The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1884-01-29


house And wasn't she daisy aiofl
though, her long spars scraped and var
nished with their big black tops looked
like man-o' wars, and all her standing
rigging was as taut "a iron and blacI
as tar, the sheets and hasysrds were fem
ish- coiled aud l didn't sea nary stray
rope end lying about; oh, it wss might
easy to see that Cuma was every inch
sailor and a mighty strict skipper Lo boot
was still looking aloft when Rene,
touched my arm and said, " well if you're
done sky-gaping come and see how nirt
she is tween decks" We turned and de
Hcended a neat companionwAy with silver
plated handrails on the sides, and I found
myself in her cabin that was to be m
quarters for the Lord only knew how long,
My bunk was at the fo'ard end, starb'rd
side and nextttnaA ca,pt rs6m th3yitIhe,l
to stow powder in. But taslNst make sail
=" I'll skip the time we was la port, aud
the outward voyage too, and only say
that we got up our mud hook with ninetet n
men afore the mast and mighty hard
| looking customers they were too; some
was Spanish, two Portuguese, few
Swedes and nigger, but they was afore
the mast and Cuma kept them there |
tell you he was regular tartar, and in
spite of the kind OF voyage we were on
| never saw better disciplin on board an y
vessel, even one of Uncle Sans Why Eve
seen him shoot a man off Of the yard arm,
and as for knocking one down with a
hand spike, Delaying pin or anything he
could lay his paws on, he'd as soon do it
as to take drink
We, the aftcrguard, always carried re-
volvers that he give us and were told to
use 'em if needs be, but as the crew were
fed bully and not overworked things went
along middling fair.
We sighted the African coast in twenty
days after leavin' Havana, and what's
more we carried our royals all the time
but one day if that wasn't sailing for
you | hope to be tried out for blubber
We stood in to within three quarters of a
mile of the shore, aud Pm blessed if the
skipper hadn't come to just the right
place, for we hadn't more than backed
our main-tops'l when see canoe put off
from shore 1t had four men in it, three
of 'em was niygers and the fourth the
drtlest, meanest looking white man ever
laid eyes on. He came on board, and as
he was az thick with old Cuma as dirt
is with Scrubby there, why of course
wasn't going to say nothing agn him.
We lost no time after he took the wheel
in swinging our mainyard, and while the
men were brailing up and furling royals,
to'gallants'ls and everything except the
main-tops'l, spankcr and jb, we ran in
and come to anchor in mighty pretty
little bit of a harbor with groves of Coz
coanut trees and the like around it, and
three big log hut- with high fences
around them was in bit OF a clearing
near the beach. As for the channel that
we come through Pm blessed if | see it
even after we was there it was Il mighty
crooked one and don't believe anyone
except An imp Of Satan like Mr.. Tom. aS
the white telIrr was called, could have
found his way through it,
Next day We began taking in cargo,
and mates such cargo a. it Was
never want To- see again -mtn, women
and children, old and young, good look
ing and ugly, clean and dirty, but all
niggers some crying, some sullcn, some
gentle, they was all drove down tn our
waiting launch, and boat load after boat
load was brought to the bark, hustled up
her side and drove into the hold, where
We stood guard over 'cm with cutla>S and
muskct But AN things must have an end
and 80 did the four days of hurry, worry,
dirt and confusion of slowing away eleven
hundred and sixty black birds. They
were all slowed in the hold, seated and
,.I nt at !, lrt SI,I
on the flooring we had LAID the day be-
fore sighting the coast. We left space
on each side of the deck for us to walk
when W. ted and watered them, and they
was packed awful tight together; there
wasn't room for them to wink in even II
they had wanted to. Poor brutcs, they
didn't do much except to howl and grab
at meal times Well, they're slowed,
matches grated, decks swept and We are
out to sea again, headed for Cuba and
keeping a migty sharp look out for
strange sails, for it meant hanging sure
enough if we were caught with that cargo
aboard, and everyone, from Cnma to
Snowy, the cook, knew it and kept a
sharp eye to wlnd'ard.
Maby you'd like to hear how we fed
and took care of the blackies. Well, at
four, eight and eight bells ten of the crew
armed with cutlasses, with me and Lep-
sis, the first mate, went in the hold, the
men carrying big buckets Of boiled rice
and quart dippers; they gave each nigger
a dipper full in turn, and he had to bolt it
or hold it in his hands, for there wasn't
any time lost in letting 'em eat like
Christians; they had to grab and give
the tin to number two; then they were
served with water in the same way, after
which We let sixty of 'em come on deck
at time for the air and to stretch bit.
Saturdays we swept and cleaned up the
hold, after dousing the blackies with sea
water; then we passed the bodies Of
those who had died on deck and chucked
'em overheard We had on an average
five die every week, and a regular escort
of sharks was following us most of the
time. Then we burnt gunpowder and
sulphur on shovels and that sort Of took
away the awful smell there was in the
hold. That's how we happened to have a
lot of the powder on board it was kept
have been ten or twelve half barrels of it,
They was mighty careless with the
blamed stuff; going to get it Lepsis
would carry a common lantern, and once
saw him smoking right in the magazine.
got scared after saw that and spoke to
Cnma about it, but he only shrugged his
shoulders and said " AS Pve the largest