The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-09-30
MuTINY on BoARp.

was cast entirely on my own resources,
which were a diploma, a respectable
wardrobe, and twenty pounds in cash
the balance of the capital which had
sufficed for my education. Feeling des-
perately the necessity of exertion ap-
piled TO all sorts of people, rushing into
the presence of bigwigs who ought not
TO be approached without proper intro
duction, and outraging them with de-
mands for surgical employment. |
should say | sometimes received as many
as five snubs and rebufis in a morning.
At last l fairly broke down in thepres-
ence Of a naughty Young admiralty
clerk, who was perturbed and melted by
my distress, when on my asking him to
tell me how | could get into the navy he
replied:
"Suppose you apply on a pwopper
form through the pwopper channel.
Look here" he said, calling me back,
"leave your name and address. Sur
geons. are wanted for things sometimes
in a hurry
Two davs afterwards | received a let
ter informing me that surgeon was re
quired for the Alecto, which was TO said
for Sydneyon the following Sunday with
a cargo of convictS, and that if ap-
piled in person at place and hour
named, and answered certain questions
satisfactorily. there was little doubt but
what should get the appointment. a
There was no medical employment ON
earth that | would not have jumped at
blindfold Just then, so | made my appli-
cation, was accepted without any diff
culy-with rather an ominous alacrity
indeed-and after such poor pg'epara-
tions in the way of outfit as my igno-
rance suggested and my slender means
could afford | went on board the Alecto,
which was lying off Greenwich, and
found myself in medical charge of
captain, two mates, lieutenant of the
Royal Navy, in some mysterious capaci-
ty that | never rightly comprehended;
twenty sailors, an officer of marines and
his men, and 250 convicts.
The naval lieutenant was the only
man on the quarterback when | went
up the side.
81 am the surgeon" | began, ad-
vancing towards him; but before could
say another word he asked abruptly:
"Can you play at cheSs?" A..
"Yes-a little, - replied
"I'm thankful, vera thankful, for
that. Shake hands, sir The marine
body, Mr.. Phipps, no cares for the game
and how should we surveeve sich apro
tracted and tedious voyage without
chess? My name is MacNab, and |
hope we shall be friends, sir"
/ said that | hoped so, too, and we
engaged i'm a conversation which was
the reverse of inspiriting. | gathered |
from Mr.. MacNab that the skipper had |
been unfortunate in former voyages;
that his mates were ruffians; that the |
crew were very poor types indeed of the |
British sailor; that the ship herself was
a rotten old hulk that ought to have |
been broken up years before.
| went down to my cabin, which |
seemed absurdly small and low and
dark; got my portmanteau there, and
tried to make arrangements for future
comfort Then | studied the printed /
instructions | had received as to how |
often was to inspect the convicts, &c, |
and wondered what was TO be done if |
they were refractory, and who had au-
thorty over me to prevent me Sinking |
my duties; for had sole command, it |
seemed, in my particular department |
When | returned on deck | found the !
captain and Mr.. Phipps there. The |
former had a red nose and watery eyes, |
which explained, perhaps, why he had |
been unfortunate with his ships; the |
latter was a gentlemanly fellow enough, |
but deSponding and taciturn, his silence |
being of the less importance that when |
me did talk he generally grumbled, |
which did not add to the cheerfulnesS |
of so small a party. His only solace |
was in making pen-and-ink sketches, at
which he was very clever; landscapes, |
with chiaroScuro effects, involving an
immense amount of time and labor, be-
ing his principal forte. Both he and
MacNab were disappointed men; but
the Scotchman was the better philOSO-
pher of the two.
We four supped together, and in due |
time | went to my birth and found out
how to get into it. | felt like a toy put |
away on a shelf in a cupboard, for it was |
my first experience of ship accommO-
dation. When you have learned to lie
on your back and not want to move all |
night-to take enough oxygen into the /
lungs while on deck TO last for the time |
YOU are below, and to be Indifferent to |
cockroacheS running over you, you get |
on great deal better.
On reaching the deck next morning |
| found that we were under sail and
dropping down the river, which had
grown very wide.
1t was not long before we were fairly
in the Channel and the pilot got into
his boat and left us.
There was a nice breeze, but the sea
was perfectly smooth, and the ship |
glided through the water with delight |
ful glibnesS; so that felt ] ought to be |
doing something towards learning my /
duties while | was able, and confided to /
MacNab that | should like to hold an /
inspection of the convicts, who were all |
gathered on the main deck in charge of /
their warders and the marines, who (
mounted sentry over them with loaded |
muskets and fixed bayonets.
found that | had made an official /
application in the right quarter by ac-
cident, for MacNab Immediately said: /
AT what time? at once?n
And when | replied in the Affirmative, |
gave certain sharp, short orders, the re- |
suit of which was that in less than ten I
minutes a warder came up to me, I
touched his cap, and reported:
"All ready SIR
And following him, found the con-
victS drawn up in lines, barefooted. Ny /
inspection of them was a mere form, /
for, of course, they were sent on board /
sound and clean, but / made certain /
suggestions with regard to the santa /
~ arrangements between decks, where
their hammocks were slung, and these |
were promptly attended TO where prac-
ticable. When / had done MaeNsb |
challenged me to game of chess, and /
fortunately we proved to be very evenly /
matched. He was quite right in rely |
ing so much upon it as aresource; how 1
we should have got through the weeks
without it / cannot imagine; we played
at least six hours daily out of the twen-
ty-four.
When we got into the broad swell of
the Atlantic had a weeks seasickness.