACE.

. co were in no degree less offensive to me than I had evidence of their being to my associates, it a; peared to me that to submit to the ridicule rather than to the sickness, was selecting the least of the evils, and I acted accordingly. Those who may honor me with a perusal of my narrative will perceive, that I have navigated to all parts of the world, from the sixtieth degree of south latitude, to the sixtieth degree north ; and sometimes in vessels whose diminutive size and small number of men caused exposure to wet and cold, greatly surpassing what is usually experienced in ships of ordinary capacity ; that I have been exposed to the influence of the most unhealthy places ; at Batavia, where I have seen whole crews prostrate with the fever, and death making havoc among them ; at San Bias, where the natives can stay only a portion of the year ; at the Havana, within whose walls I have resided five years consecutively; that I have suffered captivity, robbery, imprisonment, ruin, and the racking anxiety consequent thereon.

And yet, through the whole, and to the present sixty-eighth year of my age, I have never taken a drop of spirituous liquor of any kind ; never a glass of wine, of porter, ale, or beer, or any beverage stronger than tea and coffee ; and, moreover, 1 have never used tobacco in any way whatever ; and this, not only without in jury, but, on the contrary, to the preservation of my health. Headache is known to me by name only ■ and excepting those fevers, which were produced by great anxiety and excitement, my life has been free from sickness.

PREFACE.

. IX The following narrative will enable the reader to form a comparison between a seaman's profession and his own ; and, possibly, after perusing it, he will be less disturbed by the annoyances which peculiar ly beset him. He will perceive, that the master of a merchant ship, in whom are united the duties of navigator and factor, is subjected to great care and responsibility, even on ordinary and well defined voyages. These are greatly augmented when the enterprise is enveloped in darkness from the un known political state of the countries whither he is destined ; from the contingencies which may be presented to him ; and from the necessity of great cir cumspection, decision, and promptitude, in the choice of them. If he is timid and afraid to enter a port where there is uncertainty of a friendly reception, it may cause the ruin of his voyage.

If, on the con trary, he is bold, and enters such port, confiding in the protection of existing treaties, and the laws of nations, he may also become the victim of arbitrary power, confided to unworthy and ignorant individu als. If success attend his enterprise, when returning home with ample compensation for his labor, he runs the risk of having it all snatched from him by some hungry satellite of that great high-sea robber, termed "His," or "Her Majesty." Thus, in addition to the ordinary perils of hurricanes and storms, of rocks and shoals, he has to incur the greater ones of the cupidi ty and villany of man. Of the ordinary labor and fatigue attendant on the profession, the same individual would form opposite conclusions in different circumstances. The man

PREFACE.

. X who makes a winter's passage from Europe to Amer ica, and encounters the usual storms and severity of weather peculiar to that passage, will probably pro nounce the seaman's life to be the hardest, the most dangerous, the most irksome, the most wearing to body and mind, of any one of the pursuits of man. On the contrary, he who sails from the United States to Calcutta, to China, or to South America, avoiding our winter's coast, may perform the voyage without experiencing a gale of greater severity, than would require the sails to be reefed, a pleasing excitement when the necessity is of rare occurrence ; and he would probably decide that no profession is so easy, so pleasant, and so free from care, as the seaman's. These are the two extremes, between which, as may be supposed, there are gradations, which will tend to incline the scale one way or the other, according to circumstances.

The experience of more than twenty years passed in navigating to all parts of the world, has led me to the conclusion, that though the hardships and priva tions of a seaman's life be greater than those of any other, there is a compensation in the very excitement of its dangers, in the opportunity it affofds of visiting different countries, and viewing mankind in the vari ous gradations between the most barbarous, and the most refined; and in the ever-changing scenes which this occupation presents. And I can say, with truth, that I not only feel no regret for having chosen this profession rather than any other, but that if my life were to be passed over again, I should pursue the same course. CONTENTS OF VOLUME FIRST. PAGE Introduction to the Second Edition. . . . . xvii

Chapter I

The Counting-House. — A Salem Merchant. — His Ships and Masters. — Distant Voyages. — Their Excitement. — My First Voyage. — Disgust with it. — Become Master of the Enterprise. — Voyage to Bourbon. — To Havre de Grace. — Disappointment. — Send home the Enterprise. — Buy a Cutter, — Amount of Vessel and Cargo. — Explanation of my Plan. — Apprehension of my Friends. — Name of the Vessel. — Sail from Havre. — Disaster. — Attempt to return. — Fall to Leeward. — Come to Anchor. — Cables part. — Run ashore. — Humane Conduct of the People. — They unlade and get off the Vessel. — Enter River Orme. — Stop the Leaks. — Return to Havre. — Repair the Vessel. — The Crew desert 1

Chapter II

Difficulty in procuring Men. — Partially accomplished. — Sail from Havre. — A British Frigate. — Ushant. — Sketch of the Crew. — Anecdotes of George. — His Bravery and Fidelity. — Swimming after the Pig. — British Frigate Stag. — Danger of Contact. — Chased off Cadiz. — Boarded from a French Privateer. — Released unharmed. — Cape de Verde Islands. — A Gale. — Lose a Cask of Water. — Causes a Necessity of Stopping at Cape of Good Hope. — Arrival. — Interview with the Admiral. — Many Visitors. — Suspicion of our Object. — Interview with Lord Macartney. — Searched for Papers. — Sell the Vessel. — Trouble with the Collector. — Appeal to Lord Macartney. — Adjusted. — The Vessel despatched. — Never heard of after CONTENTS. XII 49

Chapter III

Description of the Cape. — Of the Town. — Effects of Southeast Wind.— Devil's Table Cloth. — Season of Westerly Gales Dangerous to the Shipping. — Loss of the Sceptre.— Loss of Ship Jefferson. — Notice of the Inhabitants. — Their Feelings under the actual Government. — Simon's Bay. — Constantia. ** — Signal Hill. — Residence and Resource of the Man stationed there. — Table Mountain. — The Ascent and View therefrom. — Perilous Situation. — Mode of Rescue. — Descent and Return to Town 33

Chapter IV

Impatience to be off. — Embark for Batavia. — Chased by a Brig. — Outsail her. — Arrival at Batavia. — Governor's Surprise at our quick Passage. — Hotel. — American Commerce. — Effect ofthe Climate on Europeans. — Market. — The Bay. — Sharks and Alligators. — No Opportunity to freight to the United States. — Embark for China. — Arrival at Macao. — A Typhon. — Lose an Anchor. — Arrive at AVampoa. — At Canton. — Embarrassment as to next Destination. — Arrival and Furchase of an English Cutter. — Associates in the Adventure. — Factories. — Recourse of Beggars to compel Alms. — Enter the City. — Result 39

Chapter V

Information from Boston. — Difficulty of obtaining Men. — Northeast Monsoon. — A Choice of Difficulties. — Sail from Anson's Bay. — Anchoring when the Tides were against us. — Narrow Escape. — Rocks and Shoals. — Strike and stopped on a sunken Ledge. — Come off as the Tide rises. — Anchor and procure Water and Wood. — Curiosity of the People. — Stormy Weather. — Pass through a Breaker unhurt. — Keep Company with a Chinese Fleet.— They enter Amoy. — Anchor outside. — Dangerous Navigation. — Island of Kemoy. — Mutiny. Means of subduing it. — Leave six Men behind. — Visit from a Chinese. — Weather the North End of Formosa Heavy Gales across the Pacific. — Discontent of the Crew.

Chapter VI

See the Coast of America. — Prepare Bulwarks. — Anchor at Norfolk Sound. — Discharge a Cannon. — Natives come to us. — Caution to them. — Their Appearance. — Purchase Skins. — Tribe. — An Accident. — Result. — Chatham Straits. — Ship Eliza. — Suspicious Conduct of the Natives. — An Alarm. — Steeken. — War Canoe. — A Present. — Request to stop the Rain. — A Deserter. — Recovered. — Game. — Anchor in a Cove. — Hostile Attitude of the Natives. — Leave them. — Ship Cheerful. — Dangerous Position of the Vessel. — Escape. — Repair the Damage. — Ships Hancock and Despatch, of Boston. — Skittigates. — Stratagem. — Howlings in the Night. — Sensibility of a Native. — Chiefs Kow, Coneyaw, and Ellargee 69

Chapter VII

Sail for Sandwich Islands. — Satisfaction. — Owhyhee. — Provisions and Fruit. — Natives. — Mowee. — Proceed Westward. — Tinian. — Anchor in the Typa. — Ship Ontario. — Reflections caused by her Loss. — Proceed to Wampoa and Canton. — Take a Factory. — Contract for the Cargo. — Causes operating to discourage a Return to the Coast. — Sell the Cutter. — Sail for Calcutta. — Malacca. — Pulo Pinang. — Procure a Pilot. — Arrive at Calcutta 95

Chapter VIII

Captain Lay. — Take a House. — Servants. — George pressed. — Application for his Release to Town Major and to the Chief of Police. — Unsuccessful. — To Lord Mornington. — George restored. — His Gratitude. — American Commerce. — Buy a Boat. — Danish Flag. — Deer Hunt by Tigers. — Observations on Calcutta. — Sail for Isle of France. — Culpu. — Danger in passing the Barabulla. — Arrival at Isle of France.

Chapter IX

Good Fortune. — Visit the Governor. — His Civility. — William Shaler. — Dinner at the Governor's. — Sell the Vessel and Cargo. — Isle of Bourbon. — St. Dennis. — St. Paul's. — Riv- VOL. I. b CONTENTS. iere d'Aborde. — Mr. Nairac. — Dinner Party. — Pass near the Volcano. — St. Benoit. — Return to St. Dennis. — Return to Isle of France. — Death of the Governor. — Honors to his Memory. — Entry of a Hamburgh Ship. — Cut out by Eng lish Boats. — Purchase Coffee. — Confiance and Kent. — Mode of Capture. — Bravery and Generosity of Surcouffe. — Brig Traveller. — A Duel. — Kent sold. — Freight her. — Naturaliste and Geographe, ........ 120

Chapter X

Satisfaction at the Prospect of Departure. — Observations on the Isle of France. — Influence of the Jacobins. — A Hurricane. — Sail for Europe. — Speak an American Schooner. — Coast of Norway. — War between tbe English and Danes. — Arrive at Christiansand. — Leave the Ship, and proceed to Copenhagen. — Arrival there. — A profitable Voyage. — Sketch of Copenhagen. — Obelisk. — Fredericksburg Palace. — Rosenberg Palace. — Arrival of the Ship from Norway. . . . 137

Chapter XI

Remarks. — Associated with Mr. Shaler. — Leave Copenhagen. — Arrive at Hamburgh. — Purchase a Vessel. — Decision as to the Command. — Count de Rouissillon. — Peace of Amiens. — Discouraging Prospects. — Vessel near being lost in the River. — Proceed to Sea. — Arrive at Grand Canaria. — Appearance of the Town. — Departure. — Arrival at Rio Janeiro. — An Assassination. — Convent of Benedictines. — Bay of Rio. — Departure. — Cape Horn. — Lose a Man. — Arrive at Valparaiso 153

Chapter XII

American Vessels at Valparaiso. — Permission to obtain Supplies. — Threat of the Captain-General. — Controversy between the Governor and Captain Rowan. — Arrest and Imprisonment of Americans. — Preparation for Hostilities. Amrer of the Governor. — Determined on Vengeance. His Treachery. — Capture of the Ship Hazard. — Imprisonment of Rowan. — Correspondence with the Captain-General. Defer our Departure. — Seizure of our Vessel. — Interrogatories. — Our CONTENTS. XV 207 Vessel restored to us. — Order of the Captain-General to leave the Port. — Proposition from the Collector. — Refused. — Re turn of the actual Governor. — Interview and civil Reception. — Departure. 168

Chapter XIII

Arrive at the Gallipagos Islands. — Transactions there. — Departure. — Singular Flaw of Wind. — Arrival at San Bias. — Visited by the Commissary. — Agreement with Him. — Opposed by the Governor. — Character of the Governor. — Controversy between the Governor and Commissary. — Order to leave San Bias. — Arrangement with Rouissillon. — He leaves us for Mexico. — Go to the Three Maria Islands. — Embarrassment. — Letter from Rouissillon. — Death of the Governor. — Catch a Sun Fish. — Description of Three Marias. — Return again to San Bias. — Proposal for the Cargo. — Return of Rouissillon. — Sale of Part of the Cargo. — Purchase Sea Otters' Skins. — Suspicion of Treachery. — Take final Leave of Rouissillon. — His Character. ■ — Death. — Again anchor at the Three Marias. — Discover a Traitor in the Mate. — Seize his Papers. — Remarks thereon 187

Chapter XIV

Notice of San Bias. — Domestic Indians. — Circulation of Revolutionary Papers. — Sail from the Three Maria Islands. — St. Clement's. — Indians. — Arrive at San Diego. — Commandant Rodriguez visits the Ship. — Leaves a Guard on Board. — A Visit to the Fort. — Ship Alexander. — Fail in purchasing the Skins. — Detention of our Men. — Rescue. — Disarm the Guard on Board. — Prepare for War. — Get under sail to go out. — Fire of the Fort. — Returned. — Pass by the Fort. — Put the Guards on Shore. — Arrive at St. Quintin's. — Visit of Missionaries. — Corporal's Letter. — Padre's Opinion of Rodriguez. — Leave St. Quintin's. — Notice of it. — Guadaloupe. — San Borja. — Padre Mariano Apolonario. — His Character. — Procure Horses. — Our Farewell. — Arrive at St. Joseph's. — Obtain Supplies. — Sail for the Sandwich Islands. CONTENTS. XVI 226 241

Chapter XV

Observations on leaving the Coast. — California.— Sandwich Islands. — Visit of the King. — Land the Horses. — Present them to the King. — His Estimation of them. — Visit Derby's Grave. — Leave the Islands. — Sketch of Tamaahmaah. — Attempt at his Conversion. — A Practice of the Natives. — An Evidence of their Gallantry. — Instances of atrocious Conduct of Americans. — Island of Guam. — A Visit from the Governor's Lady. — Sketch of the Island. — A Storm. — Arrival at Canton. — Dispose of One Half the Ship. — Mr. Shaler returns to California, and I embark in the Alert for Boston.

Chapter XVI

Parting with Mr. Shaler. — Origin of our Acquaintance. — Observations. — Embark for Boston. — Touch at North Islcnd. — Pass the Isle of Bourbon. — Arrive at the Cape of Good Hope. — Reflections. — Departure from the Cape of Good Hope. — Arrival at Boston. — Lelia Byrd sails for California. — Disaster. — Difficulty of making Repairs. — Arrive at the Sandwich Islands. — Barter with the King. — Place the Cargo in his Power. — His honorable Conduct. — Expedite the Tamana. — Mr. Hudson. — His Voyage. — Return and Death. — Lelia Byrd. — Apology for the Voyage THE SECOND EDITION. The navigator, whose journal has met with so flatteringa reception as that which has been be stowed, both sides of the Atlantic, on the " Nar rative of Voyages and Commercial Enterprises," em braced in these volumes, should not be backward in gratifying the curiosity which has been manifested in several notices of the work, respecting his initia tion into the profession.

The force of prejudice, in defiance of common sense and the plainest dictates of reason, is perhaps in no cas» more frequently exhibited than in the per tinacity with which old seamen, whose nautical course began in the forecastle, adhere to the maxim, that, to make a good seaman, " it is requisite one should enter on board by the hawse-holes (or forecas tle), and not by the cabin windows." When I be gan, I was aware of the existence of this maxim, but doubted its truth ; as I could not comprehend c VOL. I. how the qualifications for command were to be acquired by living in the forecastle ; or how nautical skill was to be advanced by practising the duties of tarring down the rigging, and slushing the masts. I therefore had no ambition of attaining to a practical knowledge of these accomplishments.

I came in at the cabin windows ; but with an understanding that I was to stand watch regularly, to take my regular turn at the helm, to reef and hand the sails, &c. ; and I am sure, it will be admitted, that there was no time when I flinched from the performance of those duties. Having, early in life, imbibed a predilection for nautical affairs, I had ample opportunity of indulging it, while in the counting-house of a merchant who had several ships built and equipped in the immediate vicinity of my place of employment. I had watched the progress and manner of fitting the rig ging of many vessels, and thereby obtained a better knowledge of it than is often gained by many years' service in the forecastle. On the sailing or the arrival of our vessels, I was almost always on board, and thence acquired a knowledge of the art of manœuvr ing a ship, such as is not always attained by long practice at sea.

With such practical experience, I embarked at Salem, on my first voyage, in June 1792 on board of the brig Rose, owned by Mr. Derby, and commanded by my early friend and school-mate, Nathaniel Silsbee,* on a voyage to Cape Francois, now Cape Haytien. I entered in the capacity of cap tain's clerk ; to live with him in the cabin ; to assist him in his business in port ; and to do duty as a foremast hand at sea. Nor have I, after my long course of experience, been able to discover any way so desira ble, so eligible as this, for giving a young man a practical knowledge of seamanship, free from the vulgarity of the forecastle ; and of so familiarizing him with the manner of doing business in various countries, as to make him an accomplished super cargo. Our passage being made in the height of summer, — we experienced a long course of southerly winds, which so retarded our progress, that nearly forty days were consumed before reaching our destined port ; and there was scarcely a day of this long passage, that I was not more or less sea-sick.

I remember only one incident to vary the monotonous scene on this tedious passage ; and this was of a description that will never be obliterated from my memory. We were one day lying perfectly becalmed near the tropic, — the water so smooth as to reflect every object, like a mirror, — the heat intense ; the vessel lying like a log, with scarcely any perceptible motion. At * Since President of the Senate of Massachusetts, and for several years a Senator of the United States. XX

Introduction

TO this time, though not unconscious of danger, I could not resist the inclination of taking a plunge into the ocean. I had not, however, been swimming more than five minutes, before the men on board perceived a shark coining quickly towards the vessel. The necessity for caution, so as not to alarm me, was ob vious; and Captain Silsbee, being fortunately on deck, with great presence of mind, dropped his hat over board, and called to me to come quickly and pick it up before it filled with water. I did so, and had scarcely got out of the water with the hat in my hand, when I saw, within a few feet of me, a shark of enormous size ; indeed in all my extensive navigation since, I have seen none that would bear any com parison with it. As he came fearlessly close alongside the vessel, one of the seamen got ready the harpoon to throw into him, but was forbidden so to do, from the certainty of losing it.

Arriving safely at Cape Francois, the bay presented a scene of commercial activity, such as I had never seen equalled. The throng of boats by which we were instantly surrounded, to sell us the variety of strange fruits with which they were laden ; — the number of large ships in port, some loading, others unloading ; — the daily arrival and departure of vessels of all nations; — the French slavers continually coming in from Africa, with a crowd of blacks on their decks ; — the fine ships of war in beautiful order ; and the multitude of boats passing to and fro, across the bay; — formed, altogether, a scene surpassingly animated and brilliant, to one whose eye had never before met any thing of the kind, exceeding the or dinary exhibition of vessels in Salem harbour. The activity and bustle of business on shore seemed to be even greater than that in the bay ; and the magnificent stores, filled with every description of mer chandise, gave indications of the riches and business of the place ; while the long range of stalls on the border of the bay, for the retail of all kinds of French knick-knacks, gave employment and a living to a great number of the colored population.

The insurrection of the negroes, however, had, at this time, made some progress ; and only a short period elapsed before these riches " took to themselves wings," and the whole white population of the colony was in volved in one promiscuous state of ruin. Having disposed of our outward cargo, and reladen with another, the produce of the island, we were wafted to sea by the land breeze, very early on a morning in the latter part of August, and, after a fair passage, arrived in safety at Salem, in September, 1792 ; — thus, to my great joy, accomplishing my first voyage ; and experiencing a relief from the nausea, occasioned by the wearisome rolling and bad c* odor of the vessel, which is probably not unusual, and will be duly appreciated by those who make their first passages at sea. The distress from sea-sickness, and its consequent prostration of spirits, were such as to make it desirable to seek some other road to fortune.