New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-07-11
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
A BUCCANEER EXPLORER.

WILLIAM DAMPIER; BY w. Clark Russell, lemo
The choice of william Dampier as the subject OF
one of the English Men of Action" series does not
strike us as particularly happy, but certainly no
living writer could have given us spirited and in
tercstng biography of the explorer Mr. Clark Rus
SELL Ills seafaring instinct carries him at once TO
the heart OF the matter and there few recent
passages more pregnant with special knowledge than
his comparison between the old and the Of
seamen and the old and new schools of ships He Is
right In asserting that the main for wonder in
regard to the feats of navigation and seamanshp per
formed by the English mariners and adventurers OF
.he sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is the narrow
ness of the means at their disposal. Going forth 10
face unknown dangers In unknown seas, at unknown
distances these hardy and dauntless men thought
themselves sufficiently prepared with one two crank
vessels Of forty sixty tons burhen, illbuilt, III
rugged, flfound in every way. With manuals of
navigation which contained the widest guesses and
the gravest bunders in latitude and longitude, with In
struments for observation of the orudest
kinda wooden quadrant, as Mr. Russell
saws, "big enough for gallows,' and clumsy
Jacobs staff with primitive clockwatch 1or
taking the tme-they sailed cheerily away, and did
deeds such as would be thought respectable per-
formances for fully equipped modern men-ofwar
The hardships of seafsring life in the old buc-
caneering times scarcely be realized now even by
those who have discovered for themselves that ships
forecastle in the nineteenth century is not exactly the
scat of luxury. Filth. crOwding, bad food were then
unavoidable In foul weather the 'tween-decks OF
such vessels as Damper sailed in were little more toi-
cradle than the Black Hole at Calcutta. All saited
provisons were so overpckled 10 be as hard as
wood and as nutritious leather There were theh
no anscOrbuucs but fresh vegetables, ana 10 OBTAIN
them land must be reached. The art OF ship-Dunohg
had advanced little that no such quality as speed
was possessed by any ship ahoat. Bluff bows, heaVy
counters numbering top-hamper, immense chahhel
plates to catch and hold the water when on wind'
huge casteated poops and forecaSt!es deep waists
and mast so short and carrying so little sail thaC "heh
the sea ran high the waves took the whu OUT u LILO
canvas characterized the vessels In which such mar
veous work was done in those rough Virne sei-colh
dent DAYS. In Dampier's time, however, the heyuay
of buccaneerng was Morgan and Ieach
and the scores of bold rufians whose names had
heen terrors throughout Spanish America, had passed
away The cream had been taken OIL The plratoa
milk The victims had been plundered until they
were DOOR There remained little more than the pa'e
eaeons which still carried fabulous treasures perou-
cally between America and Spain, and still tempted
the Adventures with the legends of their opulence
Daimler however, was never the man to become
great captain His fame is due. not to what he did,
but to his skill in repeating what he saw We DO not
see how he be considered seriously as an
explorer The only time when he commanded regu-
lar exploring expedition, his heart failed him after lie
had reached the lana ne was 10 hO
away ANONYMOUSLY from Australia and New-Gulnea
without making an effort TO carry out the main
purposa of the voyage Neither Drake nor COOK
would have acted So but they were men of action and
resolution, whereas Damper was really, but for his
wonderful knack Of observation and description, It4e
more than sea-tramp. All through his recorded life
his dominant characterize vaclation. He never
could stick to any occupation or undertaking long
enough to give IT fair play lie tried logwood cutting,
he tried buccaneerng, he tried managing west lhda
plantation, he tried exploration he tried uSIhP'
and he speedily got tired of one ana al.
He went eagerly into any new enterprise, Out MS IN
terest and enthusiasm quickly declined anu then no
seems 10 have swung TO the other extreme, ana Dc
come a pessimist and a crOaker. Now no man who
while holding responsible place at sea- talks SO as
TO depress and dishearten the men under him, can
ever be a successful commander. But Dampier had
other faults He had served most Of his life before
the mast, and had experience in command he
had bad temper, which grew worse With failure anu
disappointment. He was, in short, good suOofn
nate hut a bad master keen and capable OBJ
server and thinker, but not man OF acuOh' MI
Clark Russell has doubtless done the best possible
for his hero but when all is said this IS the impress
sion left with the reader Moreover none OF DampierS
explorations came 10 anything, and this cannot DC
attributed to the sloth and apathy of the English
Government and mercantile classes. but must be set
down 10 the fact that the explorer himself lost all In
terest In his work before 1t was half done, ana con-
sequently only half did It,
Nothing could be more feeble than his course on
the coast Of Australia. He was there after long
and perilous voyage. Almost any other man would
have determined upon knowing all that could be
known about the new land before leaving 1t; would
t least have resolved 10 ascertain whether 1t was an
island but no, because, apparently he could not ma
water at once weighed anchor and set his course
for Europe again. Hesitation and indcciSon grew
upon him with age moreover. He lost a Spanish
treasure ship I'm the very crisis of victory because he
could not make up his mind to board her, though
boarding was the only possible course and though In
the circumstances it sure to have been success
full After fighting half day with French war
vessel and so batterng her that she must have sur
wandered on a second attack. he allowed her to get
away without any reasons for his supineness. lie
had established his bravery In Of bloody fights
but his characteristic vaciation to have con-
ouered even his physical courage toward the last and
the figure he cuts on several trying occasions is little
less than ptable. He would have made ad
mirable traveller and indeed he has left sufficient
proofs of his fitness for that kind of work. His
curiosity his zeal know everything, the keenness
of his observation and the fidelity of his description
are alike extraordinary, and will doubtless keep
vitality in his voyages for long time. No better
story of so much of this interesting wanderers
as Is known could be written than Mr. RussePs 1t
is sympathetic intelligent, full of the color Of tho
period rich I'm antiquarian details, enlivened by many
brilliant pictures of manners and customs AS 2
piece OF literature, in fact, this little volume is Alto
gether satisfactory and adequate. The only place
for criticism is in relation 10 Dampiers right TO rank
among of action.