Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1828-05-21
Ntgbt Nsa0lma.


for jamuica: and after pleasant VOYAGE ar
rived 1t n,y !lacc OF destination and dischar-
scd nay cargo. My vessel was called the
Lively Charlotte, tight brig, well found for
trading, and navigated by thirteen hands.
reloaded with sugar and rum for Halifax, in
tending To freight from that place for Eng
and before the setting in of winter. This
object could only achieve by using double
'hligence, allowing reasonable time for &C
cidental obstacles. My brig was built sharp
for sailing fast, and | did not trouble myself
about convoy, Git was during wary as could
run 4 fair race with common privateer; and !
we trusted to manoeuvring, four heavy carron-
AIDES, and 4 formidable show Of painted ports
and quakers," tor escaping capture by any
enemy not possessing such an overwhem-
ing superiority Of force as would give him |
confidence to run boldly alongside, and find
out what were really our means Of defence. |
speedily shipped what provisions and ne
cessarics wanted, and set sail A breeze
scarcely sufficient to fill the canvass carried
out OF Port Royalharbor. Tie weather was
lnsuttcrably hot; the air seemed full of fire;
and the redness ofthe atmosphere, not long
before sunset, giared intensely as the flame
OF burning city. Jamaica was very sickiy:
the yellow fever had destroyed numbers of
the inhabitants, and three-fourths of all new
Corners speedily became its victims | had
been fortunate enough to lose only two men
during my stay of three or four weeks, Jack
Wilson and Tom Waringl but they were
the two most study and healthy men in the
brig; the first died in thru rim .,..j
he was attacked, and thcsecond on the fourth
iday.-Iwo hands, besides, were i'll when we
lett, which reduced to nine the number capa-
Die OF performing duty. | imagined that
putting to sea was the best plan that | could
adopt, to afford the sick chance of recove-
ry, and to retard the spreading of the disor-
der among such as remained in health But
was deceived. | carried the contagion
with me, and on the evening Of the day ON
Whch we lost sight of land another hand died
and three more were taken ILL., Still con-
graduated myself l was no worse off: since
other vessels had lost half their crews while
IN Port Royal, and some in much less time
than we had remained there We sailed
prosperously through the wiudward passage,
so close to Cuba that we could pla,..y dis
tirgulsh the trees and shrubs growing upon
II, and then shaped our course northeasterly.
to clear the Bahamas and gain the great
ocean.
We had seen and lost sight of Crooked Is
land three days, when it became all at once
q dead calm; even the unduIation of the sea,
commonly called the ground swell, subsidized:
The sails hung slackened from the ward; the
vessel slept like a turtle On the ocean, which
became as smooth as a summer mill pond.
The atmosphere could not have sustained a
feather, cloudess and clear, the blue serene
above and the water below were alike spot
less. and stagnant. disappointment and I'M
patience were exhibited by Us all, while the
sun t!arlng from the burning sky, melted the
pitch III the rigging till it ran down on the
decks, and bcelsteak might have been broil-
ed on the anchor tiuke. We could not pace
the planks without blisterng our feet, until
ordered an awning over the deck for our pro-
lection; but still the langour we experienced
was OrerpowerinG.
dead calm is always viewed with an un-
easy sensation by seamen, but in the present
case II was more than usually unwelcomc; to
the sick it denied the freshness of the breezes
that would have mitigated in some degree
their agonles; and it gave predispostion to
the healthy to imbibe the contapion. Iasi
tude and deSpondency being its powerful
a'Nlllaries. Assisted by the great heat, the
tever appeared to dccompose the very sub
stance OF the blood; and its progress was so
rapid, that no medicine could operate before
death closed the scene Of suffering | had |
no surgeon on board but from a medicine
lchcSt In VAN administered the common re- |
medies; but what remedies could be expect |
ed to act with efficacy, where the disease de-
stroyed life almost as quickly as the current
OF lhe circulated [ had now but five men
able 70 do duty, and never can | forget nv
feelings when three of these were taken i'll
on the fourth day of our unhappy inactivity.
One Of the sick expired, as stood by his cot,
IN horrible commissions. His skin was of a
saffron hue; watery blood oozcd from every
pore, and from the corners Of his eyes-hc
seemed dlssolving into blood, liquilying into
death. Another man rushed upon deck in
! a tit of derum, and sprang over the ships
side into the very jaws of The numerous
sharks that lowered raycnous around us, and
seemed to be aware of the havoc death was
making.
| had now the dreadful prospect Of seeing
all that remained perish, and prayed to God