Strange Adventures of a 'Shellback.' A personal narrative, certain names only being fictitious

Front matter

STRANGE ADVENTURES Of A ••SHELLBACK" (A Personal Narrative, certain names only being Fictitious.) TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION" — OLD SAYING BY G. H. H. DIXON. CARLISLE : Printed and Published by George Watson Somervillh, Mary Strew. 2Dc&tcatton. — ■ I respectfully dedicate these pages to my dear Father hoping that some parts of them may prove interesting to him. They possess one merit, that of absolute truth with the exception that some of the names have been altered for obvious reasons. G. H. H. D. STRANGE ADVENTURES OF A " SHELLBACK."

Chapter I

Xhave now been on shore for nearly eight years and often look __^^^^^^^^^^Jliack upon my old sea life, and recall some B"t" 'he many strange sights I have seen during a twenty years ploughing of the watery main. I signed articles on September 8th, 1864, as a midshipman on board the E T. Ship Malabar 1 2 19 tons register, be longing to the grand old firm of Messrs H. R. Green. She was a fine frigate-built vessel, made of teak and copper, fastened, and her large saloon was always full of passengers comprising — military officers and their families, Indian Civil servants, tea and coffee Planters, &c. I was then seventeen years old, 5 ft. 10 \ 'ns. in height, (without shoes) of somewhat grave and quiet appearance, yet with a desire for adventure, and a keen longing to get outside the humdrum beaten track, to catch a glimpse of stirring life and study human nature under various aspects.

My dear father went in the ship with me as far as Gravesend, gave me his blessing and bade me an affectionate adieu, we laid there all night in company with the Lord Warden which was bound to Madras. I well remember keeping anchor watch with another mid called Hunt, both arrayed in monkey jackets with \s bright-gilt buttons and uniform caps, fresh from the hands of the outfitters, and here, en passant, I would remark that my outfitter (a sanctimonius retired sea captain) supplied me with some very bad articles, there were coloured shirts of two different patterns on the same shirt. We were obliged to have several uniforms, quantities of duck trousers, white shirts and waistcoats. Our outfit cost auite £ioo. and most of the thinrs were eone by the end of the voyaee, then there was in addition three vearly premiums of £60, £50, and £40. besides each voyaee. £30 for pocket and mess money, so that we were well provided for. and were always addressed by the captain as Young Gentlemen the same as the navy.

Captain Robert Pearre was our Commander, of small stature, but a strict disciplinarian and careful navigator. Mr. W. Gihhs the Chief Officer was a fine, large, bronzed, hairy, jovial sailor, to whom I had an introduction from some friends, and who was verv kind to me during the voyage. Mr. W was second, the third officer Mr. Innes was a tall, quiet, reserved man. — Brailey the fourth a tall. dark, active, young fellow.— the fifth rejoiced in the name of Smith. — The Midshipmen were Ready, a good hearted little fellow and a smart seaman on his third voyage — Hunt a «tout thick set lad. and Wardroper a youngster from the trainineship Worcester, verv reb'eious. onlv went one voyae*e. and then went straight into the church. — I well remember the " boatswain an old Shellback about seventy, a proper sea doe I promise you. and in soite of his years a hardy active old seaman.

Fvery hair in his head was a rope yarn ; every drop of blood in his body was pure Stockholm tar ; every finger was a marline-spike, and there were barnacles said to be growing on his back. Fvery one about the docks knew " old Watts " • he was currently reported to have been a pirate in his vounger days ; we used to call him the old albatross ; but not to his face, as he was a man of largfe and powerful build, and determined aspect, his hooked nose being embellished with a tuft of hair on the end. I tell you he was an important personage ! I think I see him now with his two boatswain's mates Grumley and Jenkins, piping the captain over the side, man-of-war fashion, or summoning all hands to grog three times a day. How changed the merchant service now ! all the old customs seem to have died out, and I have often remarked how very few old sailors one sees now-a-days.

When I first went to sea it was quite common to have two or three white-headed seamen on board, who took a pride in being first aloft to stow the royal, or to weather earing when reefing topsails on a wild stormy night ; — when the yards were bending like whips, and the wind howling and thundering through the rigging so that you had to shout into a man's ear to make him hear ; and could hardly clamber up aloft on account of the wind blowing you so hard against the rigging. The first time I trod the ratlines, we were in the Channel ; I lent a hand to stow the mizen topsail, when my uniform cap blew overboard, and I was glad to get down on deck again safe and sound ; — but before long I thought no more of going up aloft than of going upstairs, as use is second nature. I was only once seasick for a day or so when the usual remedy was proposed, i.e., to tie a piece of fat pork to a piece of string, then swallow it and pull it up again, but I confess I have never seen it tried.

We lads slept in hammocks which were looked after by our hammockmen, the third officer was the head of our mess, and we had a servant and a quantity of stores belonging to the mess, besides our allowance from the ship ; so that we did not live so badly. Then every day one of us dined with the captain in the saloon, when of course we had a good blow out. A month after leaving England we had " dead horse night," when the sailors make a horse out of canvas stuffed with straw, then it is dragged by all hands right aft, with one of the crew on its back in jockey costume, to the song of : — " Poor old man your horse will die — Chorus — " And they sav so, and they hope so " — eventually the dead horse is hoisted to the main yard-arm, then a sailor cuts him adrift by the weird gleam of a blue light which he ignites when he gets aloft.

The above is a practical illust ration that the men's months advance of wages has been worked out, i.e , they have been dragging a dead horse for a month. Then what grand fun we had Crossing the Line ; the men would be getting things ready fully a week beforehand, making Ntptune's wig and long beard, and the head of flaxen hair for his wife ; I am sorry to say that the lady (who was a man in disguise) drank too much liquor, and fell off her seat, which was on a gun carriage, alongside her husband. We midshipmen were all privately shaved in our cabin by the fifth officer, and drank our glass of grog afterwards with a keen relish, after anyone was shaved, he was thrown into a large sail full of water, like an immense bath, he was there attended to by men clothed in sheepskins to represent Polar bears who nearly drowned their victim before releasing him.

Most of the passengers were let off by paying a fine which went towards buying potatoes and onions for the men in Calcutta. 1 was in the chief officers watch from 4 to 8 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. ; we midshipmen attended entirely to the mizen-mast as regards repairing the rigging, and when all hands were called to shorten sail, we, in company with the ordinary seamen and boys, went aloft on the mizen-mast under the orders of the fourth officer. After a pleasant voyage we arrived at the mouth of the Hooghly and got a pilot off Sangor Island, from one of the pilot brigs which used to cruise about in readiness. It is a dangerous river to navigate and needs much care and experience on the part of the pilot ; the land adjacent is for the most part covered with cocoa-nut palms, with here and there a native village.

I was of course much interested in Calcutta, and the mosquitoes took a great interest in, and punished me severely; their sting is so venemous that sailors have often to be sent to the hospital in consequence of scratching the biles which causes them to fester in a dangerous manner. The natives don't seem to be much annoyed by them, as they rub themselves all over from head to foot with cocoa-nut oil ; I met Captain (now General) and his wife here, they were living at an hotel and I dined with them. My face was an awful figure, all swollen with mosquitoe bites, which however did not interfere in any way with my appetite ; Captain and Mrs. went home in the Mauritius, one of the auxiliary screw steamers, which never answered very well, and were all eventually converted into sailing ships. At the time I write of, 1864, Messrs Green owned twenty two fine frigate-built East Indiamen : now in 1891, they have no ships but are part managers and large share holders in the Orient-Co (mat's revenous a nos moulons) I would make a few personal remarks on the Coolies or labouring men of Calcutta ; they are a wretchedly thin lot as a rule, and have not a vestige of calves to their legs, their usual attire is a turban and a cloth round the loins, but I must say that they are at all times very careful that the loin cloth does not become disarranged.

The young women are many of them very pretty and wear a sort of tight fitting bodice with a long blue, yellow or scarlet muslin wrapper wound round the body in a mcst graceful and artistic manner. Their feet and hands are small, and they wear large silver bangles on their wrists and ancles in addition to the nose rings, the women are of all colours from jet black to a very light yellow, and in Northern India the people many of them are nearly white. Cf course I am only speaking of the poorer class of women, as the wives of the rich are kept most jealously secluded from the prying gaze of Christians. Talking of Europeans reminds me of that unfortunate class the Eurasians or half-castes, who are neither one thing or the other and seem to be despised both by natives and Europeans. The Botanical Gardens here are very beautiful and extensive, and can be seen to great advantage coming up the river as they face the water.

There are large packs of jackals in the suburbs of Calcutta, invisible in the daytime ; but as soon as it is dusk commence prowling about in search of offal ; when they discover a bonne louche : they give tongue lustily, making night hideous with their awful and prolonged yells. One of their favourite resorts is the ground set apart for the burning of the dead bodies of the Hindoos, a very Golgotha, where you may pick up and appro priate skulls.or any portion of the human anatomy which may please your fancy. The jackals lurk about in great numbers, attracted by the roasted meat aroma of the burning bodies, and they frequently drag away part of the half burnt corpse out of the fire and make a hearty meal of it, I have seen them do this myself at night, when I was trying to shoot one ; I succeeded in hitting him, when he immediately retired to a thicket or jungle hard by, and literally rent the air with blood curdling yells, in which performance he was speedily joined by the rest of his comrades.

There is no doubt that the natives of India are in advance of us in the disposal of their dead, I fancy they nearly all burn them with the exception of the Parsees, a very interesting race, which emigrated from Persia some centuries since, and have never intermarried with the natives of India. I have been told that should a Parsee woman marry one of another race, she would be secretly murdered. These interesting people preserve their ancient religion, worshipping fire as a symbol of the Deity ; they have a very strange method of disposing of their dead, they have circular stone edifices called Towers of Silence ; the corpse is exposed on a grating inside the tower, which is open at the top so that vultures can have access to it ; these birds live as it were " on the premises," keeping a sharp look-out for the advent of a fresh body which is hardly placed on the grating before it is swooped upon, and very shortly be comes a clean picked skeleton.

But I find I am wandering away to Bombay the stronghold of the Parsees, and must return to Calcutta. Shortly after our arrival our sailmaker commenced drinking heavily of bad liquor obtained from the natives ; he was seized suddenly about eight one morning with the cholera and in spite of the best medical aid, died in great agony in a couple of hours, Our senior midshipman Ready, was also attacked but rallied in a few hours having been placed in a very hot bath. In the streets of Calcutta are to be seen huge birds at least five feet high, which parade about and devour any offal they may discover ; when tired of this work, they take wing and seek the seclusion of the house tops (which are all flat) where they perch in rows as motionless as if carved out of stone, quietly and safely digesting their meals.

Near Garden Reach on the banks of the Hooghly, is situated the immense blue painted palace of the deposed King of Oude, where he kept three hundred wives and a very extensive menagerie of wild beasts. I will now relate some of our doings on board the Malabar. We midshipmen kept gangway watch in harbour, man-of-war fashion ; and had to report at once to the chief officer when we saw the captain coming alongside ; so that he may ordtr the boatswain with his two mates to pipe him over the side from the boat, that is to say, as soon as he stepped on the gangway, the three men commenced to pipe with iheir silver whistles, until he landed on deck where he was respectfully saluted by the chief officer and midshipman who were standing ready to receive him ; this old naval custom is never practised now in the merchant service.

In Green's ships we always carried a fiddler, who discoursed sweet music when we were heaving up anchor or hoisting the topsails, another old custom which lingered for some years. Our cargo was all hauled out by hand, with about fifty coolies walking along the deck pulling a rope, overlooked by a Serang who " bossed them round," these coolies were most part a poor emaciated lot of creatures, stark naked except the loin cloth, and so weak, that they could hardly " pull a flea off a blanket " (to use a nautical term) They sang strange native songs the whole day, urged on by continuous clapping of hands from the Serangor overlooker, who was always a noisy, lively fellow. It was amusing to see him when the men got sluggish, run swiftly along the whole line, slapping one on the side of the head, and another on the posterior, which ever offered the most tempting mark, this treatment would infuse new life into the coolies for a minute or so, but they soon relapsed into their usual style.

The native barber came on board each morning to ply his trade, this worthy would also shampoo you and crack all the joints in your body for about one penny English money, and frequently for the honour of the thing, as he always worked on the credit system. His crowning feat was cracking the vertebrae of your neck, taking your head firmly between his hands, he would give it two or three violent twists from side to side then a quick upward jerk, when you would feel and hear the joints of your neck unmistakeably crack. Our native mess servant rejoiced in the name of Ram Chunder Doss, a polished or anointed son of a sea cook, in nautical parlance, yet an amusing rascal withal, and an excellent cook, which commended him greatly to us. Each morning about seven he would come from the market with a couple of fowls or ducks which he converted into most delicious curry such as our souls yearned and hankered after, with an insatiable longing.

I believe that most of the natives in spite of their fawning ways really hate the English, they would no doubt much rather govern their own country. Just before we arrived in Calcutta the disastrous cyclone had taken place, when all the ships were torn from their moorings, and went floating wildly down the river, some of them being carried half a mile inland and left high and dry : the loss of life and property was enormous, this cyclone blew for about half an hour with awful force, uprooting large trees and levelling many buildings; but what did most damage was the huge bore or tidal wave, which caused the river to rise about 30 feet almost instantaneously, of course snapping all the ships ponderous chain cable moorings like so much pack thread. You rarely see Europeans about during the heat of the day, but about 6 p.m. there are hundreds of splendid carriages driving round the Maidan or park, many of them belonging to wealthy natives containing fat, yellow skinned Baboos or Hindoo gentle men lolling at ease.

The cabs are called gharries; it used to be considered a prime jokes or two or three fellows to hire one for a drive and when they came to a st eluded spot, unharness the horse and turn the vehicle upside down, leaving the gharry man to do the best he could ; a pastime however in which I never indulged. The land pilot, is a great instituiion, he is a docile native who for about four annas or sixpence, will pilot you round the city, show you everything of interest, and beat down to the last farthing the native dealers, when you are buying curiosities to take home to your friends, these pilots are first-rate obliging fellows and seem to divine all your wants. All the washing is done by men called Dhobie Wallahs who use no soap, but bang the clothes against' stones until they are snow-white, such rough treatment of course soon ruining them past redemption.

The sewing is also done by men, who will do all kinds of fine needle and embroidery work, squatting on their hams for eight anna, or one shilling per diem, bearing meekly the while any amount of scolding. The bearers or male nurses look after and carry the children of the wealthy Europeans in conjunction with the ayahs or female nurses. I was much struck by the contemptuous manner of the Baboos or rich Hindoos towards their inferiors, I don't know the reason but ihe majority of rich men are of a much lighter complexion than the coolies, also much stouter and of larger build, some of them are very grand and imposing looking men with their huge portly bodies encased in magnificent robes, one mass of heavy gold embroidery, they always carry a large white umbrella, or it is obsequiously held over them by an attendant in order to to shield them from the sun.

One day I saw a poor naked coolie accidentally jostle against one of the gorgeous creatures, who promptly furled his heavy umbrella and nearly felled the poor man with a heavy blow on the side of the head, adding insult to injury by telling him in Bengali 'that his mother was a sow, or the daughter of a pig and loom Soor Mahrahnee which has a very insulting meaning, and is always yelled out by the coolies to one another with great emphasis, when they are wrangling. It is most amusing to see two natives quarrel ; they rush madly at each other, leading you naturally to expect to see skin and hair soon fl>ing in all directions ; but no, their weapons are the tongue, with noses almost touching and fingers convulsively clawing the air, they proceed to trace each others pedigree from pigs, sows, and divers other animals which are unclean in the Hindoo mythology, when quite exhausted they slowly back away or make a stern board from each other, with many and loud threats of future vengeance.

When a native wishes to make you believe him, he says " Sahib if I not tell you for true then I cut my throat." The Dhingly Wallahs or watermen, make delicious curry and rice. — I was going off to the ship one day in a boat where they had a huge basket full of beautifully cooked rice as white as snow, I took a few grains to taste, as it was so tempting, when the boatman at once emptied all the rice into the river, informing me, with much gesticulation, that he would lose caste if he ate it after being touched by a christian, however, I paid one rupee for the loss of his rice. It is also against their caste to touch liquour, but our worthy mess steward the afore mentioned Ram Chunder Doss, or Ram Sam, imbibed all the grog he came across in our cabin, and was very drunk and suddenly collapsed while waiting at table one night, which first aroused our suspicions.

It is very pleasant to be waited on by the native men-servants in the hotels, dressed in snow-white flowing raiment and magnificent turbans, being barefooted their movements are catlike and noiseless, and they are most attentive in divining your wants. After discharging our cargo, we took in rice, jute, and other goods, and a full complement of first class passengers, unmoored the Malabar and proceeded down the Hooghly in tow of a powerful tug, with our young hearts beating high with pleasure at the thought of being homeward bound. The ship leaving Calcutta was an interesting sight, crowds of people bidding their friends a sorrowful adieu, and heartily wishing they were going also, the captain, officers, and midship men in full uniform, the merry sound of the fiddle and measured tread of forty seamen, as they hove round the capstan the while thinking of the time when they would meet their sweethearts and wives once more.

Hark to that bronzed and manly shell back rolling out at the invitation of old Watts the boatswain that thrilling and stirring sea song dear to the memory of every old shell, to wit "we are homeward bound our girls for to see," and the deafening chorus from more than fifty throats — " Good bye fare you well, oh ! good bye fare you well " then old Watts the boatswain with his hooked and hair tipped nose shouting, "give it tongue my tulips, the girls have got hold of the tow rope." At length the order " avast heaving " is given by the chief officer the paddle wheels of the large and powerful tug ahead of us are seen to revolve slowly, churning the water into a creamy foam and the stately East Indiaman Malabar is once more under way, gliding down the sacred Hooghly.

Chapter II

" to grog Mr. Watts, as soon as the decks are cleared Jai up, and both anchors clear for letting go " says Mr. Gibbs, the chief officer, " aye, aye, Sir," in hoarse but cheery tones from the boatswain, who with his two mates Grumley and Jenkins are rousing the men about. As we go down the river the seamen are busy seeing all clear for making sail, as soon as we cast off from the tug. The butcher and his mate are settling the live stock, consisting of the milch cow, one hundred or more sheep and swine, and hundreds of all kinds of fowls, in fact for a while the ship looks like a farm-yard, with numerous bales of hay about the decks, and baskets of onions, potatoes, and fruit, etc. Soon, however, all is reduced to order, and we commence to feel settled for our long passage round the Cape. It took us about a day and a half getting down off Sangor Island, where we cast off from the tug, discharged our pilot and made " all plain sail " to a light but powerful breeze, everyone is in high spirits as the good old ship slides peacefully through the blue water leaving a track of snow ■ white foam in her wake, and bowing gracefully to a slight head-swell, every sail to the main sky-sail is beautifully set, and full of wind, which gladdens the heart of our worthy Commander as he paces the weather side of the poop.

It is now 5-30 p.m. d beautiful tropical evening, the decks have been neatly swept, and the ropes coiled down clear for running, the shrill whistle is heard piping the men to tea, and in a minute a crowd of sailors may be seen standing round the galley door hook pot in hand, getting their tea served out to them, which, as it is fine, they take up on to the forecastle deck, where the boys have already carried some dried hash or scouse made from the meat left from dinner, the men seat themselves on the deck and are soon cracking their biscuits, and getting outside of the hash • when finished they light their pipes, one of them strikes up a song with.a rattling chorus and as the wind is steady they spend a pleasant time until eight bells rings out in sonorous clanging tones from the large bell on the forecastle rail.

The boatswain and his mates now pipe all hands and the watches are set Mr. Innes 3rd officer being on duty from 8 to 12, the second officer from 12 to 4 a.m., who is relieved by Mr. Gibbs the chief officer, who takes charge until 8 with myself, as midshipman. As I pace the deck with the sweet sea breeze whispering through the rigging, I am not at all sorry that the good old Malabar each moment is bearing us further and yet further away from hot unhealthy Calcutta, with its mosquitoes, cholera, dysentery and other ailments. But now the watchful eye of Mr. Gibbs has discovered a slight change in the wind, Grumley the boatswain's mate of our watch, pipes " Watch trim sail, lee fore brace," and I run hastily forward to slack away the weather braces ; in five minutes the yards are all trimmed, and the ship laying over to a freshening breeze, bowls along at nine knots an hour, and those old frigate-built vessels sailed splendidly, and could more than hold their own with the modern iron vessels, but of course being sheathed with copper, they never had any barnacles or seaweed growing on their bottoms, which so interferes with their speed especially if they happen to have much calm weather in the tropics.

At 5 -30 the watch on deck get their coffee, and at six they commence washing decks, the boatswain, carpenter, sailmaker and butcher turn out, and the usual work of the day begins, at seven bells i.e., 7-30, the watch below are called in order to get their breakfast, at eight bells the watches are changed and I .descend to the midshipman's berth to get my morning meal. Whenever one of the passengers was seen going up aloft, some of us immediately followed him with a small piece of rope and lashed him securely to the rigging, not being released until he had paid his footing. I have forgotten to mention that interesting bird the albatross, however, better late than never, they are met with in great numbers coming round the Cape, outward bound or to use a nautical phrase " when running down the Easting."

Some of them follow the ship for thousands of miles, I never could ascertain whether they ever take a rest or not, perhaps they do so at night and catch up to the ship again, they can fly dead against the wind without moving their* wings, which often measure 12 ft. and more from tip to tip when extended, the feathers on the breast are 4 or 5 ins. thick, so that before they are skinned, they are larger in the body than a swan. The skin when properly cured makes rather nice muffs, and tobacco pouches are made out of the skin of their large webbed feet. The unsuspicious albatross in caught with a sail-hook baited with a piece of raw pork, often swallowing hook and all ■ when he finds himself firmly caught, he hangs back in the water as much as possible, rendering a strong pull necessary to get him on board, the best way to kill them is to drop a small quantity of chloroform into the eye, when they die at once with out a struggle.